I'm going to go ahead and start a thread so I can track the changes/additions to the truck. Since the truck came a week early, the lift installer can't install the lift until next week. So lift on Wednesday and hopefully wheels/tires on Thurs or Fri.

Lets start with some delivery pics.

 

 

 

Actually long beds have less payload (~250 lbs). The longer bed, frame, gas tank, etc take away from payload.

 

 

Here's a snip from the 2019 brochure - I thought same as you that 4x4 reduced payload. I recently placed an F-350 order and got the largest payload by adding 4x4 and FX4. Not sure how/why... also... I guess the truth will be told when I take delivery and see the door sticker.
Link to brochure here: vhttps://www.ford.com/trucks/super-duty/brochures/ see page 38

 

 

 

I'm sure accessories play a part - I got almost all of them - but I bet (just guessing) the lack of upgraded wheels and tires could play a small part. But no, not an issue. Still pulling the same TT I pulled with our F150, and we're likely to upgrade to another bumper pull and not a 5er.

Bright, flat colors hide dirt very well. But yeah, you described me - the rain is my normal car wash.

 

 

Great so far. Handles and drives very well. It is taking a bit getting used to the length and getting the mirrors in the sweet spot for the blind spot. Car play w/google maps is flawless. Waze is inferior to google maps except for the social aspect (who tagged what), but I don't use that much anyway so no loss there.

The ride is firm but compliant. No bump steer, no death wobble, just as happy at 80 mph as 40 mph. Doesn't track perfectly straight so steering requires a bit of constant input, but a) I expect a little bit of that given the height, weight and suspension; and b) the lift will verify and/or fix any alignment issues so the real test will be in about 5 days (my shop had me on the schedule for the 26th expecting it would be delivered next week, and they are booked solid so they couldn't get me in early).

It is taking a bit to get used to the power step rails. My F150 had normal ones, but I'm 6' and it was a 4x2 Sport so I was able to get in/out without using them so I catch myself sliding out of the seat expecting to step on the ground - sometimes I miss the step rails and sometimes I catch my heel. Once the lift is on the front end will be about 6" higher, so that should help make it easier to remember to use the step on exit.

Things I would fix/change:

1. Cooling in the cooled seats is pretty pitiful. My F150 didn't have them, but my GT350 does and they are light years better. The S/D might as well not have them.
2. Stereo sound is a little jarring. I'm playing with bass/treble to see if I can make it sound better. Phone calls are even worse.
3. USB cubby - you need to put your phone here for Car Play, but its designed for loose items. With an hour and CAD/3D software, you could design something a lot better.
4. It is a $75k truck with the glove box from a $5k rattle trap.
5. I actually don't like the under seat storage compartment. Seems to have more wasted space than my F150 - I can't get everything I had under that seat under this one. Real dumb miss.
6. Why in the name of God do you have a column shifter in 2018 on a truck with a center console? I probably hate this more than everything else on the truck combined.

 

 

What are the break-in instructions? If I need to be driving it harder, I can. If I need to be babying it, that's a fools errand.

Sports cars in particular have "baby step" break in procedures - not to protect the car, but to protect the idiot behind the wheel. I'm learning about diesels, but gasoline engines perform best and last longest with a vigorous break in that includes heat cycling, WOT and plenty of high RPM compression braking. Every time I see a Mustang, Porsche, BMW, whatever owner talking about how the manufacturer knows best and they need to be easy with the engine until the break in period passes, I just laugh. In general, "break in procedures" are written by lawyers, not engineers. Real high performance engines are broken in at the factory by a computer with plenty of high temps and hard acceleration. The "rules" are just so you hopefully don't wrap it around a tree in your first fast car.

Anyhow, I digress. I haven't followed any procedures yet, but all I did was take it on a 15 minute test drive so my wife could drive it, take it to the movies, and then drive to/from our Boy Scout camp out three times so I could hand out meds and handle medic duties during the outdoor events. If I get a chance this week, I'll get it on the highway for some WOT and redline runs, but I need to read up on break in compression. Gas engines need to seat the rings, but I don't really know anything about oil burners.

Oh yeah - my F150 had the same number of cup holders and a center console shifter, not some column shifter from the 1970s.

 

 

I remember the "no towing for 1k miles", which is fine - we're not going to be able to fit in an October trip, so first tow will be the week before Thanksgiving. Varying speed is not as important in engine break in as varying RPMS. Normally you want to heat cycle the engine - get it hot, let it cool, get it hot, let it cool - but my understanding is the PSD runs best hot and when worked hard, so I'm less sure about the value of that.

As for tires, they don't break in. They do exude and wear off some chemicals that are used in the construction (part of the rubber compound and some used on the outside) so break in is really about safety as they will not perform per spec until all that is gone. Washing them with various tire cleaning compounds can speed up the removal of these chemicals, but since you're worried about it on the treads and most people don't wash that part its not usually very helpful.

I would like to exercise the engine some, which is a bit tougher in a big heavy truck around town than, say, a sports car in the mountains. As you can see, I didn't wait for a break in period to exercise my Shelby. The 300 miles on the clock were from the dealer driving to their store from another, and then from me driving to the mountains. 1.15G in the turns roughly 2-2.5 hours after signing the purchase papers. I guarantee it will dyno at the top of the hp range and will never leak a drop of oil.