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Old 12-30-2008, 04:48 AM   #1
earl
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FORD DESIEL F250 4X4 INFO

hello, we are just getting ready to become full timers and am in a quandry as to what truck to buy. I am a Ford guy but I am hearing a lot of nightmare srories about the Ford desiel engines. Will the 3/4 ton do the joj or do we need bigger. I drove a chevy and was impressed with it . Any info will help Thanks
 
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Old 12-30-2008, 05:45 AM   #2
ols1932
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quote:Originally posted by earl

hello, we are just getting ready to become full timers and am in a quandry as to what truck to buy. I am a Ford guy but I am hearing a lot of nightmare srories about the Ford desiel engines. Will the 3/4 ton do the joj or do we need bigger. I drove a chevy and was impressed with it . Any info will help Thanks
There should be no quandry. You buy the truck for the job. Since we don't know what 5er you're going to purchase, there's no way we can provide an intelligent reply for you. We pull our Montana with a Ford F-250 Power Stroke. Some will say the truck is too small. It was the truck we had at the time we bought the Montana and we didn't have the money available to get a bigger truck. We should have a bigger truck based on the load we're towing. But, be that as it may, we will stick with what we have for the time being.

Any of the big 3 trucks will do the job, assuming they are properly load related. Do some research, ask questions of the dealers, get things down in writing before you even begin to think about which truck you're going to go with. Once you've made the decision, stick with it.

Orv
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Old 12-30-2008, 06:13 AM   #3
richfaa
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You have not provided enough information for a proper reply. What camper, how much will it weigh?'We pull a 06 3400 that weighs in at @ 13K with a 08 F-350,CC,LB, 4X4, 4:10 diff...not had a single problem..
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Old 12-30-2008, 06:22 AM   #4
bsmeaton
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Welcome to the Forum Earl!

If you are talking about the new ultra low sulfer diesel fuel engines, I think they are all having a few quirks right now, but nothing serious. It always takes a while for a new production engine to get the bugs worked out.

If you are talking about the 6.0 Fords made from 2003-2007, they have had some issues with EGR and plugging I have heard. I have a 2006 and have had no problems, but if I was looking for a used truck, I think I would steer to one of the other 2 brands just because I wouldn't know the history of the truck.

The weight issue is a hugely controversial subject. There are several 3/4 ton truck out there towing, but I beleive some are just getting by and are running over the weight rating. Most I believe, started out towing smaller campers at one time. Because you still have the option, do yourself a favor and negotiate into a 1-ton at least, then you can tow any of the Montana line. The price difference is negligable. We have an F350 with the 3400RL and are within the manufacturer tow limits.
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Old 12-30-2008, 06:27 AM   #5
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You don't say if you are looking new or used. The Ford problems were primarily with the 2003-2004 6.0 diesels. Although I had an '04 F250 6.0 that I never had any problems with. I traded it for an '07 F350 that I have 37,000 miles and no problems. If you go with a used Ford, look for an '06 or later model.
If you are looking new, the only complaints with the 08 Ford 6.4 diesel I have heard is the fuel mileage is not great. However, they have made some improvements to it and supposedly improved it.
And go with the F350 (1 ton) over the F250 (3/4 ton). There is only about $400-500 difference in the invoice price and it gives you greater cargo capacity.
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Old 12-30-2008, 09:31 AM   #6
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Without knowing what size rig you're pulling, this is a shot in the dark. First, go with the 1 ton, you'll never regret it and there isn't much out there you can't tow with it. I tend to follow these guide lines concerning different brands: if you want ride comfort, go GM, if you want lots of room, go Ford, if you don't mind smaller cabs and beds, go Dodge. These don't apply to all models, but the diesel engines all perform pretty well. Engine wise, I prefer them in the following order: 7.3 Powerstroke (Ford), Cummin's (Dodge), then the Duramax (GM). The newer Dodges with the 6 speed automatics and exhaust brakes seem to be a popular TV these days. My current rig is a 2000 F350 with the 7.3 PSD and 6 speed manual transmission. Good Luck with whatever you choose.
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Old 12-30-2008, 10:35 AM   #7
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I can't disagree with any of the comments so far. We purchased a 2005 F250 in May of 05 because it fit the requirements for a 2005 3400RL relative to pin wt and total wt. Now the new model of that trailer is too heavy for my truck. My advice would be to pick out the trailer you want then match the truck specs to those of the trailer, i.e. pin wt, total wt, total wt of both the trailer and truck at max. Be sure you look at all the specs for the truck, since there are many options you can add to the truck that affect its towing capacity. I should have purchased a truck for the future, which would have been either a F350 or F450 in the Ford line. I liked the Chevy but got a better deal on the Ford. Did not look at the Dodge so have no opinion. Also consider long bed versus short bed and once again you can get an opinion on both in this forum

