hello
iowa here
am going to buy a new superduty!
but...keeping my '99 F 350 7.3 (109,000 miles now)
should i get the 350
or is the 250 a little easier on one's back?
could someone elaborate on the pro's and con's of each?
will probably go with the 'Platinum' edition

thanks
dave

 

There aren't any spring rate differences between the SRW trucks until the rear is compressed enough to engage the overload. The F350 would ride a little higher, but going down the road you shouldn't notice much of a difference.

 

FGAWR on the VIN sticker will vary based on engine and package. That'll affect the ride more than most things between two otherwise identical trucks, doesn't matter if it's a 250 or 350. The higher the number (usually part of the heavy service front suspension or snow-plow prep packages) will be a little stiffer up front than a lower number, but 5200# is a happy medium number under a diesel. Lower profile tires can seem to ride harder than tires with larger sidewalls, you might notice a difference between an aired down 35 on a 17" rim vs a pumped up 35 on a 20" rim, but in the stock sizes there's not a ton of variance there.

 

Test drive one of each with engine/gears of your likely purchase. This is what dealers are for too.

Sent from my Sprint PC36100 using IB AutoGroup

 

How true. We test drove several new F250s and F350s this past summer while truck shopping and each truck rode differently from the others.

 

Both will spill your coffee no matter what GVW you get. These trucks like to be loaded and drive much better loaded. You surely dont buy a 2-350 for a cushy ride.

 

True, but I can't believe how well my dually rides compared to the SRW brick I used to have. I did however have the tires at max for the SRW as that thing was loaded a lot. Neck snapping, teeth rattling ride. It was an 06 and many ride improvements made since then. The dually was smooth as glass with 65psi in the rears, and still able to hold a good amount of payload.

Have a pressure gauge on you. You might run into a smooth ride that has low psi and a rougher riding truck with the psi at max. At least that could level the playing field in that regard. I know when I picked up my dually they didn't have enough psi for me. Rode plush but I need capacity too.

 

In my truck listed in my Sig I have a 5600# FGAWR and 7000# RGAWR and it rides rough. Being the lightest, shortest truck with one of the highest capacities makes fora bouncy ride but I love it. I need to pit a lot of weight in it to make the suspension move a lot. The front end barely sags at all with a 1000# plow on the front.

 

With the lightest motor you have more wiggle room in the front....

 

You can also greatly improve the ride of either truck with the addition of a decent set of shock absorbers.

My Camper Package equipped F-350 rides much smoother empty after I took the tires down to 60 psi and added a set of RS9000's set at 3.

-Joe

 

Another reason I don't want a diesel

 

Wonder if the heavier diesel motor allows a more "plush" ride in the front end? Maybe that's why my 5.4 rode harsher than my 6.8?

 

The heavier motors do help. My friends trucks with diesels ride much nicer then mine

 

Does any one notice a difference between the newer front end suspension/axle design on the 11+ trucks and the older years?

 

Yes my 2011 f350 rides much nicer then my 2006 f250.