Which Truck?

[DesertRat]

Originally Posted by macman83

I will have to admit, the heated seats are mighty nice in the middle of February's cold temps!

Come the summer time out here in the desert the cooled seats are nice. So is the tailgate step on our Ford F-350 4x4. MSRP on mine was $61,475 got it for $48,603 + tax & license from Lithia Ford in Boise Id. in Sept 2012.
41k+ miles with no problems at all.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by dawniewest

All in good fun, I'm actually tired of the what truck is better debate. Buy new and take care of it, they should all last many years.

I have two Fords that are a testament to that! My bride has a 2003 F150 that she refuses to part with. It has over 230,000 miles on it. Mine is a 1996 F350 CC DRW PSD that I bought gently used in 2006, it only has 150,000 on it. BTW they are both RED!

I have driven multiple brands of trucks past the 300,000 mile mark. Fords have given me the best service over the years. YMMV

Aaron

[Soccerloco]

Had a new 96 power stoke put on 300,000 miles. Best ford I ever owned. Sold with that mileage in 2003 for $10,000 very happy.

[Jbee]

I started out towing with an 09 f250 and am now towing with a 2014 f450. The turning radius of the 450 is awesome and the added stability of the DRW is very nice.
Could the F250 do the job after adding airbags? Yes, but, I had white knuckle moments every time I took a trip. I rarely have those moments with the Dually. I will say that if I had to daily drive the truck, I would have opted for the 350 just for the more highway friendly gear ratio as the 4.30 ratio in the 450 is a little steep for daily driving on the highway. I think you can get the 350 in a 3.73 or 3.55.

[Thom]

Originally Posted by Jbee

I started out towing with an 09 f250 and am now towing with a 2014 f450. The turning radius of the 450 is awesome and the added stability of the DRW is very nice.
Could the F250 do the job after adding airbags? Yes, but, I had white knuckle moments every time I took a trip. I rarely have those moments with the Dually. I will say that if I had to daily drive the truck, I would have opted for the 350 just for the more highway friendly gear ratio as the 4.30 ratio in the 450 is a little steep for daily driving on the highway. I think you can get the 350 in a 3.73 or 3.55.

The newer (2015/16) 350 dually with the heavy tow package comes with the same turning radius as the 450 now, however it also has the same 4.30 rear end. I would love to get a dually 350 with the turning radius and a 3.73 or 3.55 but you can't.

[hddad]

I'm currently thinking about the 2015 F350 Dually, you can get it with a 3.73 rear, but when you get the "Wide Track" option which I think is the new front end of the F450 you get bumped up to the 4.30 rear. does anyone have the F350 diesel DRW with a 3.73 in it? and what type of mileage do you get not towing?

[lcv800]

I have a Platinum 2015 F350 diesel dually just purchased in January with the 3.73. Only has 1800 miles on it yet so I can't say too much about mileage. I'm getting around 15 around town, and getting better all the time as I put on more miles. The only expressway and towing I've done was going to Indiana to pick up our 3990 and take it to CW for some additions. Got 17 mpg zipping along at 70 plus on the way out and around 11 towing (slowly) on the way back. Don't want to get into the "my truck is better than yours" thing, but so far fit, finish, and mechanics have been perfect on my truck.
Rusty

[Thom]

I do not know if the others offer anything like Fords stability control but it is an awsome feature on my F350 SRW that saved us when we had a china bomb blow at 65 mph. Our 5'er never wiggled our swayed to the point that I may not have known it blew had I not seen it blow in the mirror.

[ewacowboy]

Started with a 99 F350 7.3. Thought I wanted a single rear wheel 2500 so I bought a Duramax....worst mistake I ever made. Wife and I both couldn't get comfortable and there's no inside storage. Wanted to go back to ford but didn't want the 6.0L problems, so we bought a Dodge 3500 DRW. I will say...it's nice and doesn't have any problems towing, but I still miss my ford - 185,000 miles and my son won't part with it.

