F-350 King Ranch

[Lowmiler]

Originally Posted by NorCal Eagle

Beautiful truck! Love that color too.

Thanks! Last truck was refrigerator white, but Ruby Red is awesome, especially in sunlight. Metallic pops.

Originally Posted by NorCal Eagle

I guess I should have said capable rather than capacity. And from my understanding the F450 has bigger brakes over the F350 plus, of course, different axles with 10-lug wheels vs 8-lug. I think overall its the better investment if you're towing heavy.

Indeed, more capable than the F350, and the price difference when comparing same Editions to each other is pretty small.

The 450 does use 19.5" commercial grade tires (hence the 10lug), with no tire pressure monitoring built in, and the ride can be a touch rougher than the 350 because of it, but doesn't bother me as long as I drop rear tire pressure to 70psi when not towing.

Rear axle and brakes are heavier duty than 350, correct.

[Marine71-76]

Regarding F450 - please check with your auto insurance carrier. Not all will cover the F450.

[mjudkins]

Well I decided to pull the trigger. Picking it up next weekend, a 2019 King Ranch. Even pondering going to the dealership to get the 377 while it's in for winter maintenance to tow it around a while and take it back. Haha

[Magnolia Tom]

Originally Posted by Lowmiler

Unless you get pushed into a commercial class, which varies state by state, I vote F450, too.

Just picked one up, Platinum Edition, and it is fantastic, both hooked up to my 377 and solo.

The tighter turning radius of the F450 is the selling point, it technically is rated slightly lower than F350 in towing capacity due to heavier components used. Even the rated capacity is far beyond any Jayco pin weight, and is most likely artificially limited so as not to push it into the next weight class.

FYI, some of the towing tech isn't applicable to a 5th wheel. The blind spot sensors get disabled if you select 5th wheel from the towing menu. And you can't deploy any cameras once you are under way.

But the truck is Capable with a capital C. With the 4.30:1 rear diff and 935ftlbs torque, it gets out of the hole like there is no trailer attached. Cruises on the hiway effortlessly, can overtake slower traffic without breaking a sweat. With my old GMC dually, that took lots of planning before popping into the passing lane with my 377 attached.

Beautiful truck Todd!

[Magnolia Tom]

Originally Posted by mjudkins

Well I decided to pull the trigger. Picking it up next weekend, a 2019 King Ranch. Even pondering going to the dealership to get the 377 while it's in for winter maintenance to tow it around a while and take it back. Haha

Nice choice! Love the king ranch

[Lowmiler]

Originally Posted by mjudkins

Well I decided to pull the trigger. Picking it up next weekend, a 2019 King Ranch. Even pondering going to the dealership to get the 377 while it's in for winter maintenance to tow it around a while and take it back. Haha

Nice. The White Platinum with Marsala interior was a strong second choice for me, saw one just before my Ruby Red showed up and I started thinking I made a mistake. White on the latest gen Fords is sharp. Congrats.

I did exactly that when picking up my new truck: trip down to my seasonal site an hour away to set up the new hitch ball, and had to take it for a 30 mile "shake down." Ran it over the scales, too.

Originally Posted by Magnolia Tom

Beautiful truck Todd!

Thanks, Tom. Long time coming.

[mjudkins]

Originally Posted by Lowmiler

Nice. The White Platinum with Marsala interior was a strong second choice for me, saw one just before my Ruby Red showed up and I started thinking I made a mistake. White on the latest gen Fords is sharp. Congrats.

I did exactly that when picking up my new truck: trip down to my seasonal site an hour away to set up the new hitch ball, and had to take it for a 30 mile "shake down." Ran it over the scales, too.




Thanks, Tom. Long time coming.

What kind of hitch did you put in it? I’m thinking of the B&W Companion. I have the Patriot in my GMC and love it.

[Lowmiler]

Originally Posted by mjudkins

What kind of hitch did you put in it? I’m thinking of the B&W Companion. I have the Patriot in my GMC and love it.

May I make the bold suggestion of considering the Reese Goose Box? That is what I have.

Pros:

Clear bed when not towing. Huge.

About 100lbs less pin weight when you consider the combined weight difference between a normal pin box and 5er hitch assembly.

Built in airbag and shock system for a very smooth ride.


Con:

Takes a little more time to hook up, considering how low the connection point is in the bed and the safety chains (requirement varies by state).


I love my Goose Box.

[norty1]

And the creature comforts like air conditioned and heated seats were a big favorite with my friends wife. The turn radius was my favorite.

My truck takes a whole Walmart parking lot to make a U turn.

[T&M_Texas]

Originally Posted by mjudkins

Okay campers,

I am currently in the middle of deciding weather or not to trade in my 2016 Sierra 3500 Denali SRW for a 2019 F-350 King Ranch DRW. I love the amount of towing features the Ford's offer, and the extra power. I love my current truck and generally hate the thought of owning a dually, but with our trailer being a 377RLBH, and an upcoming spring trip out West, I think it would be a wise move. Anyone have this truck, and if so thoughts? Are the dually's really a lot better for towing, or is there a minimal difference over a SRW?

