I'm certain you are right about the tires. In fact, I have an 88 Bronco with Michelin LTX's and that thing would go in 18" of unplowed snow, so I drove it all winter without any uncertainty. Lat week, my wife drove the 09 out of town, so I did an oil service and tire check and the sidewall of one of the Pirellis was damaged...thats all I needed to see. I jumped on the phone and tried to find A GOOD set of tires, well 20" tires are hard to come by at the drop of a hat. My first choice was Bridgestone deuler revo2 - backordered. I priced the latest Michelin LTX in hopes that tire would perform as well as the tires on the Bronco. Upon research, it came down to Bridgestone Deuler Alenzia. It rated much better than the current Michelin in all catagories including snow and was a lot less expensive. It is more of a highway tread, but i am very happy with the tire so far. Next tire will be the Revos...I've had a few sets and really like them for an A/T tire.
I certainly do think that the Pirelli tires are a major drawback in any conditions beyond rain on the road; of which they were OK. I gambled on the Alenzia in hopes it will be a little better in light snow, but their road manners are very nice thus far. I will get a more agressive A/T tire in the future, so we shall see.

 

I can't imagine anyone thinking or saying that any of these F-150's are not good off roaders. I've had an '84, '86 and an '88 and they all set the bar pretty darned high off road, in sand and in deep snow. I ran 31x10.50 Wrangler A/T's on all of them.

Take one of these trucks and mount a winch and the possibilities are wide open. Todays trucks are heavier, better built, have Traction control and or locking rear diffs. What seems to be the problem?

 

Yes, but in mud or sand weight is the enemy. Length too. If we're just off roading I'd take a light truck, and stick some sand in the bed so the rear tires can grip, which helps trucks of all sizes anyhow....now my truck does okay on muddy job sites but it's width, 19.5s and weighty diesel means i won't get much farther than that so I'll bow out here

one last word before i leave, aggressive fresh tires and rims no bigger than 18s are essential if you went to go out into the wild AND come back rain or shine

 

No problem here. The tires on my truck were the problem for me. I wouldn't take my truck "off roading" anyway - I out grew mudd'in decades ago, but my FX4 would be terrible in that environment anyway. I use FWD to get in and out of my driveway during bad weather and for work related stuff. I was a bit disappointed in the capabilaties this past winter, but it was tires for sure, not the truck. My 97 single cab flare side was a great truck off road. I think the 09/10 STX single cab is the coolest F150 going and I know it will go most anywhere. Short wheelbase helps a lot off road. I also have an 84 F250 4X4 with a 460 and that machine is wicked offroad. Both the Bronco and 250 will do things I know my 09 won't do...things I wouldn't even try in the FX4.

 

Its the Perrillis. They are a terrible tire. My GF's friends husband is a designer for Ford, and he said they Perrillis are the cheapest 20in tire Ford could get in bulk for the 20in rims, and that Ford knows the tires are garbage. They look cool, but thats about it.

The shorter the wheelbase the better for off-roading, but the FX4 does just fine. Id take it in sand, mud and dirt trails. When off roading its important to know the trail ahead of time, and I wouldnt take my FX4 over huge rocks without some kind of lift to gain clearance over rocks and pits anyway.

 

FX4 has never gotten you an extra leaf. Trim didn't matter. The max tow pkg and/or 20"s did for 09 - job 1 2010. Job 2 2010 & 2011 you do not get the 4th leaf.

 

cool thanks for clearing that up, the fx4 at the local lot had 4 leaf springs, I didn't check the year but it must have had the max tow package as you said.

This is according to the 2010 spec sheet for optional packages....

PACKAGES
Heavy-Duty Payload Package — Increases GVWR to 8200 lbs. for
improved payload and towing; 17" 7-lug steel wheels; LT245/75R17E
all-terrain BSW tires; heavy-duty shock absorbers and frame;
upgraded springs and radiator; auxiliary transmission oil cooler; rear
axle with 9.75" gear set and 3.73 limited-slip gear ratio (Regular Cab
and SuperCab with 5.4L V8 only; req. Max. Trailer Tow Package)


Max. Trailer Tow Package (req. for towing over 5000 lbs.) —
Includes Class IV trailer hitch receiver; 7-pin wiring harness; upgraded
radiator; auxiliary transmission oil cooler; Trailer Brake Controller;
upgraded rear bumper; upgraded rear springs; heavy-duty front
eye bushing; and trailer tow mirrors (XL Regular Cab and SuperCab;

Not sure what they mean by upgraded.

 

This is a really interesting statement to me. The Pirelli's are one of the most expensive tire on the retail/aftermarket side. They're even more expensive than Michelin. I guess Pirelli worked a pretty good deal with Ford, whereas some of the other companies may not have been as willing to discount.

But you guys are right, the Pirellis are lacking in off road capability. Companies like Toyo, Nitto, Michelin, Cooper and Bridgestone have some nice offerings for replacements for our factory 20"s.

 

I'm happy with the Bridgestones(dueler HT alenzia)I just put on FX4. They are not an agressive AT tire, but they have nice road manners. I WILL be getting an AT tire next time around though(Dueler Revo2s). I kinda like the white letters and the alenzia is a blackwall. Anyway, I know the truck has a lot more built into it than the Pirellis were allowing.
Otherwise, to the original post, I certainly think the Ford f150(especially the FX4) is a very nice package. I am a 23 year veteran Benz/Porsche factory technician and I am pretty discriminating about what I spend 40K on. The latest Ford offerings are very well engineered and executed designs. I would be happy to go into detail for the original poster if he has any specific questions about the ford products, but the crowd here at FTE is a pretty keen group and the cream rises to the top pretty quick within this community. I'm sure the points, both good and bad, will be brought to light here in regards to the F150 and the competition. My FX4 was not an emotional decision- it earned MY purchase.

 

Very good post sir. I haven't even bought my 2011 F-150 yet and I'm already dreading the first tire replacement. I put a set of Yokohama H/T's on my '04 Expy and I love them to death. I liked the tread pattern of the Yoko A/T's. I may look at those.

 

23 mpg?in a ford truck?i get 17 on a great day.i have a k and n filter and mobil one syn. oil and my mpg is awful.truck is only 10 months old

 

my pirelli scorpians are embarrassing

 

This was at 60 mph on flat highway with my tonneu cover. Yeah it doesn't get this all the time, interstate is about 20-21 mpg and in town is 14-16mpg. And of course if i'm more aggressive on the pedal its worse but if I'm gentle on the pedal I can avg 23mpg consistently.

 

Not trying to poke at ya, but apparently the K&N is more hype than anything.

 

Yea...you might want to put the stock intake back on before you complain about the truck.