Given the fact that manual window regulators wear out and break as well (it happened to me), I'm not sure manual windows is something I ever want in a vehicle again. Its one thing in a tiny car like an Escort where you can reach over, quite another in a truck where you can't. I have small kids and they ride in the truck now and then power windows are a huge plus because I can raise/lower them as needed and then lock them in place from the driver's seat.

A King Ranch... can do everything an XL does, the leather is made to take abuse (basically saddle leather) and if you worry about mud on the carpet there are mats available designed with those in mind. Its why when I bought the used F250 I decided to spend a little extra for a Lariat or King Ranch. I'm like Tylus, my first 3 trucks were fairly stripped down, and after upgrading I'd rather not go back. Never had any more problems with the "features" than I had with the non-features. I've got to admit I never saw the value of heated seats until I had them -- it sure is nice when its 30 degrees and you don't have to freeze waiting for the interior surfaces to heat up.

Long road trips without a CD player sucks, especially if I'm in an area where the station selection is poor and your only option is the Jimmy Swaggart gospel hour. I can load up 500-600 MP3 songs on a single CD and listen to just about anything I want.

I've enjoyed pretty much every Ford I've owned, from stripped models to fully loaded -- I never regretted having more options but I have been in situations where I regretted having an option I wish I had purchased. To each his own.

 

...and I think this is the dividing line. A lot of F150 models were selected for that, leading to the higher proportion of Crew and SuperCabs nowadays.

But when the kids are old enough to drive, they don't want to ride in the back seat any more. Down the road, I think the demographics of truck buyers will swing back to one guy who doesn't need to spend the extra money on a crew or super. Maybe then Ford will make the Lariat, H-D, King Ranch, and Platinum available in regular cab. Until then, the extra money just does not make sense to me. (Four grown kids here.)

And, with the help of FTE, it's not that difficult to add most options. Admittedly I don't think the XL wiring will handle heated seats, though.

 

3 kids plus the wife, the youngest is 3 (oldest is 18). I'll be buying 4 doors for quite some time. Actually, its why I bought the King Ranch Powerstroke. I put less than 5K miles on it a year and at that rate it'll last until the youngest goes to college/university. My reasoning is that since I planned to be in it for such a long time I might as well get (and enjoy) the added features/options.

This doesn't mean I've got anything against base trucks or lack of options. I've been in a long search for a 1966 F100 in good condition. Only things I want: good condition body (so it would be ready for painting with minor work), short bed, 352 FE big block V8 and C6 transmission both in good condition and good interior condition. I plan to do a full restoration and won't mind it being very basic (that's actually part of the appeal for something like that). I've been looking for almost 2 years to find the "perfect" truck for a restoration and I'm in no hurry. When the right one comes along I'll know it, doesn't matter if its a base, Ranger, Custom Cab, etc.

 

My truck is an XL also.
4.6, auto, 4x4, reg. cab, 6.5 box, cloth seats, rubber flooring. 3.55 gears, L/S rear.



Dont like carpet, power windows, etc.
I like the manual t case lever, roll down widows, rubber mats, etc. Save a ton over an xlt or lariait. When I was buying mine the CD player option was 300 bux. I opted for the FM radio. Went to the local stereo shop and got a top of the line Alpine head unit installed for 200 bux and it is way more clear than any stock Ford radio.

I use my trucks hard, lots of offroading etc. Rubber mats are the way to go and oxford white paint does not show scratches nearly as bad as other colors. I like function over form.

As far as other upgrades go, power windows, locks, tach etc the after market has lots of options and if you look at window stickers it is actually cheaper to get it installed later, and most of the aftermarket products are as good if not better than OEM FoMoCo parts.

 

Question for folks:

If price was not a consideration (ever) and you could replace a truck any time you wanted, would you still buy the base model or get options? I guess what I'm trying to figure out if its a matter of economics or not. In other words, if bucks were extremely easy to come by, would you be more concerned with "bang for the buck" or "the most bang, period?" For example, if two hundred extra meant nothing to you, would you still opt for an AM/FM radio, or would you get the 6 CD changer?

I'm curious, because I don't think I've ever seen how Ford determines what the trim levels are and what their markets are (other than fleets, where cost/function are usually the only considerations).

 

Well if I had free flow money I would probably go for a 4x4 King Ranch with a nice trailer hitch, which is my favorite, or a 2x4 sport truck with a charged motor. But, that's not the case so I buy only as much truck as I need and can afford, which is a plain ol' V6 XL 2x4 with a few goodies. Mount the tool box and the 2" trailer ball and I'm good to go and totally happy.

 

I use my XL for work and drive it 500 miles a week. For my kind of work, a loaded nice truck with leather and carpet is just too nice for mess up. The XL is fine for me, but If it was my daily driver, I would opt for more options. CD players are obsolete now, I actually bought a Blaupunkt without the CD, it has USB, IPOD and SD card slots for music. It also has SIRIUS/XM and HD radio.

