I really am not sure why I am posting this other than to let my frustrations out. I married into a Mopar family. Luckily my wife has made the transition to Ford on her own. Anyway, an older gentleman that I have known through my father in law bought the truck in the subject line. He is an old Mopar car guy but was always a loyal Ford truck guy. He is a contractor and trades every three years or so. After a bad run with two 6.0 trucks, he bought an 06 Dodge with the Cummins. It was a good truck he said but it was constantly requiring front end work. He wanted to go back to a Ford and heard the gas truck was really good. So, he ordered an 11 F250 XLT 4X4 SC with 6.2. He didnt test drive it (shame on him). Well he has had it two weeks and it is getting traded for an 11 Dodge this week. His complaints? Well, I seen him today at a picnic and I asked him.
First on the list was the lack of front seat room. He said the dash is out close to him and it is very uncomfortable and unnatural. He also claimed there is a lack of front cab space in general.
Second, for some reason his truck only has three leaves in the rear. He has to flip his receiver up (from where it was in the Dodge). to haul even a small trailer. He claims the truck squats badly with hardly anything back there. He ordered an upgraded leaf pack from the dealership but hasnt yet installed. He had first called a local spring shop and they said " you either bought a new Ford or Chevy". They claimed they are having a lot of these guys coming in for heavier springs.
Last, and the final straw for him- he bought a FEMA trailer that weighs in the neighborhood of 5K. He said the truck did not handle the load well at all. Claimed the 6.2 just didnt feel good pulling and was north of 6K rpms several times when he felt it shouldnt of needed it. Trust me, I am certainly not posting this to offend anyone or badmouth the 11 Super Duties. I would kill for one. But, I did want to share some things this guy is saying. Known him for years. He was disappointed he has to go looking back to a Dodge- planning on losing several thousand $$$$.
I can overlook the seat position/comfort and pulling power perception. That is different for everybody. But, 3 leafs per side? Is that true?

 

I'm sorry.

As for the guy who wants to get rid of his SuperDuty, he should have test driven one, like you say. It sounds like he didn't order the truck he needed and now is blaming Ford. Perhaps he should stick with Dodge so he doesn't give Ford owners a bad name.

 

My 18,000lb equipment trailer has 2 leafs per wheel.
Lot of Ford owners deny it, but most of those truck are build for driver comfort and small turning circles and not for load hauling. The huge overhangs on them are plain safety hazard in most of the hauling situations. Even my F450 has rear axle placed more toward front of the loading zone, than to the end. While hauling heavy trailer I have no good load on front axles and have to use brake controller manual level to brake for safety.
Only F550 do have wheel base for hauling serious loads.
Than this is what the market demands. Well over 90% owners of SuperDuty use them as a commuter cars or grocery getters. This is what market demands.
Bottom line, the guy in question should order F550.

 

Funny he has problems with a 5K trailer. I am pulling a fifth wheel weighing almost 13K with mine no problem.

 

Bear in mind 5th wheel hitch is about 5 feet towards the front of truck than the trailer hitch. Moving the load center of gravity 5 feet makes HUGE difference.

 

I was referring to it not having enough power. Even with 3.73's he should have ample power for such a small load.

 

Very good points made.

 

Good points made but lets be serious a 550 to haul a 5k pound trailer? Honestly sounds like the guys not used to driving a gas truck. Owned a couple of 6.0s and a Cummins then went to a 6.2 and it dosnt have the same power, uhh no kidding? Not real sure about the whole leaf spring issue but it sounds more subjective than fact. The truck squatting more is a combination of just way too many factors and way too arbitrary to represent any factual information.

 

A man has to do what a man has to do. If everyone liked the same vehicle they would only make one. When one is loyal to one brand it is hard to change.....

 

its not about the number of leafs in a pack its how it deals with a load.

i mean a RAM 1500 has a bloody coil spring in the back for cripes sake.

to me it just sounds like hes just looking for reasons to buy something else.. let him, its all good for the economy..

someone else will ****** up that lightly used F250 and smile all the way home.

 

But that it what a WD hitch is for and makes a huge difference on any tow behind. I honestly do not know why more people besides RVers do not use them. I talked a buddy into one for his boat and he was shocked at how it made a difference.

And as far as cab space in the Dodge vs the Ford.... are you serious? I thought the Dodge was a clown car comparied to mine...then again I have not looked in the 2011.

 

I think if a person was to look at the actual specs he would have found that the SD is bigger inside cab wise, short of the DODGE mega cab.

Let me go, someone has to by the Dodge.

 

Exactly. What does he expect?? I towed w/ my FIL's 2006 Cummins and that thing pulled like no other. My 5.4 will pull it as well but not as good as a diesel. Not sure I buy that it wouldn't pulll a 5,000lb trailer though, a half ton should be able to pull that.

 

some of the older guys seem to be more picky about towing with their trucks, i had an older man that worked for me that bought 3 different trucks before he found one that would satisfy him.. he was pulling a 7k or so bumper pull camper and all of the trucks were gas burners and all were less than a year old when he would trade them in because he did not like the way they towed... rpm's too high , not enough low end.. etc... i kinda teased him because all of the trucks would tow his camper fine and everytime he traded he was losing money..

 

Even a 5k trailer will be hard to tow if it is loaded wrong. The comment about having to flip his tow bar and the truck squatting also leads me to believe he just had too much tongue weight for the particular truck.