2 year update on my 2021 Platinum Hybrid 4x4

[Just Me]

Just Me, thanks for the write up! What is your experience with the tonneau cover? How is the paint match? I have the Bakflip MX 4 and now considering going to the Undercover one piece.

The paint match is good. It keeps the bed dry and my stuff locked up. check here. https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/installed-undercover-elite-hard-tonneau-cover.3636/

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[Ziggy73]

It’s been 2 years since I got mine. Group 701a, Moonroof, 7.2 pro power, Max tow, FX4, interior work surface, Max Recline seats and 100,000 mile warranty. Here is a little update after 57,000 miles. At least half of those pulling a 18’ trailer with a SXS and ATV all around the country. From Houston to Virginia, to South Dakota and to California and many places between the miles piled up quickly. Gas mileage avg 22-24 mpg without trailer, 8.5-11 mpg with it. Gas to Hybrid and back is smooth and not really noticeable. Plenty of torque/horsepower for good acceleration when pulling a trailer. Max tow must works too I guess. I don’t really notice too much change in handling with the trailer. One windshield, one set of tires, multiple oil and filter changes and one check engine light are all the maintenance that was needed. All recalls done except for the wiper motor. Blue Cruise finally activated in June. I use it a lot but it doesn’t work with trailer attached. Don’t use the work surface very often because my cup holders are full most of the time. Full recline seats get occasional use and give a good surface for a short nap or whatever you use them for. The back seat area needs to be clear so the seats can go all the way down. It will alarm if passenger seat is down while traveling. Massage function with heat or cool gets used all the time on a long road trip. Moon roof is seldom used but nice when it’s needed. Never used park assist. and trailer backup assist once or twice just to try it. Rear camera gives a good view of trailer while going down the road. Other camera views are useful too. No transmission issued like some have experienced. Apple Car play works good. Large info screen is nice too. Pro power has been used more than I thought it would. I got a lot of news, internet and magazine coverage when I used it during a Texas freeze and power grid issue to power up some things in my house. It comes in handy for tail gating, camping, working and a lot of other activities. Ford had a great idea on that option. So after a couple of years with no issues and a bunch of miles I’m going to keep it for a lot more miles and see where it can take me.

Awesome and informative report, glad to see it's doing good, hope mine does as well, I've had a couple of tiny issues, transmission pump basically and just to recalls. The one time that my electricity went out this past month My truck was in for the recall, figures. Hopefully a few of the OTA updates can help a few of our other issues we have, I wish they would make it where we could dim the dash completely, but these are just new picky, look forward to your four-year report.

 

[MurphysLaww]

Our 2022 XLT was great for the 12k miles we had it. Think we just broke even on the trade-in for the lightning. Towed my 3500'lb racecar on a uhaul double axle, Tx to Neb and back with no issues. Did get an overheat warning on the first trip with it to Beeville and back to austin, but it appeared a software reset fixed it. Normally, around town at least, that it got 70mile/tank from Electric. Got about 12mpg towing the racecar. No more towed racecar now... because Lightning :-( Sok, we wanted a batt backup for our solar, as Texas can't be trusted anywhere to keep the grid up. racing cars I can drive to the event now.

 

[Jus Cruisin]

More good ones than bad. I kept mine for nearly 2 years. It would have been gone sooner had there been decent inventory. I've owned at 2 dozen F-series and my 2021 F150 Platinum 4X4 Powerboost was the worst. It stranded me off and on for over 3 months with a no start condition that would fix itself after 30 minutes to 3 or 4 hours. The drive unit was finally replaced and I wasn't stranded after but I still stared at the dash looking for "ready" wondering if it would go or not. I finally decided to switch brands and found a GMC that wasn't sold in a local dealer order bank. Thrilled with the change so far. Will I consider another F-series? Possibly. I'll see how much I like the GMC After a year or so.

