As a long time poster on this site this is my first post under the F150 Forum. Since 2003 I've had a F250 Crew Cab Short Box V10 Sport that I've loved from day one, even more so since I completed a recent 4.56 gear change this past summer since it's a dedicated tow vehicle. Well, due to working for a great company I was told to go get myself a new company vehicle of my choice. I started by test driving a GMC All Terain that was loaded up with all the goodies and powered by the hotrod 6.2L V8. Although a very nice truck and a beutifull black and chrome color scheme, after driving a new F150 Ecoboost my mind was made up. Took delivery of a 2011 F150 Crew Cab Short box 4x4 Offroad with the lariat limited, offroad, and chrome package with the upgraded bucket seats center counsole shifter and so on. So far, everytime I get in this truck I like it more and more. It's by far and away the nicest best driving rig I've driven and this goes against some of the newer buicks which I feel are a premium automobile! It's as quite as a luxury car, the power is fantastic, the options seem endless, and the quality with fit and finsh is superb! I was feeling that I should have driven a newer dodge just to give them a fair shake however at this point I can't fathom that they would have anything on this F150. Oh yeh, the color scheme is the two tone painted metalic bronze over beige. Personally, it's my favorite color that they currently offer. Anyway, kudos to all that have had a similar experience to mine, I'm very happy with my decision and look forward to putting some miles behind the wheel. I had no idea what i've been missing out on.

 

Congrats on the new ride, good to hear all the positives. Hoping to get to pull the trigger soon on a similiar truck.

 

Welcome tot he F-150 forums and thanks for a great post!

 

That's awesome and I can't believe no one has said...

 

Congrats on the new truck! I had the same experience, I took the truck for a ride and i was sold! I now recommend to anyone dont go to the dealer for a test drive unless you are ready to purchase the truck that day!

 

Well sorry to leave you guys hanging but I've been busy driving my new rig. I've now logged almost 600 miles on the Odometer over the past three days due to a busy week and know for a fact that I made the right choice. Everytime I climb in I like it more and more.

First I'll list the few complaints I have. At 5'8" tall I don't exactly have my head in the clouds and I find it a little tough reaching over the box side to grab stuff out of the box, If I had opted for the long box the side steps would have been a nice feature. I've been very impressed with the Ecoboost however It does seem to have a performance difference from time to time with it seeming to pull harder one time than the next. I haven't quite put my finger tip on it yet but I suspect it's just myself learning the turbos. After a walk around I noticed they no longer have fender liners around the rear wheel wells. I know a few years ago GM didn't have them and Ford did. Now apparently they flip flopped because the GM All Terrain I drove had them. Lastly, while hauling a number of Gate Valves and water fittings the bed the backend felt a squirmy at highway speed if you swerved a little. It rode fine, and didn't really sag so it may be the tires or the fact I'm used to my F250 or my dads dually. More than likely this is the case as it's been quite sometime since I've hauled anything with a 1/2 tons (probably 8 years or so).

Now for the good. The fit an finish of the truck is really good. All the gaps are the same and line up flush both inside and outside. There are no rattles, squeaks, or odd noises at all. The cabin is very quite at highway speed even when the wind is blowing. I love the Sync system even though it's given me some minor fits which I'm learning as I go. When I'm on the road I still have to conduct business and with my phone/email contacts linked together already the sync system picks up all of my numbers so long as I can remember how I typed them into my phone. Even using the dial comand it hasn't missed a number yet. I really like it! Something not as noticable untill sometime behind the wheel is the electric steering. It's something that took me a while to notice becasue it was setup so well. It turns with ease in a parking lot yet has great feed back on the highway. Some of the best things about this truck are the things that you don't notice right away. The Ecoboost is pretty impressive both power and mileage. On the highway the mileage is always above 18 at 70 mph. I've seen as high as 23 with a tail wind and as low as 16 with a head wind. This of course is based on what the info center is telling me as I've only filled it up once! The total average so far is over 17 with all combine mileage including idling and town driving along with a few WOT sprints. I'm very happy with it however I do think the 3.55s or higher gears will certainly increase mileage and the mileage does drop quickly when you start to put your foot into it. The power is great. Passing a Semi on a two lane road I hit the speed limiter as I reached the nose of the truck. Making the same manuver around a car puts you at around 90 mph. The ol V10 pulls hard but I've never hit the speed limiter passing a truck. I could go on and on about the good points but I think everyone gets a pretty good impression of my experience. One last thing, as a person not so fond of leather seating I have found I really like the Cooled seats, I use these more than the heaters even up here in fidgid ND.

I'll try and post a picture after I wash it later today, although it's not bad it certainly isn't as clean as a new truck should be.

 

Great post!
As for that deep box and being able to reach stuff, NFab has come out with a wheel to wheel 3 step nerf bar:
http://www.n-fab.com/products/sfID1/.../productID/160

They are kinda pricey, but really nice.

 

Those aren't a bad idea but it's kind of hard to take off the $600 ford nerf bars that come as part of the chrome package. I'll just put up with the reach as I'm still pretty limber!

 

$600? WTF? Gotta love those Ford items...you'd think they were made of gold.

 

Actually it's worse, retail is $695!

 

Ha! As the guy at the shop I go to says "They sure are proud of 'em, aren't they".
He likes to use that saying when I'm shopping his prices against my internet findings. I usually end up ordering from the 'net.

 

Did I hear you mention that you're buying me a set of those for Christmas?? Maybe I was just hearing what I wanted to hear... Those are high on my list of wants for my truck. Gotta wait until spring when the money tree out back blooms.

 

Keep dreaming Brad! I'm trying to figure out a way to con the wife into replacing my boards for a set of NFab's polished stainless steps. Would anyone like to come "steal" mine from the '06 for a good price

 

I'm right there with you Chandler. I showed my wife the N-Fabs. "Look at those. They have a step to reach into the bed, etc, etc." The response, "yea, ok. I think they're ugly." WTF?

 

These look great.
Do you guys know if they are a bolt on / no drill installation for the 6.5' bed?