Good luck with both your trailer and truck search. This is a great place to ask questions on both.

Alan & Kathy
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Old 12-30-2008, 11:29 AM   #8
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Alan, I am one that started out with a Chevy 2500. After attending several safety classes on tow vehicles I decided I needed a bigger truck, plus my brother in law was a big influence also, plus the '08 Chevy 3500 dually gave me a well never mind that. Bottom line is: bigger is better. You can't discount the fact that you may want a larger trailer in a few years but may be held back by a lesser truck. As far as brand, I am partial to Chevy, but I have owned Dodges also. I think brand would depend on luxuries and price. All three will do the job and do it well!!!!!
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Old 12-30-2008, 12:02 PM   #9
mcgiver2
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hey folkes
well i have a Chevy 350 and i love the stability of dual wheels.............as far for the type truck thats up to you i have owned 4 fords love ever one but the last the 6.0 engine was a nite mare , so i don't care for the fords anymore. Happy Camping no matter what u buy................Allen
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Old 12-30-2008, 12:20 PM   #10
Delaine and Lindy
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I have owned many different Truck from the 1/2 tons and up. The key is you can never have to much Truck. There are people who are towing with all types and sizes of Trucks. Do your research on the weight of the 5er your buying and keep in mind those numbers are in many cases wrong. So what I'm saying you have to put it on a platform scale (Cat Scale for one) and then you will know your weight. I don't know of many RV dealerships who will let you weight the 5er before buying. You really want know until you put it on the scales loaded and ready for camping. Most Montana's can be pulled with the 1 ton Trucks DRW and it will handle the pin weight. Good Luck and do all the research you can. GBY...
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Old 12-30-2008, 02:16 PM   #11
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Brad hit the nail on the head. We also have a 2006 and have had no problems to date. And this truck pulls like no nothing else!! Get the biggest truck you can afford, but if you are going to be towing a new 3400RL you will need a 1 ton or better IMHO. Good luck!
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Old 12-31-2008, 07:28 AM   #12
sreigle
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I'm going to reply with my own opinion before reading the others. This topic tends to get emotional, me included.

If you get one of the larger Montanas, anything short of a dually will put you over one or more of the weight ratings. Whether that is a problem for you depends on your level of comfort.

Our Montana weighs, actual scaled weight, 14,620 lbs. Between this and the prior Montana (14,360 lbs) we've towed well over 100,000 miles without a single mishap or truck failure attributable to the trailer. And never have we experienced any concerns with stability, etc. Our first tow vehicle during our almost six years of fulltiming was a 1999 Ford F350 V10, single rear wheel. None of my trucks have been dually. The next was a 2003 Ford F350 diesel. 6.0L. I had some troubles with that engine stalling. It was one of the early ones. I traded it at around 69,000 miles. The next was a 2005 Ford F250 (note F250), also crewcab shortbed diesel. 6.0L. This F250, yes F250, had higher ratings than did my 2003 F350. That's something to keep in mind. But it also was as heavy as that F350. Heavier than the competition's 3/4 tons, but about the same as their one tons but with higher ratings. The only difference between that F250 and the same year F350 was the rear spring pack. Airbags fixed that. It didn't change the numbers on the stickers, it only increased the truck's capability to match that of the one ton single rear wheel. I traded this one at 85,000 miles because the 6.0 was known for more problems than the prior Ford diesel and I traded before hitting the 100,000 mile warranty limitation. This Dodge is a 3500 one ton single rear wheel. But it has lower ratings than did that Ford F250. I love the Dodge but the Fords did a very fine job, too.

