HD F-150 or 3/4 ton truck?

[Farmer495]

I'd go for the RAM only if you want a 6-speed manual, that would be the only reason I'd shop a new diesel.

I've been happy so far with my Max Tow 3.5, pulled my 6000 lb camper plenty with it this summer and I am not disappointed in it. I've gotten slightly better fuel mileage towing with the 3.5 EB auto 3.73 than my previous 7.3 Powerstroke 6-speed manual 3.73 and a lot better mileage empty. Out pulls it and it nearly silent doing it. Never revs over 3 K pulling.

Only negative difference I noticed towing was I feel the trailer somewhat more, F250 had firestone air bags @ 30 PSI or more but my teeth no longer rattle)

Heaviest load I had on back of my 250 was 2200lbs of fertilizer, don't think I'd put that in the 150, but other than that I never had anything really heavy in the box

 

[bspeedy]

Just recently read an article that the F150 costs an estimated $482 per year to maintain, the least expensive (and apparently trouble-free) of all the full size trucks. Ram are the most expensive, with the Ram 1500 costing an estimated $863 per year and the Ram 3500 costing an estimated $1244 per year. Even a GMC Canyon is more expensive to maintain at an estimated $572 per year...

Source: Most Expensive Vehicles To Maintain And Repair

Certainly a relevant comment (and interesting data, besides). Total cost of ownership is something few buyers consider. Insurance, depreciation, taxes, upkeep - all add up to $ per mile driven.

 

[Turbys_1700]

I guess they go to the dealership and calculate the recommended costs for those vehicles. Maintenance cost for me typically consists of a couple oil changes a year and checking out wear items. When it's broke I fix it. When it's worn I fix it. Lots of unnecessary costs associated with dealer recommended services. I use a local independent mechanic on all my vehicles except for my new car which is still under factor warranty. YMMV.

 

[Sysop]

Lots of unnecessary costs associated with dealer recommended services.

Depends on your uses really. A driver that drives all interstate miles isn't going to wear stuff like shocks and ball joints and tie rods the same as someone who works in the woods on the various right of ways and oil fields and such. If you drive interstate, their recommendations on shocks and such are going to seem silly. What they're providing for you is the averages for these components. You are correct that YMMV.

That being said, if you read the article you'd see they didn't use manufacturer's recommendations for maintenance to establish those estimates. The data was sourced from repairpal.com which partners with garages nationwide.

To me, both are valid data points that should be examined. I don't care whether it is the manufacturers or 3rd party garages putting the numbers out there, a truck that seemingly costs twice as much per year to maintain isn't something I want to own.

 

[gladehound]

I'd get what you want and/or need. That said, are you sure a Ram 3500 will be low enough to get in an underground garage? I'd make sure of that first. I bought a F150 5 days ago so you can guess my advice, but with a name like Dodgeman, I love the Cummins also.

Well, the garage says 80". And the specs for the Ram 3500 say 79.8". So I should be able to drive in there at 30 mph without giving it a second thought right?

If I go the used 3500 route, I'll tape measure it before I buy. The entrance is flat so no ramp to mess with the height.

 

[gladehound]

I'd go for the RAM only if you want a 6-speed manual, that would be the only reason I'd shop a new diesel.

I've been happy so far with my Max Tow 3.5, pulled my 6000 lb camper plenty with it this summer and I am not disappointed in it. I've gotten slightly better fuel mileage towing with the 3.5 EB auto 3.73 than my previous 7.3 Powerstroke 6-speed manual 3.73 and a lot better mileage empty. Out pulls it and it nearly silent doing it. Never revs over 3 K pulling.

Only negative difference I noticed towing was I feel the trailer somewhat more, F250 had firestone air bags @ 30 PSI or more but my teeth no longer rattle)

Heaviest load I had on back of my 250 was 2200lbs of fertilizer, don't think I'd put that in the 150, but other than that I never had anything really heavy in the box

I shouldn't be surprised people with 3/4 and 1 ton trucks lean that way and people with 1/2 tons with EB lean the other way. However your perspective, Farmer495, is most valuable to me being that we had near identical F250s and you currently have something similar to the F150 I would order if I go that route.

If I order an F150HDPP and it pulls, rides and is as efficient as my F250 7.3PSD was, I'll be happy as a clam. I do expect it to get pushed more in wind. But I guess I shouldn't worry about that too much being that I'm currently pulling the travel trailer with my Jeep GC and can get it to be quite stable running 18% (900 pounds) tongue weight on the TT.

If I can set up the F150 to be more stable than the Jeep GC, I'll be very happy - and the laws of physics indicate that I should be able to do just that.

 

[Farmer495]

I shouldn't be surprised people with 3/4 and 1 ton trucks lean that way and people with 1/2 tons with EB lean the other way. However your perspective, Farmer495, is most valuable to me being that we had near identical F250s and you currently have something similar to the F150 I would order if I go that route.

