Hello everyone:

I just recently replaced my old 2003 silverado with a new 2015 Ford F-250 Lariat SRW Crew Cab Long Box with the 6.7 Diesel. We (my wife and I) are very excited. We love the truck thus far. But we have a lot to learn. I've been reading through these parts for several days, and decided it was time for me to jump in to the discussions and hope to find some guidance as I increase my working knowledge and experience with the truck.

I tow several trailers, ranging from 5k lbs. to roughly 12k lbs. for various functions. We use it for camping, towing, work around the house, work around the mill. It's not uncommon to put 2-ton of logs or stone in the bed, only to grab the family and head out for dinner when we are done.

We have 230 miles on it as of this posting.

Things currently planned for the truck:
- Adding upfitter aux switches
- tool box for various supplies
- bull bar/brush guard with additional lighting (we live in a rural area that requires additional lighting during the winter)
- rear/bed lighting to assist with those late night trailer issues
- weather tech floor mats (is there anything else?)
- eventually mods to increase range, fuel efficiency, power.

A couple of initial questions for you:
- As I refactor my tool kits and such for the truck, are there any recommended tools/parts I should keep on hand for "typical" break downs?
- What is a typical use for the PTO capability off the transmission?
- Anything I should be aware of as we break in the engine/transmission?

Thanks in advance.

DW

 

I keep getting the pto option hoping that some company out there will introduce a line of consumer grade accessories, hasn't happened yet.

2 uses, an air system or a generator. Both are costly and the generator isn't rated high enough to do much of real use. On board air by viair and throw in a 2-4kva generator in the bed for less than half the cost of pto driven systems.

The 3rd use would be hydraulics for a bucket, which most of us won't outfit on our trucks.

Otherwise, have fun with it.

 

Congrats on the new truck and welcome to FTE !
You may want to check into husky floor mats, quite a few of us think they fit better. I have had several comments from Ram and Chevy lovers, on how nice the is, after they have been on a trip with me.

 

I agree with looking at Husky Liners over WT's. The fit is much better and they offer a lifetime guarantee on all products...

 

+1 for Husky.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...2015-f250.html

 

Welcome to the FTE!! Congrats on the truck. One thing that can shut these trucks down(hopefully not now) is a bad Exhaust Gas Temperature(EGT) sensor. There is a pic of where they are in the tech section of this forum. If not, search under my name and you'll see the diagram of them. Most of us carry an extra EGT sensor or two with us in case the truck is shut down due to that. To replace them you will need a 13mm flare wrench, also known as a line wrench to some , and a good pair of leather gloves. TO enable this, while the truck is new, you should loosen all of the sensors and put Permatex Anti-Seize on the threads of the sensor and put them back in. That way the threads won't seize and make the sensor about impossible to get out.
Most of us carry a code reader(code scanner) with us too. That way you can diagnose a DTC(diagnostic trouble code) and clear it if needed on the road. You can get them about anywhere and pay as much as you want to for it. I carry an Innova. Also to go along with this, go to the Tech Section and print out a copy of the list of the codes and keep them in the truck with you. Mine ride in the back pocket of the driver's seat.
DON'T put DEF in the fuel tank!!! Major No-No...very costly.
Other than these few things, enjoy the new beast you've just bought and drive the heck out of it as they LOVE that!! Guarantee you will smile while pulling and hauling ANYTHING you can hook to her! Congrats!!

 

Another choice would be edgeliner by Michelin...far better than the others mentioned IMO.

https://en.edgeliner.com/?gclid=Cj0K...2WcaAslL8P8HAQ

 

Hard to beat the standard husky mats. Not the weather beaters made by husky.

The original husky mats are durable, fit almost perfect and hold a tremendous amount of water from snow melting off your boots!

The other mats try to drain the water out the door which isn't horrible but if you have a lot of salty snow on your boots it makes a huge mess from the mat to out the door and I hate that. It's a bit more work to dump the mats if you have a lot of water but keeps the mess on the mat.

 

Thanks for the welcome and the information! This is great info, especially since I'm new to Diesel ownership. Due to my current schedule, I'll be lucky to visit FTE once a week or so, so please bear with me as I continue to increase my knowledge and presence around these parts.

