Brand loyalists know Ford has a lot of clever accessories and features for outfitting your F-150 to do just about anything you could imagine. No matter what you do with your truck, whether it’s for towing, hauling, camping, or acting as a roving tool shed, Ford has countless ways to make the most out of your truck. Cargo bed slides, console vaults, and MOLLE storage systems are all available for customization, and a bevy of features can make your truck a marvel of capability. We hope this list of incredible features inspires you to head to Future Ford of Sacramento, your Gold River Ford dealer, to get creative with your F-150.
#1 – Military-Grade Aluminum Body
The combination of high-strength steel in the frame and the military-grade aluminum alloy used for the body of the F-150 make the truck much better at towing and hauling heavier loads. The weight reduction from the use of the lighter aluminum means the power of the engine can be put toward work instead of having to move the body of the truck. A special heat treatment process makes it possible to build thicker panels and pillars where strength is needed, but the aluminum is light enough to not add extra weight. Even when you take the F-150 out on the trail where it can get banged and bashed around, the aluminum alloy can handle the punishment.
#2 – Bright Zone Lighting
Most trucks have bed lighting, but the F-150 has Zone Lighting that creates a fully-lit area surrounding the truck. This is a great feature for camping or late-night work at a job site. The lights are versatile, too. Four zones allow the lights to be turned on where the light is needed, and they can be lit in any combination of zones. Ford allows access to this feature in two different ways, so you can turn on the lights using the infotainment system or through the FordPass app on your smartphone. Once you hit the power button, you can get to work.
#3 – Lockable Waterproof Frunk
Though this is only a feature of the new F-150 Lightning, it’s a great use of the extra space that comes from the new fully electric powertrain. Without a gas engine taking up all the room under the hood, the space was repurposed to be used like a trunk in a sedan…except it’s in the front. Thus, it’s a front trunk, or “frunk.” It comes fully lined with washable vinyl that’s weather-proof and lockable, so it’s as secure as a trunk in a car. The frunk can hold up to 400 pounds of cargo, and an extra chamber below the cargo floor can be used as a cooler with a drain to let out excess water. When camping or tailgating, you can turn this frunk into an instant outdoor kitchen with a coffee maker, electric griddle, or crockpot plugged into the outlets, and everything can be hosed out if you make a mess.
#4 – BlueCruise Hands-Free Driving
Ford has been testing fully autonomous vehicles for over a decade, even running prototype programs with driverless vehicles in large cities. A feature like semi-autonomous driving software may seem unnerving without understanding the background of how much work has already gone into research and development, but Ford has driverless vehicles safely navigating city streets already. A little hands-free driving doesn’t need to make anyone nervous. If anything, it should give you a chance to relax on a long drive so you can arrive at your destination more refreshed because you didn’t have to steer or operate the pedals. Highway Blue Zones for the available BlueCruise feature are currently accessible in both the US and Canada, with over 130,000 miles of mapped areas where drivers can hit the switch and let the F-150 handle the highway.
#5 – Tailgate Work Surface
If you have an F-150 for work, you may already know how handy this feature is for use as a makeshift workbench. Once you lower the tailgate, you can do any number of jobs like measuring with the ruler, clamping items using the notches at either end, or using it as a sawhorse. Most of the tailgate surface is flat to accommodate whatever work you need to do, and it has a slight texture to it to prevent things from sliding. If you happen to use a tablet or smartphone for a job, a built-in holder acts as a stand for the device, and there is a tray for holding pencils or cups, too. Leave it Ford to add in a bottle opener because who doesn’t need that while you’re working on a hot day?
#6 – Onboard Scales
Folks who do a lot of hauling tend to get fairly good at estimating how much their truck can hold, but not everyone has that skill. To help protect your truck from overloading, Ford offers the available Onboard Scales feature to simplify hauling for everyone. With this feature equipped, the Onboard Scales will measure the approximate payload weight of your truck so that you know whether or not you are within the weight allowance before you drive. Having this access is already great, but the way you view the weight estimation might be even cooler than the scale. You can interact with the Onboard Scales in three ways: through the FordPass app, on the infotainment screen, or via an LED display in the rear tail lights. Yes, you read that correctly. The tail lights show a digital display that tells you the weight of your payload, so you don’t have to dig out your phone or get into the truck while you’re loading. So smart.
#7 – Smart Hitch
Speaking of smart, one of the best uses for a truck is towing, and the F-150 can be fitted with the Smart Hitch to measure the tongue weight of the trailer. Anyone used to towing knows the tongue weight can tell you if the weight on the trailer is properly distributed. Improper weight distribution in the trailer leads to problems with truck handling, braking, or trailer sway. Without the Smart Hitch, you’re left to guess whether or not the trailer’s weight distribution is appropriate just by eyeing the trailer after it’s attached. Once again, Ford makes working with this feature easy by offering a digital display in the tail lights—which Ford calls Smart Taillamps—so you don’t have to pull out your phone or get in the truck while you work.
#8 – 360-Degree Camera
From off-roading to parking duty, the 360-Degree Camera has lots of uses to help manage the difficulty of sightlines around the many angles of a truck. With this feature equipped, reversing shows a split view of the rear and an overhead shot with yellow lines that delineate where objects are too close. In the split-view mode, you can see when traffic is driving across your path. When driving, the camera can be turned on at low speeds—perfect for off-roading—to show the front view in three different formats so you know when you may encounter an obstacle you need to negotiate.
#9 – Active Park Assist 2.0
No more driving around the block in search of a parking space. No more awkward attempts at wedging your truck into spaces that aren’t the right size. Active Park Assist 2.0 finds you a spot, you drive to the location, shift into neutral, and hit the button. Voila. Your truck is parked, and it works for both parallel and perpendicular spots. If you need help getting free, the truck can also “unpark” for you, especially when it’s tight. Does it get any better than this?
#10 – Pro Power Onboard
Almost any F-150 can now be equipped with the Pro Power Onboard that acts as a generator you can use anywhere. With a traditional gas engine, you get up to 2.0 kW of power, the hybrid engine can provide up to 7.2 kW, and the fully electric Lightning has an available 9.6 kW to power virtually anything you can imagine. That goes for insane power-hungry items like microwaves, power saws, and even a jackhammer if you please. The infotainment or FordPass app keeps track of the wattage you use. With the Lightning, you can even power your entire household at normal usage for up to three days.
