Should've kept the diesel - 2014 Ecoboost

[rherold9]

48,xxx miles:

First oil change done by the dealer. No other maintenance has been needed so far. Tires will be picked up soon enough. Still deciding on to get off road tires or go with highway tires. After going on some trails this thing is definitely capable even with the low tread tires I have on now. I'm curious what it will do with some good tires and more practice. As long as there isn't too much brush on a trail this truck can probably do it.

I also picked up Scott's trailer today. Once the integrated trailer brake gain was adjusted to just below lock up I didn't even notice the trailer behind me unless there were bumps. Unloaded trailer + bumps = lots of noises and rear end pulling. Other than that this truck for sure won't have an issues even with the Miata on it. Still managed a solid 17mpg from Waynesboro back to Richmond through the mountains. Didn't even have a hiccup and just left the truck on cruise control at 70 without tow/haul mode on.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

[V1GiLaNtE]

Stay with streetish tires. This thing is too big to be be seriously considered for real trails other than you occasional fire road. You'll take a big hit on MPGs going something off road oriented. If you really want something more capable look at the Dueler A/T Revo or the Michelin LTX A/T. Very modest tread, but street friendly.

[rherold9]

the Michelin LTX A/T. Very modest tread, but street friendly.

Those are what the OEM tires are but super duper expensive. They've done well for how low tread they are but aren't even rated very high compared to something cheaper like this or this I was looking at.

Those two don't look overly agressive?

[JustinG]

the Michelin LTX A/T. Very modest tread, but street friendly.

Those are what the OEM tires are but super duper expensive. They've done well for how low tread they are but aren't even rated very high compared to something cheaper like this or this I was looking at.

Those two don't look overly agressive?

Generals are a good option, I think HTS?

We had em on the Saab. They rode well and handled snow.

I think DJ had em at some point too.

[rherold9]

Generals are a good option, I think HTS?

We had em on the Saab. They rode well and handled snow.

I think DJ had em at some point too.

I think those are highway tires, all I see for General is their Grabbers which are a little aggressive....

This is what I'm using to look at the different ratings with mileage in use taken into consideration

Edit: Probably pick up those Firestone tires. They look promising for the price

[Jake]

My gray truck had Bridgestone Dueler H/L which I believe were the OE tire at the time. I thought they were fine for my uses, put 30k on them with no noticeable wear. I put Michelin LTX (but the highway version) on the Denali and liked those as well. The Rover had Defender LTX which were awesome aside from, y'know, those rocks we found.

[Ryan T]

I've got Good-Year Wrangler SR-As on my Ram and they've served me well. I've put about 20k miles on them in a year and a half and they've towed great, handled the snow pretty well and generally been worry free.

[D_Eclipse9916]

I have never put a "semi-offroad" tire on my trucks. I acknowledge my yukon denali with sideskirts and 21' Crew cab 7500 truck with 245/16s and a low hanging diff is never going to perform well and went straight to full highway tires with no semblance of offroad. Never had a problem with snow, but I did get stuck at the outerbanks on the 4x4 area because my diff was so low it was dragging and high-sided it when an asshole swung over on me.

I will watch intently as the Land Rover needs new tires on it before next winter.

[Jake]

I have never put a "semi-offroad" tire on my trucks. I acknowledge my yukon denali with sideskirts and 21' Crew cab 7500 truck with 245/16s and a low hanging diff is never going to perform well and went straight to full highway tires with no semblance of offroad.  Never had a problem with snow, but I did get stuck at the outerbanks on the 4x4 area because my diff was so low it was dragging and high-sided it when an asshole swung over on me.

I will watch intently as the Land Rover needs new tires on it before next winter.

The Duelers on my gray truck did fine in the snow and were a nice highway tire. Didn't get much chance to play in the snow with the Michelins although they were highway oriented - not super aggressive tread for mud and snow but "rated" for it, whatever that means.

The red truck is on a set of Hankook DynaPro A/T's. Still sussing out how they feel but generally it's been quiet and comfortable, even on the highway.

[rherold9]

After reading more reviews on the Firestone Destination A/T's I'll probably dropping by Firestone to get them on. For some reason Firestone's have this horrible stigma in my mind so I didn't bother looking. Supposedly these aren't bad at all. A good compromise like the OE Michelin's, but even better in all categories

[ScottyB]

i currently run Destination A/T's on our xterra in 265/75-16 i think. i agree the Firestone stigma was hard to get over after the exploding SUV tire debacle 15 years ago, but that's long since passed.

outstanding all-arounder. only tire model i've bought twice in a row. great on the road, great in rain, wears well, quiet, and in our limited off-roading (forestry roads, creek fording, mud and gravel) its been good enough that i'm rarely ever in 4WD.

[rherold9]

That's great to hear Scotty, appreciate it.

Next action item, what are everyone's thoughts on truck bed tents? I have an air mattress I can throw in the bed and have some blankets I can use for when it's colder. Trying to not spend $200 for hotels every weekend if I can't work and also I'm not trying to wake up at 5am to head to the track on Saturday's lol.

