The key word being "good" alignment shop. Such a shop can also improve the toe settings to compensate for local roads. I would just talk to them first and let them know what you're trying to accomplish. If they know what they're doing they will speak with knowledge and confidence. If, however they stare blankly and blink a lot, move on.

 

to me the steering isn't horrible, its just slow and makes it seem like you are driving a very large vehicle mine is tight and firm just slow. I am surprised something so simple ford could have messed up on. I thought I was the only one who thought the steering on these trucks was really slow but its everyone pretty much.

you wanna talk about horrible steering my '02 dodge, now that was a school bus turn the wheel from 10-2 and nothing happened. the truck also had a little bit of a wander as it went down the road, so it was something to you kinda had to work at to steer not to mention the ratio was granny slow much slower than my ford. brand new the 02 had worse steering than my old '93 dodge with 125k miles and a wore out front end. that was just the nature of those vintage of trucks it wasn't because something was bad its just how they were. however overall one of the best trucks I owned very reliable.

ford knows how to get steering right I have an 07 mustang GT and it has the best steering of any vehicle I have driven, its quick, drum tight, gives me a great feel and has a little resistance to it so it doesn't turn TOO easy. all that together makes a turning and jumping on the freeway with the throttle down and car sideways easy.

 

not trying to start an argument... but maybe some trucks came from the factory with a different alignment than others? My steering feels fine - exactly like I would expect a 3/4 ton truck to feel. Plenty of response, quick to turn... I've never once thought there was anything amiss. Maybe it's because I've owned so many various sportscars, and I'm expecting it to be drastically different? I dunno...

Anyone local to DFW having this issue and want to compare trucks?

 

My steering is nice and firm, its just that my house has a better turning radius than my long bed (yes I knew this before I bought a long bed).

I would also have liked them to put in a power converter that can be used for power tools, not just able charge a computer or cell phone, that can be done from the 12 volt power sources. After all, this is a work truck so why not be able to use work tools.

 

No argument. I screwed up my steering when I leveled the front end 2 inches. That certainly wasn't Ford's fault. That effectively zero'd out the caster angle and turned my steering into feeling like a shopping cart. My alignment guys were very familiar with this situation and suggested I increase the caster angle over the factory settings just a bit to improve the steering feel. They also modified the toe settings to compensate for the severe crown on our local roads. When I went into the shop, the steering was horrible, when I left, it was very nice.

 

After driving my 05 long box for 4 years I thought the 11 truck felt like a sports car.

 

I still have my '05 shortbed. When I get into that truck the steering is as tight as could be. I never had it alligned and it still goes straight if you let off of the wheel. I do not like the feel of the '11. It feels a little loose to me. I have not measured it but I think the wheel is bigger in the '11. One thing that is minor is that although I like the looks of the new wheel better I prefer the functionality of the old wheel-when I turn it with my fingers.
I don't really notice a difference between the two in turning radius.

 

All I've ever owned in my life are Bronco's and F-250's. I think the steering feels good on the '11s.
That being said, I definately think a bigger inverter would be nice. I wonder about retrofitting a 1000 watt job in there somehow.
What bugs me most about this truck is the way the traction control turns back on and the rear diff unlocks at 25mph. A lot of wheel hop too.

 

The steering on mine feels tight enough, not loose or sloppy, just the ratio is a bit slow. It's particularly noticable steering through the roundabouts. I also have an '03 Dodge 3500 CC LB dually and the steering is quite a bit quicker so it doesn't feel so awkward navigating around the roundabouts.

 

Mine drives so much better than my similar 2004 I guess I do not notice a problem...

 

This is an 8,000 lb vehicle with recirculating-ball steering and a live axle instead of IFS. You will not find rack-and-pinion on a 4x4 HD pickup.

Because of this, unless you design a HD rack-and-pinion steering system and ditch the front axle for a much tighter IFS setup, this thing will ALWAYS handle like a bus.

We bought these because we wanted trucks; to expect it to handle like a car isn't realistic.

No you're not. You assume a lot of things considering how much information is out there if you simply look.

2011 Ford F-Series Super Duty Pickup First Drive

 

Headlights on top, turn signals on bottom, please. I know it's only about 8"
difference center to center, but the difference between my '05 and '09 was huge.
Not as many shadows on the road when your headlights are closer to your line of sight.
I suppose I could go the the '70s look and get a roll bar with half a dozen KC lights.
I've been searching for an aftermarket reflector assembly, so far no luck.

 

And your house probably doesn't bounce at 40 MPH, either (sorry Thom, couldn't resist).

Ditto. Give us an option for a real inverter of 1500 or 2000 watts.

Steering doesn't bother me, but if the springs on the '11 F250 are as soft as they were on my '05 F250, they're way too soft. Even on the F350 they're too soft with a real load (2K+ LBS) on them. My '89 F350 drives and rides much better with a heavy load than my '11 F350 does, and not significantly different empty.

Other things:

Give us a real driver-controllable Jake brake (although I can see why they might be hesitant to do that for the average driver).

Leather quality seems to have gotten worse, not better, than previous Fords I've had. At least in the way it looks and feels.

Put the rear cab light back in ceiling of the Supercab.

More space in the locking lower console.

Move the 4x4 transfer switch so it can be seen by a normal-sized driver. Did they use the same 4'9" tall driver model they used when they designed the instrument cluster for the '94 Mustang?

Figure out how to do the old man pole on the tailgate while still allowing a flat surface.

Otherwise, and even in spite of the few complaints, I love my '11.

Joe

 

Add functionality for the keypad like:

Option for windows to roll up and lock doors. Maybe something like 7/8 & 9/0 doors lock (like today), 5/6 & 7/8 windows up and doors lock.

Maybe even a different sequence to fold in mirrors. 3/4 & 5/6 windows up, doors lock and mirrors fold in.

Upon entering the entry code the mirrors fold out and doors unlock. Maybe an alternate code to leave mirrors in and just unlock the doors.

Just seems like it would be a fairly easy thing to do, but...

 

Left myself wide open for that one...