Based on a response I got to my post "Good News/Bad News," I went to the Ford site and downloaded their current brochure. True enough, it lists that the heavy duty electrical/ cooling group comes with the Class III towing package. When you look at the HD electrical/cooling group there is a footnote (1), and down below (1) reads "not available with Super Crew." Of course it also states that the HD electrical/cooling group is required to tow over 4,000 lbs. So basically what Ford is now saying is that the Super Crew is not made to tow more than 4,000 lbs. Boy, they sure screwed the pooch on this cover up.

[This message has been edited by Grumps (edited 05-30-2001).]

 

I have that brochure from my shopping back in Nov. 2000. It says the same thing. However, I read this to mean that you cannot order the HD electrical / cooling group by itself on a supercrew. It comes with the towing package. It must be possible to separately order the HD electrical / cooling group with other F-150s.

The same brochure still list the max capacity at 8000# for the screw.

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2001 Supercrew, 4x2 XLT
4.6, Arizona Beige with Deep Wedgewood Blue Accent
Options: CD Changer, LS Diff, Towing Package, 2 tone paint, 47F appearance package, 5 spoke cast wheels
New seats with front and rear adj. head rests
Built ~11/04/2000
Mods: Line-X, Advance Cover

 

Yes I'm with arbee on this one. My brochure is at home and I know it is different than the new one. The current one has all the trucks. The one I picked up last fall when I ordered my truck was for Supercrew only. But I would take it that you cannot order the heavy duty electrical/cooling seperately. Mine does have the larger battery and the dealer did put the bigger rad in for me. It does have the appropriate tranny cooler and p.s. cooler. I don't know how to tell as far as the alternator and the shocks. One thing I noticed is that it does have one more leaf in the back springs compared to my last truck whick was a 98XLT 4.6L with tow package. The 31foot trailer does not squat the Supercrew as much as it did the 98 Supercab.
Putting the rating aside I am VERY pleased with the way the Supercrew handles the weight of the trailer

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2001 Silver XLT 2x4 SuperCrew (Gen II) 5.4L 3.55LS Tow Package (now with 2.02" rad) & Cab Steps

Mods: K&N Filter, LoRider by Raider Fiberglass Tonneau, Stull Billet Grille (Black)

Tow: 31FT. Glendette Deluxe Camper Trailer

 

Current documentation as of May 30, 2001 indicates that the new SuperCrews can tow up to a maximum of 8000 pounds with the class III tow package which is no longer documented to include the 1.42 radiator. (The documentation also said that the class three hitch could tow up to a maximum of 5000 pounds if I'm not mistaken, seems like yet another Ford catch 22)

The Ford customer representative I met with yesterday said that Ford does upgrade parts without changing part numbers as some Ford or dealer representatives have claimed has happened when addressing complaints of the wrong radiator in the SuperCrew. That being the case, in my opinion there is still zero documentation that the older SuperCrews are equipped to tow over 4000 pounds.

I requested a written copy of the customer representative's oft repeated verbal assurances that my SuperCrew had adequate cooling to tow a maximum of 8000 pounds and was refused at least three separate times. We all know where we will stand if we have written documentation on one side of the equation and verbal assurances on the other.

A final effort to resolve the issue with the dealer goes out today and then I fully expect to have to move up to dealing with government agencies. I think it is time to look into a class action suit also as I was told that the customer representative did not see that it would represent a problem if Ford had committed numerous offences I pointed out as likely and that would be major legal issues if my small businesses were guilty of the same offences.

Is it true that Ford is not bound by the same laws and regulations that govern smaller entities? I for one am ready to find out.

Hu

 

I got lucky, as I refused delivery until I got a written promise to replace my 1.02" radiator with the 1.42" radiator. The Ford Rep in my Baltimore area was aware of the problem and agreed to fix it.... but then again, I had some leverage. HU, have you made copies of all the posts from people who've had radiator success, listing names of dealerships who've agreed to the fix, and submitted this to your area Ford Rep? If not, do this and send a copy to the Ford Corporate headquarters.

 

Grumps,

I have provided URL's to this site and individual threads concerning replaced radiators to the fleet manager I bought my truck from at his request. He is going to sit down with the dealer and look at these. The customer representative I dealt with had no interest in any information that came from a bulletin board and indeed sneered when I asked him if he was familiar with bulletin boards. He had no interest in facts or anything else other than damage control. He insisted that Ford could do whatever they pleased and there was nothing I could do about it other than accept it or go away. His idea of a compromise(which he made plain was only a gift, not something I deserved) was for me to pay half of retail for the radiator and coolant and the labor for the install of the radiator that was supposed to be in the truck to begin with. I can purchase the radiator at wholesale, perhaps even jobber which would fairly certainly be a cheaper option. Regardless of any pricing concerns, I'm not going to pay the people that failed to deliver what they sold me additional monies to deliver the truck that I bought in the first place.

I would appreciate any contact info you have for Ford Corporate headquarters. I sent a certified letter to my dealer this morning and would like to cc Ford a copy.

I will be posting full information later but a quick search yesterday revealed that the Federal Trade Commission has a website complete with a complaint form which only takes a few minutes to fill out. They won't act to help individuals but they will work to correct an overall situation. I intend to file a complaint on the Internet site which is limited to 2000 characters and follow that up with a more in-depth report by mail.

Anybody interested can go to this URL http://www.ftc.gov/ click on "file a complaint online" and register their complaint in a few minutes. Having made every effort to resolve this problem at the dealer level, I am irked enough concerning the problems, poor overall quality of the truck, and behavior of the regional customer sales representative that I will make this information available to as many people as possible and will in all likelihood discuss the possibilities of a class action suit with a lawyer who is heavily involved in such things that I dealt with successfully in the past. This all seems like a lot of effort to get someone to do something that should be done without contest but it's been made plain to me that the prevailing attitude is that Ford and the dealership are giants and I am an ant. The only options I have are to either enlist the aid of other giants(government agencies) or get a lot of us "ants" to unite.

Hu