Have 650 miles on the truck so far. Hauled several trailer loads of logs up to the mill. Love the towing capability thus far, although I wasn't pulling more than say, 8k.

I did end up with the WT mats. They are not too bad. the fit around the driver's door could be a little better, but they seem durable.

Next up is a new tool box. Thinking of weatherguard, possibly a low profile aluminum one. I'll definitely put the items you suggest in the tool box. Printing the code list is another great idea.

heading to the landfill tomorrow with a full load left over from my garage build. When I get enough posts to allow pictures I'll put some up.

Also on my list is the upfitter switches along with some accessory lighting. There are SO many lighting options out there I'm not really sure where to begin.

 

Any other suggestions that I should consider this early in life with the truck? I live in the northeast, so salt and road grime will be an issue.

Is this the EGT sensor in question?
https://www.amazon.com/AC3Z-5J213-B-.../dp/B00J09QYLQ

 

Welcome to FTE - I have a few things to add - but the regulars covered a lot of it already.

Lots of people go with LED lights in the grill for winter and adding LED fogs along side the factory ones. Of course the sky is the limit with adding LED lights.

If you are in a rural area - and this is a personal choice - keep DEF - Diesel Exhaust Fluid on hand, you can check the level in the Instrument cluster menu, when it says below half full, dump 2.5 gal. in. If you are near a loves, flying j, or pilot they all typically have DEF at the pump which is cheaper and nice since you pump until it shuts off. In addition, unlike a gas motor, it is CRITICAL that you change your fuel filters at least ever 15k - some change them a lot earlier than that. You will get a check coolant message, it doesn't mean you are out/low, it means you need to get it tested to make sure it isn't contaminated. It is rare to need a coolant additive or flush prior to 50k miles.

They are no real common breakdown issues other than the EGT and that was supposedly addressed with updates that the 2015's already have in the stock programming.

It will potentially void your motor and tranny part of the warranty, but for performance you can delete the emissions control stuff under the truck. No more DEF, regens, or EGR valve. That choice is up to you as their are pros and cons to doing it.

 

Before you do anything read the warranty book. I would hate to loose the warranty by not reading the book.
Also we had our rig undercoated. Made a quiet truck even quieter. I know there are pros and con to this but wanted quiet and rust protection.
Good mud flaps will help the paint.
You'll meet a lot of good folks with lots of knowledge on this site. Welcome

 

Thanks! I've been thinking about the undercoating... It's in the order of $800 around here. Just not sure. I've had it before on previous cars and once the rust starts coming, you have little shot at repair work because of the undercoating. Didn't think about the additional sound deadening. Interesting.

I'm still looking into truck boxes. I don't want to spend the bucks for a weatherguard, but it seems that they are the standard and if I want the locks to be solid and the seals to last, that's what I should buy.

Someone mentioned just putting additional lighting right in the bumper between the fog lights. I never thought of that. I'll have to look a bit more. I was originally thinking a bull bar with 3 lights, 2 wide driving and 1 narrow beam forward. Then putting bed led lighting under the rails. But I have yet to see anything that will mount under there easily and nicely, but yet provide adequate lighting. My other looking around is for lighting behind the truck to assist trailer work and load/unload work. I don't really like the look or have a need for the headachebars, but I haven't seen a decent solution as of yet.

I'll definitely read the warranty, but for now, until I learn more about diesels, I'll be sticking to the basic modifications such as lights, etc. and won't consider serious modification (eg. air intake, reprogramming, deletes, etc) until I know more.



Love driving the truck. If I can stay out of the turbo, I can approach 16+mpg.. Seems pretty good to me for a new diesel with 650 miles.

But, averaging 13.7 right now, including about 100 miles of 6-8k towing, so I don't think that's too bad. Really impressed with the truck thus far. Although it already needs a wash from the road film and the brake dust.

 

Double check on this. When we got our new truck. Dealership got the undercoating done for a lot less than if I took it to the undercoat shop. Salesman checked on this while on speaker phone. $900 if I took it in or $300 if they did.

 

Dealer offered to do it for $699, but it's not a full undercoating. something about drilling holes and filling the inner parts of the frame with protect-ant... I'm unsure about the process. I've seen nothing but rust buckets underneath. I'm hoping to keep up on that somehow.