mizzitch Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 I just read that none of the 2011 F-150's will be available with the snow plow prep package due to the electric steering on the smaller engines and the weak front axle weight rating on the 6.2L equip'd trucks. BUILD THE F-100 for the tree huggers and to shut up the EPA. DO NOT KEEP KILLING THE CAPABILITY OF THE F-150. If you want to build a fuel efficient F150 put a diesel in it! Electric steering sounds like it is not ready for the F150, if the truck can't even handle a small plow. Using the take rate on the plow package does not give you the true number of vehicles that will be used for plowing...many trucks are put on plow duty later in their life regardless if they have the package or not. Reducing the capability is also going to reduce the trade-in value, and customer loyalty when their used truck is hard to sell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mackintire Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 I just read that none of the 2011 F-150's will be available with the snow plow prep package due to the electric steering on the smaller engines and the weak front axle weight rating on the 6.2L equip'd trucks. BUILD THE F-100 for the tree huggers and to shut up the EPA. DO NOT KEEP KILLING THE CAPABILITY OF THE F-150. If you want to build a fuel efficient F150 put a diesel in it! Electric steering sounds like it is not ready for the F150, if the truck can't even handle a small plow. Using the take rate on the plow package does not give you the true number of vehicles that will be used for plowing...many trucks are put on plow duty later in their life regardless if they have the package or not. Reducing the capability is also going to reduce the trade-in value, and customer loyalty when their used truck is hard to sell. Just buy an F250. Plowing is hard on the transmission, brakes, front suspension and wheel bearings. Its not worth fatiguing an F150 when a F250 for the same price can do the same job without issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Just buy an F250. Plowing is hard on the transmission, brakes, front suspension and wheel bearings. Its not worth fatiguing an F150 when a F250 for the same price can do the same job without issues. Precisely. Nothing will ruin the resale value of an F-150 like beating the hell out of it plowing snow. They were never really made for that sort of abuse. Ford is just now actually admitting it by no longer offering a plow package for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdselBryantFord Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 what about a plow on a raptor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mizzitch Posted January 5, 2011 Author Share Posted January 5, 2011 ...or they could just engineer the F150 to be capable enough to plow. I am not talking about F150's doing commercial plowing, just being able to plow for personal use and maybe commercial with a smaller plow. If you can mount a plow to a belt driven four wheeler a 150 should be able to plow. If you reduce the function of the 150 you will be left with no competitive advantage over an import truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 ...or they could just engineer the F150 to be capable enough to plow. I am not talking about F150's doing commercial plowing, just being able to plow for personal use and maybe commercial with a smaller plow. If you can mount a plow to a belt driven four wheeler a 150 should be able to plow. If you reduce the function of the 150 you will be left with no competitive advantage over an import truck. Why are you acting like the Super Duty doesn't exist? I suppose you'd like the F150 to be able to tow 20,000 lbs with a dually option, too. I'm sure you can do it yourself if you really want to even if there's no factory option. But seriously - just get a SD. That's what they're made for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Because plowing with the F150 is such a HUGE market! If Ford customers used F150's for plowing that much, the F150 would still take a plow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Because plowing with the F150 is such a HUGE market! If Ford customers used F150's for plowing that much, the F150 would still take a plow! Other related questions: Why doesn't the Edge come with 3 rows of seats? Why doesn't the Focus have more back seat legroom like the Taurus? Why doesn't the non-hybrid Fusion get 40 mpg? Why doesn't the non-Ecoboost Flex have 365 hp? Why can't my blender make toast? