Let me first start by saying that i'm a lifelong ford guy and have owned several of every design superduty since 1999 (14 total)... As far as the 2017 goes I love the looks of the new truck and a lot of the technology/improvements that it offers!... However i'm not 100% sure that it all adds up to a better experience for the driver compared to my 14 f350 dually. Gonna list a few of the things i observed during a recent trip with both trucks

1. Driver Comfort
The reason I say this is because we took the new truck as well as my old 14 (both F350 lariat dually 4x4 6.7's) from Virginia to Daytona for bike week and in my personal opinion as well as that of my dad (who now has my old truck) and my wife the old truck is more comfortable. The seats in the 14 are far superior to the ones in the 17. My wife and I even switched from the new truck to driving the old one for part of the trip just to make sure it wasn't just in our heads, and I hate to say it but I didn't really want to get out of the old one and back in the 17. I know some people will say that the KR or Platinum seats are better than the lariat. This may be true, however nothing against those trucks and its just my opinion but I don't personally like the color or the two tone that come with those two trim levels so that just wasn't an option for me. Also since i'm comparing the previous lariat to the new 17 version I feel its definitely a fair argument

2. Towing/Passing Power
Before talking about towing and since i'm sure many of you will be wondering let me state that the new truck has the 3.55 gears vs 3.73 for the 14.... I normally tow a 20 ft enclosed trailer with 4 harley baggers roughly 7500lbs, however since my truck had less than 1000k miles I let my dad tow that with the 14 and I towed his 10' enclosed with one bike weighing less than 2k. Traveling 1400 miles on interstate 95 @ 75-80 mph over the course of the trip the 14 averaged about 3.4 more mpg (13.5 vs 10.1) while towing 3x the weight that my new 17 had. Some of this is surely due to engine break-in and gearing, however after owning 100's of semi's and pickup trucks for my business I know this isn't going to account for this significant a reduction in fuel economy. Considering the HP/TQ gains for 17 the real shocker for me was the passing power, and to put it simply I just couldn't keep up. No matter which one of us was driving when it came time to pass or get up to speed on a ramp the 14 would easily pull away which in all honesty was a big disappointment for me!! I don't know if i had and exceptionally strong 14 or a weak 17 but something is definitely up! Maybe mine and the crab in the TFL dually challenge are brothers!!

3. Small Gripes:
Backup Camera definitely not as clear as the previous version
Mirrors Vibrate badly, to the point of being blurry at interstate speeds... This isn't an issue with the old version
Sync still not having traffic info is BS.

There are a lot of things I really love about the 17 guys, so please don't take this as me just getting on here to bash the new truck....however I can't deny that strictly from a drivers perspective this trip did make me second guess my decision to upgrade... Take this with a grain of salt as its all just my personal opinion/observation...The new truck is definitely more capable but i'm not convinced it's 100% better!

 

Your 2014 is running 3.73 gears and your 2017 is running 3.55 gears. If it's not the gearing, HOW can the 17 with more HP, more TQ and less weight not be able to keep up?!

 

When I say couldn't keep up I don't mean blew my doors off I just mean that the old truck was pulling away enough to make me question whats going on...No doubt the gearing is definitely a factor, however we're not talking a huge ratio difference and the supposed HP/TQ increase should more than make up that difference especially when towing less. which brings me back to my question, is my new truck not making the power it should or is the old one exceptionally strong? You've got me but something is weird.

 

I went from an 08 to 17 and can't say I have any of those issues.

The seats are less cushy but given they have a fan blowing up your **** I don't think they can make them as cushy.

Not mirror vibrations to speak of and camera is clear.

The truck accelerates very well under no load to moderate. I rarely Carey anything excessive in terms of weight.

Other have noted grainy camera leading me to think maybe there is bad batches?

 

I went from an 06 to a 16 Super Duty diesel and there is no comparison. The 16 is more comfortable, quieter, handles better, has tons more power and torque, and the technology improvements are awesome. Not to mention it has the same giant crew cab as the 06, but with many more refinements. I went and sat in a 17 and didn't feel like I fit well. I am 6'-4" and 280 lbs, and I felt like the 17 was smaller inside than the 16. That did it for me.

 

There is a note in the OM or somewhere that I saw about shaking mirrors. Retract and then unfold hem to see if it helps.

I haven't towed yet, but the 60-80 power in my '17 is phenomenal! I'm coming from an '08 6.4L though.

 

considering the other camera reviews on here I agree with you that maybe they did have a bad batch... As far as the seats, my 14 has a fan blowing up your **** and they're definitely more cushy so it's possible haha

 

As far as seats go, like new furniture, I'd expect a seat to take a good while to break in and get good and comfortable. Like an old couch that fits like a glove, you're going to have to have your **** in the new one for a good while before it starts to form to you.

