I have been looking for a F250 for a bit and have found 3 that are interesting. My needs at the moment are a 15 mile round trip to work and back and hauling around my wife and 3 big dogs. Looking to get a travel trailer this spring, about a 24 to 26ft to start with for weekend trips and in a few years when retirement comes (fingers crossed) a larger one around 30ft. Since you guys have 1000's of years experience here combined, i will ask for your opinion.

1) 2007 F250 lariat 4x4 crewcab 6.0L deisel 145,000 miles $20,000

2) 2009 F250 lariat 4x4 crewcab 5.4L gas 101,000 miles $22,000

3) 2012 F250 XL 4x4 crewcab 6.2L Flex 85,000 miles $21,500

 

#1

I am partial to diesel. And if you proactively conduct the necessary upgrades and maintenance on the 6.0 it will last you forever. Just my $.02.

 

6.2, newer truck can handle the size trailers you are considering easily, unless you have a toy hauler in mind and are taking a ton in the garage.

Steve

 

Easy, #3. Newest, lowest miles, best motor, most reliable power train in a Superduty today.

 

I find my 2012 6.2L... "XL" does a fine job. it is a Work truck and Works well.

I have 1.500 in truck bed.. motorcycle and stuff.. and a 30 foot travel trailer (9,000) loaded.

mine is 2 wheel drive.. and 150,000 miles.. just did a one way trip of 1,800 miles .. used zero fluids. and expect the same going home.

for a total Weight of 17,000 pounds at Cat scales.

 

Hands down #3. Lower miles. 6.2 is a proven reliable motor

 

#3,,,,,,,,

 

As most have stated #3.

 

I will chime in and say #3 is your best option. Low miles and it will pull a trailer with no issues and haul the family around.

Because you are doing short commutes I would advise you to stay away from the 6.0. The 6.0 can pull and they can be great trucks if they were maintained and taken care of, but if you get one that hasnt been you wallet could be in for a world of pain. The diesels are not fans of short trips all the time, the truck doesnt have the time to regen and when that starts happening, then the problems start. Deleted trucks arent an issue but they still need to be maintained well.

the 5.4 trucks are good trucks and they can pull but you wont win any races pulling a trailer with it. I have 3 5.4's and they have been good trucks, but for real pulling power I would say your better off with the 6.2 they are almost as good as a diesel is for pulling just the diesel might get better mpg.

I would shop around for a good 6.2 with that price range on the truck you should be able to find and xlt possibly . One thing I would advise you to do is find a 6.2 with the Ford integrated brake controller.

The Ford integrated brake controller is far superior than an aftermarket one ( and believ me you will know the difference right away if you have ever towed with Ford one and without the Ford one

The Ford integrated brake controller does a far better job of helping manage the trucks braking when towing. I would make sure any truck you buy has it. You could install a Ford oen after the fact but you would need to change the master cyliner in the truck and I think thats about 2k to do, but if you buy a truck with one in it then that is a definite bonus

 

#3 would be my choice. I love my 6.2.

 

Yes, I see #3 was the winner unfortunately it has been sold. Back to the for sale ads but thanks to you guys, I have a better idea on what I want.

After some more research here, defiantly going to stay with gas for the near future and the 6.2L Flex, it sounds like a good motor coupled with a good matching transmission.

Very good point Pocketlint on the break controller! Now looking for a truck that has one already installed!

 

Chuck's First Ford: looking for one of those but with 4X4.

 

You should be able to find one on most of the Superduty trucks, some of the XL's have it and some dont. If you look at the picture at the link below

http://image.fourwheeler.com/f/92509...2Bswitches.jpg

You will see that their is that little screen that has the words GAIN and OUTPUT on it along with the two vertical ***** and the two little buttons above the vertical ***** with the minus - and the plus + indication on them. That is the factory brake control switch inside the cab of the truck that you will use when towing.

On the other side of the brake controls switch, is the Upfitter switches, those are the the 4 toggle switches that say AUX 1 AUX 2 AUX 3 AUX 4 and they are nice to hook up accessories to. If you find a truck that has that as well then bonus, If you dont , it is very simple to add in the part is about 170.00.

So you definitely want to see if you can find a truck with the factory Brake controller, if you find one that has the Factory brake controller, but no upfitter switches dont sweat it, it is easy to add the upfitters and fairly inexpensive

Good luck on the search and of course let us know how it goes and if we can answer any other questions or help with some suggestions