Ford absolutely needs to be forced to do something about the absolutely well known cam phaser issue. Both 3.5 and 5.0 engines its a "when not if" issue.

At least its a dealer fixable issue and not a full engine replacement though. GM really likes to just toss their hands up and swap major parts rather than fix minor ones.

 

Ford did extend the warranty. But I agree they didn't do enough. Just the bare minimum to keep the government from looking too hard.

I didn't realize the Coyote had the same issue.

 

Maiden voyage with the new (used) trailer.

Pulls great. About almost 1mpg better than the 2021 f450 with a 33’ bumper pull.

the HO powerstroke is amazing to pull with.

Getting two cars on the trailer is a game changer.

 

Sweet setup! Whos two cars and whered you guys go?

 

white one is the hill climb car (hcc)

silverish one is phouvanhs.

orp for shakedown.

 

Oooh, Phous car looked different with the wrap removed? Looks like some kind of wide body on it now?

 

The ML revision phasers that don't fail have been out since 2021. I haven't seen 14th gen F150s affected like previous gens. Just make sure your dealer is getting the right parts, I see guys on the Raptor forum whose dealer put older rev phasers in their trucks.


And yea the 6.7 Scorpion doesn't **** around, when I was at Ford I got to see one turn a dyno driveshaft from a cylinder into a sphere. They make some crazy torque.

 

The paint wasn’t great to begin with. It’s a MR I bought as a shell and built up. It’s got Victory Function front fenders and APR rear panels

 

(I'll update my thread soon, got kinda rocked on day 2 of KOTM but oh well)

Soooo after driving my car to Chicago and back, and having a minor mechanical scare while I was there, /and/ really wanting to do Nats next year but not necessarily wanting to drive the car 1200 miles there.. I am doing at least cursory looking into tow vehicles.

The current fleet at home is
* 2018 Pacifica Hybrid, family/road trip car
* 2018 Focus RS, my DD and very occasional autox car, may rallyx it this fall
* 2006 Evo

So we already have the family car covered. My wife is semi interested in a truck as well for furniture and other such things. I don't really want to DD a truck either - I park in a parking garage and I really like the Focus.

Trying to pick a tow vehicle is kinda overwhelming; there are a lot of options at a lot of budgets. I was listening to the Lizard Brains podcast the other day (Tomo/DJ A) and DJ mentioned that he was selling his truck - 2014 F150, 5.0L, and I assume it's what he was using to tow his GLTC Civic. 168k miles, 8500 but said on the podcast he was willing to go down a bit. He thinks it can tow 9k - I haven't asked for more details yet (final drive, etc) to get more specific.

Doing some very preliminary cars.com searches and some forum searches, it /seems/ like the Ford 5.0L is reasonably reliable in this period (my neighbor has one too and is happy with it other than some mild ticking) and that this isn't a bad price. But this is me having Good Deal Syndrome and zeroing in really early on a very specific make/model because I don't want to go full rabbit hole.

So, uh, thoughts on that as a deal?

I'm going to read this entire thread, all 39 pages, but this is my Thursday rambling for now. I am certain I will have more questions when I am done

 

Have you considered an SUV. I take mine to work. I sleep in backseat a couple of times on my way to Lincoln(1k miles). I rent uhaul auto transport. the evo can carry an extra set of wheels, 5 5gal jugs of fuel and a bunch of tools. the 2011 GL550 is probably around 12k now
For me a truck is too big for my driveway.. Its a prime target for professional thieves in my area

 

The 13th gen F150 (2015+) is a much better truck all around than the 12th gen. Ford's newer Sync systems are waaay better, the truck tows better, and if you're in the midwest the body can't rust out. I love my 3.5TT but the 5.0L is a solid choice. 2015-2017 is a second gen and 2018+ is the third gen Coyote.

I always recommend to avoid first year models for a new gen any car so avoid 2015 if you can and look for the best deal on a 2016+ you can find. The tow package is a nice to have and does help with resale but for a basic trailer setup definitely not necessary. Also definitely recommend getting a crew cab, easily seats 5 adults with room to spare in the cab and the longer frame helps with towing.

 

suv are alright for towing round town but high speed freeway driving I like the added stability of a longer wheelbase found on a truck.

