I've usually just gone the Lariat approach to ordering. But Ford is stacking the deck so you need to load up a truck to get certain options.

I don't care for the Moonroofs. Preferring the higher interior roof line. I'm a tall man and occasionally been known to wear a cowboy hat. And I just don't think I would use the moon roof enough to justify the extra $1000+

But if you want the retractable running boards, the PEP button start ignition, or the locking tailgate you have to get the Lariat Ultimate which includes the Moon Roof.

If you get the King Ranch or Platinum you spend a bunch of money on Ford 8" Wheels and Tires. I prefer to get after market 20x9 or 20x10 wheels. For the money saved by ordering plain wheels I can usually buy the aftermarket wheels I want. I hate to stack in the shed or try to sell on craiglist the Platinum wheels and hope I get anywhere close to my money back.

So which headlights really throw the most light? Are the LED lights brighter than the Halogen or are we spending a $1000 just for the light color or to say we have LED? How well do the LED lights work when driving in snow? do they put off enough heat to really melt snow and prevent it from sticking to the lenses.?

For those of you considering installing front facing LED light bars. Where are you going to install them? I put a 20" bar on my 2015 truck between the tow hooks. But a lot of the 2017s have the Adaptive Cruise radar located in that spot. So any thoughts on aux lighting if you have the adaptive cruise? Or do we just buy the LED headlamps and hope they throw out enough light for dark back country roads.

I see that the center console has a position to hide your key in or leave a spare key. Doesn't his kinda defeat the purpose. If you leave your spare/Key in that hidden spot, Anybody can still push the start button if the fob is inside the truck.

I ride horses a lot and often leave my keys hidden in the truck while riding. I use the door keypad to unlock when I return. Just don't want them in my pocket while I'm wearing chaps and in the saddle. Plus it reduces the chance of me loosing them somewhere on the mountain. How would I lock up the truck while leaving my key in the truck.

Same question for the locking tailgate. If I leave my spare key in that hiding place, Does that unlock the tailgate? I often leave tools in my bed under the Tonneau and being able to lock the tailgate is attractive to me.

I need to go spend an hour or two at the dealership looking at these trucks, but if I do, I might just be overtaken with the urge to buy one.

Give me your thoughts on which option are important and why you would use them. These trucks have lots of new safety features. Just not sure after 40 years of driving with out them, if I really need them.

 

I'll be ordering an 18 and started in the same place (Lariat) and the sunroof was a take it or leave it for me too. I saw the same thing with the packages... to get the stuff you really want, you have to take stuff you don't. Trying to selectively add a few options doesn't seem like a good deal either since the packages seem to offer a better value. After a few rounds of that, I was at a Platinum without the ultimate package which gives you a loaded truck without the sunroof. Maybe for 18 they'll package them differently though

 

I know you asked several questions, but the quadbeams are totally worth it. I'd recommend them to anyone.

 

I ended up worth he Lariat ultimate. For me it's the sweet spot. I was able to make a better deal with a truck that was coming in but if I ordered, likely the only thing I would change is the addition of roof marker lights. I would also add the 360 cameras and the high cab camera for hitching, but I don't need it now. Just got fifth prep.

LED are worth every penny they cost, you can't get the same lighting without spending some serious money. I don't need adaptive cruise, cruise is good for me. I have the BLIS, I use it sometimes. I like the safety features of this cab over the earlier model line.

Others will have to chime in about their height and sunroof clearance, I am 6 feet tall, I can easily use one with where I have the seat adjusted. Having the power tilt, power extend steering, power mirrors and memory settings and easy exit make this all work well once you find the right settings.

King ranch without the sunroof might be the sweet spot for you, really depends on how much technology you want and will use. I ended up going with what was on this truck, rather than wait to order, but I almost ended up ordering when the deal fell through because they couldn't get it for me. Hind sight being 20/20, I would change much, I now like the sunroof, and don't care about the cab lights.

Oh yeah, and with all this technology, I ended up adding warranty coverage. This truck is way more complicated than my 2005 diesel, so it was a hint of peace of mind.

I am at 4000 km and absolutely love the truck. Can't wait to tow, can't wait to upgrade to a fiver, but we will see.

 

I am 6'2" and if I lower the seat I have a ton of head room with the moon roof so I see no conflict there. Plus, I love the roof so I can't help talk you out of that.

The LED's are ABSOLUTELY worth the expense. I recently posted pics in my "Today" thread comparing them to my $650 Rigid 20" light bar. With the high beams on, they throw just about as much light! The only downside to them is you have to order BLIS if you want the headlights as the LED tail lights include the BLIS sensors. So you can't have one without the other. I got the BLIS even though I didn't want it as the headlights are just that good.