2015 F-350 with air bags and 2018 377RLBH. I prefer using a dually with the size & weight of the 377RLBH and personally I like the stability of a dually.

[serfas01]

I have had 4 GM duallys so far. The latest is a 2018 GMC Denali DRW, Duramax, with Allison, etc. The DRW is super stable towing my 2016 Pinnacle 38FLSA. It walks up and down the hills like a dream. The exhaust brake is a wonderful feature on all of the new trucks. I never move when passed by a Semi. All of my DRW trucks have been great with a heavy trailer.
Even though the GMC/Chevy trucks tow less than the Ford equivalents, I don't plan on towing a 30k fifth wheel in the foreseeable future so I am very happy with my trucks. My fifth wheel is approximately 16k and it tows effortlessly. I live in Montana so the snow comments are wrong. Mine is very stable on snow and ice. The turning radius on a DRW is a bit longer but I drive it in city traffic and park in normal parking spaces without a problem. It is very quiet compared to the other ones as well. The 445 HP and 915 ft lbs of torque is very powerful. I just towed the Pinnacle to Az and averaged 11.2 MPG. It was about 1 MPG better than my 2011 Chevy Duramax DRW so that was good news.

[RetiredLEO]

The DRW will give you extra stability and a "cushion" if you have a flat or worse yet a blow out on the rears.

[bgelyhome]

Originally Posted by mjudkins

Okay campers,

I am currently in the middle of deciding weather or not to trade in my 2016 Sierra 3500 Denali SRW for a 2019 F-350 King Ranch DRW. I love the amount of towing features the Ford's offer, and the extra power. I love my current truck and generally hate the thought of owning a dually, but with our trailer being a 377RLBH, and an upcoming spring trip out West, I think it would be a wise move. Anyone have this truck, and if so thoughts? Are the dually's really a lot better for towing, or is there a minimal difference over a SRW?

I pull a Jayco Pinnacle (40 ft) with a 2018 GMC Sierra 3500 HD Duramax with SWD. This past Summer made trip from Birmingham, AL to Arizona. Truck did great pulling trailer up and down mountains. GMC made big improvements in HP and Torque with their 2018 Duramax. I looked at Ford and Dodge and selected the GMC.

[TCNashville]

Originally Posted by mjudkins

Well I decided to pull the trigger. Picking it up next weekend, a 2019 King Ranch. Even pondering going to the dealership to get the 377 while it's in for winter maintenance to tow it around a while and take it back. Haha

mjudkins that is a beautiful truck.

[Dave A]

Our 2016 F350 Lariat is our first dually and it's great! I did add air bags to take the squat out of it. We're also pulling a 377rlbh. It's very easy to drive, doesn't sway, lots of power, very happy.

[mjudkins]

Originally Posted by TCNashville

mjudkins that is a beautiful truck.

Thanks TC! Can’t wait to pick it up.

[mjudkins]

Originally Posted by Dave A

Our 2016 F350 Lariat is our first dually and it's great! I did add air bags to take the squat out of it. We're also pulling a 377rlbh. It's very easy to drive, doesn't sway, lots of power, very happy.

The dually still squats with the 377? I was thinking the additional payload capacity would keep it level. I hope I don’t have to add bags. The wife will be ticked since that was my big selling point to convince her 😳. We have bags on our GMC 3500 and it still squats some.

[brubot]

I had a 2005 F350 6.0 liter diesel SRW with a 4400 pound payload. With my deck, 2 quads, water, gas and gear pulling a Jayflight 22FB at 6000 pounds loaded, I was over the GVW by several hundred pounds. The scales guy said I needed an equalizer hitch and had to move some stuff into the trailer. The load range E tires were at the maximum load. It drove like sh.... Ordered a 2017 F350 diesel dually XLT reg cab with 455 gears. Pulls like mad, drives like a dream. Can drive with one hand and look around. Burns a little more fuel than the 6.0 litre at 14 L/100 with only the deck on. No regrets. The single cab has a small fuel tank.

Bruce

[ARMYG]

My state farm agent corrected me for not buying a dually before I made two trips to Arizona from Oregon. He stated that the high winds would blow me all over the road. He was wrong as our 2016 Silverado did not experience any of those conditions.I am so glad I did not buy a dually since parking and extra wide vehicle on the road leads to other problems. Silverado/Sierra was rated highest customer satisfaction.

[jdgmint]

Originally Posted by mjudkins

Okay campers,

I am currently in the middle of deciding weather or not to trade in my 2016 Sierra 3500 Denali SRW for a 2019 F-350 King Ranch DRW. I love the amount of towing features the Ford's offer, and the extra power. I love my current truck and generally hate the thought of owning a dually, but with our trailer being a 377RLBH, and an upcoming spring trip out West, I think it would be a wise move. Anyone have this truck, and if so thoughts? Are the dually's really a lot better for towing, or is there a minimal difference over a SRW?

Good idea. The F350 drw is a monster. Have you looked into the F450? There's no such thing as too much truck when pulling a 5th wheel. I've owned both Ford amd GM and the Ford wins...hands down.