Gas truck considerations

[01tundra]

Originally Posted by Crabman

Yes I have seen some nicely equipped XLs as far as practical equipment, with the power group and towing stuff. They also have the vinyl floors which I like in a truck. Carpet is a pain to keep clean. I don't need moon roofs or air conditioned steering wheels lol. Not yet anyways.

I said that too......until we got the new GMC and I was able hit the seat A/C button on a hot July day

[Crabman]

Originally Posted by 01tundra

I said that too......until we got the new GMC and I was able hit the seat A/C button on a hot July day

Oh I'm sure it's nice lol.

[15BlueStreak]

I traded my 2015 Ram 2500 6.4l gas truck with 4.10s in on 2017 Ford F250. 6.2 gas with 4.30 gears. Had to order it. Night and day difference. Ford tranny gearing combo is far superior. I have been doing some recent searches for 4.30 geared trucks for a friend and they are there but you may have to drive a ways to find one. Good luck! Just remember gearing matters in a gas truck.

[Midnightmoon]

Originally Posted by Crabman

Oh I'm sure it's nice lol.

With the electrical problems I have with my current truck, the only time those cooled seats would work would be when it is -15.

[Mad Cow]

Originally Posted by GrumpyDad

Lots of big rigs are "rated" up to GCVR of 140,000 lbs, would you stay at 50% of that rating too?

Yes, there are many rated for that kind of weight, but they need a rack of permits with the associated extra bucks to pay for them to actually gross that much. The vast majority of Class 8 Semi truck/trailer rigs are spec'd and registered for 80,000 lb gross.

It is not quite and apples to apples thing comparing GCWR's of widely different classes of vehicles. Class 1,2, and 3 are a long ways down the totem pole from a class 8, and the vehicle build is considerably different. And the pickup OEM's are notorious for pumping up payload and towing numbers for marketing purposes, and there is no real industry oversight to hold them in check. It is as bad as TT manufacturers pumping up insulation R factor numbers in their products. There is no oversight or standards committee to keep them in check. Some of those R ratings are so inflated that one would have to have a 2 foot thick ceiling to actually have the insulation factor the OEM is claiming. When we get into the higher classes of vehicles, the majority fall under FMCSA/DOT guidelines and have to meet a wide array of standards to be in compliance. There is definitive standards and requirements to haul those significant payloads.

[eagleback]

Originally Posted by Mad Cow

Yes, there are many rated for that kind of weight, but they need a rack of permits with the associated extra bucks to pay for them to actually gross that much. The vast majority of Class 8 Semi truck/trailer rigs are spec'd and registered for 80,000 lb gross.

It is not quite and apples to apples thing comparing GCWR's of widely different classes of vehicles. Class 1,2, and 3 are a long ways down the totem pole from a class 8, and the vehicle build is considerably different. And the pickup OEM's are notorious for pumping up payload and towing numbers for marketing purposes, and there is no real industry oversight to hold them in check. It is as bad as TT manufacturers pumping up insulation R factor numbers in their products. There is no oversight or standards committee to keep them in check. Some of those R ratings are so inflated that one would have to have a 2 foot thick ceiling to actually have the insulation factor the OEM is claiming. When we get into the higher classes of vehicles, the majority fall under FMCSA/DOT guidelines and have to meet a wide array of standards to be in compliance. There is definitive standards and requirements to haul those significant payloads.

X2

[Iraqvet05]

Originally Posted by 15BlueStreak

I traded my 2015 Ram 2500 6.4l gas truck with 4.10s in on 2017 Ford F250. 6.2 gas with 4.30 gears. Had to order it. Night and day difference. Ford tranny gearing combo is far superior. I have been doing some recent searches for 4.30 geared trucks for a friend and they are there but you may have to drive a ways to find one. Good luck! Just remember gearing matters in a gas truck.

Thank you for the info. Love to hear from people that have actual experience compare two similar trucks. The 4.30 geared F250s are very hard to find, especially used. I'm a bit leery that dealerships sometimes list the gearing correctly when they advertise a truck so there maybe more 4.30 trucks out there than expected. I may forgo finding a 4.30 truck when I go to buy and either save up for a re-gear later on or scale back on the size of the next camper we plan to buy.

[max2bob]

I am not aware if ford has this or not but if you go to the dodge website and go under the equipment listing for owners and plug in the vin number it will give you the factory equipment listing back to at least 2000 for a dodge truck so that will tell you if it was ordered with a particular set of gears . it is a very useful tool when shopping for used trucks. hoping some ford owners can chime in if ford has this on their website.

[eagleback]

Originally Posted by max2bob

I am not aware if ford has this or not but if you go to the dodge website and go under the equipment listing for owners and plug in the vin number it will give you the factory equipment listing back to at least 2000 for a dodge truck so that will tell you if it was ordered with a particular set of gears . it is a very useful tool when shopping for used trucks. hoping some ford owners can chime in if ford has this on their website.

https://www.ramtrucks.com/ram-commer...ers-guide.html

Theres more than this i have to look but here is a starting point.

