Hey guys,

Over a year ago, I asked you a question on which truck to buy, and you have been really helpful in your responses here: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...full-time.html We had some health issues we had to deal with, so we postponed the truck purchase till now. Well, the time has come to pull the trigger, and while we decided 100% on the Ford (vs. GM or Ram), we are not sure which trim to buy. So here goes.

We are early retirees living in Colorado, and until the house sells next year, the truck will be our DD and will do lots of short trips (groceries etc.). Next spring/summer after the closing, it’s our full time vehicle towing a 12-14K (fully loaded) 5th wheel trailer all over the country, but mostly here in the western mountains, and mostly on forest roads/BLM land/off grid/state parkes/NPs (you get the idea). I expect roughly equal split between driving empty and pulling a trailer. Never owned any truck before, hence questions that may seem stupid to some of you.

What we do know is that we want diesel SRW F350. Not sure about bed length, can go either way, would prefer 160 WB for off road use, but 176 WB comes with 48G fuel tank and it’s supposedly better for towing. Just let me know if I am making a mistake to even consider going with a short bed.

Here is our main dilemma – which trim level? Wife and I both prefer cloth vs. leather, so we like STX or XLT over Lariat. Lariat is nicer no doubt, and comes with some handy features like console, dual zone climate control, and memory seats, but at a much higher cost and decreased payload capacity. We thought we would go with XLT, but after further research and several test drives, we realized XLT does not offer anything we care about over STX. What we want:

360 cameras
rapid heat
SYNC 3
tailgate step
remote start
5th wheel prep
18’ wheels
AT tires.

All of that is an option on STX, and none of that comes standard on XLT. About the only thing that would be nicer on XLT for us is driver seat height adjustability, but the way it comes standard on STX fits me well, and wife is fine driving it those few times. She likes passenger cloth seat better than Lariat, so she is perfectly fine with STX.

OTOH, Lariat is supposedly better for resale should we decide to upgrade/change in the future. So I ran some numbers, looked at the deals available now, and visited used truck dealer lots, and came to the following conclusion: these trucks hold their value really well. So well, in fact, that used trucks I see at Carmax and other used lots are priced same or HIGHER than exact same truck new, irregardless of brand or trim level. And they sell so fast the inventory changes almost daily. I have no idea who buys these trucks, but it makes zero sense to me to buy used, especially diesel with all that EPA equipment. For example, 2017 Lariat with value pckg. 30K miles sold at $63K after just 4 days on the lot. 2017 XL with 60K miles sold for $50K.

Either trim I can get new for less with all available incentives. For example, I can get STX for about $47K, Lariat value for about $60K, Lariat ultimate for about $63K (plus or minus, of course). So finally the question for all of you expert truck owners:

1. Long bed or short bed?
2. Is well equipped STX a bad idea (for resale)?
3. Is XLT at additional $5-8K cost worth considering?
4. Is Lariat at additional $10-13K better resale option?
5. Anything else to consider?

Thanks guys! Feel free to ask questions and/or offer suggestions we have not thought about. It will be our biggest vehicle purchase ever, so we don’t want to make a mistake we would regret later.

 

Here's how my '19 F250 CCSB 6.2 STX is optioned: FX4, Power Equipment Package, 4.30 E-Locker, cloth seating/carpet, SYNC 3, Ultimate Trailer Tow Camera System, Blind Spot Information System, 275/70/18 OWL, rear defrost, LED lighting package, Upfitter switches, remote start, Ford Spray-in bedliner, and tailgate step. Almost everything a XLT has plus some but about $3K+ less.

 

I would go with the 8' bed if towing a 5th. If the seats and other comfort items of the STX are good then go with the STX. I personally don't care for all the bells and whistles that the higher trim levels offer. The truck will only go down in value.

 

I go with the XLT with the premium package to get the power fold mirrors , power rear window and the center console and now for the tremor package
Now that I have the power folding mirrors I couldn't be without them. I have never had a truck with a rear window that opened. even my 78 GMC had that.

The SXT is a lot of truck for the money . Buy what ever makes you happy.

 

I can't comment on most of those, but let's throw a few things out there to consider with the Long vs short bed:

1) Tank size (you already mentioned this) but 48 vs 34 is an extra 40% (141%) of fuel. You're looking at a diesel, so let's round that to an average number of 15 MPG, that represents an extra (15*14) = 210 miles further per tank. On my 6.2, with the 34 tank, I'm looking for a gas station after 200ish miles when towing, so basically, that's like an extra tank of fuel of me.

2) You mentioned you haven't owned a truck before, which means you probably also don't have much experience pulling that fifth wheel you want. This means with a short bed, you're probably going to be looking at some kind of slider. I was the same way, as this is my first fiver. My Demco Autoslider is about 300 lbs. With a long bed, I could have gotten a much simpler hitch, weighing under 100lbs as you don't need a slider with those.

 

Love my shortbed STX and pulls my 5th just fine

BUT if I was full timing I'd load her up with all the creature comforts - definitely would want long bed, dual zone AC, and LEDs

 

I was debating STX, XLT and Lariat also. Even with a great deal (20% off MSRP or so) the base Lariat would have been more than we wanted to spend. Ended up going XLT over STX mainly for the center console. That was the one must have for me that couldn’t be had in the STX. Very happy I went with the center console and could never go back to the bench seat partial console, especially when using the truck for longer trips. We have used all 6 cup holders in the console many times.

