I DON’T HAVE to keep pecking away at this keyboard, you know. I have practical skills. I could get my contractor’s license and build houses, like my brother. I always wanted to farm oysters down at the coast and sell them on the side of the road at ridiculous prices. With a little practice, I’m sure I could be the worst welder in town.
Any of these alternative professions will call for a pickup truck, the entrepreneur’s friend. And it would be very helpful if said truck had AC power outlets in the bed. Because versatility.
Enter the 2021 Ford F-150 PowerBoost, sprinkled with hybrid fairy dust. With a turbocharged 3.5-liter DOHC V6 and 10-speed automatic (4×4 optional), the e-assisted “PowerBoost Hybrid” is now F-150’s top-spec engine package out of six available, with the most horsepower (430) and torque, a wrench-bending 570 lb-ft at 3,000 rpm.
Our SuperCrew 4×4 tester ($68,090) was spec’d to have a max towing capacity of 12,400 pounds and max payload of 1,830 pounds (2,090 pounds in 4×2 configuration). Blacksmithing school, here I come.
Among the PowerBoost’s marquee features is the Pro Power Onboard system, supplying AC current to a panel of outlets in the cargo bed sidewall. The standard PPO comes with a 2.4-kW inverter—more than enough, Ford notes, to light up a tailgating party, including heater, TV, mini-fridge and blender. Remember football games?
