Truck help please

[Colorado350]

I tow with a 7.3L CCLB DRW. I regeared from 3.73 to 4.10’s but the 4r100 is a 4 speed transmission, I can’t imagine what a 8 or 10 speed transmission would be like it. I’ve towed over 15K with it in the heart of the Rockies without issues.

If I wasn’t so cheap and was going to buy a new TV, it absolutely would be a CCLB DUALLY and geared as low as possible period. My truck is a tow rig and I want a long wheel base and a stable rear end i.e Dually.

Regarding driving it empty, I pull through spots and take both parking spots so I can pull out of the parking spot. Only one time I had someone make a comment about it in a parking lot that was 1/3 full...apparently getting out of the truck and walking up to them to discuss the issue further also solved the issue.

I would not worry about parking anywhere even a city street, it’s a licensed vehicle park where you want. I carry several orange cones just in case I get a flat tire on a busy road or interstate, I also use it to mark the rear corner of the truck if I park on the street.

I’m like you, overbuilt and overkill are the only way to do something. The new transmissions with 6, 8 and 10 speeds are absolute beasts then add the electronic monitoring and the built in temperature gauges you have nothing to worry about but personally I’d get the lowest gears I could. I think your hardest decision will be color.

 

[anguscampbell]

Regarding driving it empty, I pull through spots and take both parking spots so I can pull out of the parking spot. Only one time I had someone make a comment about it in a parking lot that was 1/3 full...apparently getting out of the truck and walking up to them to discuss the issue further also solved the issue.

Love it. And why is it that when you park way out in the corner of a lot where you can take up 4 parking spaces, you still come back from the store to find a 20 year old beater parked three feet from you???


We love ours and Joan enjoys driving as much as I do, both with and without the house behind us. The only thing that surprised me was the turning radius (or lack of). The first time I backed it into a spot (without the house), Joan complimented me on how neatly I had parked it. What I did not tell her was that I had been aiming for a spot 2 spaces down.


Angus

 

[mikayles]

Great looking setup.

X2

 

[billcf7]

I wish the manufacturers would offer the wide track front ends on the 350's and 3500's

 

[bstannard]

Our Eagle weighs 13,300 loaded. We tow with a 2020 F350 cc drw diesel. Handles WV mountains great with 3:55 gears. 10 speed trans has plenty of choices to keep engine in sweet spot. Chose better ride of the 17” tires over shorter turning of the F450 on 19.5 commercial tires.

 

[Marine71-76]

We have had nothing but duallys since 1999...wife would drive them to work because they wouldn't fit in the parking garage when I worked. She loves driving the truck.

Our latest truck is a 2008 F450 with a 4:30 rear end. We park further out and sometimes we have to take 4 spots because they are so small. We also pull in our mirrors in case someone decides they need to park close to us. Do we get good fuel mileage? Absolutely not. But I know if wife decides she wants a heavier trailer I don't need to upgrade the truck either. Although I have been looking at the Freightliner Business Class.

I know most insurance companies do not cover the F450 because, per Ford Representative, the Federal government considers it an entry level semi. Our truck was ordered with the bed, which is a different size than work trucks.

 

[gharrison]

Really ??

“I know most insurance companies do not cover the F450 because, per Ford Representative, the Federal government considers it an entry level semi.”

Is this true on a off the lot 2020 F-450 ? No special license needed to operate a F-450. Is there?

 

[Kmartin]

We originally towed our 2017 355RLBH with a 2015 F350 SRW. Good TV did the job. Recently traded 2004 F350 SRW for a 2019 F450 with 6 speed transmission and 4.30 gear. What a difference in towing, braking, stability and the turning radius is insane for a long wheel base. Will never step down from a 450 for towing. All this coming from a person who once said he would never own a dually

 

[anguscampbell]

“I know most insurance companies do not cover the F450 because, per Ford Representative, the Federal government considers it an entry level semi.”

Is this true on a off the lot 2020 F-450 ? No special license needed to operate a F-450. Is there?

And I’ve heard that some states will register a n F450 as commercial only. And the insurance?

Also have heard that not all Ford dealers will work on a 450. ????

 

[Colorado350]

And I’ve heard that some states will register a n F450 as commercial only. And the insurance?

Also have heard that not all Ford dealers will work on a 450. ????

That’s true, it’s because of the GVWR...

 

[Marine71-76]

“I know most insurance companies do not cover the F450 because, per Ford Representative, the Federal government considers it an entry level semi.”

Is this true on a off the lot 2020 F-450 ? No special license needed to operate a F-450. Is there?

We built/ordered our F450 with the bed. In Ohio there is no special license.

 

[Marine71-76]

And I’ve heard that some states will register a n F450 as commercial only. And the insurance?

Also have heard that not all Ford dealers will work on a 450. ????

There were two different models of F450 in 2008 - long base versus short base. Ours is not registered as a commercial unit because it isn't. The Ford dealer where we purchased worked on it but wife got mad at them - wife drove the truck more than me & she knew what it was doing. They had a new tech who basically blew her off & when she complained was told too bad. Wife took it to another dealer who said they would work on it. It was blowing white smoke & because they could not replicate, there was nothing they could do. Wife picked up the truck, drove no more than 3 miles on the freeway and sure enough, it started blowing white smoke - so bad that the driver behind her went around & flipped her off. We ended up taking it to a "big" truck dealership with Ford's approval and the EGR was replaced, the front end was rebuilt, etc. We now take it to another Ford dealership who sells/works on F450 and up.

 

[gharrison]

You folks are great .... but I still don’t know what to do

Question: can you drive a drw on “ the highway to the sun” road ????