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mizzitch Posted January 5, 2011 Author Share Posted January 5, 2011 Other related questions: Why doesn't the Edge come with 3 rows of seats? Why doesn't the Focus have more back seat legroom like the Taurus? Why doesn't the non-hybrid Fusion get 40 mpg? Why doesn't the non-Ecoboost Flex have 365 hp? Why can't my blender make toast? And why doesn't your post add anything to this discussion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 And why doesn't your post add anything to this discussion. It adds just as much as your assertion that the F150 needs a snow plow option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 And why doesn't your post add anything to this discussion. I thought it did. It raises the point of not buying a vehicle to do a job it wasn't designed for. And no, previous F-150s weren't exactly designed for plowing either. Could they do it? Sure. Could they do it well without risk of damage or premature wear to the vehicle? No. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ford hasn't done anything to the 2011 to make it impossible to hook a plow to it, have they? They just took away the ease of installation? Heck, I could probably find a way to install a plow on my Mustang if I really wanted to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 (edited) EDIT: Why doesn't the insert image work? EDIT: There we go! Edited January 5, 2011 by fordmantpw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Let me see if I can make the analogy a little more clear..... Why doesn't the Edge come with 3 rows of seats? If you need 3 rows buy an Explorer or Flex instead. Why doesn't the Focus have more back seat legroom like the Taurus? If you need more legroom buy a Fusion or Taurus instead. Why doesn't the non-hybrid Fusion get 40 mpg? If you want 40 mpg buy the hybrid version. Why doesn't the non-Ecoboost Flex have 365 hp? If you want 365 hp buy the Ecoboost version. Why doesn't the F150 have a snow plow option? If you need a snow plow buy a Super Duty. There - is that better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 (edited) EDIT: Why doesn't the insert image work? EDIT: There we go! Someone needs to rescue that poor thing! Edited January 5, 2011 by NickF1011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Someone needs to rescue that poor thing! The mustang or FordBuyer? Personally I think we should just let it rust in peace (FordBuyer, not the mustang) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mizzitch Posted January 5, 2011 Author Share Posted January 5, 2011 I thought it did. It raises the point of not buying a vehicle to do a job it wasn't designed for. And no, previous F-150s weren't exactly designed for plowing either. Could they do it? Sure. Could they do it well without risk of damage or premature wear to the vehicle? No. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ford hasn't done anything to the 2011 to make it impossible to hook a plow to it, have they? They just took away the ease of installation? Heck, I could probably find a way to install a plow on my Mustang if I really wanted to. On the upfitter website Ford is saying that the new electric steering is not able to handle the load of the plow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mizzitch Posted January 5, 2011 Author Share Posted January 5, 2011 I thought it did. It raises the point of not buying a vehicle to do a job it wasn't designed for. And no, previous F-150s weren't exactly designed for plowing either. Could they do it? Sure. Could they do it well without risk of damage or premature wear to the vehicle? No. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ford hasn't done anything to the 2011 to make it impossible to hook a plow to it, have they? They just took away the ease of installation? Heck, I could probably find a way to install a plow on my Mustang if I really wanted to. The previous 150's must have been designed to plow, since they had a plow package. Plowing also wears out a Super Duty sooner than lighter uses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 (edited) On the upfitter website Ford is saying that the new electric steering is not able to handle the load of the plow. Liability on Ford's part. They don't want to be responsible for people who break it while plowing and expect Ford to repair it under warranty. You didn't answer my question. Can you still install a plow on the F-150 if you wanted to? Just because Ford no longer offers the upfit doesn't mean it can't be done. You'll just have to do it at your own risk. The previous 150's must have been designed to plow, since they had a plow package. Plowing also wears out a Super Duty sooner than lighter uses. Just because they had a plow package doesn't mean they were adequately designed for it. It just means that Ford was willing to warranty the damage done to the vehicle if you plowed with it. Perhaps after a multitude of repairs related to plowing with F-150's, Ford decided to reduce its liability footprint. And yes, plowing will wear out a Super Duty faster than one that isn't plowing constantly, but it won't wear it out as quickly as it would wear out an F-150. Edited January 5, 2011 by NickF1011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mizzitch Posted January 5, 2011 Author Share Posted January 5, 2011 From the notice on the upfitter site it appears that the steering is "underpowered" to handle additional weight and possibly the alternator cannot keep up to electric steering, the plow's electric use, and the rest of the vehicle's draw. So yes you can hook one up, but it appears you may not be able to steer or you may fry the alternator.