The past week end I got to put some miles on my truck. Over 600 to be exact. I went from roads the were increadibly bumpy (paved), to dirt roads (requiring 4wd Hi and Low) to some extended trips on the highway to a from in heavy weekend trafic. Now with just over 2k miles on my truck I have no fear of giving it a little work out. I was able to cruise with traffic at 80-85mph (with people still passing me, only in New England) and the truck was incredibly smooth on the highway and handled like a smaller nimble car in and out of traffic at speed (Very impressive considering it is an extended cab with an 8ft bed). On the back roads I've been in many vehicles that would throw you all over the place, but it was very managable and surprisingly smooth on the worst of roads. And for what it's worth, I would never ever buy another 4x4 with out having shift on the fly. On about 5 occasions in various situations (on grass,and backing up steep driveways) I needed to engage 4wd and to have had to get out to lock the hubs I would have looked like a fool in the rain. Even on the highway at 80-85 (the engine barely felt like it was working) with traffic there was still plenty of pedal to go. Oh and the gas mileage was a click over 11.5 in mixed driving. Not bad considering the size. A small price to pay for the privlege of driving such a large vehicle. I can only say that this truck being my first Ford has truely impressed me and exceeded my expectations. Now to see how well it will handle a plow come winter. That for me will be the true test of this truck (for my needs).

 

I push a 9' Fisher with my 04' F-350 XLT S-cab 4x4 V-10 6-speed, DRW, and it does a great job, has not been to the dealer for anything,,18 k on it now, but I have the manual 4x4 and thats what I wanted for reliability issues. It will handle your plow good !
Later,,,,,,,,,,Mark

 

best of luck with your new truck. yes the v10 is a amazeing motor, just wait till around 5 or 6 k they really start to hum then . For me at 6k mine has started to give me 12.4 to 13 city mix and this week end i pulled my best of 15 so far. Towing in north west jersey i have to tow up some grades rangeing from 14 to 25 % to get to and from a local power boat lake . This truck can hold well above the speed limit going uphill with no problem.
Plowing the contractor that does our private roads has fleet of v10's and loves them . Has never had a problem plowing with them.
Again best of luck this truck will grow on you.