So, to me, if you want to stay within all the numbers. By all means get the dually one ton. Otherwise, that new Ford F250 will do just fine for you as it has for me and many, many others. There just are no documented safety problems related to trailers over the rating. Just be reasonable about it. A friend, a retired Ford diesel truck engineer, looked at my numbers with the F250 and Montana and said 'not to worry, we test them way over those numbers.' However, I could not get him to tell me exactly how high the weights they test to. You will have to be your own judge on this.

By the way, this Dodge has the new emissions crap and it's not been a problem for us. I can't even tell when it is regenerating the DPF unless I watch the mileage drop for a few minutes before starting back up. I'm sure there is a mileage penalty but it can't be much as this truck gets excellent mileage in my opinion. I would not have any concern with buying any of the new diesels just because of the new emissions requirements. By the way, the next round of new standards is for 2010. The Dodge Cummins 6.7L will not require modifications. It already meets the 2010 standards and has since the beginning.

The truck now has over 43,000 miles since early June 2007. We have found exactly six stations that carry diesel but did not have the ULSD. And most of those were in the early days.
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Old 12-31-2008, 09:15 AM   #13
bsmeaton
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quote:Originally posted by sreigle

If you get one of the larger Montanas, anything short of a dually will put you over one or more of the weight ratings.
Exactly what number am I over on with my SRW that would be different with a DRW Steve? NONE. The only advantage to a dually number wise is payload, and you don't need the extra payload unless you move into a Big Sky.

Please be accurate.
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Old 12-31-2008, 01:51 PM   #14
Dean A Van Peursem
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We pull a late 2006 3400RL with a 2003 F250 Lariat 4 x 4 7.3 L diesel. Would upgrade to a newer F350 if we could still get a 7.3L engine. But staying with what we have until Ford gets their act together on diesel engines. 3 3200 mile round trips to AZ from NW WA. No fuss, no muss.
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Old 01-04-2009, 08:03 AM   #15
earl
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All I can say is WOW !!! I this is the way RV people are, I am Ready....I was ready for one reply to my message not two pages full. I Thank you all for your input and have gotten some really good info.We are going to be pulling a 2008 3400RL and I am sure thinking this afternoon that a 1 ton is worth the differece thanks to all your advice. Still have to think about the dually ! You guys know how it is when Mother does not like how they look...no matter if better for towing,but we will work that out...HeHe. THANKS AGAIN TO ALL FOR YOUR INPUT. (feel free to provide more) Earl/Dot soon to be newbee's
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Old 01-04-2009, 11:16 AM   #16
richfaa
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Earl..Just a word about dually or not. As you can see we have one.Don't think you can get a 1 ton bigger than the one we have. It is a pain in the butt to drive around solo, takes two parking spots, turn ratio is outrageous, won't fit in many places, The dually was not my choice however after looking at all the numbers we got the dually..We did not choose the dually..the dually chose us.It best served our towing needs. By the way this is our second dually. Had a 05 F-350 and when we were looking for the 08 I drove home with a 1 ton F-350 SWD for Helen to look at. She took a look, said ..it doesn't have enough wheels .I said ..well I think I like a SWD better.She said..remember why we got the dually.... Went back and ordered the 08 dually.
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Old 01-04-2009, 01:58 PM   #17
sreigle
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by bsmeaton

Quote:
quote:Originally posted by sreigle

If you get one of the larger Montanas, anything short of a dually will put you over one or more of the weight ratings.
Exactly what number am I over on with my SRW that would be different with a DRW Steve? NONE. The only advantage to a dually number wise is payload, and you don't need the extra payload unless you move into a Big Sky.