 

A big part of my aversion to high end trucks is as much a personal problem as a preference. It came from 20 years wrenching on overly complicated high end cars. Audi, Porsche, Mercedes, Range Rover, Lincoln, and a few others I can't bring myself to think about without the onset of PTSD... still there even 15 years past. (:< )

The other appeal of a low end truck is the elegant simplicity. I love old 4x4s and military vehicles for the same reason. For many years, I owned old-style Land Rovers... about as basic as basic can be. Put several hundred thousand miles on two, plus those I worked on or tested. When I got the '86 F-250HD XL, it seemed like the lap of luxury after a Series IIA Rover! This '05 F-150 XL is a few comfort strides ahead of the '86 (which I can't bring myself to sell). When I buy a truck, it's a long-term relationship counted in decades. By the time this F-150 reaches that point, I'll be in my dotage. Maybe I'll be ready for a high end truck by then.

 

Well, you know what I mean, the top of the line system for it. Just used CDs verses AM/FM as an example. I play most of my music via bluetooth from my PDA to my sound system. I did the whole satellite thing and cancelled my subscription after the first year. I found that between my PDA, CDs and talk radio that there's really nothing on satellite worth paying money for (for me). Personally, I'd opt for SYNC II instead of aftermarket. Yeah, aftermarket has some cool things SYNC II doesn't have... but some of the things SYNC II does you can't find in a aftermarket "all in one" unit.

 

When I was in the market for a new truck to replace my '93 XL I knew I wanted another XL. I'm not into fancy trucks. I just wanted another plain truck. So I bought a new '04 and love it. I have to have cloth seats because I sweat too much on the leather. The rubber flooring is easy to keep clean. But even though it is an XL, it had more features than I expected. The 60-40 seats are nice. The small suicide doors to get behind the seats are really nice. The 4.6 has plenty of power for me. My '93 had a manual transmission. I went automatic this time because a manual just doesn't work well in the city with slow traffic. I don't mind the manual locks and windows. But I will have to admit the manual windows are a pain when you have to reach over and roll up the passenger side window when it starts to rain and you are driving down the highway! So next time I might try to get power windows. And maybe cruise control (I know I can add it on). Long trips in the truck make me wish I had it. It came with just an AM/FM radio but I did put in a nice CD player. I'm really into music.

 

Sync II is good, but I personally like aftermarket for my own reasons. I also have a lifetime subscription to Sirius and I can transfer my receiver from car to car. Than I just plug my USB flash drive to my deck and my 8 gigs of music is all there. I also use the bluetooth feature for speaker phone and that is nice. Once nice thing about aftermarket is if it breaks, very easy and cheap to replace.

 

I would still get am/fm radio. You cant beat aftermarket stereos. No matter what Ford has. Alpine, Mempis, Sony etc has a better system.

If money was no option I would buy a 2wd XL F 150 with a 6 cyl. =cheap

Bring it home put 35 spline Dana 60s under it. A 5.4 twin turbo(or built 7.3) atlas 2 transfer case. 44" Swampers and call it a day.

 

Regarding:
If price was not a consideration (ever)...

Hahahahahahahahaha....

Regarding:
would you be more concerned with "bang for the buck" or "the most bang, period?" For example, if two hundred extra meant nothing to you, would you still opt for an AM/FM radio, or would you get the 6 CD changer?

In my case, I only drive about 7500 miles per year, and I usually don't make more than one trip a year which takes me out of radio station range. I'm just not interested in a CD changer. I might pay to have a stereo input (iPod or whatever) and/or USB inputs to the standard AM/FM radio might be nice, but I can't be bothered to put one on the current truck (assuming it's available in the aftermarket).

The other issue is that Ford product management has standardized on the SuperCrew platform for all the upper trim levels. If you want a regular cab, you are in XL/STX/XLT land. I can't justify the $4K difference between the XL and XLT base models.

If it were available, I might consider a King Ranch regular cab when I retire. But I really don't want a 5.4L if I can avoid one. (Bring back the 4.2L, or even the 4.9 for troglodytes like me!)

So -- for a person with no kids, doing occasional light hauling, XL is fine. XLT might be nice, but I keep vehicles a long time, and I don't want power windows/door locks, carpet to stain, and cloth seats to wear out.

For a person with kids, using the truck as a daily driver, one of the higher trim levels may be a good choice. But some of us just want a truck to be a truck.

 

Hank,

The think is you're not really tackling the question, because it seems you're still answering it from a money perspective.

What if spending $4K extra for a crew wasn't a big deal to you? What if you had so much money that you could trade in your truck every 2 years instead of every 20 and you could afford the highest trim level every time your bought? If money were not an issue in any way at all, ever, and you could buy a new truck at any time? Is a truck any less or mre a truck due to trim level?

 

If money was no object, I'd still opt for a hose-out interior on a truck, but would have more gadgets, maybe even power windows, etc., probably in a special order only configuration. If I had unlimited funds, I'd just build my truck anyway, probably start with an older truck with modern goodies.

If you have a nice luxo truck now and work in a dirty environment, it will get trashed pretty fast and look nasty before long. Some farmers around here buy high end trucks and in a couple of years, they look (and smell) pretty nasty after a coupla years. The plainer interiors stay nicer longer and smell better because there is less material to absorb odors.