Does the f250 Super Duty make the f350 obsolete?

[Diamondpilot]

This is the other reason that got me thinking why have both when the cost is nearly the same as is the body, bed, powerplant... How much better can the brakes and axles be for $600? Now if the real difference is springs... $600 would cover beefier ones.

Springs and tires are usually where it's at. The big benefit to me though is the payload.

Tow ratings mean very little to me if I can't fill the cab and the bed up and pull.

Chris

 

[ultrarunner]

We generally use trailers... between the two of us we have 8.

The main reason is most are utilitarian... no problem tossing in wood or going down to the stone yard for a load of gravel or a pallet of brick.

Also, a 5 year tag is $20 so it makes it cheap.

That said... we don't anything capable of towing several of the trailers at full rated weight.

This started with the F150 and thinking this would be a good fit and morphed in the f250 Diesel...

I find trailers are also much easier to load except when I owned a 1-ton stake with a lift gate... bought it right and when someone made a ridiculous offer I sold it.

Who knows... I might get truck fever although I just gave away my f150 because I only put 300 miles on it last year...

I think my 85 3/4 van has a GVW in the mid 8,000 range... it's been so long... I have it full of racks and bins... last time I was on a scale... the truck came in right at GVW with me in it... that is how loaded down it has been the last 30 years... I had thought about a 1 ton but the jump in cost and annual license fees made the choice easy to go 3/4... did have to add a leaf to the rear springs in 1985 so it would sit level.

 

[Ken45101]

We had a F250SD when we bought our horse camper. The salesman assured me our truck would pull the trailer just fine. He was right, it PULLED the trailer okay but the rear end was soft on even very mild curves, even with the trailer empty. When we got home I had the rig weighed and the truck rear axle was 350# overweight with the empty trailer!

We upgraded to a C3500 and it's been totally stable, even loaded.

There is no substitute for a dually when you are putting a lot of weight on the rear end.

Yes, the SRW (single rear wheel) 350's are almost identical to a 250. But the real increase in capacity is the duals.

 

[HHR]

They have gone to 100,000 mile/160,000km platinum now.

When did they make that change? I know on the older Hemi models, if you tried to install platinum plugs in they wouldn't idle right.

 

[ultrarunner]

We had a F250SD when we bought our horse camper. The salesman assured me our truck would pull the trailer just fine. He was right, it PULLED the trailer okay but the rear end was soft on even very mild curves, even with the trailer empty. When we got home I had the rig weighed and the truck rear axle was 350# overweight with the empty trailer!

We upgraded to a C3500 and it's been totally stable, even loaded.

There is no substitute for a dually when you are putting a lot of weight on the rear end.

Yes, the SRW (single rear wheel) 350's are almost identical to a 250. But the real increase in capacity is the duals.

I'm always learning something...

 

[Snobdds]

The difference between the F250 vs F350 since 2005 when both trucks switched to the coil front suspension are:

The F350 has an overload spring, the lower spring packs are the same.
The F350 has a very slightly larger rear axle shaft in the rear end.
The F350 has a slightly higher spring rate on the front coils.
The F350 has a higher payload rating.

That's it. Engine and transmission power applications are the same. The F350 has a much harsher ride because of the different spring rates.

Now the F450 has the sterling 110 in the rear and that changes a lot. It is also detuned from the factory for duty cycle and longevity.

 

[tcartwri]

All of these 3/4 ton trucks have the same flaw; when you add the diesel powerplant you kill the payload rating of the truck. They're fine for RV'rs where the pin weight is typically reduced because of the axle placement, but for equipment trailers and other goose necks you can easily overload the rear axle, even though the truck is rated to pull 15~17 thousand pounds.

Doing the math, 15,000 lb gooseneck with 20% on the pin is; 3000 lbs....

 

[yankeerider]

When I purchased my '08 F-250 I considered getting an F-350 instead. However, the town "landfill" allows residents with trucks up to 3/4 ton rating free access to the bulky waste (demolition debris, stumps and logs, etc) area. One ton and over trucks are considered commercial and must go on the scales and pay over $100/ton.

 

[ultrarunner]

^^^

Something similar... 3/4 ton pickup no problem...

Showed up with a 2 axle dump trailer and commercial rates... even for light loads never get out for $100

Show up with your Jeep and 4 x 8 single axle dump trailer no problem.

When I was starting out I saved a bundle using my 72 Valiant as my work "Truck"

Took out the back seat and made storage bins... trunk could hold the chop saw, sawzall, skill saw... etc.

Roof rack for materials and my home made single axle 5 x 8 trailer was always just under the radar...

 

[ultrarunner]

I figure the 12k trailer will have a tongue weight of 1800 to 2000 lbs...

The pan later is to get a goose-neck stock trailer and the new truck is prepped for that...