...just come down to SoCal and spend some time on the freeways here. I hope this does NOT offend and Vibers but I still have to say it.

I hear a LOT of people saying how smooth the ride is in their new truck. And I tended to agree when driving my local streets. But I spend 80 - 90% of my time and mileage on SoCal freeways, from SF Bay area to Ventura to SanDiego to Arizona...and frankly I was not feeling the love. I do NOT have the vibe and I knew it was a good riding truck but I guess I was expecting too much, based on the many glowing reports.

Well I just took a 1800 mile tour this week for work. From LA up US-395, US-6 and US-95 to NAS Fallon Nevada, then I-80 to Elko Nevada, then back via Nevada Hwy 268, US-6, US-95, Nevada Hwy 266 and 168 then back down US-395 to LA.

THESE roads are a dream to drive. And it's not just me. I co-worker drove my truck in Elko and was amazed at how well it handled and absorbed (what HE called) bumps and dips. I had driven this route before in an Expedition and in general I would same to ride from the F150 is virtually the same. And it's not like there are no bumps in Neveda, but for a truck the F150 absorbed them beautifully. But then I return to LA it was back to the same rough washboard, potholes cracks, ruts and surges as before. I guess the fact that there is not much weight in the back of any truck makes these fwy's a real nightmare. Funny how you sometimes don't notice something until you have a chance to compare to something else.

Now it's entirely possible that the SoCal freeways are NOT as rough as I am stating. Matbe they just SEEM rougher since my butt is SO tightly puckered while I drive my 8'-wide truck in between 2 18-wheel semis on a four lane freeway which has been re-lined to accommodate 6 lanes!!

 

My FX4 seems to ride harder assumably because of stiffer shocks compared to a Lariat so much that my wife complained about it when she tried sitting in the back seat when we test drove both. It certainly smooths out *a lot* everytime I haul a 1/2yd load of baserock in the box. Regardless, she still prefers the Lariat :-)

 

well I would HOPE so

 

I hear you on the So Cal highways. Try driving the 10 between Palm springs to LA, my arms go numb. My bed looked liked it was about ready to fall off. I was actually following a 05 screw, and his bed was just a blur it was shaking so much. I have taken this drive in a 90k luxury car and had the same feeling though so I can't blame this one on ford.

 

The roads in Boston tend to jossle you around a bit, axle hop, bed shake. But get out into the suburbs on the way home, smooth as silk. I am very impressed with the ride of this near 6000lb behemoth and how composed it is.

 

One thing to remember when discussing the ride of these trucks is the variety of configurations they come in. I have the Scab with 6.5 foot box and it is a much nicer riding truck than my 02 Scab was, at least partly because it had a 6 inch longer wheelbase. The rack and pinion steering is another great asset, mainly in helping to miss bumps, potholes, etc.

With about 20,000 miles on the truck, quite a bit of it on gravel, I am convinced that I would like to try a better grade of shocks than the stock ones. If I decide that I will be buying it out at the end of the lease then I will swap the shocks out soon.

The one truck I would like to drive is the Scab longbox with the 158 inch wheelbase. Of course it also goes to the 8200 pound GVWR which may make the ride harsher; I still suspect they ride great.

 

Les I'm with you, I spend all my time on bad surfaced roads and my 4x4 reg cab can feel every bit of it. I am always amazed at how silky smooth the truck is on a nice road. I was wondering if a change of shocks would help this. I was looking at the Edlebrock shocks at about $70 a pop. Anyone try using these shocks?

 

no doubt - I do that quite often. Problem is I am not bright enough to take the 10 all the way. I live in Hacienda Heights so I actually branch off onto the 60 fwy.

Reforder - that's funny cuz I was gonna compare the LA fwys to driving in downtown Boston @ 70 mph. I used to fly into Logan a lot to go down to Mansfield. Got so tired I decided TF Green was a better choice in Delaware.

As for upgrading shock, that does seem to be the consensus here. Gotta call PepBpys today and see if they got my rear Relfexes in yet. Can't wait to see what difference they make

 

We drove the truck down to SoCal last year on vacation (so we could haul stuff back from Ikea) and I remember the 10 out to Palm Springs (where we stayed). It seems like the road is buckling every 30 feet as you have this constant bumpadumpabumpadumpa going on. With our SCREW we were able to find a certain speed that helped some, but as soon as you got to the part where it was gone, everyone sighed in relief.

 

bigdave,

The SCAB 8' with the HD is a harsh ride. It is alot better with 1000 lbs in the back or hauling 6000# trailer.

 

les,
I'm glad to see that someone else experienced the horrendous roads in Boston. A lot of you LA types don't realize that the roads pretty much suck out this way, thanks in no small part to snow, frost heaves, shoddy patch work, snow plows, and road salt. But i must say, the F150 is much better to drive in town than my low profiles on my last car.

 

I went on vacation and drove to Arkansas to visit my brother. I rode in his Tahoe for about a week, and couldn't WAIT to get back in my F150 to drive the 20+ hours home. The differnece in ride is night and day!

 

I have a tendency to carry around about 500 to 1000 pounds of junk in the box of my truck which is one of the reasons I would really like to go back to the long box.
I know I should clean it out for the sake of fuel economy, but that kind of defeats the purpose of owning a truck.
I weighed my truck again in June and with an almost full tank and just me in it, along with the usual load of junk, it weighed 6800. Not much capacity left with a 7200 GVWR.
Sometimes I kind of miss my old 7700 series until I remember how much better this truck is overall.
I learned to drive in a 1961 International Travelall. What we call harsh ride today is nothing compared to that beast with a solid axle and leaf springs on the front end.

 

My previous truck was an 03 F250, GVWR of 8800#. That was a harsh ride, this truck with the 8200# GVWR is rough but not as rough. A few months after I got my truck ford sent me a come test drive an F150 and we will give you $50. So I went to another dealer and drove a Lariat, way better ride than my F150.

 

I am new here,Iam also from Boston,I drive thru boston every day,It sucks,I have owned Vetts,caddys,mercedes,linc, almost everthing,and I tell u this I love my 04 FX4, My wife and son say it all the time u have had that over 1 yr and no sign of trading it,I just put 20's on it this week and it is even better,,,