So, as of late I've wondered if maybe I would be happier with a different vehicle. Currently I have a 2006 Amarillo that's been fairly modded with about 100,000 miles on it. It's done everything I've needed it to so far and then some. Most of my use for it is hauling scrap, used tires, and people. Although I don't have anything heavy to tow, the diesel has been nice for the power and fuel economy and it's fun to boot. The biggest thing I love about the truck is that it's yellow and stands out from all of the other F-250's in the area. Here are my needs:

Full 4 doors (wife and 2 kids, plus hauling people at work)
4 wheel drive (I live in Iowa)
Automatic (regularly drive in traffic and I feel it's easier to tow with auto for when people borrow the truck)
Yellow (I'm kind of known for this, plus it's nice to have something different)
Moddable (I get bored with things I can't play with)

It seems the only thing that narrows this down is the color as not a ton of vehicles come in yellow. I had thoughts of getting an SUV, but that would mean having to buy a scrap trailer to haul scrap and tires and I don't do it enough to need a trailer just for it. I would feel bad throwing oily and dirty stuff in the back of an SUV whereas the truck bed you just throw it in and don't worry about it. Also, the truck comes in handy for when I need to pick up large items and building materials and I plan on getting a car trailer at some point this year. I just think an SUV would not really suit my needs and my wife has a decent sized wagon that we use for long trips instead of the truck.

Are there any other trucks out there I could look at? Possibly something else I may like for my needs?

 

You might consider a half ton truck, from what you describe it should meet your needs just fine. I've had diesel and gas Super Duties, and last year I decided to downsize to an EcoBoost F150. This truck has surpassed every expectation and does a fantastic job towing heavy things. With the max tow package it's rated to tow 11,200 lbs, and I average 16-18 MPG in my daily commute.

The new GM and Ram trucks are pretty impressive as well. The new Ram 1500 EcoDiesel is rated to tow over 7,000 lbs and seems to be capable of 25+ MPG on the highway. And GM's new direct injected 5.3L V8 is capable of towing 11,000 lbs and is rated for better fuel economy than Ford's 3.5L EcoBoost engine.

Good luck finding ANYTHING in yellow though. I think that went out of style a few years ago, I don't know of anyone who makes a yellow truck anymore.

 

Yea, yellow is the issue. If I was going to get a truck that wasn't yellow it would be an Ecoboost F-150 platinum in the white pearl color. Sadly though Ecoboosts are still too expensive for me. Also, the thought of getting a nice truck and using it as a truck to beat around makes me sad. When I got my Amarillo it was in great shape but wasn't perfect and I got a steal on it. I wasn't afraid to get it dirty and throw **** in it.

 

What's your price range if you were to make a switch?

 

Sounds like you are pretty happy with what you got, but just need some type of change. If that is the case I say keep the truck and do another mod to it to keep it new to you. That would probably save you alot of coin in the end.

 

I hear you on liking the rare colors. I looked for two years to find a truck exactly like mine because less than 1% came with that color(island blue) and wanting fully manual everything made it even harder to find. I say stick with what you have.

 

In response to your "Are you crazy question?" yes, you are....

Now I have a question for you: Are you trying to make yourself miserable???

My neighbor had the same quandry when his beautiful 2004 F250 started getting hot due to a clogged oil cooler. (which come to find out he caused by mixing and using green coolant) His truck had reached 100K in 2011 and he was on the hunt for something "better".

This better truck to him was a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado. Chevrolet advertised that it would tow 10K and when not towing deliver 20 mpg. So he traded in his beloved F250 and drove home in his Chevy. He put a few hundred miles on the truck, hooks up the custom boat he designed and had built, and was very surprised at the outcome. The truck pulled the boat, but not as well as his 6.0 did. It couldn't hold a gear, much less maintain speed, and overall had a hard time with his boat.

When he wasn't towing, he'd get 13-14 mpg with it and sometimes worse. He never did see the 20 mpg they advertised either and his truck is completely stock. I learned all this after a year of him owning his 1/2 ton Silverado and if I ever saw a man who regreted selling his truck, it was my neighbor.

In case you didn't believe me on that one, here's another true story:

There was a user on FTE who had either a 2000 or 2001 F250 with a 7.3 and while it had it's issues from time to time, he wanted something newer and traded his truck in on a 2010 F150 since it towed as much as his Super Duty would.

He too drove the truck past it's "Do Not Tow until you have this many miles" limit and hooked up his trailer to move either hay or some sort of equipment. After a few tows and a few months later, he posted a thread: "I want my truck back".

If you still think I'm making up stories, here's one about me:

Spring of 2011, I briefly lost my mind and wanted to trade in or sell my 2001 Excursion. It had a rough winter, needed some love, and had seen better days. I decided to try to sell it and either get myself a newer Excursion or Super Duty. Looking back, at the time I wasn't in a position to have a car payment as my goal was to knock down debt and not acquire anymore. To that end, I called Clay of Riffraff Diesel, rebuilt the top end, bought all of his upgrades for the 7.3 and to this day, haven't regreted it.

