Well I have just had the Lariat 350 4X4 dually 3:73's a week now. Three round trips up and down from Big Bear and lots of town driving. Just over 500 miles. I have owned 8 pickup trucks with the last 4 being Ford Diesels. This new 2011 is so much better all the way around than anything I have ever owned, car or truck, that it is simply amazing. I have yet to find a flaw inside or out -- real quality. Good job Ford.
The truck is really quick, handles great on windy mountain roads, and is super quiet both motor wise and road noise wise. I thought my last 7.3 dually was great, but this truck rides and performs 200 % better. On 2 occasions I used the remote start, got in the truck and closed the door, and thought wrongly that the motor had died because I could not hear it running or feel any vibrations. Should have just looked at the tach, lol. The wife drove it up the mountain from San Bernardino, and loved it.
There have been absolutely no issues at all. The tranny is really smooth and the lockout feature is just perfect for my mountain driving. For some of the mountain I lock out 6th and in real windy areas lock out 5th too. A touch of a button and you have just what you want, and it feels really solid. But on long uphill straights in 6th you feel like you could go as fast as you want.
Put the 5th wheel hitch in and also a reducer in the rear hitch so I can still use my assortment of various heights of solid 2 inch bar drop hitches for my various bumper pull trailers. The sound system is really great and because the cab is so quiet you can actually enjoy it. The rear view camera quallity and view is super. Put a movie "Patriot" in the Nav system and the picture and sound was just great. When the truck is parked in 100 degrees and you get in on the hot seats, the cooled seat option gets working really quick. These extra goodies will be enjoyed for many years.
I varied my speeds a lot, but did not baby the truck, I flew up the mountain last time. When you just put your foot in it a little bit it really moves out quickly, and my overall mileage as I climbed last time to Big Bear was at 15.2. I have heard other owners say it gets much better as your break in approach's 5000 miles. ------ The truck has not regenerated yet.
Next week I will be bringing a flatbed trailer load of hay up the Cushenberry Grade from Apple Valley to Big Bear. After that I will pull our 15,000 pound 5ver up to Big Bear from it's storage lot in Lucerne Valley. Can't wait.--------If you have not driven one yet, you'll love it. Go see Bobby
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Originally Posted by pinkersc
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