LowBoost

As you can tell by my signature, I am in Houston, TX
I currently have a 2013 FX2 with 33x12 Toyo Open Country M/T wheel/tire combo & 2.5 front level kit.

It has proven to be ineffective for some of my routine activities (besides being my daily driver). Now, with the floods, I have not been able to go through some places where 4x4s easily dominate. This being said, I will be trading my truck for a 4x4 as soon as all this mess is over and would like it lifted.

I have a few questions to help me decide what should I purchase:

1) Daily driver, weekend drives to country (mud, wet grass, minor property flooding due to creek)

2) Gas or Diesel (F150 vs 250)? I don't need the extra towing/hauling capacity, although I plan on getting a flat floor small boat for any future emergencies. Does diesel still require the addition of fuel additives every 5 tanks or so? Ecoboost or N/A?

3) Would like a 4" or 6" lift with 20" wheels + 35" or 37" tires

4) Which gearing should I get from the get go? 3.73? I don't want to mess with re-gearing in the future.

5) Which lift kit is recommended? Is BDS 6" lift good a reliable lift?

I will appreciate suggestions as to which vehicle I should buy. Feel free to ask any questions as to other criteria I may have missed.

Shadetree43

LowBoost

Appreciate the humor. I am not looking to drive through high flooded areas. I saw plenty of 4x4s and lifted trucks going through 1' flooded areas (and higher/deeper) and my truck simply can't. (Probably can, but risk of hydrolock is much higher).

chimmike

your truck should have zero problem fording 12" of water.

but if you don't need an F250, stick with a 150. Motor choice? Go drive, see what you like. They're all good choices.

IF you go with 37" tires and a 6" lift, you'll want something like 4.10s, IMO.

LowBoost

@chimmike:

1) I definitely don't need an F250. I really just need the practicality/usability of the 4x4
2) Ecoboost is fine. Just wanted to see if there was any negative feedback on it for my needs.
3) I'll make sure to find a 4.10+ gear ratio. So far I hope 35s will be enough. I have seen a F150 with 17" wheels and 37s at work and look great though. I have seen his truck completely covered in mud a few times and hauling an ATV Have not been able to meet him and chat.

chimmike

If you stick with 35's, the stock 3.73's should be just awesome for 'em.
It goes without saying you should get the locking rear diff!

RLXXI

35's and a 4" lift kit on my 2wd. All total it sits with an extra 6.5" of height over factory.



I'm also running a 5.0 with 3.31 gears, custom tune pushes it like a sports car. 3' of water would be no problem.
.

marshallr

To do what you want to do, and do it right you are looking at huge sums of money.

With 35 or 37" tires 3.73:1 gearing won't come close, you'll need to regear somewhere near 5:1

Most trucks can handle water to the top of the tires, 33" in your case. Any deeper than that is foolish regardless of the lift. You put yourself and the lives of those who will try to rescue you at risk.

bound4doom

My Opinion, keep your 2013 and go bigger and make it into what you want.

I had a 2013, 5.0 max tow, I liked it. It was paid for, no rust, 70k miles. I got attracted to something shiny and new. Don't get me wrong I love my new truck I custom ordered it to be exactly what I wanted. I do a lot of towing and the Ecoboost is way better at towing. I get better gas mileage as well. Sync 3 is awesome.

On that note though, I probably could have put 10k into my 2013 and had a super awesome truck. Your gen truck there are a ton of mods out there for. New grill, bars, lights, engine upgrades rimes tires.

Alpine even makes an entire Sync 1 replacement that replaces all the stereo everything in your dash for about $2-3000 and it is awesome. You could get a bigger lift, tires and some tuning on your existing truck. You could spend maybe 10-12k refresh your existing truck new brakes, shocks struts. Go another 50-60k miles easily.

If you buy a new generation your looking at 50k easily getting into it then modding it to where you want it, new tires and so on you could easily put in another 5k as much as 10k depending where you want to go with it. So really kind of up to you. If it wasn't for towing, I would have kept my 2013. Sometimes I just really think had I been better off with some new gears a good tune and then kind of refreshing what I had.

It really depends how much you want to spend if you got the money, go for 2017, the 3.5 ecoboost is really powerful. Get what you want. I would recommend a lariat as they do have some nice options but XLT is just as awesome. However if you think you could spend 50k in other ways to better your life, then spend 10 or so refresh your existing truck make it into what you want and have some fun in the process. Your going to have a lot more fun modding your existing truck and a lot more money. Where the new truck is going to cost you a lot more and you may not do as many mods to it.

If you have never seen the Alpine F150 electronics refresh you can see it here http://alpine-usa.com/product/view/f...tion-x009-fd2/

LowBoost

Problem with my current ride:

1) FX2 (No 4x4)
2) 3.55 gear ratio

Ecoboost is certainly nice. I have several mods done it and I do love my truck, but there are certain areas I can't go with it that I could with a 4x4. I intended to keep this truck until it breaks down, but with 65k miles on it and no warranty, not sure if it is worth spending any more money on it if I would still not be able to do what I would like to.

I am not in an immediate rush to replace it, so I still have plenty of time to gather opinions and suggestions.