The Perfect Truck For The Do-It Yourself Guy

I purchased a 2004 F-150 Heritage on June 24, 2004. The truck had 13 miles on it when I picked it up. Since then that same truck has been across the country, from Canada to Mexico, and Virginia to Cali. Only maintnance that has been done to the truck is the regularlly scheduled oil changes, air filter, fuel filter and so on. Never has this truck so much as spuddered, stalled, died, lugged, or disappointed me in any way. It has ample power for pulling my little trailer around (16 foot flatbed utility). When moving from the mid west to the gulf coast I pulled the trailer loaded down, as well as the bed of the truck loaded down at a steady speed of 70-75 mph and had very good fuel milage. On the first leg of the trip I averaged 18.1 mpg and on the second leg which was much more hilly and not so much flat I averaged 17.3 mpg. I have had nothing but good running with this truck either long hauls or just across town. And with the 4 cupholders there is always somewhere to put a drink for the road.

The Heritage STX that I purchased came with a powerful 4.2 liter V6 engine. This engine now has near 35,000 miles on it, and I have never had a problem out of it. With routine and scheduled maintnance it has not lost an once of power/torque. So long as you take care of this truck, it will be sure to take care of you.

The transmission is as exceptional as the engine is. This edition has a 5 speed transmission with very easy gearing to find with the shifter. The gears are far enough apart to ensure not going into the wrong hole, and yet close enough together to keep from having to reach all the way across the cab to catch 5th. With the first gear set pretty low, it makes it easy to take off with a small to mid sized trailer (10-18 foot) with little to no staying in the friction zone on the clutch. Trailers in this size range have never givin me a problem, no matter how much of a load I have put on it. The trailers I have been pulling around are flat bed trailers, some loaded light, other's pretty heavy. The engine and drive train have performed very well. On larger trailers (not recommended for this pick-up by the manufacturer) it takes a while to get going, but once you are able to get moving the engine will do fairly well at maintaining a constant speed of 60-65 mph. Also on the transmission, if you are not planning on pulling trailers, or using it to haul heavy loads, this pick-up will get up and move on the highway. With gears 2,3, and 4 set pretty high you are able to wrap the rpm's up, get on it, and get to where you need to be. The 5th gear (overdrive) is not that great for acceloration, however does a superb job of maintaining a constant and set speed regardless of hills, or flat land running.

The braking system on this pick-up is set up for empty/light weight trailer hauling. It does wonderful for what it is designed for, however if you are going to be pulling heavy/large trailers, or hauling heavy loads in the bed of the pick-up, you will want to make sure you allow for extra stopping room. The weight of the load will push you, forcing the truck to not want to stop. Paying a little extra attention, and downshifting makes it managable without making it unsafe. The addition of aftermarket electric trailer brakes make a wonderful addition for comfort, ease, and safty of braking with larger trailers. For a person not familiar with downshifting while braking I would suggest to keep to small trailers and light loads in the bed.

The comfort level of this pick up is nice. I have been on several long trips in this truck, and have been nice and comfy the whole way. The seats are soft and contoured to your legs and bottom so that there is no pain while sitting. The feel of the seats are firm yet soft enough to allow for a nice ride without having your legs fall asleep. With all the controls for the winshield wipers and headlights located on the left side of the steering wheel on the dash it is easy to find what you are needing without having to take your eyes off the road to do so. The sterio is sitting to the right of the dash panel and a confortable reach away. The heater works wonders and can thaw out the coldest of passengers on a short trip even on the coldest days of the year. Air conditioning is one of the best that I have found. On several occasions I have stuck a thermometer into the air vent and seen the air temp inside the vent is usually around 36 degrees. Even in August. I hear all the time from people riding with me that it's like a meat locker inside the pick-up. It gets cold enough that the windows will sweat during the heat of the day.