2012 F-350 - First Impressions

[timswi]

Why is it no one makes an AWD pickup? you can get plenty of cars and SUVs in various sizes with AWD, but no pickups. The AWD in my hummer was awesome.

Case in point: Super Bowl Sunday 2000 I am on my way back to work in NY on a short term job. Had to be there early Monday morning and I was home 225 miles away so I drove up Sunday night. It is snowing to beat the band and its coming down all wet and heavy. I'm on the NJ Turnpike in the Hummer doing 65 like its not even snowing. Passing 18 wheelers and snow plows which were the only other vehicles on the road and in full control. When I got off the NY Thruway and headed for the Bear Mountain Bridge through the mountains I slowed down of course but still ran 40 to 45 without a problem. The ride took me 20 minutes longer than usual. the Hummer was always in full time 4WD. You could shift to Low or Low Lock but no 2WD and no locking hubs to mess with. And with 19" of ground clearance there had to be plenty of snow on the ground before you started dragging your belly. I'm gonna miss that. This will be my first winter in 14 years w/o the Hummer.

Also, you only needed grip on any one wheel to move. With the Torsen diffs power would go to all wheels and if any wheel was spinning then it directed power to the other wheel. Many people added lockers front and rear but I never saw the need.

I'm pretty sure the Denali's have that...Personally I didn't want it and that's one of the reasons I didn't buy one. I can use AUTO 4wd when I need it on my SLE...My wife's Hummer has AWD and I'm glad it does, for her safety.

I do like the light coming on with the wipers...Wish mine had that....They all should.

Nice truck, congrats!!!!

 

[Diamondpilot]

Why is it no one makes an AWD pickup? you can get plenty of cars and SUVs in various sizes with AWD, but no pickups. The AWD in my hummer was awesome.

Case in point: Super Bowl Sunday 2000 I am on my way back to work in NY on a short term job. Had to be there early Monday morning and I was home 225 miles away so I drove up Sunday night. It is snowing to beat the band and its coming down all wet and heavy. I'm on the NJ Turnpike in the Hummer doing 65 like its not even snowing. Passing 18 wheelers and snow plows which were the only other vehicles on the road and in full control. When I got off the NY Thruway and headed for the Bear Mountain Bridge through the mountains I slowed down of course but still ran 40 to 45 without a problem. The ride took me 20 minutes longer than usual. the Hummer was always in full time 4WD. You could shift to Low or Low Lock but no 2WD and no locking hubs to mess with. And with 19" of ground clearance there had to be plenty of snow on the ground before you started dragging your belly. I'm gonna miss that. This will be my first winter in 14 years w/o the Hummer.

Also, you only needed grip on any one wheel to move. With the Torsen diffs power would go to all wheels and if any wheel was spinning then it directed power to the other wheel. Many people added lockers front and rear but I never saw the need.

I know its not quite on par with your Hummer but my Titan has VDC, Vehicle Dynamic Control. It does virtually the same thing. Its by far the best 4x4 vehicle I have owned and I have had about 20 total. Mostly Ford F-150's which were my second favorite but have also had F-250's, F-350's, Mountaineer, Expedition, Ram 2500's, GM 1/2 tons and Blazzers, Toyota Trucks, and GMC dually and a GMC Dmax. Something about the balance of the F-150 make them tough to stop in the snow.

The Titan also has Detroit Lockers front and rear in 33 spline Dana axles so its very tough. The VDC is disabled though when the rear locker is engaged.

I made it though a drift 2 winters ago that 2 F-150's, a GM 1500 and a 2500 Dmax all got stuck in. I then pulled all 4 of them out. They all made smart arse comments about that Jap Truck but when I pull one of the F-150's side ways out of the ditch that he had the truck stuck with a telephone pole between the front bumper and the Fisher Snow Plow they shut up. The Dmax had a hole big enough in the tranny to put a pop can though from him being stupid and trying to get it out for 2 hours with no help. I pulled him out with the truck in Neutral and the motor running just to steer.

Our Mountaineer had AWD and was good for the little lady. Did not have low range but really never needed it with the 4.6 V8 and 3.73 gears sitting on BFG's. My Expedition had AUTO 4x4 and I hated it. It seemed dangerous to me because you would be correcting and it would then engage and pull you the opposite way if you were steering to correct. I will never own another AUTO 4x4 vehicle but dont mind the AWD.

