Finally!

[odalith]

Well, I finally got my new SRW 4X truck. I can't get over how much I have to learn! Thankfully there's plenty of tutorials!!!

When I test drove them, I didn't think any of the new trucks were all that impressive by comparison to my chipped 7.3 but now that I have this thing, it seems considerably more powerful. Of course I haven't loaded it yet but driving it empty, it feels pretty strong! As much as I like it, I think I'll hang on to my 7.3 DRW for a while, even if my neighbors and the HOA don't understand why I need two trucks.

I'm going to 35" (325) BFGs and don't want to do any more lift than necessary. During the buying process, which for me is always a lot of reading and studying, I got to know Rich, the service manager at the dealership. Rich not only owns an F350, SRW, 4X, he's also part of a Baja race truck team. I was getting so much foggy information from lift companies, I went back and talked to Rich. He suggested I save some money (and sanity) and just go with the Ready Lift, Stage 3TP lift kit, which is basically a leveling kit and Bilstein 5100s. Rich is pretty confident there will be plenty of clearance and the Ready Lift website shows the kit on a F350 with 35s but the lift companies keep telling me I have to go higher, SPEND MORE MONEY!

I'm going to install the Ready Lift, Stage 3TP lift kit, then try the BFG 35" tires on Moto Metal Wheels (MO959 18x9 Chrome). I figure I can put them on the truck and try them before I spend the money on on the Bilstein 5100s. If everything works out, then I can buy the 5100s and if not, I'll go from there without having paid for a set of shocks I can't use.

I opted not to go with Ford's bed liner or spray in and I'm really glad I made that call. The Ford spray in I saw, is WAY to thin. I'm going to have my own guy do the spray in. I bit the bullet and bought a new ARE shell as opposed to using the shell from my old truck. I had the new shell painted to match the new Platinum White on my new truck. I also had them spray the bed liner on the shell boxes and the inside of the boxes themselves. I think the shell and boxes will not only be more durable, the entire package should be quieter.

I'm going to call Transfer Flow tomorrow. It looks like nothing has changed, based on their website. It looks like I'll be the first 2011 long bed for them. It will be cool to get the price break on the tank and installation but the long drive and hotel, depending on how long it takes them, may eat up any savings. I've talked to two guys who claim to be getting 20 – 21 mpg out of their new 2011, 6.7s. I'm curious what kind of mpg others are getting??? Is 20 – 21 realistic?

I'd love to get Transfer Flow to build me 75 gallon OEM replacement but even if they just do their regular 60 gallon, at 20 mpg that should give me a range over 1000 miles. I need that range for those trips into Baja where they haven't heard of ULSD yet!


My new truck came with a 2.5" tow receiver as opposed to the 2" receiver on my old F350. My old truck being a DRW was much lower than this new truck (4X SRW). I used a steel, adjustable height hitch which allowed me to tow my own boat which, without 200 gallons of fuel or any equipment, is right at 11,000 pounds. Because it is adjustable, I can also lower it for towing buddy's smaller boats. I'm curious if anyone knows of an adjustable hitch that will fit my 2.5" receiver, will have enough range to accommodate the extra height of my new truck and the rated capacity to accommodate the 11,000 + pounds of my boat?

During the purchase process where they always try to get as much plus sales out of you as possible, they brought up a full protection system for paint, leather, vinyl and carpets. It's called "Xzilon +". I'm curious if anyone has any experience with it? I read about it online and was most impressed with the 1500 hours of salt testing Boeing did with it. The reason I'm going with the 35" tires is to try to get my rear end and brakes just a little more out of the salt water when launching or retrieving my boat. Taller tires won't do anything to keep my wheels dry so the idea of this Xzilon + protection sounded pretty good to me. (Yes they got me good with plus sales.)

One more thing!
As much as I thought it a waste of time, air conditioned seats ARE NICE!

[DaveBen]

Your mileage will depend on how heavy your foot is. 20 to 21 is too much for a NEW truck. It will take several thousands of miles to get it broken in and for the mileage to increase. I don't remember any one with a 2011 talking mileage, so I can't comment on how many miles per gallon you may get.

Congrats on your new tuck. Post some pictures when you can.

Dave

[sagebel]

I have seen 20-21 while driving. Once I got off the 4 lane it dropped to 18-19. The "lie-o-meter" is always within .2 mpg (if not dead on) of hand calculated. In town I am seeing 16. These calculation are all before the re-flash and AFe intake. I have 3.55 gears.

[Jimmy Tanner]

I'd like to know the mileage numbers of someone pulling a heavy fifth wheel camper if you run across them.

Thanks,

Jimmy

[police stroker]

Post some pics brother sounds like you have a great plan for her.

[85buggy]

I really didn't look at my receiver on my new F350 I better check it out before I hook up my camper. I Think my 06 had a 2" though.

[WD40]

If it was from Ford it was a 2.5 in but it had a reducer inside it to bring it down to 2 in. If you took the bolt out that came with your truck you may have lost it. I was lucky and have always kept mine locked.
Doug

[odalith]

I'm sorry for the delay. I have some pics now.
The Ready Lift, Stage 3TP kit raised the front by 2.5 inches, to level the truck and one inch in the back to maintain a bit of the factory rake; however when I put the shell on, I think I lost that one inch. I'm thinking about air bags. If anyone has comments on the air bags I'd like to hear it. I have then on my DRW and never had a problem but this truck will require a lot more of them!
The 35" (325) BFGs stick out just enough to throw up on the paint so I ordered some flaps, should be here this coming week.
I got the new ARE shell at at the same place that did the spray on bed liner. I had them spray the liner on all of the shell boxes that are inside the bed and INSIDE the side boxes themselves. It's very nice. I wish I had done so on my last one.

On another note, my receiver didn't come with a sleeve and I'm sorta glad it didn't. I was up at the trailer shop the other day and laying on the counter is broken 2" hitch. SOLID 2" and it broke right in the middle! I can't believe that thing broke before it tore everything off the truck but it did. They said it's the second one they've seen this year! We started looking at the specs on the 2" vs the 2.5" and I've been exceeding the rating on my old, 2" hitch by quite a lot. I get my boat out of the shipyard Monday so I'll be measuring and checking to see what hitch I can use with my new truck. It's going to be considerably longer than what I'm used to because this new truck now sits so much higher than my DRW, as you can see in the photos. No way I can go with an adjustable, my boat is just too heavy. Even though my boat trailer tongue sits pretty high, the hitch is going to have drop down a lot. I don't know if I'm going to be able to find one long enough to accommodate the other, smaller boats I haul. I see some really long ones on the road all the time but I'm sure they aren't hauling over 10,000. They mentioned I may have to have a hitch made but I don't think I trust the average welding shop to be capable of getting that kind of penetration on their welds! This may be an interesting problem to solve.

So now I have the brand new, original Rancho shocks, along with the original suspension parts which were removed for the lift. I also have the original wheels and tires. They have about 25 miles on them. The shop offered me $400 for everything. I figured for $400 I'll give that stuff to my bro-inlaw but it won't fit his older Ford. Now I have a bunch of stuff in the back my DRW. CRAP, sholda taken the $400!

[02SilverStroke]

That's a pretty truck!!!! Hope you get many miles and great fuel mileage. I know there's a big difference between the 7.3 and the 6.7, but my 02 PSD, 7.3, would get almost 21 mpg on the interstate, and 16-17 in local city/highway driving. Hopefully the '11 will do just as well if not better. Keep us posted on it.

[sgt93]

I am very interested in MPG on these new trucks