I have always like trucks, and Ford vehicles have been a part of my life ever since childhood. My 1996 F150 has been a dependable vehicle for 11 years now and has been in some uncharacteristic driving situations for your everyday truck. My F150 is still running strong and though I don’t drive it as often, it is still a super dependable vehicle that I will hang onto for as long as possible.
My truck has a great engine, which I know from years of driving it and so I’ve been told. I am not a gear head, and though I wish I knew more about the in’s and out’s of truck mechanics, all I know how to change is the oil and fill basic fluids. But what I do know that I’ve never had a major repair on the engine – knock on wood. I also know I have had many friends who know their trucks, as well as complete strangers, tell me that I’ve got a “good engine on that truck, so hang onto it.” What is the engine? A 4.9 liters 6 in-line front longitudinal engine, 145 HP. That’s what I know, and you can look at more specs here.
My truck also has a manual transmission, which I was seeking when I wanted to purchase a truck for better gas mileage and out of pure habit. My father and brother’s trucks all had manual transmissions so I guess I wanted to follow suit. I learned to drive trucks with a manual transmission to that’s what I was comfortable with. I remember test driving a Dodge Ram before I bought my F150, with the salesman in the passenger seat. After driving the manual transmission several miles and turning to head back to the car dealer, he actually said, “Wow, you drive a manual trans pretty well for a girl.” Needless to say I parked the truck and told him it was too bad he lost my business that day and any day in the future.
I worked on a dude ranch in northern Illinois and did quite a bit of off-road driving. I will take this moment to give myself some credit on being a pretty decent driver when it came to manuevering my truck up and down the side of a rock quarry, through active stream beds and muddy situations in pastures and fields. Did I love that part of my job? Oh yes! But there were at least two instances where I was out in a field and had to get through wet, muddy terrain by myself with 2-wheel drive. The first time, after many repeated attempts to get through the mud, I had to radio back to the guys in the work shop to come out with the John Deere 4020 and pull me out. I caught quite a bit of flack for that. The next time, after not being able to get through my muddy obstacle initially, I got out of the truck, studied the terrain, turned my truck around, threw it into reverse and backed my way out of the sticky mud. I did NOT want to have to radio back a second time or ever again, and I didn’t.
The one thing I wish my F150 had was 4 wheel drive. Having lived in northern Illinois for many years and enduring many inches and sometimes feet of snow, it would have been nice not to have to weight down the back end of the truck with a couple hundred pounds of sand bags for traction each winter (though that isn’t such a bad thing to have along in case you get stuck).
The body of truck is still in decent condition, though there are a few rust spots around the wheel wells. It has some “character” added, with scratches from barbed-wire fence (that’s another ranch story) and horse bite marks on the hood from some mischevious equines getting salt after winter travel. The topper that came with the F150 has been wonderful. I can put the dog in the back of the truck to go to the barn, move furniture, landscape supplies, and we’ve even used it for camping a handful of times.
Since my family has grown and I have changed professions, my 1996 Ford F150 now gets to rest a bit more than back in its hay-day. The engine still turns over, even in the winter in quite cold conditions for the southern mid-west, after not being started for a couple of weeks. My F150 is still running strong and is dependable. My kids love their rides in the truck, knowing there may be some off-road driving – just in the back yard (sorry neighbors!). And hopefully it will keep running until my son gets his driver’s license, because that will be here before I know it.
Sources:
Personal Experience
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/6208812/when_i_called_a_dude_ranch_home.html?cat=16
http://www.motortrend.com/cars/1996/ford/f_150/base_regular_cab_pickup/337/specifications/
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