No, It's not overkill. If anything it is underkill.

The bigger the truck, the more stable the tow. Not that it's required, but I can tell you from experience the difference in towing with an SRW to an DRW is night and day. the DRW pulls the trailer through almost anything and is very comfortable in doing so. The extra stability of the outside wheels really does make a difference. if you are not worried about mileage, and are looking for something that will last. My .02 is look at a Dually. You will be shocked at the difference in towing stability.


quick story. When I bought mine I only bought the DRW because I was short on cash and the dealer wanted it off his lot (Stripped out 04 XL with a V10) No one wanted it so I got a stellar deal. When I first hooked up a trailer and went down the road I thought the trailer was light and easy to tow. I then put the same trailer on my 05 Expedition. BOY WAS I WRONG!!!! Walked that truck all over the damn highway. To the point that I dropped in in a parking lot 10 miles from home. Drove back and swapped out the 350 and went back for the trailer. SCREW THAT!!! This truck took it without batting an eyelash. That trailer weighed close to 9k and was stuffed with shtuff. Since then I am a huge fan of DRW towing. Have several friends who have converted themselves and will never look back.


Just my .02. Gotta do what feels right for you. but to answer the overkill question. NOT AT ALL!!!


G

 

Confucious once say: 'Tis better to have too much than not enough!

 

check with your state DMV on registration rules. In NYS, 5500lbs and over and you are mandated to have commercial plates unless you do one of the exception mods.

once you have commercial plates, in NYC, you can't park in residential areas at night etc.

Commerical plated vehicles can not go on parkways.

so check into all that before you leave the 150 for the 250.

 

As far as I know, NYS is the only state with such asinine laws.

 

Yeah in NJ it's just conventional personal vehicle registration thankfully. I can buy an F-450 and not register it as a commercial vehicle

 

Better to not need it and have it than to need it and not have it.

Chainsaws: Talk to any place that sells chainsaws and has a good return policy and you will find the number 1 item returned is a chainsaw and the number 1 reason is because they bought one without enough power and the number 2 item returned is the 2nd chainsaw because it did not have enough power...and the beat goes on.

 

I used an F-150 with a 5L 6 cylinder for towing for several years. It worked well, but when towing heavier trailers there was very little margin for error. If the trailer brakes did not work right, it was trouble time. Stopping took longer and cross-winds could cause sway.

My next truck was an F-250 with a 351. A night and day difference from the F-150. Towing was much easier and far less dramatic. An F-250 with a 460 followed. It was a stronger truck for towing but was mighty thirsty. A totally problem-free vehicle for 135K miles.

My current truck is an F-350 with a 6L. There is *no* comparison for towing, snow plowing or load carrying compared to the earlier trucks. The 6L gives an average of 17 MPG (over 77K miles so far) and handles heavy trailers with ease. I swapped over to a pintle hook trailer hitch because the newer truck could easily handle it.

The new F250/350 trucks make for safe, predictable and un-eventful towing. One pays a MPG penalty over an F-150, but if you want to drive a beast it needs feeding. Gas or diesel? Yes.

Lou Braun

 

Get the F250 with 6.7 PSD. Especially if you plan on keeping it 10-15 yrs.

 

You'll love the SD. I bought an F250 with the 6.2, and I don't even own a trailer. But I have never said, or even heard someone say, " Dang! This is just too much truck for this job."

 

just for fun, post the same question over in the f150 forum and see what kind of answers you get.

I drive both, and like them both for different things.

i'll say this though. our 2004 f250 has 30,000 miles on it for a reason.

 

Do you not like driving the F250? I'm sure in the F150 forum everyone will say the exact opposite lol

 

Exactly. I got a lot of grief on Pirate on choosing a truck. I wanted a 3/4 ton because who knows what I'll be coming into in the next 10/15/20 years. It leaves the option open if I ever wanted to get a truck camper, haul a load of gravel, a fifth wheel, build a barn, etc.


This is a whole other discussion that is literally endless. 6.7 is great and all if you accept the fact it has a much higher starting price, maintenance cost, and good luck to you if something should go wrong with the motor. I popped the hood on one, and talk about ten pounds of **** in a five pound bag.

 

it get used for the reason it was purchased, that is, to pull heavy stuff around.

unless it is pulling something that can't be pulled with something smaller, it sits.

why would one drive a rough riding, hard to park, gas guzzling 3/4 ton truck when you can drive something that is the opposite of all of those.

we put more miles on the expedition in the last year then we have the SD the whole time we have owned it (bought it 6 months old with 10,500 miles).

simple economics tells you that driving something that gets twice the mileage costs about half as much to operate.

that's just us; everyone's different.

 

I certainly understand your point. I may purchase a second vehicle a few years from now but I'm only looking to have one truck as a DD right now. My half ton is only a foot shorter so parking shouldn't be too too much of an issue

 

^^ True.

I debated for months on the 1/2 ton vs. 3/4 ton deal.
It would be a backup truck for me and had to be able to pull my 24 ft enclosed.

After much reading I decided to error on the safe side and bought a 2011 F250 6.2 gasser.

So far, so good.