 

[BRDVPRA]

We have a few similarities! I am on my 2 year mark at 60K miles.
1. I tow either a 33ft bumper pull camper or a 6x12 box trailer pretty routinely.
2. I use the Pro Power a lot for the camper, charging drone batteries, and I installed a power strip under the back seat for my daughters soccer buddies to charge their phones!
3. I'm getting a little less mileage, but not bad. As many have stated, I can make it get 24 or 19 depending on how it is driven.
4. I wish I could check, but I bet I have driven more miles with Blue Cruise than without.
5. I have replaced a windshield, but not the wipers and added Defender LTX tires (I really like them).
6. The Brake Booster went out and it was replaced. That was crazy to drive with essentially time delayed and all in trailer brakes.
7. Truck has been to and through AR, OK, TX, MO, NE, MS, AL, FL, LA, and NC (Ford ST Experience wife's car)
8. I use the truck as a office, drone launch platform, transportation, and a get away from all of it.... The heated, cooled, massage laydown seats are handy and so is the workspace. I just put my cups in the rear holders when I use it.
9. Made a bed for my side kick dog, so she can ride on the console in style!
10. Replaced two taillights that ended up cracked (not cheap)
11. Steering wheel is showing wear and so is the driver seat. Fixed the seat issue with dense pipe insulation.
12. The 3.5L was eating oil at first until Ford fixed the baffle system in the valve cover. Check your oil between changes....you might be surprised.
13. Led Rt 66 Mustang Cruises at the Mid America Ford and Shelby Nationals in Tulsa, OK!

 

[Snakebitten]

@BRDVPRA
Ford has replaced that KingRanch steering wheel on a few trucks. Which implies that they acknowledge a bad batch of them.
Perhaps you can get a dealership to go to bat for you?

 

[BRDVPRA]

@BRDVPRA
Ford has replaced that KingRanch steering wheel on a few trucks. Which implies that they acknowledge a bad batch of them.
Perhaps you can get a dealership to go to bat for you?

Thanks and I bet mine will!

 

[DT444T]

1. I tow either a 33ft bumper pull camper or a 6x12 box trailer pretty routinely.

Can I get some specs on that trailer? Year, make, model? I'm looking into a 26' model that should be about 30-31' overall. How's it pull? What kinda mpg? SPILL THE DETAILS

Which is funny because my other trailer is also a 6x12.

 

[Just Me]

We have a few similarities! I am on my 2 year mark at 60K miles.
1. I tow either a 33ft bumper pull camper or a 6x12 box trailer pretty routinely.
2. I use the Pro Power a lot for the camper, charging drone batteries, and I installed a power strip under the back seat for my daughters soccer buddies to charge their phones!
3. I'm getting a little less mileage, but not bad. As many have stated, I can make it get 24 or 19 depending on how it is driven.
4. I wish I could check, but I bet I have driven more miles with Blue Cruise than without.
5. I have replaced a windshield, but not the wipers and added Defender LTX tires (I really like them).
6. The Brake Booster went out and it was replaced. That was crazy to drive with essentially time delayed and all in trailer brakes.
7. Truck has been to and through AR, OK, TX, MO, NE, MS, AL, FL, LA, and NC (Ford ST Experience wife's car)
8. I use the truck as a office, drone launch platform, transportation, and a get away from all of it.... The heated, cooled, massage laydown seats are handy and so is the workspace. I just put my cups in the rear holders when I use it.
9. Made a bed for my side kick dog, so she can ride on the console in style!
10. Replaced two taillights that ended up cracked (not cheap)
11. Steering wheel is showing wear and so is the driver seat. Fixed the seat issue with dense pipe insulation.
12. The 3.5L was eating oil at first until Ford fixed the baffle system in the valve cover. Check your oil between changes....you might be surprised.
13. Led Rt 66 Mustang Cruises at the Mid America Ford and Shelby Nationals in Tulsa, OK!

Good use of your vehicle for those 60,000 miles. I drive through Tulsa a lot on my way to Bartlesville.

 

[BRDVPRA]

Can I get some specs on that trailer? Year, make, model? I'm looking into a 26' model that should be about 30-31' overall. How's it pull? What kinda mpg? SPILL THE DETAILS

Which is funny because my other trailer is also a 6x12.

