when i get 17 which is in about a year im getting a new truck. i want either a superduty with a V10 or psd auto 4X4.or a dakota or ranger auto 4X4. i will be pulling a 17 to 20 ft. bass boat. i really want the superduty but its expensive what should i get

 

Get an F150 Fx4. The tow rating is 9500 pounds. If your boat is heavier than that, its not a bass boat, its the Titanic II.

 

My ranger pulls my dad's 17 foot boat around town pretty easy. It's a little scarier trying to get it up to speed on the highway though. I'd say the dakota with a v-8 if you are going to be taking it on a long hike. Otherwise a Ranger with a 4.0 I think could do it if it's just around town. But that's for the smaller trucks.

I agree with rlh too. A 150 will do it without you even knowing it's there. But if you want a big ol' truck I'd go with the v-10 superduty. Just my 2 cents though.

BTW: What is the weight of the boat + trailer. That is the big thing, not just how long the boat is.

 

Yes, give the Power Stroke a little more time to get the bugs out before you get one.

For the F-250, I'd go with the V-10, its got great power, though your gas mileage will suffer.

The 4.0L Ranger should handle that boat fine. I believe it has a 5 spd auto, correct me if I'm wrong, Ranger experts. The Dakota is pretty good, just I understand that they don't get all that great of gas mileage.

But I think the best one would be what was suggested above, an F-150 5.4L XLT or FX-4.

 

I had a 2003 Dakota and got rid of it. The 3.9 V6 was a wussy compared to the 3.2 in my Rodeo. I tow a 3500 pound travel trailer with the Rodeo. I didn't even bother putting the new Hidden Hitch receiver hitch on the Dakota.

Anyone need an unused hitch and t-one type harness for a Dakota . . . never been used.

 

I agree with MW95F250, the Dakota is very hard on gas. I don't know about you, but when I was 17 I had to scrape up change for gas. So that would be something to consider. Obviously, if money is no problem go for the bigger truck. But if you have to stick with a smaller truck go ahead and get one that's fuel efficient as well (if you can even call the Ranger that).

 

You say you want a SuperDuty with a V10, or PSD huh?
Or you might want a Ranger or Dakota?....

You say you would prefer the SD but it's more money.
But what about a SD with 5.4? Or even a half ton with any V8 engine? Surely both these choices would be alot closer to what you say you really want, than a Ranger or Dakota could ever hope to be...lol.

Your sixteen, and already planning on a brand new truck for next year? Man, I was glad to be able to drive the wrecks I got in at that age...
Hey if you've got the money more power to you...lol, but I just don't see how you can be too serious about buying serious rigs like the V10 or PSD, and then pick two mini trucks as your runner ups! OK -the Dakota is a mid size, dosent change anything.

Even if you do have the money, or if your Mom and Dad are rolling in it, and want to do a nice thing like this for you, I think you should relax and take the next year to decide what you really want, because as of right now you dont seem too sure- and as expensive as a 1 ton diesel can be, the initial cost is a bargain when compared to buying a truck your not satisfied with, just to have a new truck- and then end up losing money on it later to get the one you really wanted to begin with.

Good luck guy.

 

You can get a used dodge 1500 with the 318 or 360 pretty cheap they do not hold the value quite as well and if you get one with about 70,000mi it should have a fresh trans. in it by then.

 

I would have to agree with above on the F150. I have a F150 XLT scab Flareside 5.4 3v 4X4 3.73LS w/tow package. I dont think there is a bass boat out there that it couldnt haul and not even know its there. Plus the ride is so smooth and quiet. You also would not have any problem on any of the boat ramps getting the boat out of the water. Just think about it a little longer do some research and you will figure out what you want. Good luck to you.

 

Yes, it will suffer greatly...in the neighborhood of 10-11 city MPG. However, I can with first hand knowledge tell you that the Triton V-8 in a Superduty only gets about 1 MPG better than the V-10....only it doesn't have NEAR the power. The V-8 is a dog when put in the Superduty trucks. They're way too heavy for it. From what I understand it isn't much better in the F-150's.

Just about any truck will pull a bass boat. What matters is how WELL you want to pull it (and stop it), what kind of gas mileage you want to get while pulling it and how you want to look like when you're pulling that boat around.

Personally, I'd get a diesel from Ford or Dodge......or I'd get a 1/2 ton Chevy (or maybe a new Nissan Tritan??). That's just me though. [Just to clarify, I would not get a 1/2 ton Chevy or Nissan because I would not get a gasser. But, if I WERE to get a gasser, it certainly would not be a Ford or Dodge....with the exception of maybe another Ford V-10. Gas mileage on both is lousy and in my experience the Chevy Vortec has more UUMPH to it. Having gotten a taste of diesel though, I won't be buying another gasser for a VERY long time.]

 

From what I understand, (and I have quite a bit of personal experience), the 5.4 does just fine in the SD's. I've driven one quite a bit that is a reg cab long bed SD 4X4 with a 5.4 auto and it runs really good. A lot better than I thought it was going to, to be quite honest. It also has been getting about 15-16 mpg on short trips. Not really city, but not highway either. I think it could get 17-18 on the highway and would probably go down to around 13 in town. I don't drive slow, either.

 

Yes, I have driven a F-250 4x2 5.4 SuperCab Shortbed auto, and the 5.4 does quite well in it, for that configuration. I pulled a 18' 150hp runabout (about 4000 lbs.) from Chesapeake Bay back home (around 200 miles), it did pretty good, it did fine in Overdrive, and would pass if neccessary got around 12 mpg loaded, 14-15 unloaded. However, I would not like to have it in a CC or SC longbed.

 

I have to agree tha I wouldn't want one if I were pulling large loads every day. And I mean something over 4000 lbs or so. Anything that small or smaller and the 5.4 does fine. It will pull larger things but it won't be as much fun. It will handle it just fine though. This truck will pull a fertilizer spreader once a year that weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 8000 lbs with fertiizer in it. Of course it won't pull as easy as if it had a V10 or PSD, but for the other 99.9% of the time I use it, it is more than adequate.

 

Pulling a bass boat is no major feat for any modern truck, even a Ranger. I have used mine to pull Dad's 18.5' V-8 tri-hull. Dad uses a 96 Explorer with the same 4.0 OHV as mine. I'm sure his boat weighs more than a bass boat. I think the newer SOHC 4.0 would be even better, especially on the highway. I have heard they don't have quite the low end grunt of the old OHV but have more torque overall and don't run out of breath like the OHV does at highway speeds. Unless you need a Super Duty, an F-150 is probably a better choice. A Super Duty seems to be a bit overkill for light pulling like that, not to mention half the gas mileage of a Ranger. But it comes down to what you really want. If you can afford it, and a Super Duty is what you want, go for it, but no matter what way you go you will end up with a good truck that will be capable of towing your boat.

 

My neighbor has a F-250 4x4 5.4 auto. Get gets maybe 1 mpg better than my F-350 4x4 V10 5-speed. For the difference in power, I will gladly live with the minute difference in fuel mileage.

On a related note, my dads F-350 4x2 PSD (7.3) auto only gets around 2 mpg on average better than my V10.