Chris

 

[sparc]

I would not want AUTO 4WD which I interpret to be when the vehicle senses there is slip on one or more wheels it shifts the vehicle into 4WD. But AWD all the time is great.

DP - yes a locker makes a huge difference and a 2WD vehicle with a locker and good tires can get through most situations one would run across on the road. If I couldn't have 4WD for some reason I would definitely want a locking rear diff. But I have had a few pickups that were 2Wd and I will never get another that is not 4WD.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I would not want AUTO 4WD which I interpret to be when the vehicle senses there is slip on one or more wheels it shifts the vehicle into 4WD. But AWD all the time is great.

DP - yes a locker makes a huge difference and a 2WD vehicle with a locker and good tires can get through most situations one would run across on the road. If I couldn't have 4WD for some reason I would definitely want a locking rear diff. But I have had a few pickups that were 2Wd and I will never get another that is not 4WD.

Mine is 4 wheel drive with lockers. Like you said its just as good as 4 wheel drive most of the time. Almost like having 2 4 wheel drives. Makes for a tough truck.

Chris

 

[timswi]

I would not want AUTO 4WD which I interpret to be when the vehicle senses there is slip on one or more wheels it shifts the vehicle into 4WD. But AWD all the time is great.

DP - yes a locker makes a huge difference and a 2WD vehicle with a locker and good tires can get through most situations one would run across on the road. If I couldn't have 4WD for some reason I would definitely want a locking rear diff. But I have had a few pickups that were 2Wd and I will never get another that is not 4WD.

My GMC has 2wd, auto 4WD, high and low range 4WD...The auto 4wd works similar to AWD in that I can run it all the time in that mode if I choose to, works great on iffy snow covered roads where it can be clear in one spot and covered in others...Also good on wet roads, as mine likes to spin on hills when starting out.

 

[coobie]

Glad to see some honest opinions. I would love to hear real world mpg's once it's broken in.
Also, you may not want to read the Ford truck enthusiasts website. The problems related to these diesels will haunt you...
I see from this picture the tear drop steering wheel. Doesn't look to bad but it probably feels completely different in person.

I can comment on real world mileage with my 2011 ford super duty F-250.My 6.2 engine gets about 12.8 mpg driving 65-70(highway)I get around 13.8-14.0 mpg driving 55-60 mph.coobie

 

[TimberXX]

I would not want AUTO 4WD which I interpret to be when the vehicle senses there is slip on one or more wheels it shifts the vehicle into 4WD. But AWD all the time is great.

DP - yes a locker makes a huge difference and a 2WD vehicle with a locker and good tires can get through most situations one would run across on the road. If I couldn't have 4WD for some reason I would definitely want a locking rear diff. But I have had a few pickups that were 2Wd and I will never get another that is not 4WD.

When I was between a tacoma with a limited slip vs locker, I went with the limited slip. When I test drove the truck with a locker I was slipping accelerating up a wet slope.

 

[sparc]

I find the integrated key/remote fob is a PITA.

The key doesn't fit in my pocket comfortably with other keys on the same ring. I liked the key and remote as separate pieces. I don't carry a lot of keys, 5 including the truck key, but it's this one key which is almost 4 inches long that is a pain.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I will be interested in hearing your first report on towing. Also if you are now happy you went the SRW F-350 route over the F-250 and if it was worth the extra money. I know its the best $600 I have ever spent on a truck.

Chris

 

[sparc]

I should have a short tow coming up in a few days, I'll report here on how it goes but I don't anticipate any problems. The load should be about 8000# for trailer and the skid steer.

I know I have hitting all the negatives in recent posts, but I really like the truck and am happy with my purchase. There are just some things I would have done different or I can't see the logic in them yet I guess.

As I had said they had ordered the 250 and couldn't cancel it so when I changed the order to the 350 both trucks were on their way. So I guess that worked out for me because I got to test drive them both and they were fitted out the same except for tires. The 350 rides slightly stiffer than the 250, at least to me it seems to, might be the tires. But getting the F-350 was the right thing to do and I thank you for the advice DP.