This 2016 F-150 owner has been putting his truck through some tough situations, including hauling tractors and concrete blocks.
When you spend three years with a vehicle, you end up learning a lot about it. That’s especially true when you put an average of 25,000 miles a year on it. You truly experience its quirks and idiosyncrasies and develop a fully informed opinion on it. But if you do all of that and also tow tens of thousands of pounds with your vehicle, you get the most complete picture of its strengths and weaknesses.
That’s exactly what Joe Kapitany of the YouTube channel Kapper Outdoors did with his 2016 Ford F-150 Lariat 4X4.
He bought it brand new with a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, a heavy duty tow package, and a 3.55 rear end. He had a reason for buying his truck with that particular setup: Hard work – and lots of it. Kapitany owns a land management company. That often requires him to pull trailers loaded with heavy equipment such as a tractor and building materials that can eat up a substantial amount of his truck’s towing capacity. According to Kapitany, “It’s set up to tow 11,300 pounds.”
At one point in his F-150 ownership, Kapitany used his rig to haul a trailer and his front-end loader. Those two tipped the scales at roughly 11,000 pounds. But they were no problem for the mighty EcoBoost engine, which helped pull them without breaking a sweat.
It was even less fazed by a trailer carrying 3,000 pounds of cargo. In fact, the F-150 was able to chirp its rear tires from a dead stop while pulling all of that weight.
Kapitany’s truck struggled slightly to get a trailer and his front-end loader up a gravely road…because he had it in two-wheel drive. After he threw it into 4LO, the F-150 and its heavy load sailed up the path.
There is no such thing as a truly perfect vehicle and Kapitany’s F-150 is no exception to the rule. One of his few complaints about it is its fuel economy. He said, “It was supposed to get between 21 and 24 [mpg], highway.” In reality, Kapitany is averaging roughly 18.
That doesn’t change the fact that, overall, Kapitany loves his truck. In fact, he said it’s “the best truck I’ve ever owned.” Key word: owned. Kapitany is going to trade his trusty F-150 in for a larger, more capable truck. Don’t worry – he’s not defecting to Chevy or Ram. He’s getting an F-250 with a Power Stroke diesel.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.