Please be accurate.
Yep, I should have said payload. I'm thankful you were there to catch my mistake. However, many one ton single rear wheel trucks will be over the payload with one of the larger Montanas onboard. Our 3400 has pinweight of 2860. Our 2003 3295 had pinweight of 3300. That's scaled weight, not the brochure weight. Both of those numbers put most SRW 1-tons over the payload rating.
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Old 01-04-2009, 06:00 PM   #18
Dean A Van Peursem
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IMHO, I would not recommend a Dually for pulling a 08 3400RL which does not overload any of the newer SRW trucks. A dually has advantages for towing but it is a complete PITA when you are not pulling. We have pulled our late 2006 3400RL with a SRW F250 over 10,000 miles now and have experienced some really nasty sidwinds on the road including being told by electronic Interstate signs instructing all trucks and RV's to get off the road. Never felt any real concern about sway with the SRW. Even if I purchased a 1 ton I would stay with SRW's. More than 90% of the time we are running the truck empty and just would prefer to not deal with having to drive and park a dually. And a dually is really dangerous when empty on icy or slick roads. There is less traction on the dually rear wheels because there is less lbs per square inch when running empty. A SRW is bad enough. If we were on the road most of the time I would give a dually more consideration. Not anticipated in the near future at all. YMMV.
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Old 01-05-2009, 01:20 AM   #19
Jim Jarvis
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quote:Originally posted by Dean A Van Peursem

IMHO, I would not recommend a Dually for pulling a 08 3400RL which does not overload any of the newer SRW trucks. A dually has advantages for towing but it is a complete PITA when you are not pulling. We have pulled our late 2006 3400RL with a SRW F250 over 10,000 miles now and have experienced some really nasty sidwinds on the road including being told by electronic Interstate signs instructing all trucks and RV's to get off the road. Never felt any real concern about sway with the SRW. Even if I purchased a 1 ton I would stay with SRW's. More than 90% of the time we are running the truck empty and just would prefer to not deal with having to drive and park a dually. And a dually is really dangerous when empty on icy or slick roads. There is less traction on the dually rear wheels because there is less lbs per square inch when running empty. A SRW is bad enough. If we were on the road most of the time I would give a dually more consideration. Not anticipated in the near future at all. YMMV.
Boy, my experience with a dually is about as far from the above as one could get. Granted, it's not always the most convenient but I use mine as a daily driver and love it. It is not as comfortable as my old half ton but i doubt the 250 is either. I drive my dually on icy and snowy roads all winter and have never even slid anywhere let alone felt I was in danger. It does not go thru the deeper snow as well as SRW but indeed it will using a bit more caution. If you find yourself on a back road with a foot of snow I dare say it will go thru that with ease. Mine has. Course that was an old woods road and I wasn't in a hurry. A dually is a great tow vehicle should one decide to get a truck built to tow a good load. The inconveniences are outweighed by the stability in towing, for my money anyway.
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Old 01-05-2009, 02:55 AM   #20
Delaine and Lindy
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Jim, I agree the 1 ton dually Trucks are awesome, and are designed to pull the heavy 5th wheels of today. Some are just intimidated by the wide butt of the dually Trucks. The fenders aren't any wider than the mirrors. Most all 3500HD have the same turning radius of a C/C long bed Truck, GM doesn't make a short bed 3500 as for as I know. I have owned 2500HD's but then the 5er wasn't as heavy. When we upgraded to a heavier 5er, I knew the 1 ton dually was my only option. I know that others just aren't comfortable with the Dually, but I have no problem with the dually. I don't park my Truck close to others, and try very hard not to. I have taken my dually any place that I want to. As for driving in Ice and Snow, it will be a freak of nature if I'm caught in Snow and Ice but if I do I want have a problem, you really have no need to be on the road in that condition.

I will also say if it was my choice only, I would be driving a Class 8 Truck with a single rear axle, so much cheaper than a 1 ton Truck and will last the average RVer a life time. Delaine says no Class 8, unless its under a Motor Home. I also can (park) my dually any place you can park a 1 ton SRW Trucks.


But really its a choice we have by living in a Free Country. And if your happy I'm happy for you. Well we are off to Camping World, or I am going to Camping World but Delaine knows Lazy Days is near by . Life is Good.... GBY....
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