I had to add the camper package to get the 3.55 gears. If you're going to tow heavy you'll want the lower gear ratio.

 

That's a bit of a stretch. It all depends upon how much room you have to maneuver. Even a 77-passenger school bus is easy to park and has no problems with turning radius if you have a parking lot to turn around and park in.

Relatively speaking, the F-150 is going to be a lot more maneuverable...that's just the honest truth. I drive the same length truck as you every day, and there are plenty of places I'm making 3-point turns in. I know you love your long beds, though...

 

I just went through this because my wife and I started looking for our first travel trailer. I had a 2015 F150 at the time and as I began to learn about payload, towing etc I quickly saw that I would be limited to certain TT's. the F150 had a ton of issues and I took it in to hopefully get them all settled and done before I started camping with it and they just found some more issues. Dealer is a friend of mine and offered to just get me out of that truck by giving me a ton on trade and a good price on a new one. I never even considered a F250 or any 3/4 ton until he asked if I might be interested because of a 2016 F250 he could give me a great deal on. I never wanted 3/4 ton because I like a nice ride and my buddies Ram rides like a wagon. I drove the 2016 and liked it a lot. The ride is harsher but not unbearably so, especially when you consider the fact that F150 and F250 is like comparing apples and oranges. I decided I was going diesel due to the towing I would be doing. Also decided I wanted 2017 due to it's similarities to my 2015 F150 and refinements over 2016 F250. The first 2017 F250 Lariat I drove home had issues and there was no way I was doing that again so I returned it the next day and ended up with a KR that happened to have the HD tow package, snow plow pkg, and dual HD alternators, none of which meant much to me at the time. Now I realize how lucky I was to get those. We got a TT that is 7,900 lbs dry and it tows it so easy I truly can't believe it. I have to constantly watch my speed or I will be going 80, no problem, no whining, revving, etc. Even my wife comments on her surprise at how easy the towing is. Would the F150 tow it? Yes. Would it be easy? In my experience I would say absolutely not. The ride is fine with me, turning radius is worse that F150 but not horrible, I do have to make more 3 point turns, but who cares. I LOVE this truck more than any I have ever had..... by far. And that is 2 Chevy's, 2 Tundra's, 2 Rams and the F150. As far as quickness, if I stomp the 6.7, 925 lb-ft of torque is going somewhere even if it's wrong. You will only get more sticker payload if you go with the F350. From memory I think my sticker shows 2,200 lbs which is about 600 more than my 2015 F150 Lariat and that gave me the cushion I wanted. Both are 4x4's with FX4 pkg. I will never own another 1/2 ton and probably never gas again. Everybody talks about the "additional expense" but diesel is about the same as gas around here and I was already paying $80 for oil changes and $100 for filters every 10K miles should not be a deciding factor on any vehicle. My wife's German vehicles cost more to maintain too but they are more than worth it over any other option in our opinion.

 

I'm running through the numbers and trying to understand all the factors. I come from the "stay withing the ratings" camp. I think intentionally exceeding the weight ratings on a vehicle is a fools errand.

That said, to pull an average weight 5th wheel (16,000lbs GVWR) the pin weight will be 3200lbs. Obviously numbers will vary. Perhaps the 5th won't be fully loaded to 16k. Maybe there will be 1000lbs light off the GVWR. Guess what, you still have a pin weight of 3000lbs.

Based on the trailer assumptions noted, here are the number comparisons I've come up with between a 350 SRW and DRW



This is using curb weight listings from Ford, which everyone here so far has said are not correct (reality is they are heavier).

My choice is to reduce the payload in the truck, reduce the size of the trailer, or go with the DRW.

Being that you see a 5th in your future, you should take a look at the trailers you'd be interested in and look at their GVWR's. Don't use the dry weights they listed, you need to remember to include all your stuff and fluids.

If anyone sees flaw in my logic, I'm all ears

 

My frame of reference on Super Duty's concerning ride and turn radius are 99 and 01 long bed crew cab F350's. My truck has a much better turn radius and I've found when driving in the city, I make no 3 point turns. I swing wide when parking and I make U-turns with no issues. And yes, I'll never own a pickup again without the long bed. Driving my old F150 6.5 foot bed to the dump just pisses me off because of how small the bed is. I can't believe I suffered as long as I did.