 

The Sequoia is one that was on my radar too, figuring Toyota reliability and all that.

OK I've read the whole thread so I know you know your Fords. The main issue for me I think is that a similarly miled 2015/2016 is way more money. Here is a 2015 with towing stuff, V8, 152k miles, $17k
* https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/a...-63739492e8bd/

IOW, yes the 13th gen is better (mpg, aluminum frame) but I don't know if it's better /enough/ for the frequency of use it would see in my ownership (assuming that the engine is basically the same in the 2014). Does the 2014 have anything I would need to look out for?

But I never actually sat down and figured out what it would cost to just rent a truck AND rent a trailer. I saw a bunch of Uhaul pictures in this thread and it looks like it's not that bad -

Enterprise will rent a 1 ton truck (almost certainly overkill but it says 6k payload, I don't know if that literally means in-car payload or total towed weight) for $99 a day near me
https://www.enterprisetrucks.com/tru...sevehicle.html


Solo Nats is 1200 miles or so for me - 2400 total, first 450 miles free, $580 for the rest of the miles

And a Uhaul trailer is something like $50-70. So for solo nats as an example, if I was running Tu/We

pick up truck Saturday, get everything sorted out
Leave Sunday morning, drive all Sunday
Drive half Monday, do some test and tune runs
Cones Tues
Cones Weds, pack up and start driving back
Drive all of Thurs
Recover Friday, bring truck back

So probably 6 days -
* 6x 100 truck rental = 600
* 6x 25 truck towing fee = 150
* 6x 70 trailer rental = 420
* $580 additional miles = 580
== 1750 plus a bunch of gas

For a closer event like Chicago - 1300 miles total
* leave thursday
* friday - get there, test and tune
* drive sat
* drive sun, start driving back
* back monday, return truck

* 5x 100 truck rental = 500
* 5x 25 truck towing fee = 125
* 5x 70 trailer rental = 350
* $245 additional miles = 245
== 1220 plus a bunch of gas

I thought renting would be more expensive but this seems somewhat reasonable especially for what would likely be 2-3 events a year. Even something like Bristol (6 hrs) I'd probably drive.

I figure this is at least semi on topic, lol.

 

I think it really comes down to how long you expect to be doing this for. For those 2 events you're basically at the price of that truck you shared after 5 years (probably around 7 years after adding the cost of a trailer in too). On the 2014 the biggest thing to look for is rust on the cab (cab corners are particularly common places) and they have some other little oddball issues like wiring harnesses in the rear doors getting damaged from the doors being opened and closed over years. They don't really have any issues that are outright unfixable, the drivetrain is basically the same 6R80, 8.8" IFS front axle and 9.75" rear solid axle that Ford has been using for the past couple decades now, it works and it's reliable, parts are cheap. The 13th gen does switch to the 10R80 in 2017 which I greatly prefer for towing over the 6R, but the 6R isn't a bad trans (unlike GM's 4L lol). The coyote engine has been figured out for a while, the only huge change it's had is the jump to PI and DI with the 3rd gen but that doesn't make it drastically better or worse for truck use. IMO it really comes down to interior amenities and MPG. The 13th gen sheds 600lbs over the 12th gen because of the aluminum body so it gains 2-3mpg (10-15%) over the 12th gen of a similar configuration and it's a much better truck to spend time in. 13th gen will have better resale as well if you choose to ditch it in a few years. I've owned both 12th and 13th gens BTW.

I've also found having my own truck and trailer really removes the stress of having to plan all of these things out, lining up rentals, making sure the rental places actually have what you're trying to rent on site otherwise you have to run to an alternate location to get it etc. Having a truck and trailer for the closer events also means you don't need to worry about having to drive the car home. I'll also take sitting in my truck over sitting in a bucket seat every time for those long rides home after being outside all day. Being able to just pull over at a rest stop and sleep in the backseat also means I don't have to worry about hotel fares or planning. I usually sleep at the track but not sure if guys do that for AX events.

 

IMO the aluminum bodies also ride much better and have a lot less road noise.

once I switched to an aluminum f150 and noticed how well they road trip I quickly switched the super duty to an aluminum one.