Any F-550 owners or towers out there ?

Rara Avis · Sep 9, 2007

Robert_in_NY said:
My big truck experience was running an International Transtar pulling a 28' dump trailer. My friend who owns it was suppose to pull it to the fields for me but his wife got sick and told me to just take it. It was an interesting learning experience and I am fortunate I didn't get stopped. But the oats needed to be harvested....

I can say this, after driving the Transtar the F-250's don't seem big at all and my 150 feels tiny.

If it was a Farm Truck, you should have been okay...

The law exempts these categories from the CDL:

A "Farm Truck"; ("Farm Truck" means a truck controlled and operated by a farmer for use in the transportation to or from a farm, for a distance of no more than one hundred fifty miles, of products of the farm, supplies for the farm, or other purposes connected with the operation of the farm. The truck must be operated in accordance with Ohio Revised Code, Section 4506.02(B2) and is not used in the operation of a motor transportation company or private motor carrier.)

Fire equipment for a fire department, volunteer or non-volunteer fire company, fire district, or joint fire district;

A public safety vehicle used to provide transportation or emergency medical service for ill or injured persons; ("Public safety vehicle" has the same meaning as in divisions (E)(1) and (3) of Ohio Revised Code, Section 4511.01 ORC)

A recreational vehicle; ("Recreational vehicle" includes every vehicle that is defined as a recreational vehicle in Ohio Revised Code, Section 4501.01, and is used exclusively for purposes other than engaging in business or profit)

A commercial motor vehicle within the boundaries of an eligible unit of local government*, if the person is employed by the eligible unit of local government and is operating the commercial motor vehicle for the purpose of removing snow or ice from a roadway by plowing, sanding, or salting, but only if either the employee who holds a commercial driver's license and ordinarily operates a commercial vehicle for these purposes is unable to operate the vehicle, or the employing eligible unit of local government determines that a snow or ice emergency exists that requires additional assistance.

A vehicle operated for military purpose by any member or uniformed employee of the armed forces of the United States or their reserve components, including the Ohio National Guard. This exception does not apply to United States reserve technicians.

A commercial motor vehicle that is operated for nonbusiness purposes. "Operated for nonbusiness purposes" means that the commercial motor vehicle is not used in commerce as "commerce" is defined in 48 C.F.R. 383.5 as amended, and is not regulated by the public utilities commission pursuant to Chapter 4919., 4821., or 4923.,of the Ohio Revised Code.

A motor vehicle that is designed primarily for the transportation of goods and not persons while that motor vehicle is being used for the occasional transportation of personal property by individuals not for compensation and not in the furtherance of a commercial enterprise

workinallthetime · Sep 9, 2007

as a tech in a medium duty shop i drove everything from a 1500 to a 7500 tandem axel. do you guys happen to remember the 3500hd? thats what the 4500 took the place of, which is why a light duty only dealer can sell them. the 5500 gm considers a medium duty and can only be sold new by a medium duty dealer. As far as 4x4 option there is a place he in tulsa that will turn anything you want into a 4x4. ive driven c7500 series converted to 4x4 and even a T6500 converted to 4x4. Ya want something easy to work on get a T truck while you still can. One thing to note in all this is that the ford will fit in your barn, the gm might be a tight fit, other than that no reason here to have the blue oval on a work truck

wushaw · Sep 10, 2007

workinallthetime said:
as a tech in a medium duty shop i drove everything from a 1500 to a 7500 tandem axel. do you guys happen to remember the 3500hd? thats what the 4500 took the place of, which is why a light duty only dealer can sell them. the 5500 gm considers a medium duty and can only be sold new by a medium duty dealer. As far as 4x4 option there is a place he in tulsa that will turn anything you want into a 4x4. ive driven c7500 series converted to 4x4 and even a T6500 converted to 4x4. Ya want something easy to work on get a T truck while you still can. One thing to note in all this is that the ford will fit in your barn, the gm might be a tight fit, other than that no reason here to have the blue oval on a work truck

What da mean took tha place of??? The company I work for has a brand new 3500 HD with a Vortec motor in it. I didn't look to see if it had a SFA and 19.5 tires like the other older 3500hd has but it appears GM is calling their 3500 line up all HD now so it ain't the same animal as it once was....just called the same

workinallthetime · Sep 10, 2007

wushaw said:
What da mean took tha place of??? The company I work for has a brand new 3500 HD with a Vortec motor in it. I didn't look to see if it had a SFA and 19.5 tires like the other older 3500hd has but it appears GM is calling their 3500 line up all HD now so it ain't the same animal as it once was....just called the same

the 3500 hd i am speaking of had a straight front axel, just like the 4500. the 3500 you are talking about does not. hd does not mean what it did in the days of the 3500hd, now you can have a 1500hd even. Back then there was only one hd and that was the 3500hd straight front axel.

rdam · Sep 10, 2007

Disclaimer: I like Ford. Always have. Own a 2004 F-250 6.0L auto with no problems. 17.5 MPG average empty. 44K miles.

