3/4 or 1-ton - Montana Owners Club

Garin1 · 08-09-2005, 07:47 AM

We rercently bought s new 3650rk and had it delivered to the park as my old truck will not pull it. I am currently working in Iraq and when I get back, need to buy a new truck. Looking at the Ford, 2005 super duty. both the 250 and 350 4x4 srw configurations show the same capacity but I am concerned with the pin weight of the new Montana at 2000#. any input would help.

Thanks

Countryfolks · 08-09-2005, 08:44 AM

Look at load capacity, the amount of weight the truck can carry. The tow capacity is the weight the truck can pull. They are two different things.

Skip

Fordzilla · 08-09-2005, 05:22 PM

For the minimal differance in price, go with the 350. The new '05 have differant springs and ratings between the 3/4 and 1 ton's. You will always wonder if you should have gotten a bigger truck. The 350 will have almost 1000 pounds or more larger capacity for pin weight.

rickfox · 08-09-2005, 05:34 PM

Garin1

If you are considering a dually, first check out the residential parking ordances in your area. A friend of mine who lives in Richardson, TX parked his new dually on the street in front of his house, and got a ticket. Richardson's law is "no vehicle with more than 4 wheels on the ground" can be parked on a residential street. It's a real downer for him, since his rear entry driveway is not long enough for his crew cab truck.

If the right one don't get ya, the left one will!

Bob Pasternak · 08-09-2005, 05:57 PM

A properly setup 3/4 will pull just about anything Montana has and you can go thru the bank drive-up and car washes with it. In some cases, a 3/4 will PULL more than A 1 Ton. A 1 ton will HAUL more. My pin weight on the pictured truck is 2470 lbs. Enjoy your new unit.

cs413 · 08-09-2005, 06:36 PM

Garin1 - I too have a 3650RK and found out my chevy 1 ton would not handle the trailer after towing it only one time. I opted for the F350 with the Tow Boss Package. I wanted more truck than trailer and it delivers. The payload capacity is 5200# and the towing capacity (GCWR) is 18,100# with the dually and 19,200 regular cab SRW. It's a lot of truck but I want to control what I pull with plenty of room to spare. BUT they are getting very hard to find even though Ford extended their sale to the 06's and to September 6th. This truck rides like a dream and I am getting used to the extra set of wheels in the back. I love the truck. Even though the 3650 has one of the lighter pin weights, by the time you put all your storage in the basement, possible washer/dryer, and clothes up front, it's not hard to imagine 3000-3500 pin weight. The Ford is higher than my old Chevy, but no problem hooking up and sits perfectly level when hooked up. I did not have to do any adjustments to the Trailair pin box or the hitch. Somewhere under this topic I posted how to get to the weight capacity chart at www.ford.com website. It lists all the weights for the entire F250 and F350 line under Specifications. Very informative. Good luck and happy hunting for a new truck.

mallardjusted · 08-09-2005, 06:52 PM

The F-250 can pull the weight, but will almost surely be over in payload weight (5th wheel pin weight, passengers, 5th wheel hitch, and any cargo). That is the prime reason I traded up from a 99 F-250 to a new F-350. Instead of a 2400 to 2600 payload capacity, I now have a 3800 to 4000 pound capacity.

dannyl · 08-10-2005, 08:06 AM

I don't know that much about the Fords but I was looking a few months ago and was able to buy a Dodge 3500 for less money than the 2500. Something about the popularity of the 3/4 truck drives the price. I love my 3500 and the Cummings has the power to PULL anything Montana makes. What is your thinking about going 4x4? I haven't found many places where I need the 4x4. My last truck was a 4x4 and I didn't use it much. Played with it a little.

Good luck in your search.

Bowie · 08-10-2005, 08:26 AM

Happy with our 350--pulls like a dream even through the mountain passes. Like knowing that we have wheels that will deal with anything Montana produces.

sreigle · 08-10-2005, 04:19 PM

Actually the only difference in springs between the 2005 F250 and F350 is the F350 comes with the overload leaf. That same leaf is available on the F250 as part of the Camper Package (not tow package). I've seen F250's with that leaf. If ours had the leaf I'd not have added the airbags.

Garin1, one thing to keep in mind is the 2005 F250 has HIGHER ratings than the 2004 and prior F350's, if you have the tow package and 10,000 lb GVWR package. And as high or higher than the competition's one ton trucks. On my F250 the tow rating is 15,400, the GVWR is 10,000, and the GCWR is 23,000. On our 2003 F350 the tow rating was 13,400, the GVWR was 9,900, and the GCWR was 20,000.

Despite that, the cost difference between F250 and F350 is minimal so why not just get the F350. You will have higher payload ratings and that's worth something. When I bought last October there was not an F350 to be found with the options, colors, and extras we wanted or we've have gone that route. Nevertheless, we're very happy with the F250. Just an opinion.

t1mrtork · 08-10-2005, 04:40 PM

Lots of good advice on this site. My two cents would be to think about the daily use if it is going to be used for that purpose also. A single wheel 1ton I think would be a good choice for both towing and daily use. Mine is not used everyday, I have a chevy 2500 for everyday use. I dont mind the duallies width, there are worse things to manuver around in. People make a good point about where you live if there are laws concerning duallies. We havent been anywhere where there are but it sounds like they are out there. Have fun picking the new truck out!

Bowie · 08-12-2005, 03:10 AM

This may sound rather elementary--but if you want a dually, be sure to carefully measure the place where you would like to store it. We missed out by 2" and would have had to spend a good deal of additional $$$ to be able to get it out of the NY winters.

Bob Pasternak · 08-12-2005, 05:07 AM

There are people that will use stability as an arguement for a dually. IF I needed a 1 ton, it would still be a SRW. If I worried about stability, I'd go to the next higher load range on the tires. "E" range tires are 10 ply rated. Go to a 12 ply. Stiffer sidewalls and a correspondingly rougher ride.

Wagonmaster · 08-12-2005, 05:30 AM

When we got our monty, I went from a 2002 f250 to a f350 dually. I got tired of worring about an extra case of water or soda,etc etc. Bigger is better...

H. John Kohl · 08-12-2005, 11:55 AM

The comment about measuring the door reminds me of two friends. One could not park his Ford dually inside, too wide. The other bought a new bass boat and trailer inside. Yep, he had to enlarge the garage door to get the boat trailer. That boat upgrade cost a few extra thousands.
One dually owner told me he went with dual because of added comfort if he had a flat. I went with dual for extra weight and truck rear end stability on corners.
Good luck and tow safe.

rickfox · 08-12-2005, 04:35 PM

Terry and Barb,

How do you like your 3400RL? I can't tell from your photo, does it have filon or hi-gloss sides. If filon, how much work has it taken to keep it looking good?

I am considering the 3400, but the extra 600# for the hi-goss sides seems to be a bit much since the 3400 has a relatively low net cargo capacity to begin with, and losing another 600# doesn't seem to make sense for me.

richfaa · 08-13-2005, 09:12 AM

If there are no other considerations go as big as you can.We have the F-350,CC,Lb Dually..It is a BIG long Truck also very heavy.Comes in at over 7,000 Lbs with us and all our Camping stuff onboard.It takes two parking spots, We stored our silverado in the winter,can't find a storgae unit long enough for this thing.Won't go through a auto car wash, won't fit through most bank drive in windows.If the TV is your everyday drive you might consider a single wheel, short bed.Our Tv is a TV only, not used for anything else..but it will pull any Montana with plenty to spare..not to worry about pin weight.You have got to match the TV to your needs..get what serves you best..

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