Good morning gentlemen (and ladies)

Been a few years out of the Ford family and forum, very happy to be jumping back in. On that note, looking for some input on my upcoming purchase...

My first truck was an 06 F150 single cab long bed xl with the 4.6 - loved that truck, had it for 5 years and put 100k+ on it. Second truck was an 06 F250 crew cab long bed Fx4 with the v10, served me well but was not fun to drive empty.
Just put a deposit down on a 2011 F150 super cab long bed xlt with the 5.0, which I'm very much looking forward to owning and driving. Seems to be everything I've been looking for, and a great cross between work and personal truck. Has all the high tech goodies I could want (power everything, backup camera, convenience and plus packages, etc.) while still having the vinyl floors and heavy duty package for work.
Has just over 100k on the dash, and seems to be in good shape. Getting a good deal on it, and the dealer has been a pleasure to work with so far.
My only real concern is the rust - which, owning trucks in Florida and California, has never been an issue before. Pretty clear that there is surface rust on sections of the frame, and dealer told me about two small bubbles in the rear quarter panel and on the rear passenger door, both of which were repaired.
Looking for input on the truck in general, and advise on the rust situation.
Also, was surprised that the 5.0 didn't seem to have any noticable increase in power from my old 4.6, but then again neither did the '13 Ecoboost on his lot that I test drove. Granted, my 06 had intake, exhaust, and programmer, but still i was expecting more from these "new" engines.

Attached are pics of all three trucks, happy to hear any and all feedback...

 

 

Thank you sir, definitely looking forward to bringing it home.
Hoping for some tips/input regarding the rust, and anything particular I should look out for with the new setup. There are no unusual noises coming from the engine bay, and everything seems to be in good running order.
Thanks again for any and all feedback on the new rig...

 

You mentioned it was repaired, do you see any exposed surface rust anywhere else?

Lots of us use Fluid Film with great success. Generally it has to be applied once a year, and seems to do a really great job preventing rust.

Check out this thread:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...pic-heavy.html

 

Thanks again for the reply.
Looked at that thread, seems to be great at rust prevention. Still have a question about the remediation though - seems like there's a decent amount of surface rust at a few spots on the frame, and it looks like the truck got a cheap undercoat without taking care of the underlying issue.
Thinking about doing a full cleaning and treatment of the underbody, wondering if there are any specific products that come recommended for this kind of action.
Also looking for tips on easy performance upgrades to the 5.0 - on the 4.6 the was the intake mod and some other small things that helped, haven't been able to find much on this engine so far.
All feedback is appreciated...

 

Congrats on the new truck! Don't see many HDPP units.
Not a whole heck of a lot you can do for "easy" performance mods on the 5.0. An intake will make noise, but the factory paper filter and intake will already flow more than the engine needs at WOT and is considered a "Cold air intake". Same goes for a cat-back exhaust. Love my Borla system but did squat for performance. If you spring for a full system including headers, you will see some gains there but be prepared to drop some serious coin.

A tuner might be your best bet to wake up the 5.0 a bit. Several guys here have them - they might be able to chime in with some additional info.

With HDPP you already have 3.73 gears I believe so not much improvement to be had there.