HD F-150 or 3/4 ton truck?

[gladehound]

Maybe I was unlucky but In the last ten years I have owned one F-150 ecoboost, four 3/4 ton gas F-250s, a 3/4 ton duramax, a dually duramax, two dodge diesel 3/4 tons, a F-250 diesel, a F-350 diesel and a F-450 diesel. The ecoboost got the worst mileage out of ALL of them. I bought it brand new in 2012 and traded is six months later because the mileage was so bad and it had a small tank. It had plenty of power I will give it that.

There were certainly a number of people who reported poor MPG with the early ecoboost engines. But if you go by averages at Fuelly.com most ecoboost owners are doing considerably better on MPG than most 3/4 ton gas owners. The gas to diesel comparison isn't really fair. My 1999 F250 diesel got better fuel mileage than my v6 Explorer did!

 

[Diamondpilot]

I think the lines have gotten blurry because people what options and some of the manufacturers accommodate. I've got the 2017 F150 book in front of my right now. The highest payload I see is 3,220 for a regular cab with HD payload package. A crew cab with HD payload package is 2,630. All specs do not include the 150 pound driver so you can add that to get the diff between GVW and curb weight. On the low side I see 1,570 which can probably be reduced by several hundred pounds via options.

I was looking at an 2012 F250 diesel last night and the payload on the door was 2053 pounds. Does this mean 3/4 tons are going away? No way. The 3/4 tons are structurally in a different class. They are made to work all the time.

Around here, you'll be hard pressed to find an 1 ton SRW on a dealer lot. But there are tons of 3/4 tons. I think that's because most people are around here are getting a 3/4 ton as a status symbol. They want the "big" truck but don't actually need the payload or want the harsh ride. So 3/4 SRW is more popular here than 1 ton SRW.

Strictly on gas engines. There isn't much difference in payload between a 3/4 ton and 1 ton SRW. For example, the max payload on a Ram 2500 3/4 ton is 3,990 (2017 model). Max on a 1 ton SRW is 4,500. 510 pounds difference.

What I have seen most new 3/4 tons run around 2,500# payload.

My SRW F350 has a GVWR of 11,500# and weighs 7,600# with me and my stuff and a nearly full tank. That leaves 3,900# payload.

All the F-150's and the Nissan Titan I have owned in the last 10 years, 2007 and 2012 F150 and a 2008 Titan all had about 2,100# of payload.

 

[WM75Guy]

I will vote for the diesel in a 3/4 ton if you can swing it. While it is not always necessary it is nice to have. We went to a horse show in Conroe last weekend, 3 1/2 hours each way. I was surprised at the power of the 2017 Duramax compared to the 2008. Most of the way was running 70 mph pulling about 8,000# of trailer, tack, and horse. RPMs on cruise were 1500. Average fuel mileage was around 12 mpg. The 2017 has a 36 gallon tank even with a standard bed so we made the trip without having to stop for fuel, just potty breaks. The exhaust brake is on a separate switch from the tow/haul mode and works much better.

 

[gladehound]

Maybe I was unlucky but In the last ten years I have owned one F-150 ecoboost, four 3/4 ton gas F-250s, a 3/4 ton duramax, a dually duramax, two dodge diesel 3/4 tons, a F-250 diesel, a F-350 diesel and a F-450 diesel. The ecoboost got the worst mileage out of ALL of them. I bought it brand new in 2012 and traded is six months later because the mileage was so bad and it had a small tank. It had plenty of power I will give it that.

Base on your experience with your many diesel (and gas) trucks. Do you consider late model diesel trucks (with DPF) to be as reliable as gas trucks? My current disposition, is that for my kind of use, (25% towing mostly highway, 25% unloaded highway, 50% unloaded country roads) that there is less risk in buying an Ecoboost than a modern Diesel. Obviously, you weren't happy with your Ecoboost. How have the diesels been (specifically ones new enough to have DPF)?

 

[gladehound]

I will vote for the diesel in a 3/4 ton if you can swing it. While it is not always necessary it is nice to have. We went to a horse show in Conroe last weekend, 3 1/2 hours each way. I was surprised at the power of the 2017 Duramax compared to the 2008. Most of the way was running 70 mph pulling about 8,000# of trailer, tack, and horse. RPMs on cruise were 1500. Average fuel mileage was around 12 mpg. The 2017 has a 36 gallon tank even with a standard bed so we made the trip without having to stop for fuel, just potty breaks. The exhaust brake is on a separate switch from the tow/haul mode and works much better.

If I were made of money (both for initial purchase and to deal with any potential issues down the road) this would be my first choice! Love the diesels, but extremely cautious due to the problems emissions equipment has caused. I hear of lots of people who have no problems and lots who have problems. I really wish there were a way to tease out the probability of having problems.

 

[Sysop]

 

[bdog]

Base on your experience with your many diesel (and gas) trucks. Do you consider late model diesel trucks (with DPF) to be as reliable as gas trucks? My current disposition, is that for my kind of use, (25% towing mostly highway, 25% unloaded highway, 50% unloaded country roads) that there is less risk in buying an Ecoboost than a modern Diesel. Obviously, you weren't happy with your Ecoboost. How have the diesels been (specifically ones new enough to have DPF)?

We trade often but our last four diesels had Dpf and we have never had any issues with them. I hear they are expensive to fix so we trade before the warranty is up normally. Our 16 duramax has near 40k miles and has never been in the shop. My 17 power stroke has 15k miles and has been in the shop once for a bad injector. No emissions related issues and we idle a lot which they say is the worst thing you can do to a Dpf equipped vehicle. My 17 power stroke has over 400 idle hours.

 

[jack707]

A 3/4 ton is what you need.

 

[dodge man]

I think if you took a 3/4 ton apart and a 1/2 apart and looked at the componets, you would see a huge difference. Look at the axles, brakes, transmissions, springs etc there is an obvious difference, I don't care what the tow numbers say.

 

[Renze]

What we did in Holland for a customer that had several USA pickup trucks (he liked the looks of them) is installing aftermarket air bags, a Firestone AiRide kit, inflate once (just lift it out of the leafs so it doesnt bounce when unloaded) and never touch them again. With a little weight on them it would carry on the original leaf suspension also. He felt the 3/4 ton was too bouncy to drive empty, after work (which is why he wanted one anyways)

The weights you talk about are peanuts for a pickup truck, i regularly tow that (illegally) with my trusty old Volvo. I tow low deck trailers loaded with heavy stuff, and you pull high profile trailers that catch a lot of wind, which makes your call for a much beefier tow vehicle totally valid. Towing with soft rear suspension with a trailer that catches a lot of wind, is allways a PITA whether its a pickup or a sprinter van...