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2003 Ford Super Duty F250 4x4 Supercab

San Francisco: I looked over at my brother and grinned, "I can’t help it; I just like big trucks. Must be the little kid in the sandbox in me." He just looked back and said, "You always were a little weird." He may be right, but what self-respecting man wouldn’t want a big truck? C’mon now, admit it.

There is absolutely no sane reason most of us need a truck like the Super Duty F250 4X4 Supercab (henceforth just known as the F250). How many people need a truck that will seat five, drive to Alaska taking the scenic route, carry almost everything in the house, and tow the trailer holding the house? How many of you want one of these just because?

How big is the F250? This one was 231.4" long, 79.9" wide, weighs over 3 tons, carries 3,895 lb., and can tow 12,500 lbs., and you may need a stepladder just to get into it. The pickup bed is 6.75’ long and it’s so high that my Australian Shepard, Dulcie, had trouble jumping into it. But I still liked it. Why? Because it’s a BIG TRUCK!

Of course, the beat of the big diesel engine helps too. It’s just like a Semi. The 6.0-liter, turbo diesel V8 that makes 325 hp @ 3300 rpm and 560 lb.-ft. of torque at 2000 rpm was connected to a 5-speed automatic transmission. Now I hear you saying, "So what?" Well, besides having the torque to topple the Transamerica tower, it returned 17.6 mpg at 80 mph, which in my book is darn good for something this size.

This F250 was no stripper model either. It had the full tilt Lariat package with leather front Captain’s chairs plus every other option in sight. It was very nice, yet sensible – a rugged sensible, sophisticated businessman’s office.

Oh yeah, one thing I almost forgot – it had four-wheel-drive (4WD) too. Not that I ever used it but you know if you’re knocking about the backcountry, this is the way to go. The whole 4WD system is controlled with a simple switch on the dash. Want to do some stump pulling? Just switch to 4WD Low. Need to cruise up a snowy road? Click it into 4WD High and keep on driving. You just can’t go wrong with a truck this size and with this much horsepower.

Now of course the downside to a truck like the Super Duty F250 4X4 Supercab is the price. These big boys do not come cheap. How does $42,324.00 strike you? Is that a little bit too high? Okay then let’s try just $33,605. That’s the base price plus the destination and handling ($795) charges. So there’s almost $8 grand worth of options on this F250, and $5,085 of it is in the turbo diesel engine alone.

Personally, I wouldn’t have a truck like this without the diesel. You get tremendous pulling power, good economy, and that big truck sound. So come on, let the kid in you out to play. Buy the big truck and have a great time in your new sandbox. By Bruce Hotchkiss © AutoWire.Net - San Francisco

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