I'm with the OP, especially with regard to the 36 gallon fuel tank. I have an 09 F150 4x4 with the old 5.4 V8 and it gets about 19 mpg freeway (with bigger off road tires I put on it). I deer hunt about 140 miles from where I live and have to go off road about 15 miles to get to the location. From there, I crawl up and down logging trails in the truck and often get about 10 mpg in 4wd low. With the 36 gallon tank I can make the entire round trip without ever having to refuel.
I don't tow and I don't drag race the truck, so the 5.4 is plenty fast for my needs. It's also been bulletproof reliable in the 7 years I've had it.
That says a lot for your old pickup. I have an 04 GMC that I really like, but have been thinking about getting something with a little more room (4 doors). However, I think just about everything on the drivetrain has been rebuilt, except for the engine and it only has 140,000 on it. I'm very thankful I enjoy rebuilding a tranny, rear end, front differential, and transfer case about every 10 years... Bull chit...
. It's been proven, in the harshest conditions that the Ford pick-up stands up better than anything else made. When they say "Ford tough", they aren't lying... Back when I was a kid, I used to buy old "mine trucks". This is what I called them, as they came from the gold mines of Nevada. I would buy 3 or 4 year old Ford F-150's and F-250 4x4's for a couple thousand each, sometimes even less. One of my favorite pickups was a 1990 F-250 with the 5.0. That thing got 20 mpg on the freeway and was a fun truck to drive. Not a hot rod by any means, just a fun truck to drive. I remember buying that one in the fall of '93 and paying $1,900.00 for it. It had 119,000 miles on it... Those were the days...
