Traded in my 5.4L 09 F250 a few months ago on a brand new 2012 F350 DRW 4x4 Lariat with the 6.2 My new truck had all the options except the 5th wheel prep and hitch package. Contemplated putting in a generic set of in-bed rails and a generic hitch, but decided the OEM Reese underbed setup with the Reese elite hitch was worth the extra money. Was able to find a guy locally with a new unused takeoff Reese Elite 25K from his newly purchased 2012 F350. Bought the underbed gooseneck/5th wheel factory rail kit at the Ford dealership parts counter (Part BC3Z-19F503-A). Got real lucky getting both of these parts locally as I priced these out from etrailer, and they want 700 bucks for UPS ground and 2,000 bucks for Fed-Ex 2-day *JUST FOR THE SHIPPING* !!! (no free shipping on these heavy items to us in Alaska unfortunately) All said and done, I got all the parts and everything installed for about 1500 bucks which I felt was reasonable since Ford wants 1700 bucks just for the hitch by itself.

Had a bit of a snag on the install, the guys at the shop said the little circle bevel donut puck trim and puck covers did not come with the Ford package. Apparently, they come with the Reese package, but with the Ford setup it is a different part number and must be purchased seperately (Part BC3Z-99000A25-A). So after the install I had this huge open uncovered hole under my hitch (the gooseneck hole). Sent an email out to Reese/Cequent and they Fed-ex'd me the missing parts at no charge. Great customer service Also, just FYI, the Reese 5th wheel underbed rail kit is comprised of separate rails and frame brackets (4 separate pieces) which would make installation of that part manageable. The trailer shop informed me that the Ford gooseneck/5th wheel part is one huge pre-assembled piece, which apparently makes installation rather painful. The tech was telling me they had to completely remove my truck bed rather than just lifting it a few inches. Luckily, we had negotiated a flat rate installation price beforehand so this didn't add anything to my install cost. Very impressed with the quality of the Reese Elite hitch. I like how the safety bail pin flag doesn't line up unless the kingpin is fully engaged, let's you know for sure you've got a good hook up. Hitch is very stout, looks like it will survive lots of abuse!

Anyhow, got all that crap done and finally hitched up my Wildcat 5th wheel and took her for a spin. Trailer weighs between 10,000 and 11,000 depending on cargo load, I'd say we were closer to 10K for this short trip. Truck drove absolutely amazing. It was very cool being able to shift into 'M' and manually engage whatever gear was appropriate. I had it at 68 MPH all the way home. For the most part, I locked out 6th, stayed in 5th, and only needed to down shift to 4th on a few inclines, I think I got into 3rd on one very steep hill, but very little gear hunting. Towed *MUCH* better than my 5.4 (which had the 4.10 gears) My F350 only has the 3.73 gears, I would imagine if you had the 4.30's, it would be even more impressive, but I am very pleased with the performance I saw. Love the way the V8 engine sounds when towing. Also, my F250 was bone stock suspension wise, no airbags. My fiver gave my old truck a pretty significant squat in the bed. With the 350 dually it doesn't really sag at all. I think the rear may have gone down about an inch or so but the truck looks perfectly level, and that is with a stock suspension, no airbags or anything. Was very impressed by that. Ride with the trailer is much smoother than the old truck, though I suppose that is more due to the fact that is a 350 DRW versus my old truck being a 250 SRW, rather than the engine difference.

As far as mileage, it was about what I expected. I was getting between 8 and 9 MPG which is about what I expected. I got 8.5 MPG towing the same rig with my F250. MPG probably would have been better if I went down to 55-60 MPH.

Going to hitch up and try and hunt down some trout this weekend. We'll see how she does climbing the Alaska mountains up into Kenai.

 

Great report, post up some pics of the setup!

 

I purchased my 2011 250 6.2 3.73 thinking bumper pull trailer under 10k lbs. Decided on a 5ver toy hauler with a dry weight of 9000. Short trips were just great. I was one happy camper. The 6.2 has a lot of gut and made those trips just fine. I did notice the inclines were a bit tough and the steeper the incline the tougher it got. Just got back from a long run to the Grand Canyon. I am now in the market for a 350 6.7.
Don't mean to bring you down but my recent experience taught me a lot.
The 250 6.2 is a great truck as long as you keep it well under the GVCWR and out of any serious mountain grades. I found that as long as I was under 16k and short local runs the truck did ok.
Over 18k and long mountain grades and that is where it struggled. Forget about bucking serious head winds. All the diesel trucks with 5vers passed me like I was on blocks. For the most part I got 8mpg but I had some parts of the trip where I only got 6mpg.
Anyway, I hope you have better luck than I did.

 

Most 6.2L owners report no serious issues towing at or above their GCVW.

