my dad is looking to buy a new truck to haul a small trailer and my bull. right now he is fixed on toyota, but im trying to convince him to go Ford. im slowly making progress as i explain more and more about them. im trying to get him in to get a test drive, which will have him taking one home that day, but with his schedule i guess im gonna be working with words. what im getting at is, what is the mileage of a 4.6L SCab 4x4, because that is what he would want? hes actually been looking at Tacomas, but the towing weight is too close to what the trailer and bull will weigh (bull with get to 2000lbs). so anyways, i want to use gas mileage to persuade him too, so any help is appreciated.

 

Don't try to convince anybody into a vehicle.

Whatever he doesn't like you'll hear about.

 

TXCoUnTrYbOy,

What a righteous cause! I'm in.

I almost want to say that the 4.6L and 5.4L get almost neglible differences in the gas mileage, especially while towing. Not positive though.

After 5,000 miles on my truck (5.4L) I get about 14-15mpg with 50/50 highway/city driving. Over this past weekend I got about 17mpg with mostly 75mph highway driving. I would imagine you could easily hit 18-19mpg doing 55mph on a flat highway.

My dad currently has a 2001 King Ranch F-150 that is pretty sweet. I let him drive my truck over the weekend, and he now has plans to trade his KR in for a 2005 KR this Fall.

Good luck with the battle. It's worth it.

EDIT: Blitz, good point. If your dad ends up not liking a few things on the F150 and regrets not getting the Toyota, he'll make you hear about every one of them every time he drives it. I can't see anyone hating the F150, especially over a Toyota, but whatever floats your boat.

- Justin

 

I try to think about a Tacoma like the Miata of the car world. Its a very light duty truck not really made for towing but a HELL of a lot of fun offroading and tearing through the woods. If I was willing to give up the power to tow and the bigger stance I would have jumped into a Tacomoa for the ultra light duty trucks. Its a great little ride thats a lot of fun to drive, but in no way comparable to the 150 (two different classes of trucks). Now if you want to hear your dad complain you have him test drive the Tacoma WITH the trailer and try getting up to speed on the highway...the thing will feel like a Saturn Coupe. or drive that Tacoma to the Ford lot and look at the two side by side, the F150 can speak for itself. As for the F150 go for the 5.4, you dont want to be caught with the smaller engine.

 

The decision between the 4.6 and the 5.4 was answered for me when I saw the window sticker listed the exact same estimated mileage for each engine, I went with the 5.4L.
I figured if it is that close, I'll take the power.

 

5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4


That being said, buy the Ford to haul the bull, and the Toyota to haul the *****.

Try the low end torque angle. I do agree with others though...he's footing the bill, let him decide.

PS. Won't you get your a$$ kicked for driving a Toyota in Texas?

 

I have to agree 5.4L V8 with 3.73 LS and tow package

 

Sticker on a 4.7L tundra is 14-18 city, highway. Sticker on my 04 F150 4X4 XLT 5.4L3V 3.73 LS is 14-18 city highway. More torque and a heavier, better built truck. By the way I have gotten 13.5mpg city and 18.01mpg highway.

 

its not that he doesnt like ford, he has been driving a camry for several years now and thinks if toyota has such good cars, the trucks will be the best there is too. that is what im trying to prove to him. im sure he would buy the 5.4 3.73, but there is one problem. they are more money, which he doesnt have. he is the only one working supporting a family of five (and a bull, which is suprisingly expensive), so he doesnt have a lot of money to spend on a brand new truck. he would get a pretty basic truck. probably XL with power windows, locks, and tow package. other than that it would be all standard stuff. maybe remote alarm. this would be the first brand new vehicle he has ever bought. i guess you could say im trying to make it so he wont regret buying a truck one bit, thats why im trying to get him to buy a ford.

once i can get him at a time he can go look at the dealers, im gonna take him to this one advertising a new body style F-150 for under $10,000. i know its gonna be absolutely nothing in it, but see what they can do for a SCab.

 

You don't want to hear this but...with money being tight why not look at a 2003 with all the extras you want...just see it has the 5.4 motor,tranny cooler and hitch,scab,etc...You can make a good deal as their will be a few around with low mileage,etc...

I wish your Dad good luck ...but you treat him with respect for whatever deal he makes...He carries a heavy load in life looking out for his family...

Been there done that !!

 

ConcreteGuy,

I think I agree. If you are looking at a $10,000 '04 (how the hell? maybe it's that "tester" one we saw on ebay) I doubt it's going to live up to being the family vehicle.

For $20K (I think that might even be low for an '04 base price) on the '04, you could get a fully loaded, low-mileage, excellent condition '03 that would handle all of your towing and family needs.

I'm not trying to discourage the purchase of an '04, but they are pretty pricey. I paid around $32,500 for my XLT. The Lariat can reach up to $40,000+.

Keep us posted.

- Justin

 

Not to mention you wont be able to get the 5.4 or any of the power options out of the XL, you have to start with the XLT for that so you are definitely looking at the mid 20s. I agree with the other guys here that maybe a 2003 would be the way to go then. The new truck is a lot more money and getting a basic XLT off the lot is going to be tough and still be in the 20s. Good luck.