2017 f350 srw

[travelin' texans]

My '13 GMC has 3.73 with the 6 speed Allison & get 8.5-11.0 mpg towing (depending on terrain) at 65-68 mph at 1600-1700 rpm & 16-18 mpg solo. My '05 GMC had 4.10 with 5 speed Allison & got 8-9 towing at 65-68 at 2200-2300 rpm & 13-15 mpg solo. As with any engine rpm=power=fuel consumption. As long as I can get 10-11 mpg towing I'm tickled pink as I think that's very good regardless if you're towing an rv or driving one.

[Rogerfish]

Originally Posted by RWJSIM2003

I have been looking at the 2017 F350 SRW thinking of upgrading from our 2008 F450. I get tired of parking and does not fit in the garage with other cars and a SRW would fit and could be a everyday driver. I miss driving a truck everyday to work.

I test drove one over the last week and to get a feel also have a friend that has a 2016. I wanted to see how it would tow the RW so used his truck to pick up our RW from the shop had some Warranty items completed.


I wont be changing anytime soon did not like the feel of the SRW on his 2016. Trailer was pushed all over when Semi went by or passing one. Our F450 feels so solid going down the road and it has much more power than his F350. I know the power is from all the performance Items I have added over the years. I will just keep my 450 for awhile only has 40k miles and I know the truck well.

I got a 2017 F-350 SRW short bed King Ranch and just pulled my RW from Texas to Alaska and back this past summer and was totally satisfied with the pull even on some of the Alaskan gravel roads. Did a much better job than my 2012 F-250.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Garyl53]

Hi,
We recently purchased a '17 36RL and plan to travel for 3 or so months at a time several times a year after retirement. Currently towing with an '11 F350 w/airbags and Andersen hitch. I had to add the Andersen lockout kit on the Flex-Air Pin Box which basically disables the fore-aft dampening feature of the Flex Air. I was scouring the site to understand the best tow vehicle upgrade to improve comfort while towing. A recent trip from Denver to Santa Fe proved quite uncomfortable in that the F350 pretty severely amplified any road imperfection, bridge expansion joint and created a very severe push-pull motion between truck and trailer. My current 36RL pin weight is about 3k with minimal fresh water and empty black/grey tanks. I expect this to increase for longer tirps as we would likely bring more stuff.
It appears that the most reasonable upgrade would be to move to a '17+ F350 or F450 (or equivalent RAM/GM version) but I would be very interested in feedback as to the ride comfort while towing. Are the newer '17+ model SRW or DRW a more comfortable ride for driver and passenger? Is a DRW more comfortable than a SRW in general for a typical 4-6 hour day of travel?
My DW is at her witts end as far as not being comfortable so any feedback is very much appreciated.

[atom ant]

I don't know about the 17 plus, but our 2014 F350 DRW towed like a dream. The more weight the better. With full water, gen, and W/D, our 36RL pin weight was 4,320.

But unhook the Redwood, and I hated that Dually. Beat the heck out of us on an Interstate hopping, (because of wheelbase), and finding a place to jam that thing anywhere around Denver or even a National Park was a challenge and a pain in the keester.

[xtasee]

We have a 2017 Chev 3500 SRW with a BW Companion hitch. I also have a 2017 Redwood with the Tri-glide Pin box. It generally rides very nicely. That said, I think any truck/hitch setup will throw you around if you hit a large enough bridge abutment. Coming home from our last trip, we had been cruising down the interstate for a couple of hours not hardly noticing the trailer was back there when we hit one without warning (no black marks on the road) that just about threw us out of the truck. Then nothing again for the rest of the trip....

[piper guy]

Gary - I just pull d into a campground and will have more time this evening. We had same issues with our RL when we bought it, almost took it back as ride was so bad. With the setup we have now, Tracy at times goes to sleep no unless we hit a REALLY BAD bridge or rough road, we don't get anything more than a "head bob" in the truck.

[mhs4771]

We're the same as Vaughan, Comfort Ride Hitch and Mor/ryde Pin. I think part of your issue is the Anderson Hitch and with the Lockout on the RotoFlex you have a solid connection between the RW and your TV, so any bump gets felt through the whole setup.
I know a lot of Folks swear by the Anderson for it's light weight, BUT I have a BIG problem pulling one of these heavy beast and then hooking it to the Lightest Hitch I can find. If you're going that route why not install a Reese Goose Box and just connect to a Turn-Over Ball in the bed. Just my idle thoughts.

[piper guy]

Ok, this will be a long post but hopefully I can share almost 6 years of experience with towing our 36RL Redwood.

