Hi, just found this forum as I was looking for others besides one I am registered on that pretty much focuses on F150’s. I have one of those, but need more than that.

I have owned nothing but Ford F150’s and Explorers since the mid 1990’s. Have had 302, 4.6, 5.0, 5.4, 4x2, 4x4, and AWD, trimmed in XL, XLT and Lariat. I am PLENTY satisfied with Ford trucks. Don’t even own a car anymore, and don’t plan to have one anytime soon.

Yeah, Nissan and Tundra might be okay for some, especially for those who want a truck motor with a timing belt…lol. Every time I did look at Dodge or Chebby / GMC ~ I STILL bought a Ford.

My current work truck is a 1997 F150XL, 4.6 auto, power NOTHING, reg. cab, cloth bench seat, rubber floor mats (PERFECT for what we do for a living), 8’ bed. 230,000 miles without any major failures other than a split radiator while out on the highway, the computer saved the motor and I see no residual effects 4 months later.

We own our own business, and we travel a lot –

(10 years ago, my wife talked me into walking away from a Corporate job with BellSouth to work our own business (same wife of 33 years who had talked me into buying us a bass boat). The timing was such that in a buyout offer they PAID me to leave a job that I would have gladly quit anyway. In 2000 I paid her back, my wife quit her job, walked away from a job as an RN in a hospital to come work with me.)

We have a business that offers services to commercial customers only. We do tile and grout cleaning (and clear and color sealing), concrete cleaning, staining, sealing, and concrete polishing services, and we offer services to apply a very special protective and restorative coating called Nyalic®.

We like to travel, so we have established customers in places away from Atlanta where we like to go most, and now we get paid to travel to those places we already like to go to anyway.)

We have been doing the pickup and open trailer routine for several years now. There is nothing wrong with the truck we have in terms of how it runs (just as good as it ever did) but I know that a motor or tranny failure is just a matter of time, not if, but when. I don’t want either to fail when we are out on the road with a truck bed and trailer loaded with equipment. I also don’t want to put $7,500 worth of motor and trans into a truck that will still be worth only maybe $2,500 after that has been done.

We need to get an enclosed trailer because of the value of some of our equipment. To get a new trailer, we surely need a new truck. I am also getting tired of the issues of towing (hitching, unhitching, loading and unloading both the trailer and truck bed, towing and backing, parking, watching out for and worrying about a trailer, all this day and night.) Take the $7,500 the motor and trans would cost, add the $3,000 cost of a trailer, and the $2,500 the truck is worth “gives me” $13K towards something else.

Instead of doing all that I thought about getting a box truck. No towing, not as much worrying, little loading and unloading, there may be some minuses, but the plusses definitely outweigh them.

I LOOKED at the E series 350 vans with a box. There is LOTS of room inside box for all of the equipment for what we do. Drive train much like an F150, this might work…

UNTIL you sit in the cab for very long. Because of how and where the motor is positioned, with the small amount of foot room it just seems too cramped for spending hours on the road. Also, there isn’t much space at all behind the cutaway for passenger to relax, lean back or reach and stretch their arms, much less to recline their seat.

I always liked the F150’s, especially the Lariat’s, Harley’s, and the KR. I have driven the F250’s (but nothing newer than ’03), in diesel, 5.4, and V-10. I really like that big size and power.

Instead of the E350 Cutaway, since we spend so much time on the highway, and a nice roomy cab is VERY important to us. A nice comfortable cab, with plenty of GVW capability - HHHHMMMmmmm…

THIS is where this forum comes in.

I am SERIOUSLY thinking about buying a LOADED EVERYTHING, maxxed-out (except for rubber floor mats) interior, F350SD Supercab or Crew-Cab cab and chassis (bed delete option), and putting a 14’ – 16’ bed (whatever is allowable) on it.

Don’t know how it would look, but it would be a LOT more comfortable to travel in, taking our equipment safely with us without all the issues of an equipment trailer.

I like to drive the diesels as long as someone else owns it, but would probably go with a V-10 (Don’t want the new diesel so early in the run). I think a 5.4 might be a little on the underpowered side, and would rather have too much power than too little. I know about gas mileage, but I don’t drive that fast (rarely 70, usually 65 or less). A 4.6 with a loaded bed and trailer isn’t getting exceptional mileage either.

I looked at pricing for the cab / chassis only with a box and it falls in line with upline F150’s and 250’s.

I may have missed something that does not come to mind, but from what I know the idea is appealing to me.

Are there any comments or suggestions (pos or neg) out there that might be helpful to me?

THANKS!