For an additional LED's, I found these that are custom made to fit the 2017 grill. After some night driving, I've decided that they're really not necessary due to how good the OEM LED's are. I may get them someday anyway. Here's a link. T-Rex Grilles Z415471-KIT: ZROADZ Grille Insert LED Mount Kit for 2017-Up Ford F250/F-350 Super Duty | JEGS

The center console area is not to store a spare key. It's the area to put a new key to program it to sync with the truck. If you leave a key in the truck, it will unlock when someone touches the door handles and will start if they push the button. No way to leave a key in the truck.

 

Go test drive both the halogen and LED at night and decide. I could never go back to halogen headlamps after having LED they are that much better. If you upgrade to LED's then ALL the lights on the truck are upgraded to LED which last damn near forever.


Those of us who did not want moon roofs are pretty much screwed, you have to spend thousands more on a KR or Platinum to opt out of the thing which is stupid to me. You also have to get the ultimate package before they let you upgrade to the LED headlamps. And you have to accept BLIS which I find utterly useless.


I ended up with a Lariat Ultimate, I wasn't willing to give up things I wanted to avoid the moon roof and BLIS.

 

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback. A $1000 here and a $1000 there and pretty soon we are over $70,000 for a truck. I think I was $40,000 for my first 2000 F350, I put it on a 60 month loan and made double payments so it was paid off in less than 3 years. Ford has added a lot of feature that I love in my currant truck. Blue Tooth, navigation, Center screen with back up cameras, heated and cooled seats, USB ports and 120volt inverter plugs. I guess I'll become as dependent on these new options in time.

The dealer did say they increased the head room an inch or so with the dual panel moon roof over the old style moon roof.

Good to know the LED headlights are worth it. I drag horses home from some pretty remote back country location late at night, I need all the help I can get seeing Moose, elk and deer on the road in time to slow down.

 

Quadbeam LEDs are the must have option IMO.

I'm bringing my new 17 out w me in July... and it (now) has Black Stainless license plate frames: "HEAVY DIESEL"

Just for your nephew

 

He has the Plasma cutter in his shop. He can probably make you up a Truck Norris emblem or a TopSpeed plate holder in a couple of minutes on the plasma table.

 

I will second the led lights are worth their weight in gold. Especially if you change the truck settings in Forscan that allows the fogs to be on with highbeams. That gives you 6 individual forward facing lights at varying ranges combined with led style bars and don't forget the mirror spot lights although they are mostly a novelty but they do work. This truck puts out a tremendous amount of light from the factory beams.

 

So do the LED lights project farther down the road or just lite up everything closer with more light.

I guess before the days get too long and daylight savings times changes over, I'd better go test drive one of these systems and see just how much better the lights are in the dark.

And does anybody have any experience with how they do on a snow night? do they produce enough heat to melt of sticky snow or do the lenses coat up quickly?

 

With all the talk of the led lights and how much light they put out, is there any consideration for the drivers coming at you? Are you constantly having lights flipped at you because they think you are high beaming them when you arent?

 

I drove my new Lariat home in a snow storm, LEDs on, auto high beam on, no snow melting issues, because the actual housing is small. No issues with oncoming drivers, they Are DOT, legal, their cutoff on low is very accurate and well adjusted down. Because the top beam is low, they are angled somewhat down so the full intensity of light is pointing down. Because they are a housing designed for the LED light, there isn't the scatter that aftermarket or use of LED bulbs would produce in a housing not designed for it.

 

Yes they project farther down the road, the high beams like freaking a quarter mile. Its amazing how far out you will get a reflection off a road sign.

I am particularly picky when it comes to headlamps. Here's my ratings on a scale of 1 to 10...

Halogen 5 they suck.

2017 SD LED 8, huge improvement over halogen, bright crisp white light, low beams are aimed low, they don't reach farther than Halogen but what is illuminated is crisp and white and bright. They do better illuminating the left and right sides of the road than halogen. Our local deer like to jump the freak right out in front of you so this is important to me. I run my fog lamps with the low beam always, that helps. I almost never get flashed by other drivers.

2013 F150 HID 10, these were the best headlamps I ever owned. They lit up the entire road and dang like 50 feet either side of the road, the high beam was amazing. The only thing is, I got flashed A LOT they obviously tended to blind oncoming drivers.


The 2017 SD LED's in the snow work great visibility wise. I had no issues with snow and ice build up through several snow storms but I wasn't driving for hours on the highway in a storm.

 

Thanks on the Plate tip (Top_Speed1 would be sweet!), but we don't wanna be a pain however when we visit Heavy D's shop!. I will have this suggestion for them on their selling website however... they have no license plate frames at all!?
Diesel Brothers, Diesel Sellerz etc...

Back to lighting...If you don't go with the factory LED, ask your nephew?. I watch all the shows and they are always doing HID or LED mods, I'm sure he could whip up exactly what you desire! (prob cheaper than OEM too!)