I've never owned a pickup truck before.

I will be moving to New England, and I want to buy a pickup truck to use up there.

I was thinking of getting a 4 wheel drive Ford F150 (2008 model or 2009)

The roads where I'm moving are are bad: potholes, muddy, ice and snow. The climate is cold, sometimes very cold.

I might want to attach a snow plow to the truck.

And I might want to tow a boat with it.

I have no idea what features would be mandatory for that location and for plowing and towing: I would guess that choice of transmission, engine size, axle ratios, are important--but I have no idea which choices would be good for where I'll be using the truck.

I appreciate any advice you all can give me.

Thank you.

DriverBill

 

There are plenty of configurations to tow and handle snow.

A nice F250 extra cab 4x4 would handle the plowing, the snow and give you enough room to move items if you want.
One issue might be height - when it comes to a garage.
Most garage doors are about 6-7" I guess, the F250 will probably be alittle higher than that.

A F250 might be overkill for average boat towing applications, but will come in handy for plowing.
The best choice is probably 5.4L engine. In the colder climate, the diesels **might** have troubles(unless you plug it in)

I chose a 2008 ST Adrenalin for my application. I can tow 6800+ and with AWD, snow is NO problem anymore. Best of all it fits in my garage and can carry 5 people comfortably.

good luck.

 

OK, I have lived in Maine for 5 years now. I see very few newer F-150s with a plow on them. Most plow trucks around here are 3/4 ton trucks or better. Really, the only 1/2 ton plow trucks seem to be throw away trucks. Cheap older chebbies and such. The plow is so heavy that the 1/2 ton front end has a hard time handling it. It's also hell on transmissions too. You can plow with a 1/2 ton, but it will be very hard on it. Towing with the F0150 is nice. A tow package is all you really need. Keep the trailer weight reasonable for the truck (6 to 7 thousand pounds max) and you will like it. Of course a 3/4 ton F-250 will handle more. You can also order a block heater for the motor for those really cold nights. They are not really necessary until it gets to zero and colder for an exterded period though.

 

I wouldn't recomend plowing with a 150. The correct size plows are only good for your driveway. Otherwise, just get the tow package and you'll be fine.