Critique my new Truck please

[shadester]

Originally Posted by herewego

Payed Wayyyyyyyy less than that for my 2014 ram 3500 will pull anything, I like bells and whistles but Holly Heck ! that's a lot of Jack !!!! my truck was pre owned certified, factory warrant for 120 k miles any way enjoy your new Truck !!! PS I worked for Ford for Many years and always had ford so I know the quality is there......

Yep, just picked up a 2014 ram dually also CPO with 20,000miles. For the price, I paid, I checked to make sure I wasn't wearing a ski mask or something. I was also looking at a used ford platinum with 60k miles but the price kinda choked me up. Then I thought, the chrome won't get us home. But the real deciding factor in reality, was the budget.

[jimp]

Any particular reason you guys went with the F350 vs the 250?. Do you "need" the extra capacity of the 350, or just wanted the extra capacity?

[Shorty Cox]

I didn't know that four letter word on the grill qualifies it as a tow vehicle!!!!!!

Just kidding

[shadester]

Originally Posted by jimp

Any particular reason you guys went with the F350 vs the 250?. Do you "need" the extra capacity of the 350, or just wanted the extra capacity?

I went solely on the need of the capacity. I have a 3/4 ton and now a 1 ton but have multiple uses for each. If I didn't have a need for capacity or at least a need in the future, I'd be happy in a 1/2 ton. The ride I had bringing the 1 ton home definitely wasn't the most enjoyable ride I've had..

[klassic]

I had a 3/4 ton two trucks ago and the then got a 1ton just so the numbers look a little better when I get pulled over hauling stuff.
And for the overload spring. Could get that on an hd250 too....but once a 350, always a 350.
Once in debt, always in debt.

[klassic]

Back to your question bonsai.... I love the adaptive cruise and think it's a great option. It works much better in my truck then my wife's two old MDXs and her '17 Lexus.
The CHMSL camera works good too for hooking up.
The LED headlights are great too.
Having the 5th wheel mount preinstalled is good as well.
Some options to think about

[eng45ine]

When it becomes possible, please post a picture of the 5er and the truck hooked up. We are all going to drool.

[bfurry78]

Originally Posted by jimp

Any particular reason you guys went with the F350 vs the 250?. Do you "need" the extra capacity of the 350, or just wanted the extra capacity?

The payload increase as well as the overall increase in factory certified numbers was less than $900.00......

[bansai]

The 350 is exactly 1100 dollars more than the 250 for the same options and I gain an additional 1000 pounds of cargo capacity roughly. It's hard to pass up paying a buck a pound. As you guys also know, the diesel motor is heavier than the V8 gas motor (I think around 300 pounds heavier, but don't quote me on that) Going up to the 350 recoups the lost cargo from the heavier motor, and then some.. this is one of the ways I'm justifying the diesel. Having that motor in the 250 hits the payload number enough to where the upgrade to the full ton just makes total sense to me.

I'm following the advice from many here and buying my truck for my next camper, not my current one.

Really appreciate all the replies thus far. Thanks guys for all of your input. It was a hard sell convincing my wife that we needed the 350, because honestly we don't... not now anyway, but I made the case and she's on board. Our last experience with a diesel Ford totally sucked so I am really banking on it working out this time, or it will end up being the truck she buries me in.

[Magnolia Tom]

I think you'll be very happy with the new truck. I wish I could have gotten a 17 dually when I upgraded from my 06 but they were out of my price range. However, the 6.7 is so much better than the previous powerstroke engines.


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[bfurry78]

Originally Posted by bansai

The 350 is exactly 1100 dollars more than the 250 for the same options and I gain an additional 1000 pounds of cargo capacity roughly. It's hard to pass up paying a buck a pound. As you guys also know, the diesel motor is heavier than the V8 gas motor (I think around 300 pounds heavier, but don't quote me on that) Going up to the 350 recoups the lost cargo from the heavier motor, and then some.. this is one of the ways I'm justifying the diesel. Having that motor in the 250 hits the payload number enough to where the upgrade to the full ton just makes total sense to me.

I'm following the advice from many here and buying my truck for my next camper, not my current one.

Really appreciate all the replies thus far. Thanks guys for all of your input. It was a hard sell convincing my wife that we needed the 350, because honestly we don't... not now anyway, but I made the case and she's on board. Our last experience with a diesel Ford totally sucked so I am really banking on it working out this time, or it will end up being the truck she buries me in.

Hey bansai I am moving to Denver in a few months......Would love to get some pointers on where to go as well as towing experiences and or advice in towing in the Mountains.

[bansai]

Originally Posted by bfurry78

Hey bansai I am moving to Denver in a few months......Would love to get some pointers on where to go as well as towing experiences and or advice in towing in the Mountains.

I live down near Chatfield State Park (S.W. Side of town). Towing along the front range is really straight forward. Even my 150 has zero problems down here. I try to tow fairly light to maximize what little available payload I end up with once loaded up. As expected, most of our great camping requires a trek up through the Eisenhower tunnel, and often over Vail pass as well... or up 285 which we often take to get down near the Sand Dunes (we own some land in that area) No major problems with any of it. The only real concerns I've had to date with our towing this setup is when we hit steep, downhill switch backs in the mountains. Not the kind of grades you see on I-70... much worse. And the wind can surprise you all along I-25 from time to time.

A properly dialed in weight distributing hitch is super critical for us. We're using the Equal-izer on our setup and overall I've been very happy with it.

All I can suggest is to go slow, gear down, use tow haul mode for that extra amount of engine braking, ignore the people that might start riding your butt, do pull over when safe to let them pass is you're on a 2 lane road, Try and save your brakes from overheating / glazing. My tires are rated for 65, and my truck can easily pull what we have at that speed, up any hill in Colorado we've encountered that is marked for 65 or higher. I find I'm usually going a bit slower on the down hill side because for us, stopping quickly if need be is the biggest concern we have. I've found that driving in the mountains is a lot more 'sane' than I-25 for example... where the speed limits are higher and there are more morons on the road doing 85+ mph.

