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Desert_Captain's avatar
Desert_Captain
Explorer III
Aug 20, 2013

Said goodbye to a great truck today....



It is with mixed emotions that I announce the passing of one great truck (mixed emotions being defined as: Watching your mother in law drive off a cliff in your new Mercedes... but I digress). Two weeks ago we traded our 22' TT in on a nice Nexus Phantom Class C. With the trailer gone we had no further need for the truck so she had to go. Here is the add I posted on Craigslist Last Thursday:

2006 F-150 Super Cab 5.4L V-8, 4 speed OD Automatic, MINT Condition! Leer Shell 102,000 miles under Kelley Blue Book at $9,500!
Ford Certified Pre Owned, Michelin LT M/S 2 E rated tires, Monroe LT Sensa Trac Shocks (Lifetime Warranty), Full service history/records. K&N CAI, SS Running Boards, Sony AM/FM CD Stereo, Full factory tow package + Tekonsha Trailer Brake Controller, CIPA Slide on Towing Mirror extensions, Factory bed liner, New: 5 year Battery, Custom Suede Dash Topper, bug deflector and Husky mud flaps. 3:55 Limited Slip Differential,
Towing Capacity 8,600#m GVWR 7050#, GCWR 14,000#. It towed my 5,600# travel trailer like a dream w/12.5 mpg @ 60 mph, 16/17 around town and 19.5 on the highway @ 65 mph. Wind deflector (to improve towing mileage), also available.

This is probably the cleanest used truck you have ever seen. We just traded our trailer in on a new Class C Motorhome and no longer need the truck. Call Steve at


I placed a half a dozen nice photos with the copy and Immediately got some calls. One gentleman called late Friday and we chatted for quite a while. He lived 40 miles away so I agreed to drive it down to his house for a look on Saturday morning. He loved it, said he was "coming after it" and would have the money lined up on Monday, Tuesday the latest. Turns out he was financing it through State Farm Insurance (I didn't know they did that). Not one word was spoken by either of us regarding price but the add clearly stated $9,500.

I gave him my word on a handshake that I would not sell it out from under him (as the phone continued to ring). I picked him up at 9 this morning and drove him to the Sate Farm Office where we closed the deal for $9,500 with his local Agent doing all of the paperwork. Pretty painless for me and I walked out with a check from SF.

He told me the truck was so nice he just couldn't haggle over the price and is delighted to have it. I told him that if he had half as much fun as we did he was in for a nice ride. In four years of ownership it never let me down or cost me a dime in anything but routine maintenance. I am really going to miss that truck. :(
  • campigloo wrote:
    DesertCaptain, noticed the camper shell with the wind deflector. Was thinking about using that on mine in the future. Does it work? Was it worth the investment? Does it rattle and is it easy to remove/install?


    Yes it does work, we gained between 1.5 and 2.0 mpg though in that particular picture it is too steeply angled. Ideally you want the top of the deflector aligned with the top leading edge of the trailer. Placing it as close to the trailer as possible, as in the rear shell location enhances its performance. It takes about 2 minutes to strap on and less to remove, very solid, you could grab the deflector and literally rock the truck with no rattles.

    As to the worth it question, yes for us it was. It cost $377 delivered (Google Icon Direct). At $3.50 a gallon it paid for it self in 6,000 miles which for us was one year. After that it was just free gas. I tow at 59/60 mph and for a year and a half, mostly serious mountain driving, we averaged 12.5 mpg. Here are a couple better shots with the wing properly aligned (you could always tell when it was right as the bugs disappeared off the front of the trailer as they were carried up and over by the deflected air stream):