F250 or F350 dually

[dworkman395]

I have just bought a Redwood 38fl. I have a 2014 f250 King Ranch which pulls the trailer really well. Factory says 15900 tow weight. We are going full time and going to travel. F350 dully has a tow weight at 22,000. I don't like the 8 foot bed for parking or getting around town. Any experience would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Dan

[piper guy]

This has Ben discussed many times. If you do a search you'll find all kinds of posts. Bottom line, go with the Dually. With a 250 there is no way you're not seriously overweight, especially on the rear axle and tires.

I had a 2012 F350 SRW that I lived when we bought our RL and tried all the stuff like sway bars, bags, etc and finally got it weighed individual wheel and found we were 850 lbs over on GAWR and especially over on what the tires were rated for.

Someone got a really nice 8 month old truck when I bought the Dually. Will never go back to SRW. Takes about a week to get used to "hips"

Just my .02

[rob_fla]

I would not want to pull our 38FL with a SRW Truck, been there and done that with a lighter 40 Ft 5er, sure glad we moved up to the DRW before we bought our Redwood.

Since we FT in our FL we are loaded pretty good, our 3500HD DRW handles the 38FL great in all road and weather conditions.

Getting used to the "Wide Hips" did not take long at all, the DRWs hips do not stick out anymore than the tow mirrors do.

[Jim & Mary]

I've pulled our 36RL with a F350 SRW vs. DRW and there is no comparison. I drove 2500 miles to trade our SRW off on a DRW and I can tell you the feeling I'm no longer overloaded and the stability of towing with the DRW is worth every penny I spent.

[atom ant]

We towed ours home with an F350 SRW, then went out and bought a DRW. Our pin weight runs about 4,300 lbs with water.

[Oriana]

We current use a SRW 350 to tow our 36FL. While loaded to almost maximum, we are not overloaded, as we manage weights diligently, which includes empty tanks. Our pin weight is right on 3,000lbs.

Getting a F350 or F450 DRW next year.

An F250 would definitely be overloaded

[almcc]

We've had both SRWs and now a F-450 Ford. Yes, the length and the wide hips take some time to get used to (drive through ATM's down south don't work for the duallie) but the stability in cross winds and the comfort and peace of mind is worth it. Besides, parking a distance away from the mall entrance gets us some needed exercise!

The other reason for buying a duallie is that sometimes you never know what your future plans for a new RV may be, one of those bigger toy haulers could probably only be towed by a duallie, same applies for a loaded Lance truck camper. I prefer to make the investment in "more truck" than having to take a bath on the depreciation when having to move up to a truck that can do the job.

[atom ant]

Originally Posted by Oriana

We current use a SRW 350 to tow our 36FL. While loaded to almost maximum, we are not overloaded, as we manage weights diligently, which includes empty tanks. Our pin weight is right on 3,000lbs.

Getting a F350 or F450 DRW next year.

An F250 would definitely be overloaded

Andy, did you decide to go with the 4.30 gears on your next?

[Oriana]

Brad - we are definitely learning towards the 4.3 gears, but are still mulling over whether it will have a 350 badge or a 450 badge.

In reality, all we will ever need is the same as you got, a 350 dually with 3.73, but I really like the idea of the wider front axle and tighter turning, since in retirement this is our only vehicle. No more Mustang.

I don't see us ever getting into a coach that needs the 4.3's, so for us they are overkill, and with poorer fuel consumption it doesn't appeal to my heritage.

Weighing everything up it looks like the tighter turning wins over fuel economy - you know the story "Happy wife......" Hence the leaning to 4.3's.

Don't know about the U.S. but our prices for the 2015, even with the summer sale have increased a fair bit over the 2014's. I believe about $7K. The difference between the 350 with heavy tow package and a 450 is about $2.5K, so my heritage says get the 350 badge. Time will tell, have until mid March to make the decision.

[atom ant]

It was tempting for me Andy! I was looking at a mine, a 2014 F450 exact color and trim, and a 2015 F350 with the heavy tow (but considerably more)

I was so disappointed in the fuel mileage on the 2008 4.10s I thought I better do the 3.73. Its nice to see a 600 miles to go with a full tank every once in a while now

You've probably read some of my rants on the hill descent - I think the 3.73s actually took away some of the HP/Torque increase benefit on the steep grades, but I'm OK with it.

