I'll be buying a new truck over the winter and it's time to start test driving. Mostly it will be used as a daily driver. I only put about 9K on my truck a year. Once a week in the summer I tow my 5x12 lawn care trailer that weighs maybe 2500lbs, so that's easily within Ranger capacity. But I'm looking down the road to a boat that's in the neighborhood of 7000lbs dry on the trailer and most people are saying around 8K on the scale loaded up. This will be towed a few hundred miles maybe 10-15 times per year, maybe once a year to Florida and back for 2000 miles round trip and a bunch of 10-20 miles trips to the river. My requirements are

-Crew cab
-6.5ft bed
-4x4
-9000+lbs towing
-Lariat
-6+ years of service

I've been doing a lot of comparing of 06+ F150s with 5.4, 3.73 gears, and 9200lb tow ratings and Super Duties with the 5.4 and 6.8, mostly of 05+. One nice thing is that all SDs get the 6.5ft bed with the crew cab. I also really like the tow command and 5 speed auto vs 4 speed in the F150.

I've found that the F150 has bigger brakes front and rear than the 04 and older SDs and .66 inch smaller fronts, but .7 inch bigger rears that 05+ SDs. The 3V 5.4 has almost as much HP as the 2V 6.8 and is only 60ft/lbs short of the torque. As far as engines go, I don't think I want to sacrifice the gas to go to a 6.8 for the few times I'll want the extra power. I've almost written diesels off as I don't trust them to be reliable, don't want the noise, the smell, or extra expense.

I'm leaning toward the F150 while keeping the 5.4 SD with 4.10s in mind if I can find one to drive. I also like some of the creature comforts of the F150 like the rear air vents and better ride.

What do you all think? It's the boat in the future that is even keeping me in the Super Duty market. I've heard that they aren't as bad to tow as say a travel trailer because they are more aerodynamic and you can run with less tongue weight. In either case I'll be using a WD hitch, sway bar, and electric brakes.

Mike

 

My vote would be a F150 with the miles you plan on putting on it. The F150 rides Awesome compared to a SD.

 

I was at the same decision point, my main need is towing capacity, I looked at and did test drives on the 2010 Tundra, 2010 Silverado 2500, 2010 F-150 and the 2011 F-250. I bought the new F-250, hands down the best machine. Not the cheapest, but the best.

 

Should have said that budget is 25K, but would like to stay closer to 20K so it will be used.

Mike

 

I would vote F150.. I had an 06 F150 4.6l, and it did almost everything I wanted.. except pull my 7000lb flat front car hauler. 4.6 just didn't have enough guts.. but I got it for <20k new, my first Ford. with a 5.4 you will be fine for that limited towing.. and its amazing the rest of the time.

Sam

 

I was in the same boat (no pun intended) as you a few years ago. Had an '05 F-150 but had just purchased a travel trailer that was 7000 dry but was generally about 8000 or more loaded up.

This fell within the "specs" of the F-150, but at the top of the envelope.

My three biggest decision points for moving to an F-250?

- There were a lot of times that I felt like I was just "along for the ride" when being buffeted around on the road with the F-150 and trailer after being passed by rigs, wind, etc. And yes, I had WD hitches, swaybar, electric brakes, etc.
- For the longer trips, the fuel economy sucked. After going with a diesel, I've literally doubled my time between fueling stops.
- I wanted the crew cab and "full length" short bed, not the shortie bed in the crew F-150.

And like yourself, I had set a limit at $25K. And for that money, I got a really nice Powerstroke, Crew Cab, 4x4 King Ranch.

And two years later, my brother in law did the same, for even less money.

I think the key point here is that if you are willing to go with a good pre-owned SuperDuty, your $25K will go a long way to a really nice truck.

Regards,
TX

 

In 06 and later you can get the 6.5ft bed so that's not a problem. They are a little harder to find, but I'm patient. I know that towing mileage will not be great with gas.

I would like to get a diesel for power and fuel economy. However I have almost no faith in the post 7.3 PSDs. I drive a lot of them and they break down a lot. One repair will wipe out any fuel savings. Also even if it is in warranty it's still broken down and I don't have time for that. I still don't like the noise, smell, and extra costs associated with diesel. All that sucks because I really, really like the way 6.0s drive but I don't think I'll ever have peace of mind with any post 7.3 PSD.

Mike

 

The problem with any Screw F-150 is you go over the max recommended GVWR very easily. When pulling the boat I think you would feel much more comfortable with the SD. That said personally there is no way I would buy a CC with a NA 5.4l, don't care if it was the 3V or not. Not knocking the 5.4l at all I just feel there are two other engines much better suited for the heavier CC especially when you hang a trailer on the back.

 

I won't try to argue that point, it's like trying to change someone's religion.

It sounds like you are a candidate for an F250 in either 5.4 with the right gears, or a V10 (if going gas, that would be my choice).

Given the lower price differential for SD's in gas vs diesel, you should be able to make a really nice deal for a relatively late model in your $20-$25K range.

TX

 

You will feel much safer towing with a SD. For every day driving get the F150.

 

i'd say the SD..

when it comes time to tow the boat, you never know, you might end up with a bigger/heavier boat then you think now..

with the SD you'll be fine.. if you go with the F150 you might be out of luk..

 

This would be my main motivation for getting a SD over the F150. I'm sure an F150 would handle the weight as advertised, but for that long of a trip, I think you would appreciate the added stability of the SD.

 

it's like a fight between a little guy and a big man,where ya gonna put your money?

 

If you need a truck get a 1 ton.
If you can use a truck get a 3/4 ton.
If you just want to have a truck get a 1/2 ton.

It's nice knowing that you're not truck limited and can do what you want.

 

For the last 25 years I've bought 3/4 ton v.s. 1/2 ton for entirely different reasons.
I keep my vehicles for quite a few miles and most of my miles are unladen.
My theory (that has worked out for me pretty well) is that the heavier running gear of a 3/4 ton vehicle will last far longer since it is so lightly stressed.
You do give up some ride quality and occasionally some mileage but the running gear just seems to last forever.
Look under a 3/4 ton at the running gear and look under a 1/2 ton before you buy, that normally tips the scale.