 

From my experience, the 6.2 is like the 5.4 in that you need to let it rev. Don't be afraid of RPM's. I also made use of the "M" manual mode and controlled the shifting, made driving much easier. Not sure if the people driving in your neck of the woods were doing 90+ mph passing you but I had no trouble maintaining 65 mph in the mountains of Alaska.......

However, due to parking constraints I recently decided to sell my 5th wheel and went into a truck camper (cost me 125 a month to park my 5th wheel in a storage yard in town, ouch!) I put a Lance 1161 TC on there and it drives equally solid. MPG is much better. I made a few more trips with the 5th wheel and the one in which I had the most hilly terrain I clocked in at 7.8 mpg. The same trip with the 4000 lb TC I got 9.6 mpg doing 65 for pretty much the entire trip, minus one section of very steep incline for 2-3 miles where I dropped down to 55-60 mph. Very happy with the TC + 6.2 performance.

 

Would like to add one thing, it is not 6.2L related but I figured I would mention it in case anyone is thinking of a TC. While I was very happy with the performance aspects of the truck with the TC, i was disappointed with the rear sag on the truck bed (see picture). It sits down several inches in the back. I was figuring with a one ton dually it would be pretty level without the need to bag the suspension (though this is one of the heaviest TC's they make). I have heard favorable reviews of the upper overload Torklift "Stableloads" so I am going to try those pretty quickly here. Going to try and order a set off Amazon today or tomorrow and see how the truck sits with those installed. I have read from a few rv.net forum members I can expect a 2-2.5" reduction in bed sag with those on my particular truck, if I could achieve that I would be very happy.

 

There are a few of us that are going to be testing them within a week or so for FTE and for the vendor. Maybe you can hold out till later next week.

We should be able to give you some first impressions pretty quickly. Mine is being shipped to me today.

 

I was trying to order a set express so they would be here by the end of the week. Having a few things fixed on the camper before my trip next Monday and was going to have them installed while I had the camper off the truck. What kind of price are you guys expecting? Amazon has them for a pretty good 162 bucks (A7200). Even with express shipping factored in, it beats the hell out of my local prices ( 270 ish ).

We really get pounded on RV item markups here in Anchorage. The guy I bought my TC from drove a long way to me and delivered it, it was only after he got here that I realized his turn buckles were too short to reach my Torklift tiedowns so I went in and bought a set of the only turn buckles in stock long enough for me (Fastguns) from my local dealer @ 600 bucks. I could have ordered them off Amazon for 446 bucks with free shipping but I needed them that day so I just bit the bullet. Similarly my Torklift frame mounts cost me nearly 700 dollars, also which could be had from Amazon for approximately 475 dollars.

 

That's the price you pay for living in paradise. My sister-in-law lives in Ketchikan. She is always complaining about shipping prices and time.

 

I've been driving this truck for two years and towing multiple trailers at varying loads so I think I have a good feel for its performance. I am only relaying what I experienced on my latest and longest trip towing my heaviest load to date in some conditions a bit more extreme than the Texas Hill Country. I understand about letting it rev but I hate to hear it scream at over 4k and having a hard time maintaining 50mph. I could go into greater detail with the challenges I faced but suffice it to say I think the truck is a little light for my needs. I mean it did get me there and back and this at a bit over 19k combined lbs. I just think it needs to be kept well under its ratings to achieve its best performance. It is a great power plant and I hope it works for all the others who choose to go and stay with it.
Actually I have been a Ford guy my whole life and am maybe just looking for an excuse to buy a new truck. Never owned a diesel and there is a left over 2012 6.7 that has my name on it if I can just negotiate the price down just a bit more.
Very best to all.

 

Yea it is a bummer here. Most places will only ship 2 or 3 day air service not realizing we do have ground to our major areas (like Anchorage, where I am at). As a result, we don't qualify for the free shipping offers on most products. I try to order most of my products from Amazon because they are one of the few etailers that will ship to us for free but it does take its time. USPS 4th class (Standard mail) takes approximately 3-4 weeks to get here from the mainland. But as you say, that is the price you pay for living here.

You mentioned your toy hauler was @ 9K empty so I would imagine you are close to or exceeding the max capabilities of your rig if the hauler was completely loaded to the gills. IIRC with the 3.73 the max 5th wheel towing rating is approximately 11750. If you spring for the diesel, you will love it. They are tremendously torquey and will yank that trailer around pretty easily, no doubt with much less effort than the 6.2 gasser. I just couldn't justify it for me because I don't want to deal with the cold weather problems with the diesel, and my short stop and go work commute wouldn't allow me to complete a regen cycle properly (something to consider).

I was really happy getting the 6.2 in a one ton dually package because I wanted the HD truck but did not want the diesel. I knew I was going to be getting a large truck camper when I traded in my last truck and just about all the 11' truck campers require a one ton dually to carry them (safely).

 

Crazy how that works huh?