i have a 98 w/ the 4.6 and i pull a 12x6 enclosed w/ 1 quad,1 bike and gear and the thing gets anywhere from 10 to 13 mpg. and like dogzilla said it constantly shift's between drive and o.d. if you leave it in drive the thing runs like 2800 to 3200rpm's on highway at 65-75mph. and o.d. will not pull it. i am going to get a chip and free flowing exhaust for it this winter.

 

I have an '01 F150 XLT 4x4 Supercab, with the 5.4 V8. If you are thinking about getting a V6 4x4 I would suggest you don't. With the bigger V8 I get about 19 MPG on the average. The 4X4 works great, however the stock tires (Goodyear Wrangler RT/S) that come on the truck SUCK! I put 33" ProComps AT's on mine, and they rock. Anyway, if you are worried about the gas mileage look for a 4.6 V8. If you have more questions the best site I have seen is here.. Good luck.

Oh yeah, I pull a trailer with a quad and two bikes and barely notice a power difference when pulling it. I have also pulled a dual axel trailer with an International Scout on it, and the truck did just fine.

 

Man dont buy a ford. They suck. Buy a chevy with a 5.7 in the pre 99's or get a newer then 99 with a 5.3 or 6.0 liter moter. It will pull alot better than those f150's. They have more horspower, and look WAY better than any ugly POS ford. But if you do buy a ford then i will give you a pull when you get stuck with my chevy. hahahahaha

 

thanks, thats some resourcefull information.
800

 

Just something to baste in, my ranger can pull the boat, haul the fourwheeler and although it feels down on power with a boat behind it, it handles like a sporty car and it gets 27mpg if you drive good (23 with 4 two hour long trips to the lake on one tank). My friend bought a 2000 v-6 f-150 and he could take me in a pass but from a dead stop I could murder him because of the light weight and 5 speed, just no good gear to pick past 70 for acceleration. Hey hey, consider a tundra though, my gramps has one and the v-6 has plenty of power although the cruise control is a lil psycho on the hills, gasses it going up and dosent let off till your about 10mph faster than u want to be. Also the tundra feels more like a luxus than a truck. Dont but a dodge though, they feel cheap and shody on the inside JMO (although the power is awesome most ive jumped in wouldnt idle after sitting a while when I worked at auction lot), the chevys are alright but it would feel like a sin for my to buy a chevy.

 

I have a 98 F 150 ex cab XLT with the 5.4 V8 Auto. It is lifted 3" and running 35" Procomp ExTerrains. I have it chipped and it has a K&N Filter in it. I get about 16MPG with it because of the very aggresive tires. It pulls extremely well. I had a 24' camp trailer and my quad in the back and it would go right down the road. It's weekest point was the breaks, they need to be a lil stronger for that kind of load. The tires are really hard on them as well. As for off roading it has a limited slip rear differential and that is the shiznit right there. I will gladly off road with your Chev Dunaholic and I guarentee you I will be pulling you out or passing you on the hillside No problem. I have worked in every make out there dealerships and can attest first hand that the Ford is the best built truck out. By the way I work at a GMC dealership!!! Seeing how your not going to be buying from me I will tell ya the way it is honestly LOL.

 

After Working in the parts dept at a ford dealership, I would say buy the truck with the 4.6 motor, these were claimed by the mechanics as one of the best and most durable motors ever built. Sometimes The 5.4 has got knocking problems, we saw a lot of these in the parts dept, and the servvice dept had to swap a few out. As for the 6 cyl it is a good dependable motor, but don't expect to be paaing people on the highway with your quad in the back.

 

Don't buy a V-6 auto. They are gutless. The V-6 in front of the 5speed does ok. Remember, you can't get the 5.4 with a stick. I have a friend that has a 2001 4.6 5speed and he loves it (traded a 97 chevy for it). My sister has a 2001 5.4 4x4 ext cab. It will run. Haven't put a trailer behind it yet.

Dunaholic. Did Chevy ever put the right size pistons in those 5.3 engines? You might check into this. Have you ever heard one of those engines start up? You can hear the pistons slapping. I know 3 5.3's that have blown up due to this and as of last week, Chevy hasn't issued a recall. The dealer is telling my friend that GM only releases recalls of this nature in January, so he has to wait and see if they will. Its funny, around here most transmission shop owners, most mechanics, farmers, etc drive Fords. Do you want to know how many ford rearends in '90 and newer trucks I have heard of that had to be rebuilt? One. Chevy? About 30. Do you want to talk about transmissions? Twice as many Chevy as Ford. Engines? Over twice as many Chevy as Ford. How about taking a poll on who drives what brand? Chevy might be great for cruising around town, but when it comes to what I buy a truck for, Ford can't be beat!

800, buy a Powerstroke. There are 5 in my family (and a total of 9 Ford diesels) and we love them. Kind of expensive if you don't pull heavy loads all the time.

 

I'm a ford and dodge wrencher along with the rest of the junk out there I won't mention, for hauling and milage- breakdown and get a powerstroke, you'll be much happier. Liker 4 wheelers engines these days are very restricted with a few mods the 4.6 will run good. I'll never buy anything but a ford though so am biased. Dodge would be my next choice, the rest I'll leave to everyone else.

 

I have a 97 4.6 2wd that I bought used with 17,000miles on it in 98 (for my wife) and now has 83,500 miles on it. I have only had to do a front brake job on it so far. Same stock battery, belt, lights-everythings great.
I am now a Ford believer.