First Trip and Initial Impressions

On Thursday before Mother's Day we picked up the F-150 we ordered a few months ago, the first step in the F-150 Plan. We already had planned on heading to White Salmon for Mother's Day weekend, so by the next afternoon, we were headed south on I-5 with a pile of toys in the back of the truck.

As discussed in the F-150 Plan, one of the motivations for trading our Tacoma is to get an automatic truck so my wife can drive it more easily. In addition to simply relieving me from driving as much, this also enables me to work from the passenger seat if we want to leave mid afternoon when the kids get out of school to start our weekend. This was the case on Friday. I discovered the space in the passenger seat is quite nice for being productive.

The back seat is absolutely gigantic. This space, we discovered, has plenty of space for both the boys with a few bags and a soft cooler in between them. The backseats also easily flip up to create a massive cargo space, big enough to toss both the boy's bikes once when we needed to secure them...kind of amazing.

Driving the truck, it definitely is not as nimble and fun to drive as the Tacoma, but the F-150 is an absolute highway beast. With a 157" wheelbase, it is ridiculously easy to drive down the highway.

There also is no shortage of power. The 3.5L Ecoboost, with 400 hp and 500 ft/lb pulls hard when asked. At one point, I went to pass a car, and stepped on it to get around quickly. My oldest son commented from the back seat, "Wow, dad, that really pushes you back in the seat!" Yes, especially considering it is nearly a 4,500 lb. truck with people and some gear.

Thus far, I like it, but it is going to be annoying to deal with not having the shell until mid July, when I go pick up the Go Fast Camper in Montana. This will make life dramatically easier.