I currently have a 2000 F250 diesel and tow a 6000+/- trailer. The truck is getting old and I'm thinking of geting into a f150, as the superduty is a little overkill (but I do like it!). The truck is parked all week and I tow every weekend to the ski hill. My 250 is great in the snow but not great on fuel and from what I've read there is only 1 or 2 mpg difference towing with a f150 5.4l anyway. So... I'm looking for 2 opions, 1) is there going to be a huge difference in terms of power and feel of the two and more importantly 2) what to look out for in the f150 (any typical problems)?

Thanks for the advice!
Lance

 

As long as you stick to the 07-8 models most of the issues had been dealt with by that point so you should be in good shape. Pretty much the only issue left by this point is the plugs in the 07 models and they can be dealt with just are a bit of a PITA.

As for the power difference you will certainly see some but I don't know how much as I am not sure what motor you have in the 250. Now the 5.4 will haul your trailer fairly easy but will certainly work harder on the hills.

 

I'd say going from a 7.3 down to a 5.4 you will notice a difference in power. The 5.4 will pull that trailer, but it will work harder. If you only drive the truck on weekends, are all the miles it sees towing miles? If so I would stick with a HD since mileage with a 5.4 powered 150 won't be much better than a 250.

Like Coskid said, most of the problems with the 150 were worked out by '07. My wife has a '07 and it is flawless and is a totally different truck than my '05. Both have a 5.4 and the '07 is alot more responsive than the '05, even though the '07 has higher gears than the '05. The '05 is still a good truck, but I have to put up the the cam phaser knock at idle. The only other issue would be the way the front axle locks in, the manual setup your SD has is pretty much bulletproof. The 150's use vacuum pressure to keep the wheel ends unlocked and since each wheel end is independant you can run into issues if one end looses vacuum pressure and the other doesn't.

 

I went from an f250 to my 2007 f150, and do not regret my decision. My 250 wasn't a diesel so you will probably miss the turbo! The main thing I like better about the f150 is the ride and handling. One of the big things to look for is the build date of the engine which will be located on the drivers side head. Don't quote me but I think if the build date is after October 2006 then problems like the spark plugs and cam phasers were worked out. Someone else on this site might correct my date but its around there. Over all I love my f150 but if I towed more then I would want the f250.