A disclaimer - I have no experience with the Andersen hitch. Like Michelle, I know some people swear by them. However, if I'm going to pull a really heavy fifth wheel that is also my fulltime house, I have absolutely no use for a lightweight hitch. Like Michell, I eventually wound up with a MorRyde pinbox, MorRyde IS suspension and a Comfortr Ride 24K hitch. Plus some other stuff that I will list below.

First - when we bought the Redwood, I had a two month old 2012 F350 Crew Cab Short Bed with the max gvw 11,500 lb option. I figured I was good to tow most anything we looked at. We were looking at Montanas, some other fifth wheels and all we're about 13-14k weight. Then we walked into a Redwood and said "whoa, this is it". The shipped empty weight on mine is 14112 lbs. I figured I was still good.
Picked the coach up from the dealer and headed home. Was on the Baltimore beltway, just came over the Key Bridge and about five miles later hit the first bridge I had ever hit towing a fifth wheel. The only way I can describe it was "holy s#%* what was that " as I was literally thrown off my seat, the rig all but changed lanes and I had to pull over to the side of the road to check if everything was still attached. I almost turned round and took it back. Did some research that night and discovered what "chucking" is. It varies tremendously from rig to rig. My stepsons Ram 3500 SRW with a Toy Hauler Doesn't exhibit any issues. Go figure.

So I went from there. Didn't really want to sell the SRW as everyone told me Duallys were a PITA so I added sway bars, an Airlift 5000 airbag system with on board compressor. Was pulling with a 20k Super Glide Hitch. Ride got significantly better but every time we came to a bridge Tracy would cringe and go for the grab rail and the dog would whimper. Finally got rig weighed and found that we were way overweight on the rear axle of the truck and even more so way over on what the tires were rated for. 10 days later someone in Nebraska got a very nice 8 month old truck from Woodhouse and I got a Dually with lol the toys and the MaxTow option.

Short answer - best move I've ever made. Takes about 10 days to get used to having "hips" and then you'll probably find you live the truck. The Dually came with a 25k Reese Elite hitch supplied through Ford. Hated that hitch. Loud, banged, a bear to hook up. However, the total rig was night and day different. Much more stable, unaffected by crosswinds or a semi passing and was much better over bridges and undulating roads. Rig became live able. Tracy didn't grab the handle so much and there was almost never a dog complaint from back seat. Life was pretty good.

Fast forward about two years and about 15k towing miles. I discovered through a friend a company called Sulastic. They make a rubber cushions rear spring hanger for pickup trucks that improves the unloaded ride. Decided to risk the $400 and try them. OMG, my Dually now rides almost like a 150 when it's unloaded and when loaded they compress and the rubber is no longer in the equation. I have told the company owner that if he takes it public I want first knowledge. They are that good of an addition.

As far as my rig,about the same time I met Rick Olsen who makes Comfort Ride Hitch. He and I talked extensively about the advantage to his hitch and the bottom line was I decided I wanted one. Went with the 245 model which is rated at 24000 lbs. also decided at the same time that I was tired of dealing with an airbag and it's leaks so I switched to a MORRyde pinbox. I had previously gone to MORryde and had their IS independent suspension installed and also Kodiak Disc brakes.

Please understand that Tracy and I knew from the start that the end result of all this was that we would be fulltime in our coach and travel the country.

So - here's how our rig is set up.
2013 F350 Dually with Max Tow option
MorRyde 8k IS independent suspension
MorRyde pinbox
Airlift 5000 Airbags with onboard compressor and remote control
Sulastic spring hangers
Comfort Ride 245 energy absorbing hitch
Sailun H rated tires

The above combination has been towed approximately 42000 miles across 21 states so far. The ride is amazing. Unless we hit something or some roads REALLY BAD , Tracy spends a good deal of her time on her iPad and the cats are asleep in the back seat. It is really that good. With the IS virtually nothing moves around in the coach unless I have to climb all over the brakes to miss some idiot.

When we do hit something bad, it's now a minor inconvenience rather than a major problem. Same with rotten roads, change the airbag pressure no keep going.

Oh, and we also tow the Focus behind us. Would I change anything ? I think the only thing I might change is to go to a F550 or a Sportchassis But since I don't have a spare $130 k ..........

Feel free to PMme if you'd like, there are solutions.

[BrentB]

Atom, I did not realize the F 350 was available with the wide track front axle. Is that still available on the 2018-2019? Also, is it available on single rear wheel models?