If I order an F150HDPP and it pulls, rides and is as efficient as my F250 7.3PSD was, I'll be happy as a clam. I do expect it to get pushed more in wind. But I guess I shouldn't worry about that too much being that I'm currently pulling the travel trailer with my Jeep GC and can get it to be quite stable running 18% (900 pounds) tongue weight on the TT.

If I can set up the F150 to be more stable than the Jeep GC, I'll be very happy - and the laws of physics indicate that I should be able to do just that.

I only sold my 7.3 6-speed cause someone offered me a decent amount of cash for it. I figured I'd "get by" with the Max Tow F150 after having the older 3/4 ton diesel, but ended up more than impressed. I have no regrets for what I am towing. The M mode is nice towing, like driving a full powershift tractor, "no lift shift" at the tap of a finger. Don't think you'll be concerned with the Maxtow of the Grand is pulling good now

 

[gladehound]

I only sold my 7.3 6-speed cause someone offered me a decent amount of cash for it. I figured I'd "get by" with the Max Tow F150 after having the older 3/4 ton diesel, but ended up more than impressed. I have no regrets for what I am towing. The M mode is nice towing, like driving a full powershift tractor, "no lift shift" at the tap of a finger. Don't think you'll be concerned with the Maxtow of the Grand is pulling good now

Yes. And I'll go HDPP in addition to Max tow which should take a little movement out of the rear. Do you have the 5.5' bed or the 6.5' bed? I'm going 6.5'.

My only concern with the F150 is getting blown around in winds. F150 curb weight will be about 5,200 compared to 8,000 for a Ram 3500 diesel and 6,400 for my old F250. The Jeep which weights 5,040 curb and 6,500 loaded got hammered in some crazy winds on our last trip (I realize the short WB doesn't help with sway). I set it up a little better mid trip and couldn't even feel a speeding 18 wheeler passing from behind but was over on a few weight ratings. However, we never got the crazy cross winds after I set it up better so don't know how it would do in those same conditions, and honestly hope I never experience those same conditions while towing a TT with anything!

Something I've been thinking about if I get the lighter F150 is adding ballast low and between the axles to bring me up close to the 7,850 GVWR and that should help stability of the truck. I'm surprised this isn't common practice for towing among a bunch of tractor ballasting experts like we have on this forum! But I guess it's because most who don't have enough weight also don't have extra payload, and those with extra payload already have enough weight. If I can get close to the GVWR, I'll have near twice the weight on the truck tires as the TT tires. That plus 20% tongue weight should make it handle well. I figure that if I can feel the bow wave of an 18 wheeler passing from behind, I'm not ready for any serious wind.

I'm sure I'm over thinking it, but those tornados on my last trip freaked me out.

 

[Diamondpilot]

No way you need to add ballast 2 F-150 to pull that little trailer. I have pulled over 10,000 pounds 30,000 miles with my 2012 EcoBoost and it was just fine.

 

[17 Oaks]

Lot of perception is reality thinking going on here. Our old ranch truck, '54 Chevy 3100 IIRC with the Big stove bolt 6. Well we did the same thing back then we do today and I have pulled many a 10,000 lb load, had as much as 2000 lbs in the bed and pulling a trailer load of hay back when a bale would weigh over a 100 lbs guaranteed and a heck of a lot more if you picked up out of the field and got the still wet Alfalfa.

We put over 200,000 miles on that truck before the speedo failed, but the truck never did in spite of me loading in about 3500 bale of hay up in that barn every summer. I can look back and say that truck hauled the mail, it handled it fine...but then empty, on the downhill balls to the wall and foot to the floor board it could hit almost 70 mph. Cruise speed was 55 max, 0-60 was prob measured in minutes rather than seconds. Sure wish I still had that ole rig!

Todays ½ rig can hit a hundred and does not need a down hill run to get there. My F 350 which weighs in around 6k lbs can smoke the tires like a demon, I can pass a car that is doing 75 in a flash I am at a 100. I can left lane drive pulling my 12k 5th wheel across the US and going thru Co over the Rockies I am left lane the whole way and honking at the guy in the ½ T to move to the slow lane. In fact when I had my Truck Camper with its 5000 lbs in the bed of the truck and while pulling a 10,000 lb loaded trailer I still ran at 62 mph and was getting 10.5 mpg, cross country.

That said I mod my trucks. While I feel the tow/haul rating are legit, my concern is handling and I want to increase the safety envelope and there are a few low cost mods you can make that do it and make a world of difference. My suggestion is that if you want to work at the top end of your capacity on your truck you make a few mods to insure its fully capable of living in that space. I feel the companies compromise on comfort vs load capacity. But that is just the engineer in my speaking which is why I mod and drive a F 350 maxed out in carry capacity so my margin of safety is increased...