New England B.S. Thread

I wouldn't have ordered my truck with the 20s it has. They look good, but they aren't as practical. My winter tires are on OEM 18s.

The 18s are usually more expensive than the 20s though, surprisingly:

 

They are claiming cheap for the workman fleet truck type.

That is surprising. I’ll take back my claim of more expensive!

 

the one i had for a rental had a lot of sensors, i just imagine setting it up to go offroad would be way more difficult. but definitely a comfortable truck, and was nice to drive around for work

 

I mean my tacoma has a ton of sensors, I don't have all the rear stuff backup reverse etc but I have all the forward stuff. I haven't had any issues with it. I would be just as confident in the ranger tech. I liked the LED lights but now I am overall not a fan of them anyway so oh well. I do like the look of the extended cab rangers though at least they look right. But now that I'm setting up for cab camping I'm glad I didn't get an extended cab.

 

For those interested in the bronco sport being a rebadged escape...
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a35473816/2021-ford-bronco-sport-vs-escape-specs/

 

Being an old fart, I can say we had some cool cars back in the day.

This is the Ford Maverick I know.

I owned one just like this.
Grabber Yellow
302 with a 4 speed.
Similar to putting a V8 on to a roller skate.

 

"You'd probably guess that the boxier Bronco would be less efficient than the sleeker Escape on the highway, and you'd be right. The Escape achieved 32 mpg on our 75-mph highway fuel-economy test, while the Bronco got just 24 mpg in the same test. The Escape beat its 31-mpg EPA highway rating, while the Bronco Sport fell short of its 26-mpg rating."

"We're comparing top-of-the-line powertrains here, as both the Bronco Sport and the Escape we tested were equipped with the turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four that's optional on both models (a turbo 1.5-liter inline-three is standard). They both had an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive."

8 MPG difference, same drivetrain, holy shite!

That's the maverick I know. I was a little surprised to see them use the same name.


Sounds like they might be bringing back the dakota too but at least in the same form.
https://www.caranddriver.com/ram/dakota

that I'm actually looking forward to.

 

You could have bought a F150 in the "Ranger" trim back in the day as well.
Go figure.

 

IIRC, think there was also an "Explorer" package as well.

 

Jeez, no love for the 20's. I love them. Ford offers a bunch of different wheel sizes, but the overall tire diameter stays pretty close to the same. I like the 20's with the shorter sidewall because I feel like they handle better when loaded, less 'squish'.

 

Well that's what I was wondering, do the 20's actually tow better due to less sidewall and possibly less flex? I don't know, I just know I'm not exactly tall, but I'm no midget at 5'-9" and when the tailgate drops and it's at my tits, on a stock truck, that's fucking stupid.

 

The highest tow ratings on the F-150 require 20s, so I'm going to go with yes.

 

Right hand drive too

 

@5nahalf

cb update

power installed. I can inform that the trailer brake controller is not keyed power and is always on. Not a big deal I thought that, it will do for now and then once it gets warmer I will spend some time doing a much neater setup.

and the setback: I didn’t have a second rg58 cable so I couldn’t connect my swr meter to tune it.


Does anyone along the 495 or 95 corridor have a jumper I can borrow to tune this weekend? I am ordering one but figured I’d at least ask here too

bracket isn’t in yet either, grabbed some cheap o zinc plated steel thing from HD. But at this point my Cali raised one might be here in time for the full setup

In the summer I’ll be more apt to get pictures and do a write up when I do it properly. Right now I hacked off the end of a trailer brake controller and butt connectored it to the CB power supply. it’ll get me to LA and back. I hope.

 

I ran into that problem when I first got my swr meter... had to wait for one to show up. I figured it would come with everything needed to tune the antenna.

Good to know on the trailer brake thing.

 

Frontier looks good. Keeping the same motor from the current gen. Unfortunately it looks like no manual tranny.

 

The thing I will say, is they updated the motor and a few other things the final year production in the old model, so its SORTA a new one, but they've had a year to get the kinks out.

No manual stinks, but I'm guessing people were not buying them.

 

Yes, true in the motor! Yeah the manual transmission is very "niche" now for sure. Im glad I was able to get one in the configuration and color I wanted from the closest dealer to me.

 

I think they did when I had my F150 but, to be fair, I was also running a 'Standard Load' tires. So, when I went from 18's to 20's, same overall tire height but less sidewall, it felt less 'squishy' when towing. I likely could have accomplished the same thing by just running an LT tire on the 18" wheels.

Generally, the manufacturers would give you the option of wheels from sometimes as low as 17" up to 20" but the overall tire diameter remains the same or really close. There was always an exception, usually the 'off road' package trucks would have a little taller tire package. Now, I'm starting to see that no longer being the case. The F-250 4x4 XLT could come with 275/65R18 or 275/70R18's but the higher trim level trucks came with 275/65R20. I went from 275/65R18 to 275/65R20's, overall diameter difference of 2" so I got a cheap 1" lift out of the swap.

That's sort of a mixed bag... The heavy payload package F150 with the max tow comes with 18's.

 

I think your right, no one or almost no one was buying them, either manual or auto.