From a purely financial perspective, I wonder if the cost difference is narrowed based on whether or not you have to order the truck. Rarely are you going to get as good of a deal on an ordered truck as one that is sitting on a dealer's lot.

Very few dealers stock HDPP trucks. When I was shopping I called Ford and asked if they could locate one for me. They told me there wasn't a single one in my state.

I absolutely do agree that no matter what you do to a truck, you cannot legally increase its payload or towing numbers. What's on the sticker is what you get.

 

Yah I could see that with special order vs something off the lot for negotiating etc. I guess I got lucky - I found a HDPP nearby that checked all the boxes except it had center console instead of the jump seat. I think I got a decent deal at $14,700 off sticker price.

 

Yes, but with the ten speed transmission, the axle gear ratio becomes much less an issue. I suspect that the 3.55 axle that is so often seen with the 10 speed actually is the best combination. Your thoughts?

 

The dealer I used really likes to order trucks, he says it take all the guest work out of it. The customer gets gets exactly what they want and the truck is off his lot in a few days. As for cost, many of the rural Dealers here (Ontario) simply add a profit from invoice (750.00 for mine) then subtract all rebates etc from Ford. Options/trim levels are priced at invoice. The other advantage with ordering is timing the delivery to co-inside with Ford Employee discount days (considered up here to have the best discounts). When the vehicle was delivered I got to choose the best price, the price at delivery or the order price. Altogether a pretty civilized way to buy a vehicle.

Another note. If any of you in the US get a chance to buy a Canadian spec HDPP Lariat keep in mind it will include a few things not available on the US 500 a Lariat . I can't remember all them off the top of my head but one is the power tailgate.

 

I agree I would have liked a 3.55 axle but the difference is something like 75 rpm at highway speed. When towing it's really moot as you are not usually in 10th.
The 3.73 does have one party trick, it is crazy fast off the line. A friend just bought a 2019 with a 3.33? Rear end. Same exact truck but no HDPP and the axle ratio. I smoke him 0 to 60!

 

I certainly have no quibble with 3.73’s. I have to think it makes it slightly quicker off the line.

 

The comments I made in this thread were from 2018. Whether things have changed since then, I don't know, but at the time people were saying that the HDPP was available at a premium of between $3k - $5k above similarly-equipped trucks. Maybe "factor of 10" is hyperbole, but my point was and still is that aftermarket upgrades to the components that directly affect GAWR (and therefore, payload) are available at a fraction of the price of the HDPP package.

Those components are (as posted earlier in this thread):
Note the absence of the word "frame." Additional frame thickness is great and all... but I know of no half-ton trucks which are payload-limited by the cross-section of the frame. And Ford doesn't factor the thicker frame into GAWR; in fact, the heavier HDPP frame actually decreases payload in comparison to the other frames available on the F150.

This is the more important point, for me: to get into an HDPP truck your options are limited to whatever configurations of truck are available with that package. If you absolutely must have 1) an HDPP-equipped truck with 2) a sticker that shows your payload is above and beyond that of most other F150s on the road, then by all means, spend the money on the HDPP package... but know that as an alternative you can add to your rear axle weight capacity (not rating) by upgrading your springs, wheels, and tires to match the capacity of your rear axle, and get a better-equipped truck.

Here's an important note from another thread on the subject (also posted sometime in 2018):
I wasn't going to bother responding because I've already said all of this... but I had a few minutes. I maintain that the HDPP might exist to fill a tiny gap in the market, but more likely exists only so that Ford can say they offer the highest-payload half-ton truck on the planet.

 

One should not base facts on what people were saying.
I actually bought a 2018 HDPP/MTTP and the difference in price was less then 1000 dollars. I actually changed my order to a HDPP so I have the invoices.

 

I based my evaluation on what owners were saying they paid. It sounds like you got the truck you wanted, and for only $1000 extra, so... you should be happy.

 

[QUOTE=Hoss10;6503377]One should not base facts on what people were saying.
I actually bought a 2018 HDPP/MTTP and the difference in price was less then 1000 dollars. I actually changed my order to a HDPP so I have the invoices.[/QUOTE}

Same here on all counts.