Now: I was riding my motorcycle to meet my wife in Cocoa Beach at a convention. Drive past a chevy dealer in ......Titisville I think, on the coast north of Cape Canaveral anyway. Pull in, they see my Harley, and figure I must have enough money to buy a C5500....of which they have about 10 in various configurations.......Want to test drive one???? Why sure, thanks for asking.

Very nice truck, and certainly "feels" more substantial than my F-250. Engine is quiet, power was adequate empty, but might be anemic if you really load it up. The best thing about this truck was the incredible visibility all around, coupled with an absolutely astonishing turning radius. At full lock, it felt like an aircraft taxiing, with more side motion than forward. I stopped in a parking lot to get out and look at the wheel angle. Nice "big truck" style tilting hood with easy access, but I couldn't find the oil filter, which is easily accessable on the top of the F-250 engine. The ride is rough, as expected, but air seats smooth things out. Salesman said 100K warranty on the engine; same as my 2004, but the 05' and up Fords ar 250K. I think that speaks well of Ford's confidence in the engine....Both of which (6.0 and 6.4) are International/Navistar engines. The 6.0 has been around a LONG time, and served well in many medium duty trucks. The problem was Ford's injectors...and that problem was solved by Ford...Grudgingly.

$73,660......That's a little rich for me.....But it sure is a nice truck

workinallthetime · Sep 10, 2007

100k warranty, gm has that on everything up to the 4500 then you get 2 years unlimited miles bumper to bumper when you step up to the 5500. part of the reason that truck was so expensive is due to the conversion on it. My brother was blowing out some 06 5500's in early 07 with a d-max, air ride and no bed for about 35k

Builder · Sep 10, 2007

rdam said:
Disclaimer: I like Ford. Always have. Own a 2004 F-250 6.0L auto with no problems. 17.5 MPG average empty. 44K miles.

Now: I was riding my motorcycle to meet my wife in Cocoa Beach at a convention. Drive past a chevy dealer in ......Titisville I think, on the coast north of Cape Canaveral anyway. Pull in, they see my Harley, and figure I must have enough money to buy a C5500....of which they have about 10 in various configurations.......Want to test drive one???? Why sure, thanks for asking.

Very nice truck, and certainly "feels" more substantial than my F-250. Engine is quiet, power was adequate empty, but might be anemic if you really load it up. The best thing about this truck was the incredible visibility all around, coupled with an absolutely astonishing turning radius. At full lock, it felt like an aircraft taxiing, with more side motion than forward. I stopped in a parking lot to get out and look at the wheel angle. Nice "big truck" style tilting hood with easy access, but I couldn't find the oil filter, which is easily accessable on the top of the F-250 engine. The ride is rough, as expected, but air seats smooth things out. Salesman said 100K warranty on the engine; same as my 2004, but the 05' and up Fords ar 250K. I think that speaks well of Ford's confidence in the engine....Both of which (6.0 and 6.4) are International/Navistar engines. The 6.0 has been around a LONG time, and served well in many medium duty trucks. The problem was Ford's injectors...and that problem was solved by Ford...Grudgingly.

$73,660......That's a little rich for me.....But it sure is a nice truck

That is a very expensive conversion truck. My dealer has a '07 5500 4x4 diesel/allison with some nice cab upgrades and an 11' dump bed with tarp for ~$50K.

I never knew Ford had a 250K warranty on their diesels. That's news to me. Last I saw the most you got was 100K and much less on the balance of the drivetrain. On Ford's website they show they only have a 60,000 mi drivetrain warranty. They show GM as having a 100K drivetrain warranty. I thought the Powerstroke warranty was 100K.

rdam · Sep 14, 2007

Can't find it now, but it appears that Fords warranty on the Powerstroke is only 100K ???? I'm sure I read somewhere, soon after I bought my 04' that the 05's would have a 250K warranty. and assumed it was still so. Any 05' Powerstroke owners out there who can verify? If they backpeddled on the 250K warranty, or worse yet, had the 05's with 250K, then went back to 100K, I will be disappointed.

Builder · Sep 14, 2007

rdam said:
Can't find it now, but it appears that Fords warranty on the Powerstroke is only 100K ???? I'm sure I read somewhere, soon after I bought my 04' that the 05's would have a 250K warranty. and assumed it was still so. Any 05' Powerstroke owners out there who can verify? If they backpeddled on the 250K warranty, or worse yet, had the 05's with 250K, then went back to 100K, I will be disappointed.

There never was a 250K warranty, boss. In fact, Ford only very recently increased their driveline warranty (transm T-case, rears, etc) to 60K because GM announced 100K on their entire driveline (diesel engine, trans, tcase, rears, etc.) GM has a better warranty than Ford.

You'd be hard pressed to get a 250K warranty on even a heavy duty class 7 or class 8 truck.

jcmseven · Sep 14, 2007

Builder,

I have been working very long hours all this week, but even bleary-eyed and tired, I can dispute this point. GM does not have have better warranty than Ford. They have a longer powertrain warranty than Ford, Ford has the better body and rust warranty than does GM. Depends on one's focus as to which is truly "better." I like you a lot and find your posts helpful, but these generalizations kill me.

John M