I cant say which one would be better to suite your situation, but it would be cool to know, that your not "limited' to what you can tow.

On the preventative/maintenance side, using an oil change for example, if you do the work yourself, then it comes out to the same price, if you think about it. You go what, atmost 3k on a gasser at 20-25 buks for the oil/filter, well, you go 5500-6k on a diesel, which changing your own oil/filter, cost 50 buks, for me it does, 4-gal at 10 buks, filter at 8 buks....?

 

I drove a 5.4l Expedition at 6500' elevation, and seemed as gutless as my '95 Land Cruiser. Having said that, a half-ton Ford is going to drive a bit more 'car like' than a Super Duty. I wanted more towing capacity, and the Expedition was not going to cut it. If you're not towing, don't need a turbo, and aren't really a DIY person, I get a non-diesel 1/2 ton truck.

 

Since u mentioned a Duramax in the family..their a good combo too if u find a 2004.5 or newer (LLY...stay away from the LB7, injector issues). They give u more of an F150 ride w/ the diesel. I had a Dmax and it was very dependable (albeit I only owned till 80k miles...) I just didn't like it personally versus the superduty's i've always owned so i got rid of it and bought a 4-year older 7.3 .

 

i use my truck for my business. i do lawns, home repairs or what ever they need. for the most part i dont need the 7.3 but when i hook it to the 10,000lbs of trailer and tractor it makes me love it that much more.
only you know what you need or wont. just read about and learn them before you buy.

 

I had 5.4 Lariat f150 and traded it for my PS Excursion about 3 weeks ago. The f150 was more car like. BUT when you put the long skinny pedal to the wood in my EX I get all smiles. There is nothing like everyone watching your tail pipe and watching the black smoke roll. =) I miss my f150 in one aspect --> when I fill the EX I have to I have to run my debit card twice LOL plus the added 2-cycle mix and additive. BUT boy will this sucker move. I pretty much aim then fire LOL .

 

you could get f25o 5.4 steel tow pretty good size stuff

 

I appreciate all of the good advice. I'll digest this and give it some more thought.

 

I owned a f-150, for 8 months... it was junk I would never own another 5.4 Blew spark plugs, all the coils started going and just before I got rid of it the thing started ticking bad. Boy I lost lots of money with that thing. I've had my 7.3 for quite some time now and I have just done regular maintenance with it to date. Plus the 150 cant pull my excavator that weighs in at twenty thousand pounds. I'll only own diesel from here on out.

 

My f150 with stock tires on it would scare the crap out of you in the rain too. When you get to 100k miles plan on a transmission rebuild. Plus mine was gutless on top end. Say I had to pull a hill I would have to gear down to pull it with no load. And the windshield wipers had a mind of their own and would come ON whenever they wanted to. lol

 

I went and drove a '00 F-250 with the 7.3 today (170k miles). I wasn't impressed with that particular truck.

I'm not sure what was up with the front end. I've never had that much difficulty just keeping a vehicle tracking in a straight line before. I'm at a loss as to why they didn't repair whatever the issue was before putting it on the lot.

The engine initially made me when i turned it over. Gotta love the diesel clickity clack. After a couple minutes though, I started to notice a tapping sound coming from the engine. I don't have an educated opinion as to what it might have been, but it didn't sound normal (I've driven serviceable International, Duramax/Isuzu, and MB diesels).

It had boost, transmission temperature, and another (don't remember) gauge. There was a cutout in the dash under the steering wheel for what I'm assuming was either a chip/ECU tuner or trailer brake controller. For a vehicle that had obviously received some attention, it seemed obvious that none of that attention was of the preventative maintenance variety. The top of the engine (under the fuel rail) was as filthy and caked in diesel fuel as my old 291k mile diesel Mercedes. I'm not sure if that's normal or not for a '00 PS.

The transmission shifted pretty rough/clunky. It seemed to have a difficult time transferring the power to the ground. No kidding...it was about the most vague acceleration feeling that I've ever experienced.

Anyways...I'm glad I went and drove one. Despite all the shortcomings of that particular truck, it did tell me something before I even got in it. I don't need a truck that size. Seriously...that thing made my Dads 2500HD seem small. It was like driving a bus (yes...I've driven a bus, lol).

Anyways....1/2 ton it is.

 

Personally, I wouldn't have any desire whatsoever to mod an F-150. So yeah, the Powerstroke will be quite a bit more expensive.

 

LOL!

Try owning a Lightning...you won't be able to say that.

Stewart

 

I took a ride in Stewart's F-250 this last Saturday.

He's done a darn-good job modding that one, too.

It likes to go, shall we say,.........FAST!

Pop

 

Haha...Superduties don't steer very well unless u really go to town on the front end's...no comparison to your dads' dmax i can tell u that. As with any superduty i've ever bought, plan on doing the front-end over....if u do it right and spend the money, they can feel better then new once complete. Step 1: replace every tie rod, ball joint, bilstein shocks, redhead steering box, steering dampner....then get it aligned = new truck

Also remember, a stock 01' isn't going to feel very fast.....thats where mr. DP tuner comes in....good luck on ur hunt!

 

1999 F-350 - CC - LWB - 4x4
Cost of Ownership for 130,000 miles
All service done by owner...to this point - other than John Wood transmission

Fuel costs: 22 cents/mile
Service Costs: 12 cents/mile

Total: 34 cents/mile