That would definitely work and be pretty cool but I would go with a little bob cat, more flexible, bucket, auger, fork lift attachment, brush.


Or this would be a lot cheaper .. 300 imp gal = 3,000 lb, should straighten you right out

 

Stabilizers would be cheaper, but a compact forklift is WAY more cool! Looking forward to those pics!

 

Would a Dana S130 make you feel better? These are the numbers on my '15's axle housing. Might check your housing to see if they're still the same. If you look at the Dana site this axle is very much underrated by Ford. Lots of reserve capacity here.

 

Heck, my 350 SRW tows my RV 100% to my satisfaction. I just need a bigger back seat and want a long bed. So, I figured I'd add the training wheels while I was at it. Once I got that far, I figured I may as well go all out with a 450. However, if the unnecessary extra capacity comes at the cost of loosing performance on bad roads and in the snow, I'll back it back down to the 350 DRW. You have the benefit of being in TX so no snow worries for you and a better stabilizer will likely cure your wandering. I'd need not only the stabilizer but also 6 new snow capable tires which are pretty expensive. On top of that, those same 6 tires would add squirm to my summer towing experience. It would seem I'm working far to hard to make a truck that is way beyond my needs work for my situation. But then again, who knows what the 17's will offer between the two trucks that might sway me one way or the other....

 

Holy crap, you're right! Look at the sticker on the other side. It sure is a Dana S130L Axle. That is crazy! Same one used on the F550 Flat Rollon Tow Truck!

 

Justin, what did they give you on the front end? Does it even come close to being as sturdy as the rear? I know the steering linkages (tie-rods, etc) are all more beefy, but curious about the axle itself.

 

I need to go out and check. The stats say it a Dana Super 60 with Wide Track, but I'm thinking it may be larger now. I do know that the front frame section fron the Radius brackets up is the same as the Med duty F450/550 Chassis Cab.

TruckTrend recently did a story on what makes the F450 and RAM able to tow 30,000+ lbs. There information on the rear axle was also incorrect. They claimed it was a Dana S110.

 

I was kinda thinkin that it would be silly to leave a 60 out front with so much of an upgrade out back.

 

Thats true, but I wonder if it's because there should be no way that the front trucks weight should even come close to maxing out the Super 60 axle.

Be cool if its a Dana 80 though.

 

I don't know what the rating is on the Super 60, but if you are ever able to take full advantage of the beefy rear axle, that front could have quite the load too. I guess I thought the "super" part of the front was the wide track.

 

I had a 2008 F450 and it wondered alot even with 4200 lbs of pin weight, changed out the steering stabilizer to a Rancho 7000, not much help; finally changed the front tires to the Toyo M143s and that really helped but it still followed the grooves a little. I think it's just the wide track axel, traded it for a 15 F350 with regular track and no wonder.

 

It's all about the stiffness of the tires. The 19.5 tires are commercial quality and very stiff. My '12 F-450 pickup had the wide track front axle, also had the 17.5 LT tires. Never a problem with wandering. The LT tires have a much softer sidewall compared to the 19.5 tires. Since my '08 and '15 trucks both had 19.5 tires and my '12 had 17.5 LT tires I don't have to wonder about the wandering.

 

 

My f-450 work truck wanders for about 500 miles every time I get a new set of tires. The tech at the tire shop said that they had to "wear harden". It must be true because it settles down after about 500 miles.

 

Tires do that after going through several heat cycles. The rear of all of our units do that really bad until they settle, but don't have much trouble with the fronts if they are the proper tires.