Went back to the Dealer while in town today, and noticed a brand new King F350 with the heavy package - metallic white with the Caribou on the bottom. Beautiful truck, but over 7K more than ours

[Jim & Mary]

Brad

You realize it's only money! Ha ha ha ha!

[Oriana]

Originally Posted by atom ant

It was tempting for me Andy! I was looking at a mine, a 2014 F450 exact color and trim, and a 2015 F350 with the heavy tow (but considerably more)

I was so disappointed in the fuel mileage on the 2008 4.10s I thought I better do the 3.73. Its nice to see a 600 miles to go with a full tank every once in a while now

You've probably read some of my rants on the hill descent - I think the 3.73s actually took away some of the HP/Torque increase benefit on the steep grades, but I'm OK with it.

Went back to the Dealer while in town today, and noticed a brand new King F350 with the heavy package - metallic white with the Caribou on the bottom. Beautiful truck, but over 7K more than ours

Brad - I'm envious that you can actually head to a dealer and have a selection of choices right off the lot. I would be very surprised to find a F350 with heavy tow package or a F450 sitting on a dealer's lot in Metro Vancouver.

We basically have to factory order.

[atom ant]

Originally Posted by Jim & Mary

Brad

You realize it's only money! Ha ha ha ha!

Ya I know I keep telling my wife that and she keeps reminding me we are not retired and this is a hobby. She hasn't forgiven me yet that her car just got repaired, and the recreational vehicle got replaced - again

[atom ant]

Originally Posted by Oriana

Brad - I'm envious that you can actually head to a dealer and have a selection of choices right off the lot. I would be very surprised to find a F350 with heavy tow package or a F450 sitting on a dealer's lot in Metro Vancouver.

We basically have to factory order.

Andy - the duallies are actually pretty rare around here in Denver. I found the selection in Albuquerque NM where I work most of the time.

That said - if you need an F150 - they are EVERYWHERE! Fields of them on every lot. One Dealer said they were retooling for aluminum bodies on the F150 so the 2014s were over-ordered to make sure they lasted through the transition. Again, that was a salesman talking.

[brenkco]

Andy,
That's actually what got me in "trouble" when in Phoenix last winter. There are several very large Ford dealers. I did an inventory search and found one that had both the F350 & F450 dually's in stock. I was able to test drive them both before making my decision. The salesman though I was crazy when I wanted to take them to a parking lot to test out the turning radius. He was unaware of the difference. Funny story...the dealer was so large, the salesman took us through several huge lots pressing the alarm keys to find the 2 trucks...massive inventory!

The F450 didn't have the equipment that I wanted, but they found one and had it shipped. You're right, though, it was nice to evaluate both.

Ken

[lwg]

I just drove through Farmington, NM and one Ford Dealer had probably 40 Dually's on the lot. Funny thing is they were all white and looked like XLT's. Guessing it for all the mining and farming operations around there.

[Oriana]

Originally Posted by brenkco

Andy,
That's actually what got me in "trouble" when in Phoenix last winter. There are several very large Ford dealers. I did an inventory search and found one that had both the F350 & F450 dually's in stock. I was able to test drive them both before making my decision. The salesman though I was crazy when I wanted to take them to a parking lot to test out the turning radius. He was unaware of the difference. Funny story...the dealer was so large, the salesman took us through several huge lots pressing the alarm keys to find the 2 trucks...massive inventory!

The F450 didn't have the equipment that I wanted, but they found one and had it shipped. You're right, though, it was nice to evaluate both.

Ken

Since we don't have the option to test drive in Vancouver, that was my thoughts while driving down to California - find one of the mega dealers and go for a drive in a 350 & a 450.

It would be great if we could purchase one in the U.S. but they can't sell to us Northerners.

[lwg]

Originally Posted by Oriana

Since we don't have the option to test drive in Vancouver, that was my thoughts while driving down to California - find one of the mega dealers and go for a drive in a 350 & a 450.

It would be great if we could purchase one in the U.S. but they can't sell to us Northerners.

Meaning you can't test drive because they don't have trucks, or there's some weird Canadian law against that?

[Oriana]

Originally Posted by lwg

Meaning you can't test drive because they don't have trucks, or there's some weird Canadian law against that?

As per previous post, it is highly unlikely that a dealer in Metro Vancouver would have a 450 or 350 dually with heavy tow package sitting on the lot. When we bought the 350 SRW with max GVWR no Ford dealer in BC had what we wanted.

[Jim & Mary]

Andy

Maybe you should route back to Indio through Blair, Nebraska and visit Woodhouse Ford.