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 From the notice on the upfitter site it appears that the steering is "underpowered" to handle additional weight and possibly the alternator cannot keep up to electric steering, the plow's electric use, and the rest of the vehicle's draw. So yes you can hook one up, but it appears you may not be able to steer or you may fry the alternator.... So you need something more than regular duty power steering. I guess that would be SUPER DUTY power steering. Seriously - if you want to plow snow just buy a Super Duty and stop whining about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mackintire Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 From the notice on the upfitter site it appears that the steering is "underpowered" to handle additional weight and possibly the alternator cannot keep up to electric steering, the plow's electric use, and the rest of the vehicle's draw. So yes you can hook one up, but it appears you may not be able to steer or you may fry the alternator.... Let me drop another point. The plow prep package on the heritage model was available on the 7700lb package, which was really the F250 suspension, bearings, brakes and such bolted to an F150 frame. The newer bigger F150 ala 2005+ had the 8800lb package available which also had the plow prep and again F250 hardware underneith. Come forward to 2010 and the pending ASE tow standards and EPA rules. For 2011 Ford installed the electric steering unit to gain fuel economy. The 8800 package sold less than 500 units in 2009, and the 2010 F150 can tow as much as the old 8800 package. The only thing the 8800 package gave you was more load capability on the front end, bigger bearings, bigger brakes and more bolts on the wheels. It seems 500 people would rather pay $800 for the 8800 package rather than $200 more a year for a 3/4 ton inspection sticker. Considering those items alone, why continue the option? Geesh just buy an F250 and go on with life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 So you need something more than regular duty power steering. I guess that would be SUPER DUTY power steering. Seriously - if you want to plow snow just buy a Super Duty and stop whining about it. But they need light-duty plowing, like their driveway! Guess they haven't heard of a snow shovel! Or, like I have done, buy a $300 blade to put on the back of my tractor...works like a charm and doesn't add additional wear on my truck! It's mostly for play though as both of our vehicles are 4x4/AWD so I don't "need" to plow the driveway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mizzitch Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 I have two Super Duties and neither plow snow. Regular duty steering was on the 2010 F150, they have now gone to wuss electric steering. This is a wish list...and I wish that Ford does not turn the F150 into a wuss' pickup. End of story. Bash this post to increase you number of posts if you wish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I have two Super Duties and neither plow snow. Regular duty steering was on the 2010 F150, they have now gone to wuss electric steering. This is a wish list...and I wish that Ford does not turn the F150 into a wuss' pickup. End of story. Bash this post to increase you number of posts if you wish. The F150 also has "wuss" IFS. But yet it can tow 11,300 lbs. How many people complain about the GM HD trucks having IFS and that they can't handle a plow (even though they can)? Are those the same folks complaining that you can no longer put a plow on the F150? Probably, even though they have no intention of acxtually using a plow on their F150, or there GM HD, or their SD, or any truck in general! Hell, they probably live in Florida! Probably the same folks that bit#h when their coffee is hot, then turn around and bit#h when it gets cold! Or the same ones that bit#h because a vehicle has no options, then turn around and bit#h when it costs too much after they add options. You just can't please some folks... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mackintire Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 I have two Super Duties and neither plow snow. Regular duty steering was on the 2010 F150, they have now gone to wuss electric steering. This is a wish list...and I wish that Ford does not turn the F150 into a wuss' pickup. End of story. Bash this post to increase you number of posts if you wish. Percent of F150 owners that plow = less than 1% Percent of F150 owners that want better fuel economy, greater than 38% Not bashing, just laying out the facts. You can want a feature but it needs to be profitable in order for Ford to be convinced to add it as an option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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