[Senor_Taylor]

Truck bed tents are great, but expensive and obviously take up the whole bed. I say buy a cap for the bed and be done with it. Weather proof, windows for ventilation, you can lock it like a bed cover.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

[Ryan T]

Truck bed tents are great, but expensive and obviously take up the whole bed. I say buy a cap for the bed and be done with it. Weather proof, windows for ventilation, you can lock it like a bed cover.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

I agree with Taylor here, you’ll look like an old man, but it’s cheap, easy, leaves lockable storage when driving too and from the track, and they’ll probably give you a senior coffee  when they see you at McDonalds.

Or, you could quit letting Jake out-ball you, buy a 20’ enclosed trailer and stay in that. You know, unless you like being the silver medal of F150 owners here...

[rherold9]

No way in hell am I getting a cap. Absolutely hate them. Even though it's sound advice, just no.

I mean I'll take my participation trophy, I haven't moved jobs or been promoted enough just yet.

[Sully]

Get on of those fabric caps. I think they can retract or fold away easy but it'll give you more room and easier setup than a bed tent I'm sure. And you'll be able to drive your truck with it still in place unlike those tents.

Or if you get drunk enough and don't care, sleep under your tonneau cover (I think I recall you having one). That's what I use to do when I'd go camping. It sucked but it's doable lol

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[HAULN-SS]

I put Yokohama geolanders on my truck as a slightly more aggressive highway tire. They have been fine and relatively low noise. I have no idea how you guys can run slicks unless you positively never go offroad. These have been good, but the rear being so light sucks in snow. The only time i got stuck was while towing my camper in some axle deep mud

[rherold9]

Well, I did my first tow this weekend with my own trailer and it was pretty uneventful thankfully. Packing and unpacking things into and out of the truck took the longest time. Ran T-Hooks to the frame and tightened the straps until I couldn't anymore. Checked at every stop and nothing had come loose.







Loading the car up the first time took a few attempts to get the car centered side-to-side evenly on the trailer. On the way back it was one up and I had it centered. I had the car split between the tow axles as you should. Tongue weight was fine and the trailer sat mostly parallel to the ground.







It was great being able to tow. I could just sit in a nice, quiet, and comfy vehicle. The Miata isn't terrible, but this is just much much better.



On the way there I got around 13mpg as well as the way back. Not bad at all. Probably can achieve 14-15 on flatter highway roads. Truck pulled it no problem. Didn't even bother putting it in tow/haul mode.



Of course everything can't be perfect on the first tow. My first oh shit I can't stop moment happened about 25 minutes into the tow on 288 south coming off the exit at Hull Street. It always backs up there and I could see people braking ahead. So I left probably 4 car lengths or so and started slowing down. Then they braked hard in front. I was pretty deep in the pedal and still was not going to stop in time. The two people in front started moving off the road into the side median as they couldn't even stop. Thankfully either the line started moving or they let off and I was able to slow down enough. I had no where to go and thought I was about to plow through 3 vehicles. I was just staring straight ahead like oh fuck fuck fuck fuck. The worst part knowing there wasn't anything I could do. I could smell my brakes pretty badly after.

I had the gain set to 7.5 on the empty. Tested it on hull street in heavy traffic and got it up to 9 gain. Eventually on the way back I set it up to 10 and it felt normal. So I I'll leave it on 10 when loaded and drop down to 7.5 on the empty for longer distances which I tested coming back from Scott's



Anyway, this truck will be perfectly fine towing this car and trailer for awhile. Love the Ecoboost turbo noises when towing. I will not get tired of the lower 2k rpm spoolbus.

Jake not giving me a point by on the way back:




Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

[Jake]

Glad it all worked out for you! A couple things to note:

1. Use Tow/Haul mode. Not only does it delay upshifts to help keep you in the powerband when accelerating, it will automatically downshift to help engine brake the rig if you are on the brakes OR if the truck detects you are pointed downhill and maintaining a steady speed (i.e. not accelerating). That will help you with...

2. Setting up your trailer brakes! The proper way to set trailer brake gain on electric brakes is to get into a parking lot where you've got some room, get up to about 25 mph with an empty trailer, and pull the trailer brake slider to full brakes. You want to just be able to lock up the trailer brakes. Get it to that point and then back it off by 0.5, load up the car and see how it is loaded. It may be fine, it may need a little extra juice.

3. The truck should say "Trailer Connected" and "Trailer Disconnected" when you plug in the 7-pin connector. It verifies this by connecting to the electric brakes. Keep that in mind if you start seeing the Connected/Disconnected message flashing rapidly - that happened with my gray truck and it turned out the trailer wiring harness (on the trailer side, not the Ford side) was starting to kink and not fully connect. I replaced it before I had no connection and thus no brakes. Trailers are largely built like shit, so keep an eye on things.

[JPolen01]

Glad you had a good almost uneventful tow! That Miata looks so good on RPF1s.