I'm ready to purchase my first Diesel truck and need some info. and advice please. My wife and I have decided to go for a 2008 F-350 or possibly an F-450. This is going to be my once in a lifetime almost new REAL TRUCK! I plan on keeping whatever we buy for a long time. This truck will only be used to pull a 5th wheel camper and occasional hauling of some antique tractors and autos. It will be a secondary truck for me and will remain garaged most of the time but we'll probably drive it to Church on Sundays just to run it once a week. What advice can you guys give me when shopping for a fairly low mileage used Super Duty? We usually only camp at the beach but with the real truck we plan on going to the mountains some as well. What axle ratio is the best choice for us? Where can I get a list of F-350/F-450 option codes for the 2008 models? Where do you find the options list on the truck itself? How do I know if the truck I'm looking at has the "Tow-Boss" package? What does the "Tow-Boss" package consist of? If we go with a 450 is the 4:30 ratio our best bet? I think the 4:88 would be way over kill for us. How much more will it cost to maintain the 450 over the 350? I assume those 19.5" tires are considerably more to replace than the 17's on the 350? I hate to ask so many questions but this is a huge decision for us. I want to get a truck that will handle anything we ever throw at it and be happy with it for a long time. If you had a choice would it be the 350 or 450?
Thanks,
Michael
Well i can't answer too many of your questions but tires on a 450 will cost a good bit more to replace and just look around at everything and find what you think is the best for your needs. Far as mileage under 30,000 but you can never tell what you'll find out there some will have more some less just depends on the owner.
Sorry I dont have more answers good luck.
__________________ GREEN 2002 f-250 XL 5.4L Stick shift
LOVE IT!!
1989 F-150 302 Stick shift (my F-150 Raptor)
Been missing for a year or two
Well, the good part is that you've decided to buy a diesel, so that decision is made. But then you say this truck will be driven only occasionally, which is considered bad for diesels, and good for gassers.....
What weight 5th wheel? Some people tow small 5th wheels with an F-150..... What mountains? Appalacihan (sp), Cascades, Rockies, what?
__________________
2005 F350 V10 6spd dually, 15K receiver. No 4WD, no LS, no A/C, no special cab - just a lean mean towing machine!
The Tow Boss option on an F350 is the 4.30 axle ratio and a 26000 gross combined weight rating. It does nothing for the rear axle weight rating. Ford is changing the axle ratios to lower numbers (4.30 to 4.10 to 3.73) in the newer trucks, but not changing anything else, best I can tell. I had an '07 6.0 dually with the 4.10 and it was plenty of pulling power--I went to an '09 450 to get the combined and axle weights up to cover what my trailer weighs. You DON'T want to get one with the 4.88, 4.30 or 4.10 is plenty for towing. I would say that the 450 is gonna cost 15% more to operate than a 350. One of the things you get with a 450 is the Wide Track front axle which makes u-turns a piece of cake. It was available on the 350s for '07-8-9, but I don't think it is on the 10s.
If you look at '08s, try to find a Job #3-- one that was built after Jan '08.
You can get the options codes off Edmunds.com or maybe on the Ford Build-It website.
OK, good info. so far. I think I would like to find an '08 F-350 with the wide track front axle option. We're definitely going with a CC,LB,4WD,DRW also. I've seen the term job#3 mentioned before but don't understand fully what that means?
What is bad about a diesel sitting and how can I address this issue. My new truck won't be a daily driver at all. Can I drive it once a week and it be OK? Do I need any special diesel fuel additives since it will sit most of the time?
job 3 comes from the build date basically a job 1 would be the first ones built so after job 1 they find some problems that people report then fix it on the job 2s, from what i hear by job 2 you were good to go just job 3 has less risk that someting hadnt been corrected yet and thats best if you plan on keeping it for a long time and using it on long road trips
running a diesel once a week will be fine problems sometimes encountered is the fuel can start to get gummy if you let it sit for a long time it makes the initial start up troublesome but heating it up once a week you'll be fine i have had older diesels sit longer regularly and never have trouble with them....actually i think my gassers seem to get more upset from sitting now that i think about it
__________________ 1996 F-250 460 Super Cab 8' Bed 4x4
3.55 limited slip frnt/rear, 37x12.50 Goodyear Military OZ, 4" Skyjacker, 3" body lift, hedman headers 3" single-back turndown before rear axle, K&N Air Filter, deep tranny pan, Warn hub kit, Alpine 9857 Head Unit, Alpine S-Type frnt spkrs, Sony 6"x9"s (in mobile boxes),flip-down gooseneck ball--to come--gears, cam, port heads
OK, where does job 1 date stop and job 2 start, and 3 and so on?
