My dad bought a new F150 Ecoboost and so he has offered to give me his 97 F150 Longbed.

Does anyone have experience in what the cheapest and easiest way to transfer the truck to me would be? I'm guessing tax implications and registration are the two biggest things to consider...

I believe that it being your dad and it is a gift there would be no taxes just the registration fees. Family member to family member is viewed differently than private party sales.

You can gift up to around $14k/year without a tax penalty. Not sure if there is a difference between cash and other kinds of assets. Also note that the state may have different our more restrictive rules then the IRS. Probably worth a call to the DMV.

I agree, have him gift it. I have added two trailers to my fleet in the past three months. Both have similar values but one was purchased at a dealer and the other was a gift. The Gifted trailer was titled and plated for less than $60. The trailer that I purchased was almost $250. I ran the numbers and the gifted trailer should end up at about $40 annually for renewal while the purchased trailer will be right at $100.

I don't know if it's still an option but you might be able to do a couple of title adjustments: first add yourself to the title (both you and your dad's name is on it), wait a bit and then remove your dad's name. If you can't remove his name without tax implications then just leave both names on the title. You can also update the address so you get the plate renewals every year.