[piper guy]

Not sure about the 2017 and newer trucks but from about 2011 on the F350 Dually was available with the Max Tow option which gave you the wide track front axle and also 4.30 gears and a bigger rear axle. It is essentially a F450 but still has the 14k gvw so you don't get pushed into medium duty class for insurance and reg fees. Gives a lot of "wiggle room" for capacity.

[mhs4771]

Last I looked at the Ford towing charts, the F450 had the same GVWR as the F350, 14k, but because the 450 is heavier it carry as much pin weight as the 350.
Now I haven't checked recently, so I could be wrong, but I know it was that way at one time.

[Garyl53]

Thanks so much for all of the helpful responses to my questions. After reading your posts I think the primary issue I am dealing with is that the F350 SRW is running right near its max loads which makes any disturbance (frost heaves, expansion joints, really rough pavement, etc.) outside it's ability to handle it reasonably which makes the ride very uncomfortable.
I think the best plan is to move to at least a 350/3500 DRW. I think my hitch/pin box choices are either the Comfort Ride hitch (184) with a MorRyde RPB or a B&W with the current Flex Air. I actually have a MorRyde RPB on my old 5ver (which is still for sale) so maybe I will swap the MorRyde RPB to the Redwood now and give that a try. I really like the idea of getting rid of the air bags on both the truck and the pin box. I haven't had any problems with the air bags on my previous set-up it is just that it is yet another item that needs to be checked and adjusted before and during a trip.
As far as the unloaded ride experienced when in "tourist" mode, I like the idea of adding the Sulastic rubber dampened shackles but I can wait to make that decision as those could be added at any time. I test drove a new F350 SRW and DRW and I was a bit shocked at the ride improvement as compared to my current '11 SRW model. I also think that having a bit more weight in the bed due to the Comfort Ride or the B&W along with airing down the tires a bit might help quite a bit when not towing.
Again thanks for all the responses to my questions.
Gary

[Garyl53]

I looked into the Ford "wide-track" option for the F350 as mentioned. As far as I know once the '17 Ford model years hit the F350 wide track option was no more. The only way to get that feature and the 4.3 gearing is to purchase an F450.

[RWJSIM2003]

We just changed from a 2008 Ford F450 to a 2018 F350 SRW. I was not sure I wanted to go with the F350 especially a SRW but I wanted a Every day driver and a Dually would not work. I added stronger sway bars and Airlift on the F350. We have towed about 1000 miles so in the last 3 months and do not notice any difference in ride from the 450 to the 350. My pin weight is about 3000lbs we run very light since not FT. So far I am happy with the truck and how it pulls and rides. I do miss the sound of the F45O with all the tuning but the new truck runs really good and the MPG is so much better.

[Garyl53]

I would love to stay with a SRW but I am thinking that we are already at 3000# pin weight without a generator, washer/dryer, full fresh water or a full load of stuff for a 3 month or so trip. Makes me think the extra capacity of a DRW would make for a good insurance policy just in case we decide to add a W/D or generator. I think the length of a DRW vs. the short box SRW I have now may be more of an adjustment than the rear fenders! Not sure though...
Did you go to a long bed? What pressure in the air bags are you using when towing?

[RWJSIM2003]

I went with a Long bed and run the airbags at 35-40 PSI loaded. We did get the upgraded suspension package for added weight capacity. Did not go with the puck system I had rails put in the bed. We use a 20K Reese Titan Hitch that we already had. I also have the W/D but no generator. I never run with water in tanks we don't do any dry camping.

[xtasee]

Originally Posted by Garyl53

I looked into the Ford "wide-track" option for the F350 as mentioned. As far as I know once the '17 Ford model years hit the F350 wide track option was no more. The only way to get that feature and the 4.3 gearing is to purchase an F450.

The thing the dually will give you is more stability and you have 2 more tires to handle the pin weight issue. With that said, I drive the single wheel.

[piper guy]

Definitely get the rig weighed and don't depend on brochure weights at all.

[atom ant]

Originally Posted by BrentB

Atom, I did not realize the F 350 was available with the wide track front axle. Is that still available on the 2018-2019? Also, is it available on single rear wheel models?

Last time I looked, I couldn't find it. I'm not sure if they still have that option. First time I saw one I thought they labeled the truck wrong, because it looked like an F450. I'm not sure it had the taller wheels though, I just don't remember.

[mhs4771]

Now I'm not a Ford person, but I believe a few years ago there was almost no difference between the 350 and 450 as they put the same basic wheel on the 450 as the 350, but finally went back to the 19.5 wheel for the 450.