I'm not sure if I know what truck / camper you have... if you are close to limits like I am or if you have more wiggle room. Feel free to ask me any specific questions. If I knew more about the kind of camping you enjoy, I could recommend some specific spots. When we aren't camping off grid, we generally stick with the state parks, in State, and there are a lot of decent ones. Rifle Gap State Park comes to mind, tons of hiking, waterfalls, not a whole lot of people... spotty cell phone coverage though We plan on exploring a lot more of the mountains south west of us this year.. i.e. Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Durango, etc..

When I upgrade my Truck (hopefully this month still), I don't see my overall towing philosophy changing, except I'll be taking more gear, with fuller tanks.

[bfurry78]

Originally Posted by bansai

I live down near Chatfield State Park (S.W. Side of town). Towing along the front range is really straight forward. Even my 150 has zero problems down here. I try to tow fairly light to maximize what little available payload I end up with once loaded up. As expected, most of our great camping requires a trek up through the Eisenhower tunnel, and often over Vail pass as well... or up 285 which we often take to get down near the Sand Dunes (we own some land in that area) No major problems with any of it. The only real concerns I've had to date with our towing this setup is when we hit steep, downhill switch backs in the mountains. Not the kind of grades you see on I-70... much worse. And the wind can surprise you all along I-25 from time to time.

A properly dialed in weight distributing hitch is super critical for us. We're using the Equal-izer on our setup and overall I've been very happy with it.

All I can suggest is to go slow, gear down, use tow haul mode for that extra amount of engine braking, ignore the people that might start riding your butt, do pull over when safe to let them pass is you're on a 2 lane road, Try and save your brakes from overheating / glazing. My tires are rated for 65, and my truck can easily pull what we have at that speed, up any hill in Colorado we've encountered that is marked for 65 or higher. I find I'm usually going a bit slower on the down hill side because for us, stopping quickly if need be is the biggest concern we have. I've found that driving in the mountains is a lot more 'sane' than I-25 for example... where the speed limits are higher and there are more morons on the road doing 85+ mph.

I'm not sure if I know what truck / camper you have... if you are close to limits like I am or if you have more wiggle room. Feel free to ask me any specific questions. If I knew more about the kind of camping you enjoy, I could recommend some specific spots. When we aren't camping off grid, we generally stick with the state parks, in State, and there are a lot of decent ones. Rifle Gap State Park comes to mind, tons of hiking, waterfalls, not a whole lot of people... spotty cell phone coverage though We plan on exploring a lot more of the mountains south west of us this year.. i.e. Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Durango, etc..

When I upgrade my Truck (hopefully this month still), I don't see my overall towing philosophy changing, except I'll be taking more gear, with fuller tanks.

I have a FW (345BHTS) and I am about ready to take delivery of a 2017 F350 SRW Powerstroke. We are looking in Parker/Centennial that area as I will be working in the DTC. We mainly camped in State Parks and are very excited to see what Colorado has to offer for camping (I am sure we won't be disappointed). I have towed in the Smoky Mountains quite often, but those are "hills" compared to the mountains I have seen out there. I have been flying back and forth about every other week and I am ready to make this move permanent! We are waiting for the kids to get out of school and will be coming into town for good the first of June. At some point I would like to PM you if you don't mind and get a few more pointers.

[jasum]

Congrats on your new trucks guys!!

[bansai]

Originally Posted by bfurry78

I have a FW (345BHTS) and I am about ready to take delivery of a 2017 F350 SRW Powerstroke. We are looking in Parker/Centennial that area as I will be working in the DTC. We mainly camped in State Parks and are very excited to see what Colorado has to offer for camping (I am sure we won't be disappointed). I have towed in the Smoky Mountains quite often, but those are "hills" compared to the mountains I have seen out there. I have been flying back and forth about every other week and I am ready to make this move permanent! We are waiting for the kids to get out of school and will be coming into town for good the first of June. At some point I would like to PM you if you don't mind and get a few more pointers.

No problem, hit me up anytime.

Colorado's mountains are so vast it's actually somewhat intimidating for a lot of people. I've been in the Denver area since the 80's and I still have a lot to explore here.

My office is also in the DTC, but I work from home most of the time. Parker is a great area to live, we've considered moving out there, but our real goal is to get up into the mountains a bit. Real estate is insane out here right now, but I'm sure you've seen it.

[bansai]

Originally Posted by jasum

Congrats on your new trucks guys!!

Thank you, but I should disclose that I didn't pull the trigger on it. I woke up the next morning and in a moment of sanity, realized that we really aren't in a major hurry so we're going to make it a factory order and get exactly what we want as far as options go.

I'm actually leaning now towards the 6.2 gas motor (gasp ) so I can afford the lariat trim with some extras and still have a 3000+ pound payload, which should serve us well for at least the next 10 years. I plan on upgrading my current camper at some point, but I don't see us getting anything much bigger than what we have now (famous last words I'm sure)

I'm actually suffering from analysis paralysis at the moment on this decision.

250 Lariat with the gas motor. Or
350 XLT with the diesel.

I can configure both of those trucks to come in within 500 dollars of each other, and both would have more than 3000 lbs of payload which is all I anticipate ever needing for the kind of camper camping we do. It will also be used all the time here in town empty (bonus points for the 250 gas), but I just *want* the diesels 920 lbs of torque.. it's not a need. Both trucks will do fine. I can sure get a lot of options I otherwise couldn't by saving the 8000 dollars they want for the 6.7 diesel option.