 

My lessons learned from buying an STX for pulling a travel trailer:
—STX trim is actually fine enough most the time, but the headlights are horrible.
—STX trim is fine again, but these are big trucks. In tight spaces, extra cameras would be a plus.
— STX or Lariat, the trucks are built to a minimal $33k price point. You spent $70k on a Lariat? So what...the doors don’t line up just like a $35k truck and the shocks will blow in 10k miles just the same.
— I should have bought the long bed. The small tank is horrible when pulling. We’re always looking for fuel.
— I should have bought a long bed. We’re always filling it up and wanting more space.
— I should have bought a SRW F350. Bed capacity with the Diesel engine falls short.

If you don’t need the 6th seat position (I do) and you have the money, get a long bed F350 Lariat.

 

1. Long bed or short bed? YES, drives much nicer than short bed. My one significant regret on current 17
2. Is well equipped STX a bad idea (for resale)? NO
3. Is XLT at additional $5-8K cost worth considering?
4. Is Lariat at additional $10-13K better resale option? Dual climate and heated and cooled seats are really nice.
5. Anything else to consider?

 

Lariat was only 3500 more on my 6.2 ccsb build with options so the wife said just get the one with leather already installed.

 

Our 2017 F350 was an XLT Premium. we really disliked the cloth seats, the front passenger seat offered few adjustments, we were always fiddling with the manual single-zone AC and heat, and the audio system was atrocious. Adaptive steering was not available for this truck configuration, and sharp turns required a whole lotta crankin’.

Among other features, our 2019 Lariat Ultimate has pretty comfortable 10-way power front seats with decent lumbar support, the automatic dual-zone A/C and heat is pretty much “set and forget”, and the audio system is quite good, IMHO. This truck also has adaptive steering. These features make for a less stressful environment and therefore, IMHO, a safer driving experience.

HTH,
Jim / crewzer

 

Thanks guys for all helpful replies, please keep them coming! It’s reassuring to hear from people that been there, done that, and are willing to share lessons learned.

Let me comment on all posts here vs. each individually.

You convinced me on the long bed. It definitely will be more practical for our purpose, and I will just have to adapt when we are off the pavement.

The resale issue I brought up for 2 reasons:

1. If we decide to go with STX (or XLT), and find after a year or two that we miss creature comforts like dual climate zone and memory seats, we would want to upgrade to Lariat, in which case resale value plays important role.

2. I have seen many threads here commenting on better resale value of Lariat vs. XLT or STX, as well as diesel having better resale value vs. gas. That’s why I checked kbb.com, as well as used dealer lots and Carmax, and I found it not to be true (at least where I live – metro Denver). They all seem to depreciate roughly equally percentage wise, and they all sell very quickly at very high values.

I understand we could just bite the bullet and spend more on Lariat now. Issue with that is that she really hates leather seats, and would just cover hers up. I don’t mind them, but why pay more for something neither one of us is crazy about? The 2 features we would like to have and cannot get on STX are console and dual zone AC. The way I see it going to XLT for $5K more gets me console, and going to Lariat for another $5K gets me dual zone AC. Just doesn’t seem to make financial sense to me. I figured I can put in console later on for about $1K (based on some threads here) if we really miss it. So dual zone AC would cost me roughly $9K – not a good value. Plus, not sure about your wives, but mine is always way colder than me, and with both current cars having dual zone AC, she constantly closes her vents or points them at me, so the dual zone seems like a waste anyway.

But again, if STX is awful on resale value vs Lariat in your experience, we would strongly consider Lariat from the get go. Is there anything else I might be missing? From what I saw:

Power folding mirrors – yes, nice for sure, but it’s not a must have for us.

Power sliding rear window – I have no need for that, I actually prefer solid window for various reasons.

Console – yes, we like it too, but the jump seat comes with cup holders, plus there are 2 more on the floor. So it’s enough to start with, and I can always add it later if I see one on ebay etc.

Better headlights – my understanding is that they are the same between STX, XLT and Lariat. You can upgrade to LEDs by selecting Lariat Ultimate first. Is that incorrect? Are STX headlamps worse than those on XLT and base Lariat?

Thanks again guys!

 

IIRC, for MY2017 through 19, the SuperCab was not available above Lariat Value trim, so that locked out optional LED lights.

Might need to double-check and/or see what’s available for 2020.

HTH,
Jim / crewzer

 

Regarding the Console, I wish we had gone with the console on our Lariat. Two things I didn't know I lost by going with the bench seat:

1) Rear heated seats. No console, no heated seats in the rear. My kids constantly complain about the lack, especially since they have rear heated seats in the minivan.
2) Rear AC ducts. No console, no rear ac. Another one my kids complain about. I basically have to adjust all the vents to blow past me, and crank them way cold, to get any AC to the back seat.

So, take those into consideration as well. It's not just a matter of the jump seat vs having a console there.

 

Can’t you get the stx and then install the console and save significant coin?