The lessons here:

1. Your 2006 Amarillo Yellow Super Duty is something you can grow into and not out of. It can more than do what you need it to do without a problem.

2. You have more than enough room for you, your family, and coworkers when you feel like.

3. You're alot like me, you need something moddable, something you can play with or work on yourself, otherwise, you get bored. This is exactly why I bought the 2005 Excursion I have now and NOT an F150 like everyone thought I should've.

4. It's fun to drive, delivers great fuel economy, and looks just plain awesome.

5. Last but not least, WHY RUIN A GOOD THING?????? Keep your truck and don't set yourself up for regret.

 

Eh...I made that trade and I'm certainly not miserable. There's a difference between a truck that's allegedly good to tow 10,000 lbs and one that's actually good for it. A 2010 5.3L Silverado only makes 335 ft-lbs of torque, which is less than the 2V 5.4L ever did. Can you really expect that to pull a 10,000 lb trailer without lots of revs? Yeah, me neither.

The newer powertrains you're seeing out there are far superior to what's ever been offered before, from every manufacturer. That same 5.3L engine now makes 385 ft-lbs and is rated to tow 11,000 lbs. My current truck with it's little V6 makes a whopping 5 ft-lbs less than the V10 did in my Excursion. I've had trailers from 3,500-11,000 lbs behind it, and it outperforms the Excursion in every subjective and objective measure of towing prowess. It's towed 9-10K numerous times, and in such trim it never exceeds 3,000 RPM unless I want it to. That means up hills, down hills, on the highway or back roads it never revs like some of the older powertrains have to. And with the integrated brake controller and much tighter steering keeping that much weight controlled better than the Excursion could, and much easier than most would think with a half-ton truck.

Those who insist I'm blaspheming, take a look at THIS THREAD.

I'm not trying to say that the OP should go out and buy a half ton truck. Just that if he did, and chose with care, he should not be disappointed with it.

 

I knew you couldn't resist Tom....

The Ecoboost F150 seems to really be the only real exception to the rule. Which I failed to mention along with the fact that my neighbor was not used to a truck downshifting and needing regular throttle input to keep up.

I was between the Ecoboost, a 5.0 F150, and the current 2005 Excursion I have now. The 2005 Excursion won out because:

1. I got it for way less money

2. The room

3. The fact that I never could find a use for a truck other than saying "Hey I have a truck".

4. Not that the Ecoboost or 5.0 isn't, but I wanted something I could mod with good power potential, hence, the 6.0.

 

It is also worth mentioning that the Chevy 5.3 didn't make peak tq until about 3,700 rpm and had absolutely no low end power at all. I drove one with work that had to downshift to pull an empty truck up a hill and my 5.4 pulled loaded trailers up the same hill without downshifting.

 

Yea, my thoughts are if I were to get another truck, it'd be an Ecoboost F-150. I can't stand behind a Chevy truck even remotely. The only other truck I'd really consider would probably be a yellow 5.9 24v. But IMO, the F-250 is overall a nicer truck. The Dodge has a pretty crappy interior and they've been showing rust FAR earlier than Ford trucks. Like I said, if I got another truck it would need to be yellow. I don't really have the ambition to have a truck completely painted as it's pricey, not to mention I'd hate to do it on anything that costs a fair share of money as it devalues it. Also, I kind of want a truck that's not super nice, that way I don't feel bad using it as a truck or it being dirty.

I guess in the end I'm best sticking with what I have and working to make it even better. It is nice to have the only Amarillo around.

 

Screaming Yellow ended in 2006.

That is part of the reason I have the year I do.

Sean

 

You can always have the truck wrapped in a printed yellow or if there is yellow caste that might be available. At the end of the day, you can protect from light scratches or nicks due to the some of the wrap's protection. I have seen some of the newer laminates coming out for printed vehicle wrap. That stuff is even scratch resistant.

 

You have chosen wisely.

 

Problem with wrapping is that it's never really perfect. If I were to buy a newer truck that has a nice paint job I would feel terrible for stripping it to repaint it. Also, a GOOD wrap on a truck is going to be 3000+ dollars because of the materials and amount of real-estate you need to wrap. The thought of buying a 30,000+ dollar Ecoboost and having to put another 3000+ into it right away just to make it a color I want isn't very appealing. I would like to think the only vehicle I'd exchange my truck for is an F-150 Ecoboost.

I know without a doubt I still need a truck as I use the bed for scrap and used tires every week and it for sure has to be 4x4 for the snow and mud around here. The full 4 door setup gets used almost daily as well. Having an automatic is nice for those days I just want to drive home or tow something easy, plus manual trans is very hard to find these days. I'm sure an F-150 Ecoboost would tow what I need, but it's nice to always know if I need to tow something heavy I can. lol It seems like there really isn't another good replacement out there unless I go without it being yellow, which probably won't happen.