It is a Jayco 2017 ish White Hawk Ultra Light DSBH, (6500 ish dry I think). Pulls great and the second F150 I have pulled it with. Does great on flat ground, would not advise the mountains! Gets about 10 to 12mpg when pulling. I stay below 70mph for the most part.

 

[DT444T]

It is a Jayco 2017 ish White Hawk Ultra Light DSBH, (6500 ish dry I think). Pulls great and the second F150 I have pulled it with. Does great on flat ground, would not advise the mountains! Gets about 10 to 12mpg when pulling. I stay below 70mph for the most part.

Dang, that's nice fuel econ.

Oof, I'll be towing over the Rockies...I'll just have to be careful. I've considered meth injection, or a radiator sprayer. Or both.

 

[BRDVPRA]

Dang, that's nice fuel econ.

Oof, I'll be towing over the Rockies...I'll just have to be careful. I've considered meth injection, or a radiator sprayer. Or both.

OK so here we go! We were towing up through CO Springs from OK. The truck pulled the trailer up the pass like a freight train, but the temp popped at 240F right at the top of the pass. As soon as and I mean as soon as we nosed over the pass the temp drop to normal way faster than coolant could be cooled. IMO the intercooler was not working hard enough to keep the intake charge temp in check and this cause the temp spike. After this happened, I started really managing the truck with downshifting and not lugging the engine as much. This helped the overheating to the point it did not hit 240F again. I don't pull the big trailer in 10th and try to keep the rpm in the 2500 range and that seems to help a lot. I think if the intercooler was better it would just chug right on up the mountain. Of course, that doesn't do anything for having enough brake to stop the show if needed, etc. It would still be sketchy IMO.

 

[DT444T]

I don't pull the big trailer in 10th and try to keep the rpm in the 2500 range

Oh, well....yeah. You can't do that to these. Gears 8, 9, 10 are all overdrives.

I'm still considering an intercooler upgrade. And still thinking sprayers for the the whole suite of cooling on the truck.

Towing my 6x12 (about 5000#) up Ike I think I may have got to 230° but I was doing 65 or so at around 3000rpm.

This truck WILL pull at lower RPM but it's better to just let it have some RPM and breathe.

Thanks for the info.

 

[mbouck3]

It does indeed!

And I'm an RV full timer not too far from you. Closer to the coast, rural, and power outages due to coastal wind are common.

I am the poster child for the ProPower 30Amp service! I don't think I will ever be without the feature, regardless of the make/model.

I really would like to see the video of the conference/meeting room at Ford when the FIRST mention of "would if we leveraged the Hybrid Battery with an inverter and......"

Obviously the new idea did NOT get shot down. (Which I bet is all too common) And after that meeting, someone was tasked with going back to their desk and further develop the "concept" before the next meeting.

Man would I love to hear the REAL story someday.

Meeting YOU, although virtually, is a little bit closer to that story. At least the story that also includes me having the truck with the incredibly clever feature.

A bit stunned to be in the 3rd year of production and still no copycats.

Yes Toyota messed up there. I have banged my head on that one.

 

[mbouck3]

Spiritrider1: Mileage for me is very speed dependent, along with elevation changes and wind drag on trailered items. The faster I go the faster I burn fuel. I drive too fast, go up and over mountains and haul an open tandem wheel trailer with a 6’x6’ mesh ramp hanging in the air like a speed brake so my trailering mpg is screwed from the get go. It’s more my fault than the the trucks fault. Your attention to details and data tracking must have something to do with your occupation or vice versa. You did a very good job on the graphs and data collection showing a great trailering mpg is possible.

I can get 12+ towing a 29 foot fifth wheel but I have to work at it, a lot of frontal area on that thing. Driving 60-63 maximizing regen and when getting up to speed letting electric help rather than turbos as long as I am not holding up others. I think most is keeping speed near 60. I will never be without a truck like this again.

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