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Ford Lightning as a DD...


Sully

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Yay or Nay?

 

I am planning on checking out a Lightning toward the end of this week. If I was to acquire it, this would be replacing my current car, and become my dd. I'm thinking that as long as I have appropriate treads on the truck for the weather, I should be good year-round, right? I mean, I had a 96 Formula for a couple years that I dd'd and never had any issues. So, why couldn't I be able to do this same with this? Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

My reasoning behind getting a Lightning is that I need a truck, and I miss having a fast (to me) toy. This would meet both needs in 1 vehicle. If a Lightning is not a good idea, what other vehicles should I look at?

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Is this the first gen, or the more modern, supercharged chassis?

 

As I get older, I'm good with most any vehicle as long as it's got working A/C and - if I'm driving it over long distances - cruise control and a decent stereo to play Spotify/SiriusXM through.

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Do you have kids to worry about transporting? Auto rwd with a lot of torque will suck in winter but not impossible, like mentioned hauling anything inside the cab like food etc is not the most fun task. If you are used to sports cars standard cab trucks are not great because the back of the seat doesn't recline hardly at all.

 

As far as it compared to any other standard pickup as a daily if you can get past it only being rwd there is nothing really to worry about...

If these things bother you and you still want something a little fun you could look at a Harley f150

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I would get a winter beater but over all rest of the year, sure why not. MPG will blow donkey but its the nature of the truck.

 

Piling groceries in a regular cab can be annoying.

 

Would recommend getting a bed cover, and or a small net/box n the bed for this. biggest downfall for single cab trucks is the space to store stuff.

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Yeah, the fact that it's a regular cab is probably my biggest dislike for the truck, but I could get past it, I think. I had a regular cab Dodge Ram several years ago and did ok. I have a net and cargo bar to put in the bed if I need to haul smaller stuff.

 

I drive a total of like 25 miles a day on average between home and both jobs. Gas isn't too terribly expensive, for now anyway.

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I'm with Steve-o. The Harley trucks are a little more comfortable and are cc. Change the blower pulley and a tune and then they run pretty good.

 

My buddy has one that's stock and it's just a little bit faster than my h/c 6.0l regular cab Sierra.

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I'm with Steve-o. The Harley trucks are a little more comfortable and are cc. Change the blower pulley and a tune and then they run pretty good.

 

My buddy has one that's stock and it's just a little bit faster than my h/c 6.0l regular cab Sierra.

 

That would be a good option, but I refuse to get another black vehicle.

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I would get a winter beater but over all rest of the year, sure why not. MPG will blow donkey but its the nature of the truck.

 

 

 

Would recommend getting a bed cover, and or a small net/box n the bed for this. biggest downfall for single cab trucks is the space to store stuff.

 

I came here to post this. Got a Truxedo and love it. Some people don't like it but I haven't had any problems at all and its one of the cheaper covers out there. I like it cause I an roll it up quickly without snaps works great in all weather conditions.

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I've always liked the lightning.....looked at one in the mid 2000's and liked it....had a pretty nice interior if I recall correctly. Truck doesn't work for me though because I tow a 5er and have a family. If I was in the market for something like that though it'd be tough for me to pass up the dodge srt-10 which is in the same price range but if I did it would be for a lightning.
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I didn't have any issues with mine in Ohio winters, just sucks if you need more room than a single cab can handle.

 

I could get 20mpg taking it easy but most of the time it was around 18mpg. If you are raping it from every light and cruising on the highway you'll be around 13mpg or less if it's heavily modded..

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Buy buelligan's 2nd gen cummins ram, for sale on here. Extended cab, 5.9 Cummins, good mileage, different kind of fun :), but can easily become the same fun as a lightning.

 

Meh, that truck doesn't do anything for me.

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I daily'd my 01 back in the day. Tried to drive in winter LOL. Other than that it was great. Do research on the 5.4, not great motors with age and mileage.

 

Especially the 00-02 models. Look for an 03/04 truck, they dont suffer from the spark plug issue. The 2000 models have the smaller driveshaft and a less efficient water cooling setup.

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The lightning I had my eye on has sold. So after some suggestions here, I have started researching the Silverado SS and I think this is going to be a better option.

 

So, anything I need to watch out for on the SS? Stay away from certain years, what issues to look for, etc? I currently have my eye on one that is 100 miles away. I want to ask a lot of questions before I make that trip.

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