Hello all,
New EcoDiesel owner from VA coming from '16 F-150 5.0. I drive a lot of miles and just over 2 years I put 87k miles on it. I saw an ED locally with a sticker of ~$59k on sale for ~$39k and couldn't resist at least a test drive at that price. I walked away from the dealer with a new truck for just over $40k with $1,775 down ($1k as a downpayment and $775 for gap insurance). I'm 30 and go through trucks like it's my job (due to my own ignorance not issue-related) and have only owned 2 vehicles in my life that weren't Ford, an 02 Civic in 2010 and an 07 or 09 Ram 1500 in 2013 and they were both hunks of junk. This will be my 3rd non-Ford vehicle, but my 1st new one and hoping for better results.
I drive 700 miles per week commuting to work and have an 18' car hauler mainly for four wheeler travel and a 30' Jayco travel trailer. Within the 15 months I owned the F-150, I pulled the flatbed over 6,100 miles and the camper over 4,700 miles. The 5.0 pulled both well enough but could use that extra little bit of torque (383ish for the 5.0 to 420 for the 3.0). I currently have 333 miles on it and am seeing 26.6 mpg on the WTM which isn't a bad start considering it'll only get better after break-in. I know absolutely NOTHING about these trucks and have been trying to take a crash course through this forum to find the right information. So far I've concluded that there are very specific oils to use, 5w40 that meets manufacturer's specs, but that's about it.
So far these are my ideas:
1. Tow mirrors - I have heated, power folding, chrome cladded, *I guess ambient temp?*, auto dimming, park-view, and blinker/spotlights. I was told I cannot get tow mirrors put on (due to codes) which sounds ridiculous considering this truck has a diesel and is built to work. I can't pull my travel trailer comfortably without tow mirrors, and don't want to put on extenders unless it's my only option. I don't care about parkview, or the chrome and am just wondering if the connectors are the same for tow mirrors without these options. I cannot seem to get a good picture of the connectors for the mirrors currently on, may have to take them off and see. I would like the dimming, blinker, and I guess need the ambient temp sensor.
2. Air Lift 1000 air helper bags - Had Firestone Ride-Rites on my F150 and made a world of difference pulling/hauling any kind of load. My Ram DOES NOT have auto leveling bags
3. 2" leveling kit - Also had one on my F150 to balance out the difference made by the airbags in the rear but still keep some factory rake (eventually a size or 2 bigger on tires, I hate the SRAs)
4. Removing some of the chrome - Too much for my taste. RAM and 1500 lettering on the sides, body-side molding on the sides, maybe Laramie and 4x4 badges on gate, and replacing stock Laramie grille with either paint-matched sport grille or rebel grille
5. Little things - molded floormats, tinted front windows, maybe oil drain valve
One thing that does have me concerned is the oil changes. I've seen how much people on this site pay for these things and I'll be doing it myself like I always did previously. For the F-150 I'd get 8 qts of Valvoline 5w20 Full Syn with a Fram OCOD filter. My idea for the EcoDiesel is 10.5 qts of Valvoline 5w40 Premium Blue Full Syn, and ____________ oil filter. I am not going to pay $40 per oil filter, that's ridiculous. I won't be using Fram most likely, but are there good cheaper options? As stated earlier, I drive a lot and would be changing the oil often.
Thanks ahead of time for any and all helped received during my time on this site, happy to be part of the "family".
New EcoDiesel owner from VA coming from '16 F-150 5.0. I drive a lot of miles and just over 2 years I put 87k miles on it. I saw an ED locally with a sticker of ~$59k on sale for ~$39k and couldn't resist at least a test drive at that price. I walked away from the dealer with a new truck for just over $40k with $1,775 down ($1k as a downpayment and $775 for gap insurance). I'm 30 and go through trucks like it's my job (due to my own ignorance not issue-related) and have only owned 2 vehicles in my life that weren't Ford, an 02 Civic in 2010 and an 07 or 09 Ram 1500 in 2013 and they were both hunks of junk. This will be my 3rd non-Ford vehicle, but my 1st new one and hoping for better results.
I drive 700 miles per week commuting to work and have an 18' car hauler mainly for four wheeler travel and a 30' Jayco travel trailer. Within the 15 months I owned the F-150, I pulled the flatbed over 6,100 miles and the camper over 4,700 miles. The 5.0 pulled both well enough but could use that extra little bit of torque (383ish for the 5.0 to 420 for the 3.0). I currently have 333 miles on it and am seeing 26.6 mpg on the WTM which isn't a bad start considering it'll only get better after break-in. I know absolutely NOTHING about these trucks and have been trying to take a crash course through this forum to find the right information. So far I've concluded that there are very specific oils to use, 5w40 that meets manufacturer's specs, but that's about it.
So far these are my ideas:
1. Tow mirrors - I have heated, power folding, chrome cladded, *I guess ambient temp?*, auto dimming, park-view, and blinker/spotlights. I was told I cannot get tow mirrors put on (due to codes) which sounds ridiculous considering this truck has a diesel and is built to work. I can't pull my travel trailer comfortably without tow mirrors, and don't want to put on extenders unless it's my only option. I don't care about parkview, or the chrome and am just wondering if the connectors are the same for tow mirrors without these options. I cannot seem to get a good picture of the connectors for the mirrors currently on, may have to take them off and see. I would like the dimming, blinker, and I guess need the ambient temp sensor.
2. Air Lift 1000 air helper bags - Had Firestone Ride-Rites on my F150 and made a world of difference pulling/hauling any kind of load. My Ram DOES NOT have auto leveling bags
3. 2" leveling kit - Also had one on my F150 to balance out the difference made by the airbags in the rear but still keep some factory rake (eventually a size or 2 bigger on tires, I hate the SRAs)
4. Removing some of the chrome - Too much for my taste. RAM and 1500 lettering on the sides, body-side molding on the sides, maybe Laramie and 4x4 badges on gate, and replacing stock Laramie grille with either paint-matched sport grille or rebel grille
5. Little things - molded floormats, tinted front windows, maybe oil drain valve
One thing that does have me concerned is the oil changes. I've seen how much people on this site pay for these things and I'll be doing it myself like I always did previously. For the F-150 I'd get 8 qts of Valvoline 5w20 Full Syn with a Fram OCOD filter. My idea for the EcoDiesel is 10.5 qts of Valvoline 5w40 Premium Blue Full Syn, and ____________ oil filter. I am not going to pay $40 per oil filter, that's ridiculous. I won't be using Fram most likely, but are there good cheaper options? As stated earlier, I drive a lot and would be changing the oil often.
Thanks ahead of time for any and all helped received during my time on this site, happy to be part of the "family".