Trust me. 1,000 lbs is nothing. Police riot barricades weigh 100 lbs each. I routinely load about 20 of them into my truck. As a matter of fact, there are 14 of them in there right now. I don't notice a thing. No lag. Same throttle response. I don't have to step on the gas harder.

 

For all that matters, if all you are gonna do is haul 1000# in the bed, you can do that fine in any 4 banger compact truck and get a lot better gas mileage than any F-150.

 

Wish I had gotten the V8, the V6 with 5spd is fun, but it is a truck, so it really doesnt get any better mileage. Besides, as they used to say "there is no substitute for cubic inches". I suppose there is, but so what.

 

You are absolutely correct. Any little quarter ton, like a Ranger, Frontier, or Tacoma, should be able to pull that weight without problem. The only real advantage to picking the F-150, over any quarter ton and most other half tons, is being able to get a truck with an 8 foot bed that has 48 inches between the wheel wells. I love it when I go to the Home Depot and watch all these guys try to drive off with their tailgates hanging open because they can't load their sheet rock or plywood. Some of these guys have stuff falling out of their truck bed before they even get out of the parking lot. Other things to consider are the full box ladder frame, larger bed bolts, locking tailgate, vinyl bench seats that seat 3 passengers, bed rails, availability of a no frills work package, et cetera.