[kayakterp]

Originally Posted by Iraqvet05

Thank you for the info. Love to hear from people that have actual experience compare two similar trucks. The 4.30 geared F250s are very hard to find, especially used. I'm a bit leery that dealerships sometimes list the gearing correctly when they advertise a truck so there maybe more 4.30 trucks out there than expected. I may forgo finding a 4.30 truck when I go to buy and either save up for a re-gear later on or scale back on the size of the next camper we plan to buy.

I think the 3:73 gear ratio on a F-250 gasser will pull many 5ers
My 15' was originally setup to pull a 5er with that gear ratio and I think it would do fine in most cases. Not sure about going through the Rocky Mountains in higher elevation with a heavier load but I travel mostly on East coast/Midwest.
Would be fine for Smokey or Blue Ridge mountains but I usually pull around 7,500 lbs
As already mentioned, there is a lot more maintenance on a diesel and I 'think' you have to drive over 20 minutes each time you start up the truck to complete a cycle??
That won't work for me, also right now diesel is about $.70€ more Per gallon right now in my area

[clutch]

I recently down graded from a 3500 diesel to a 1500 gas. Most of our driving is just me in an empty truck. I get a lot better mileage with the smaller truck and gas is a lot cheaper than diesel. Oil changes and fuel filter changes on the diesel are expensive. This week I learned that the small truck won't pull our big Jayco but it does pull our smaller summer trailer with no problems.

[2nOZ]

Originally Posted by Iraqvet05

Thank you for the info. Love to hear from people that have actual experience compare two similar trucks. The 4.30 geared F250s are very hard to find, especially used. I'm a bit leery that dealerships sometimes list the gearing correctly when they advertise a truck so there maybe more 4.30 trucks out there than expected. I may forgo finding a 4.30 truck when I go to buy and either save up for a re-gear later on or scale back on the size of the next camper we plan to buy.

When I bought my F250 gasser, I couldn't find one with 4.30 gears. Would have had to special order it. My dealership has quoted a price of $3400 for a gear change because it is a 4X4. Looking forward to see how it performs pulling our new FW.

[Atlee]

Unless you needed it immediately, why not order it and get exactly what you wanted?

Originally Posted by 2nOZ

When I bought my F250 gasser, I couldn't find one with 4.30 gears. Would have had to special order it. My dealership has quoted a price of $3400 for a gear change because it is a 4X4. Looking forward to see how it performs pulling our new FW.

[goducks]

Originally Posted by 2nOZ

When I bought my F250 gasser, I couldn't find one with 4.30 gears. Would have had to special order it. My dealership has quoted a price of $3400 for a gear change because it is a 4X4. Looking forward to see how it performs pulling our new FW.

I hope you didn't pay $3400 for 4.30 gears. They're only $390 if you order.
Huge waste of $3,000 IMO.

[2nOZ]

Originally Posted by goducks

I hope you didn't pay $3400 for 4.30 gears. They're only $390 if you order.
Huge waste of $3,000 IMO.

We didn’t change to the 4.30 gears. Still have the stock 3.73. I thought that was an awfully high price. We haven’t pulled very far or over varying terrain to see how it’s going to do. Anxiously awaiting spring. I’m pretty sure she’s going to do great with the 3.73.

[SkyBound]

^ You will not have any problems with that truck and trailer combo. As long as you don't lift it and throw 37 inch mudders on it (like I would do) there's no need for higher gearing.

[goducks]

Originally Posted by 2nOZ

We didn’t change to the 4.30 gears. Still have the stock 3.73. I thought that was an awfully high price. We haven’t pulled very far or over varying terrain to see how it’s going to do. Anxiously awaiting spring. I’m pretty sure she’s going to do great with the 3.73.

x2, worst case scenario just drop a gear and push the go pedal a little more.

[Wannabe]

I don't think any ratio change will be earth shattering. I certainly wouldn't spend 3k+ to maybe get a better towing experience. I think that kind of money would be better put toward a diesel up front if towing experience is a big concern.

[riddle family]

Thinking of switching from my 03 Cummins Ram to a f250 with 6.2.

Currently own a 315 BHTS Touring Edition. Any of you guys have any experience towing a similar trailer with the gasser?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[15BlueStreak]

Originally Posted by riddle family

Thinking of switching from my 03 Cummins Ram to a f250 with 6.2.

Currently own a 315 BHTS Touring Edition. Any of you guys have any experience towing a similar trailer with the gasser?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

I have never owned a diesel. So a comparison between the two I cannot give you. I do tow a 2017 324bhts TT with a 2017 f250 6.2 and 4.30 gears. It does very well. I towed it with a 2015 Ram with 6.4l hemi and 4.10 gears before changing to the Ford. Ford makes a much better towing platform. Transmissions are night and day. Ram really needs to spend some R&D on their transmissions. The only thing I miss from the Ram is the suspension. The coils on the 2500 do work very well. Perfect truck would be Ford with the progressive rate coils of Ram.