The Super Duty is not a great off road vehicle for a couple reasons.

1. It's a big, heavy beast. The lightest SDs come in around 7000 lbs, and some are over 8000 lbs. As already said, a smaller, lighter, more agile vehicle will be much more capable off road.

2. Stiff suspension designed for carrying heavy loads means little articulation. A good off road vehicle will have soft suspension with lots of wheel travel. You could modify a SD suspension to do this, but then you lose your load carrying capability.

That said, if it were between those two trucks, I would definitely go with the F-250. That poor Chevy will eat CV shafts left and right. I know this because I have several friends that tried to lift and off road those trucks, all with the same results. That and the fact that I just couldn't bring myself to own a Chevy in the first place.

 

I have been many many places off-road in my Super Duty. Ground clearance and tires, but we all know that.

I agree on the solid axle comment.

A pickup truck can do far more than most can imagine.

As for your C1500 vs Super Duty, I really think the biggest thing is what will you be using for when NOT off road?

 

This! Of course.... you'll have to ditch the bed, shorten the wheel base, bob the head and tail, clearance the front (i.e. remove a ton of sheet metal)..... the list goes on. You'll end up with a truggy if you want a real four wheeler on a full sized truck platform (and you're still compromising). For some reason, I rarely see Ford's built this way, it seems to be a Chevy thing when it comes to full sized trucks? Not sure why.

Then again.... my brain is wrapped around the kind of wheeling we have here, if I lived in the south and had lots of mudding to do, my opinion changes.

Really, the best opinion I can give you is buy the truck you like best and get a trailer and Jeep/Toy.

Here is a couple of pics of buddy that I wheel with.... IMO, this is a full sized done correctly to wheel rocks.





Good luck on your new truck... pics when you get it!

 

who says a F350 cant flex!

 

but Redford said it best the OP needs to chime back in and tell us whats he thinks off roading is and what he plans on doing. The F250 should have gears and a rear locker installed, plan on around $2,000 to $2,500 for that, then plan on replacing the front unit bearings alot if your running 35's or bigger tires in a off road condition on the SD. Chevy is gonna blow the front CV's and unit bearings faster than the ford, it should have the proper gears and locker installed for offroad use. plus the smaller axles, driveshafts, weaker trans and tcase..... both trucks should have front winch bumpers and winches installed, the SD will need at least a 12k winch, id go 15 or 16k warn if i was using my F350 off road

 

ive had my F350 in mud before, ill never do it again! My best truck ever was my 1979 Ford Bronco, solid axles, coil front springs that flex like crazy, small enough to get through tight trails, and a 400M motor thats a monster. My 1977 F150 is almost as good but the long bed is hard to get through tight trails

 

(regarding the earlier comment about the super duty sinking in the sand)

My 2001 F350 7.3 was unstoppable in the sand at pismo Beach in Ca last summer. The whole weekend the damn thing was pulling stuck truck AND trailers to their camping spots, then at the end of the weekend, getting my 2 buddies truck and trailers OUT of the sand.

It was a true beast in the sand.

 

Do it!

 

Go with the superduty. Dont listen to these clowns, the SuperDuty is my favorite off road machine. If you want to rock climb, then get a jeep, but if you just want to hit some nice trails, there is nothing better than a properly outfitted F250.

I have NEVER gotten stuck and I've done snow, sand, mud and dirt.
In these snow pics I didnt even have chains. I love my truck and trust it to take me anywhere.

That said, any vehicle can only do so much, the rest is up to the driver.





In this one I was stuck in 2wd. It couldnt push the tires up and over. Threw it into 4x4 and my properly working ESOF locked the hubs and I crawled out with ease.

thats for all the ESOF haters!! I've never had a problem with mine :P

 

No offense Trey but none of that is very severe. As Redford pointed out we really need to know what his idea of offroad is. I've got a '95 F150 and a 2005 F250, the 150 can run circles around the 250 offroad. Part of it is the factory limited slip still works in the 150 where the one in the 250 doesn't hold at all. But I've had the 150 through snow 3+ feet deep w/ the front bumper acting like a plow and it never even slipped. Mud is even worse if there's no bottom, the 150 can at least sort of float on top where the 250 sinks like a stone. That said, if my only choices were a Chevy or the F250, I'd take the Ford every day of the week though.

 

I didnt say it was severe. I said for hitting some trails. I didnt get out of my truck at the worst parts in the trails because, well, I was busy driving. If you want extreme off roading you need a jeep, other wise an F250 will serve you well.

 

That snow is nothing. I drive through that depth stuff in the winter with my 2wd f250 and with no weight. Plus being really front heavy.

I would say a pickup is very bad offroad vehicle. Too heavy, too big. Jeeps have lots more aftermarket support, and are cheaper if you want to go offroad.

 

Thank you for all of the replies so far! I guess to clarify, I live in southern Iowa and will probably not be doing any mud holes unless I accidentally drive across one. My 'off roading' thoughts are mainly driving around in snow, and going through fields/farmland to get to fishing/hunting spots. (kinda boring I know...) But this seems like a major offroading journey to someone who only has a Kia and a mini-van. Hey, getting a new-to-me truck is a start! I just wanted a solid truck that wont let me down and these are the two options that I found and can afford. And a little more info that may (or may not) help you help me decide on the best option -- the Chevy has a 6inch suspension lift with 3inch body lift with 37inch SuperSwamper tires, and the I am not sure how big the Ford's lift is but it has tires that are LT315 / 75 R16's on it right now that look about right if not just a tiny bit small on the truck. I am guessing they could house tires that are just a little bit bigger and be fine on it...Again, thank you for all of the opinions so far for my newbie-ish questions. Im trying to learn all that I can by reading older posts and want to make an informed decision. Have a good day.

 

How old is that video, Clifton isn't even running his own wheels?

lol... good PR move, I've seen some other companies do similar stunts, but in the end, it's not on the OPs radar.... he'd have already found PBB if that was the case.

The question of what is the OP planning to wheel on was a good one. The examples of graded fire roads and sand dunes are actually spots where a truck of this size might do well.

 

Sounds like either truck would suit your needs..... even in a stock 4x4 configuration. Insure a locker in the rear with some good mud tires and you'll be golden.