[arlan in arizona]

I have been reading this thread since it began. I am glad I haven't seen much if any..."This make is better than that".

I have two pickup trucks.

One is a 1999 Dodge 3500 4x4 DRW with the 5.9 Cummins. I love that truck dearly but would not consider using it to tow my monster 5th wheel.

The other is a 2013 F-350 4x4 DRW 6.7 Diesel, that I bought to tow the monster mentioned above.

At the time I bought the Ford I wanted to buy a 2013 Dodge Ram 3500 but the Dodge was in a model transition period and the truck was not available. I have been happy with the F-350 but now wish I would have bought the F-450.

I would be happy to sacrifice a mile or two mpg and gain the added towing capacity and turning radius of the F-450.

[Pirate]

Bear,

Don't be to quick saying that the interior options is not important.

I've had three diesel pick-ups, a 1998 Ram, a 2005 Ram and now a 2011 3500 Silverado dualie with the Allison automatic.

For 2011, Dodge simply didn't keep up with the interior options as Chevy did. The move was made to haul the Toyhauler, which in 2014 became a Voltage Epic 3800.

For the long drives we still make occasionally, the leather interior is very comfortable, the electric seats on both sides up front is very nice. The heated seats are nice when its cold. Plenty of 12V outlets, the USB is in the console so the iPod is out of sight. There is a nice storage box under the rear seat.

The transmission having three modes is very nice, full automatic, full manual and tow/haul mode. I'm finding I do a lot of driving either towing or just the truck using the tow/haul mode. It completely changes the shift pattern to make the most of the engine brake, which I believe is a variable vane turbo. I like the fact that I just about don't have to use the brakes except to come to a complete stop!



I really like the Highway Products aluminum bed with all the tool boxes.

Yes, I will admit, life was very good to me in the Fall of 2010 so I went whole hog and got what I thought would work the best for traveling, hauling the RZR to off road rallies, and learning to enjoy retirement.

Just my thoughts...

Pirate

[wino]

Another option is a Ram 5500. Price is 50ish, you get 19.5 wheels and 14 ply tires and a good exhaust brake. Check out Dave Smith in Kellogg, Id. Good prices, and they pick up airfare if you fly to Spokane to pick it up. I drive them all, and I still prefer the Cummins. If you could get a F 550 with a Cummins, I don't think they build enough of them.

[arlan in arizona]

Originally Posted by wino

If you could get a F 550 with a Cummins, I don't think they {could} build enough of them.

I agree with that statement.

[DesertRat]

I also won't get into a brand war. BUT after 22+ years as a mechanic & Fleet Manager for a well know city here in the desert of So. Cal. I do know which brand holds up the best.
I wouldn't name names ...................just look below for the answer.

[Soccerloco]

Can't see result.

[arlan in arizona]

Originally Posted by Soccerloco

Can't see result.

It's in his signature.

[Pirate]

Hmmm...wonder if it goes along with the "98% of Ford Trucks sold in the last 10 years are still on the road...only 2% of them could make it home".

Think I have it correct?

Pirate

[Soccerloco]

Hmm signature not displayed. I came from a major ford family. Last ford pick up 05. Got therapy now Ram Man lol

[Pirate]

I got over Ford products after having a 1960 Comet hand me down for high school. 144 cu in 1 bbl. Would barely go 60 mph. Then was chief mechanic for Dad's 1921 Model T, then the 1929 Model A....ugh!

Became Mopar in college. Dad took my Summer earnings and bought me a 1968 Dodge Coronet 500, 4 door, 318. But...working part time in a junk yard...that 318 became a 440 six pack...loved that car...

So Dodge Rams until the 2011!

Been quite the journey!!!

Pirate

[Soccerloco]

Have been around mopars as my older brother brought home in 63 a dodge 330 with 426 wedge 425 horsepower. Had a 5 year 50 thousand mile warranty. That was one fast car in the day 11.80's 122 miles per hour in the quarter mile like riding an elevator when you hit the go pedal.