The test truck showed the value of this design. The 2001 F-150 comes with a short/long-arm independent front suspension system. Improper loading, combined with improper tire pressure and careless driving, is really tempting fate. Failure to load this one properly, or to properly inflate its Goodyear Wrangler tires, cou ld lead to rollover. Ground clearance on the test model was measured at 8 inches, ground to rear axle. The F-150 is one of the tallest pickups, at 75.4 inches from ground to roof. I reminded her that running too fast in a fully loaded pickup is not an especially good move. “Oh-my-God, this is power! This is good! This thing can run!” “Oh-my-God, this is a truck!” she exclaimed on one of the dump missions. Texas, it was a big-truck adventure, made even more enjoyable by the pull and roar of the F-150’s Triton V-8. We carried loads of lumber and tools for household repair. We hauled away an old dishwasher and lots of scrap metal and miscellaneous junk. So, from a business viewpoint, it’s better to let retail buyers choose composite shields as add-on equipment.īut the lack of a complete composite liner did not stop us from loading up the cargo box. Excess fuel consumption in new vehicle fleets leaves automakers vulnerable to penalties under federal fuel-economy laws. Composite scratch-and-dent protectants, such as DuraLiner, add weight to vehicles. My guess is that this was a fuel-economy move. But the bed’s floor and interior walls were left unprotected. On the test truck, Ford used a composite liner on the upper edges of the cargo bed. But I was baffled by Ford’s limited use of composite liner material to protect the cargo box from dents and scratches. This made sense, as did the matte-black tie-down hooks in the box’s four corners. Like stirrups, they were designed to give a leg up to anyone climbing aboard, or loading the box. There were steps on either side of the box. “Flareside” means the box was affixed with bulging fenders, reminiscent of a horse’s haunches. The four-wheel-drive truck had a regular cab and a 6 1/2-foot “flareside” cargo box. It happened this way: Ford shipped a special-edition 2001 F-150 Sport XLT for a week-long run. ![]() Now, she’s fallen in love with Ford, specifically the Ford F-150 with the optional 260-horsepower, 5.4-liter Triton V-8 engine. She was controllable when she was buying Chevrolets. I think: “Nice truck.” She thinks: “Hallelujah! We’re going to get some work done this weekend.” She practically salivates when one shows up in the driveway. I’ve written before about my little wife from Texas and her big addiction to trucks, especially pickups. It is a time of whacked serendipity, thanks to the appearance of pickups on the test schedule. But the task of the moment is to clean house, clear basement, empty garage and haul away. Maybe, next time, we’ll buy less or we’ll buy smarter. But for my wife and me, it means dumping what was bought. Getting to normal for many Americans means going shopping.
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