Am I correct in understanding that the F350 with Tow Boss (4.30 gear) has the same tow capacity as the F450 with 4.30 gears? Just the GVWR is higher for the F450 in that configuration.

 

its lower on the 350 IIRC 15,000 vs 16,000

 

Comparing 4WD crew cabs with AT 4.30 and DRW the 450 is 16k conventional towing while the 350 is 15k, just as Percys Armory said.The same configuration for 5th wheel towing the 450 is 20K while the 350 is 17,700.

 

Also the 450 is a medium duty where the 350 is heavy light duty, atleast that's what I'm told why the GVWR is so much higher on the 450

 

The 450 also has a much better turning radius over the 350

 

We've been looking for a 5th wheel and every one asks what size is my tow vehicle when I tell them an 06 SD they say I can haul one up to 23K? Is that wrong?

 

If your 06 SD is a F450 or F550 then you should be ok. You might want to check the towing guides posted on the Ford web sight. The 5th Wheel dealer will not have a problem selling you something that weighs more than your truck can safely tow. If you have a F350 or less then you are looking at around 15k -16K for the 5th wheel tow limit. Which is about 7K - 8K less than the 23K they are telling you.

 

Yes dealers will tell you what they want to sell. You could haul more than what is recomended. When we traded up our 5th wheel in 2002. I was hauling 13,000# with my350 drw v10 3.73's rated 9800#. It did haul pretty good. The brakes, suspension, frame could handle it. I had to use my head towing. Had a 5 speed stick so I could pretty much keep it in the right rpm range. Coming up through Pa had to keep it on the floor up to 20 minutes in 3rd gear at 3700 rpms. At times had trouble on some hills not able to run the speed limit because of being under geared. had to be careful pulling out in front of people, it would take a long time to get up to speed. From experience I would advise going with Fords towing guide to be safe. Plan on upgrading next year to a heavier 5thw. that is why I did get a 450. Could have gotton by with a 350 but wanted the extra safety margin.

 

They may have been talkin GCVW which is the trailer + the truck. Take the weight of the truck off and you get ~16,000.

 

Interesting, what are the turning radii on the 350 and 450? I could not find anything on Ford's site. Is this true for 4x4 also?

 

The F450 (4x2 or 4x4) has a wider front end. It allows it to turn sharper. I did verify this with a test drive. F350 4x4 vers. F450 4X4. The F450 turned much sharper. Even impressed the sales man that was inthe truck with me.

 

The capacities I listed above are straight out of the 2008 Super Duty brochure. I don't know what '06 model you have, but I'd venture to guess that a 23k# fifth wheel is beyond your truck's listed capacity unless you have a F550.

 

There is a 2007 Super duty PDF Trailer Tow Guide at http://www.fordvehicles.com/assets/p...series9-18.pdfOnly in 2006 did the 4:30 axle (tow boss package) become available and thats 18,500 lbs max capacity. Even at that it is quite possible to have an 18,000 lb trailer that has a pin weight that exceeds the maximum payload rating of the truck. If your tailer weighs 23,500 lbs then you need a 450 with 4:88 axle.

 

Do not believe what sales people tell you. I once had a salesperson tell me the V-10??? Diesel in the truck I was looking at had more power that a Chevy 6 Cylinder diesel....HONEST thats what she told me....I about died on the spot laughin. TRUE STORY...

 

LOL, some of the chevy's did run on 6 cyl once in a while