I went to edmunds but couldn't find a list of option codes. I would like to find a list somewhere and print it out to take with me truck shopping. I want to be able to look and tell what the axle ratio is and other options by code etc. w/o just asking. I've already asked one seller and to my surprise they did not know what their axle ratio was. Where on the truck is all the codes? Glovebox?
If the truck starts the DPF cleaning cycle do you have to keep driving til it finishes? What if it starts this sequence right before you pull in your driveway? Can you pull on in and stop the truck with no problems or will it confuse or harm the truck if it does not finish? I hope to only deal with this til the warranty runs out then it will get a DPF delete and tuner.
OK, where does job 1 date stop and job 2 start, and 3 and so on?
I went to edmunds but couldn't find a list of option codes. I would like to find a list somewhere and print it out to take with me truck shopping. I want to be able to look and tell what the axle ratio is and other options by code etc. w/o just asking. I've already asked one seller and to my surprise they did not know what their axle ratio was. Where on the truck is all the codes? Glovebox?
If the truck starts the DPF cleaning cycle do you have to keep driving til it finishes? What if it starts this sequence right before you pull in your driveway? Can you pull on in and stop the truck with no problems or will it confuse or harm the truck if it does not finish? I hope to only deal with this til the warranty runs out then it will get a DPF delete and tuner.
Thanks,
Michael
all the codes are on the two stickers on the door post between the drivers side front and rear doors..
Check around carefully b4 you bite on a used 08. Only a few dealers here are advertising them, but if you visit or call, there ARE some new 08s left out there and with the 10s out and an early job1 run on the 11s, my guess is there will be some good deals on the 09s forthcoming.
As an example (not the truck youre looking for, but..) there is a dealer here in Frankfort, IL who still has a few 08 F250 XL gassers and he's looking to get 16,471.00. Not too bad for a truck that stickers at 29k.
I don't know where you're at Michael, but I recently picked up a copy of Midwest car/truck trader and there was a dealer in eastern Iowa who had an assortment of new 08s on the lot yet, one of which was a KR F450 6.4. I'll try to post a link if I can find it.
Good luck.
Thanks, I'm in central Piedmont region of NC. I'm hoping we might find an '09 also for about the same price. I'm just trying to get as much info. as possible on these trucks. I hate to not be informed and this is a big purchase. We are actually not looking to buy until next Feb. or early March.
I'd definitely look into new '09s right now the rebates are $6K-$8K depending on location and what mods you will do to the truck. We went from a F350 to a F450, if the F350 has the 18" rims I don't think tire price will be much different. The 450's sit quite a bit higher, step bars are a must. We also went from a 6.0L to a V10 but it sounds like your mind is set on a diesel so I won't go there.
Check with your insurance agent also, there may be a substantial difference in your insurance rates between an F-350 and an F-450.
__________________
2007 F-250 Super Cab Short Bed 4x4 XLT Sport Package 5.4L 3.73 LS Tow Command Presently working as a military contractor in Afghanistan.
Check with your insurance agent also, there may be a substantial difference in your insurance rates between an F-350 and an F-450.
Great point and, yes, there is a difference. We're shopping a used boom/bucket truck right now and my agent clearly told me to do the 350 series instead of the 450/550 we would prefer as the difference was substantial, in our case based on GVW.
I'm convinced now that we'll go for a 350 and I definitely will look for one with option 67W monobeam wide track front end. I can see that being very useful in those tight camping spots and parking lots, etc.
If you're shopping used trucks and want to know the options, use the link below and follow the directions and you can look at the original window sticker. All you need is the VIN of the truck you're looking at.
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