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New Tow Vehicle - Version 2.0 |
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Jonny Quest 
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Joined: August-20-2013 Location: Utah--via Texas Status: Offline Points: 2992 |
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 Topic: New Tow Vehicle - Version 2.0Posted: July-20-2023 at 2:38pm |
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The Supreme Commander (a.k.a. Mrs. Quest) informed me that she wasn't completely satisfied with our 2022 Ford F350 Super Duty and gave me permission to order a NEW 2023 F350 with a few modifications. After a few whiffs of smelling salts, I regained consciousness and asked her to confirm her previous statement. Damn! She wasn't joking around...so, I ordered a new truck. I picked it up yesterday from the Ford Dealer:
 The new truck is 90% the same as the old truck. So why bother? Well, Mrs. Quest did NOT like driving the 8 foot "long bed". I'll admit that the long bed truck turning radius isn't for the faint of heart. Making a U-turn usually requires at least two zip-codes. So, the new truck has the 6-3/4 foot bed. The turning radius is significantly reduced and the truck feels much more nimble. The other complaint was that the springs were too stiff. I was informed that the Supreme Commander didn't like riding in a dump truck. I have to take much of the blame on this one. When I ordered the old truck, I opted for a couple of "packages" that Ford offered because they were relatively inexpensive and I was in "order mode" and checking boxes. I selected the "Camper Prep" package and the "Snowplow Prep" package. No logical reason...just checking boxes. Good thing Ford didn't offer a fur-lined spare tire carrier or I may have checked that box too... Anyway, the Camper Prep and Snowplow prep packages added additional springs and sway bars to the truck. Essentially, the old F350 was almost an F450 -- hence the dump truck feel. The new truck is a single rear wheel F350 with no packages that would have added additional springs. The new truck has some nice features: adaptive cruise control, 360 degree cameras, heads-up display and a monster sound system. Still can't work most of it, but the sales guy tells me it's amazing. The maiden voyage was last night in a cruise up the canyon to escape the heat. Headed to the lake tomorrow morning. The little Ski Nautique only weighs 3,500 pounds, with fuel and trailer. I doubt the new truck will even know it's back there. JQ BTW - The fur-lined spare tire carrier is awesome
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2003 Ski Nautique 206 Limited Previous 2001 Ski Nautique Open Bow 1994 Ski Nautique Open Bow Aqua skiing, ergo sum |
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MrMcD
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Joined: January-28-2014 Location: Folsom, CA Status: Offline Points: 3754 |
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Posted: July-20-2023 at 5:00pm |
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Very nice upgrade JQ!, as they say when the wife is not happy nobody will be happy so you made a great move. I hope you got a great return on the old truck, seems like demand is so high they are selling for near or even above the purchase prices. Nice Truck! ( after owning a few Black cars I chicken out and go with white now, got tired of trying to keep them clean.). Black is beautiful when clean, best looking truck on the road.
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Gary S
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Joined: November-30-2006 Location: Illinois Status: Offline Points: 14096 |
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Posted: July-20-2023 at 9:49pm |
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I'm shocked,shocked I'll say, that it's not red.....
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Jonny Quest
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Joined: August-20-2013 Location: Utah--via Texas Status: Offline Points: 2992 |
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Posted: July-21-2023 at 12:22am |
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Gary: Unfortunately RED wasn't an option. Quid pro quo. I had to relinquish my color choice in favor of marital bliss and harmony. Back in the late 1990's, I purchased a new Chevy Suburban...RED of course. Fire-engine red. Chevy called it Victory Red or something similar. I loved it. My wife gave a rather reluctant "OK" on the color. I learned a valuable lesson: "yes doesn't always mean yes". There was the occasional comment about "the Fire Truck" and the "Red Light District Cruiser" from my wife. Turns out that she really wasn't "OK" with red.
As I was ordering the new F350 from Ford, my wife sat by me at the computer while we made choices and checked boxes. I suggested RED but got the do-you-really-want-to-go-down-this-road-again "look". So, the color isn't black -- even though the photo looks black. Ford calls the color "Anti-Matter Blue". The color is a very dark blue metallic. In direct sunlight or bright lights, the color is a beautiful dark blue metallic. However, in shade or anything less than bright light, the color looks black. Mark: After 18 months and 16K miles, I got a bit more in trade-in value than what I paid for the old truck back in Dec. 2021. I was fortunate to get Ford X-Plan pricing, so I came out pretty well from a financial perspective. JQ
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Current
2003 Ski Nautique 206 Limited Previous 2001 Ski Nautique Open Bow 1994 Ski Nautique Open Bow Aqua skiing, ergo sum |
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desertskier
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Joined: December-19-2006 Location: Az Status: Offline Points: 1115 |
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Posted: July-21-2023 at 8:57am |
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Nice looking truck. It sounds like if you consider it a mistake or not was ordering the long bed last time. All the suspension components are pretty easy to swap out and the after market companies make some really nice stuff these days. I ordered a '22 RAM 3500 last year. I did some research and ordered it with options that provided the lightest rear leaf springs to give the best stock ride possible. Even with the lightest rear end the front was still pretty harsh. I have since swapped out the front springs, sway bar and all four shocks. The ride is actually pretty nice now and the ride height is pretty close to stock while maintaining all the original load capability. You should check out what's available for the Fords. Progressive springs. torsion sway bars etc.. are really nice compared to stock and are pretty cheap. I only spent about $1500 on mine. Made my wife very happy. On the dirt road we drive to get to our lake she was turning on her seat heater to keep her back from hurting. Much less complaining with the new parts. Pretty sure you can order all those parts in red also or at least have them powder coated.
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92 SN - Owned since 93
99 Pro Air 89 SN - Went to live on a lake in Texas 75 Donzi 16 - Sold in 93 |
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Jonny Quest
Grand Poobah
Joined: August-20-2013 Location: Utah--via Texas Status: Offline Points: 2992 |
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Posted: July-28-2023 at 9:57am |
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Sean:
I'm swapping out the Ford shocks for Bilstein shocks. I'm also going with a 1.5" leveling kit for the front. Nothing too extreme. I was considering some progressive springs, but as the ride on the new truck is much improved, I may keep the OEM springs. The Supreme Commander is pleased, ergo, I am also pleased. I just got back from a 4WD trip in the Uintah Mountains and the new truck got 20.4 mpg. Not too bad for a rig that weighs almost 8,000 pounds. JQ I'm pulling the 5th wheel trailer next week. I'm curious to see how the short bed vs. long bed feels... JQ
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Current
2003 Ski Nautique 206 Limited Previous 2001 Ski Nautique Open Bow 1994 Ski Nautique Open Bow Aqua skiing, ergo sum |
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