 

I still say the more things they "stuff" inside the seats, the less comfy they become. TWT for me, my butt is still conformed to the GM seats. It always takes several thousand miles before I merge off of one brand to another. Then, when I do get my body gets use to a particular seat, and going back to the "once was" comfy seat... not so much anymore!. hmmmm

 

I don't think enough buyers take gearing into account on gas/diesel trucks when it comes to towing. Ram still offers 4.10 in SRW. I've always thought the 3.73 to be the best gearing for a 4x4 SD running the larger stock tires coupled to the double OD 6R140. I still can't believe Ford took the 3.73 option away.
I feel similar about my new 2017. My gripe list looks a lot different and is longer.

 

Very interesting. Thanks for taking the time to write this up.

I came from a 2016 to a 2017. I had 4 trucks from the previous generation like your 2014: a 2012 XLT, a 2015 Lariat, a 2016 XLT, and a 2016 King Ranch. Regardless of cloth or leather, or even KR leather, I agree the seats are more comfortable in the 2016 generation. They are physically wider and thicker. The old seats are also mounted higher off the cab floor. Basically, if you are a taller or wider person, the old seats are going to definitely be better. I'm 6'6" and 260lbs. That being said, the new seats are still reasonably comfortable. My recommendation would be to reduce the lumbar all the way to zero and work up from there as needed. The curvature of the seat and lumbar are overly aggressive. Ford made the new seats thinner and smaller to help save weight...primarily in the F-150. Our seats are identical to F-150 seats.

Regarding power: All my previous trucks were CCSB SRW trucks. The diesels were all 3.55 axle trucks. My 2017 is my first dually, and it has a 3.55 axle. This truck feels as quick or quicker than the previous trucks. Your 2014 had a very fast-spooling turbo which made the 2011-2014 trucks feel very quick off the line. In 2015 the turbo changed to a larger wheel design which made more power but was not necessarily as quick off the line. Additionally, you had 3.73 gears. I would have preferred these gears in this dually, but chose the 3.55 over the 4.10 given the options. The 3.73 gears will obviously make the truck quicker off the line. But with 7,000+ miles on my 2017 dually, this truck feels very strong. No complaints.

Regarding your small gripes: My mirrors shake. Noticed it right off...my old trucks never did this. I'm living with it and don't think about it now. The backup camera seems like the zoom levels are different. The old camera seemed closer up...especially on the zoomed setting. However, this one works well enough.

Traffic works for me. I wonder if its regional...I live in northern New England. Driving back from Nashua NH overlaid traffic on the route. Unless you guys are talking about something different...green for fast highway, yellow for slow stretches, and red for stop and go?

 

I can appreciate the observations. I came from a 2011 and have had to adapt to the very different power personality of the 2017. One thing I really do miss from the 2011 was the turbo sound when under hard acceleration. It was just fun to get on the go pedal when merging on the highway and feel and hear the truck go. My first thoughts when I started driving the 2017 was a bit of a let down because it didn't really "feel" any faster. It just felt the same. I have also mentally factored in that I put on 37 inch tires which effectively drops my 3.55 rear end down into the 3.3 range so I am to blame for the taller gear. Finally, I have also struggled a bit to figure out the way the turbo engages as it can be a little delayed at times. Having said all that...

Over the past couple of weeks I am re-noticing the power in the truck. I had three full-grown men in the truck just last night and they asked me to get on the gas. Maybe I have just learned how to use the pedal but the power came on very strong and pulled very hard up to 80 mph where I finally let off. The guys (and myself) were truly impressed. It's the first time I've had that, "Wow, this is pulling..., holy smokes, it's still pulling..., HOLY CRAP ***** this truck is GOING!" experience. I know my 2011 couldn't do that and this 2017 just turned over 5,000 miles.

I'd say give the truck some time. I'm not one who believes in a magical power increase at 5,000 miles but my satisfaction has taken a very positive turn at about that number.

As to the seats, that's uber subjective. I agree that the seats are "thinner" than the previous but for me it's just different, not worse or better. My wife loves the massage so any loss is made up by that in my mind.

 

I have a gas 250, so not overly comparable, but agree on seats. I want my '06 Silverado's seats back, they were awesome. These are fair.

 

I saw it above, but I'll suggest it a second time. Any time I've seen really bad mirror vibration it's because someone pushed the mirrors in and out manually when they are power fold. If you cycle them with the power fold feature they should lock into place and eliminate the vibration.

 

Seats: FOR SURE, my '15 KR had seats that would have made sitting on a Lazy Boy feel like an orange crate. That said, with 6k miles under my butt is it me or the seats are getting more comfy???? I am 195 lbs.

Tow/Passing Power: YEA FOR SURE! Then one of the guys on here asked if I had my Traction Control turned on or off? It was turned off, I turned it on and WOW what a difference in the application of power on those on ramps...as good as my '15 dually/3.73, don't think so, but close enough...make sure your TC is turned ON!

Backup Camera: Yep, a bit fuzzy by the time you look at the rear of the bed.

Mirrors vibrate: Not at all!

Sync does not even give me a health report...WTH????

But LOVE my truck, warts and all.