 

No flaws in your logic. The math is all there. I see the ratings as a recommendation myself. If I decide to upgrade to a heavy 5th wheel, I will have no problems going to one size larger tire to get 4080 pounds per tire rating and go over the sticker rating on the truck. When companies like Ford, GM, Ram, build these vehicles, the axles and wheels and all the components have ratings with a huge safety factor built in. My dad used to tow a 12000# boat with a 2500# tongue weight with an 89 F250 gasser with the 351 and C6 transmission. The truck handled that boat for years, currently has 400k miles on it, and never had issues. It was way over the weight rating for the rear axles and running gear, but there was never anything to be concerned about.

 

At work I occasionally have to make 3 point turns to get into a space and I have F250 Supercrew with the shorter bed. I never had to do that in F150 supercrew with 5.5 ft bed. Depends on other vehicles in the rows. If I can swing wide it's fine, if area is full, 3 pointer. Again, not enough of a factor to not buy a F250 imo. Also, I always hated the limits of the shorter bed so, offsets.

 

Just FYI. My 2017 KR crew has 3.55 but no camper pkg.

 

Hey,

Can you expand on the larger tire angle? (I'm learning, so the dumb version)

Don't mean to hijack the conversation, but I think it is pertinent to the OP.

Thanks

 

My F-350 CC LB requires a slightly smaller turning radius to make a u-turn than does an aircraft carrier.

Seriously, intersections that I would have done a u-turn at in my 1/2 ton truck I will just find another way in my F-350. I don't want to have to make a 2 or 3 point turn out of a u-turn.

 

Run that calculation again with the curb weight of a gas truck and you'll be pretty amazed (I was anyway) how much payload you gain. It was the primary reason we didn't go diesel, other than cost, and want vs. need considerations.

 

Very true and everything you said is spot on. For me the biggest difference is in the stability like you alluded. When pulling a trailer the SD is much more stable, especially when overtaking semis and encountering head winds and such. Also where I tow, the grades are steep and the 6.7 will out pull the 3.5 pretty decisively.


Sam

 

I have a 9800 lb TT fully loaded and had a 2015 F150 3.5 EB super crew 4x4. Pulling away from a stop the tires would chirp...plenty of power. In 25mph wind I didn't feel comfortable going over 50 mph, it was all over the place and WD hitch was set up perfectly. Moved to a 2017 F350 SRW Crew 6.2L gas with camper package and in a 30mph wind looked at the speedo and caught myself going 80. It is sluggish compared to the F150 from a stop while towing but plenty of power at speed and very stable. Also, I went to the scale the day I bought it with no accessories on it yet and it weighs just under 7100 lbs and my payload sticker says 3,972 lbs. We didn't go with the diesel because it can't handle the tongue weight of the 5th wheels we will likely want in a few years. That would have required a DRW. As far as ride quality, I have found the F350 is more comfortable over smaller bumps in the road than the F150 but is much more stiff over large bumps or potholes to the point you just have to slow down or it bounces sideways.

 

I think the big draw for me with the 6.7 is engine braking.

thoughts?

 

That's definitely one of the pros for going diesel. My last diesel truck was the 6.0, and coming down the continental divide with my 9000 pound camper, I rarely needed to use my actual brakes. That truck ended up being a total nightmare (subject for a different thread) - I know the 6.7 is a completely different animal all together, and I'd trust it, but in the interest of full disclosure, I have a bad history with diesel motors and that also factored into my decision 'tree'.

We ended up towing a similar camper with our F150, max tow, eco boost for about a year and the engine braking on that motor in tow/haul mode was surprisingly good as well. But it obviously cannot compare to the engine braking you would see in the 6.7.

The truck I now own, that came in last week, is the 6.2 and I haven't towed with it yet (less than 500 miles right now on it), but obviously the diesel is going to win in engine capabilities, all around. We don't need nearly 1000 ft lbs of torque for our application, and I don't anticipate ever getting one of those giant 5th wheels that come with their own zip codes.

We still spent all the money saved by going gas - we just put it into options on the truck that we otherwise couldn't have really afforded. The diesel version of my truck, as optioned out would have topped 70K, and my payload would have gone down as well. So for us, the decision was pretty easy. I may regret my decision to have not ordered an F450 diesel in 10 years, but I seriously doubt it. Just my thoughts on it... Really, you can't go wrong with any of these trucks, and if you are leaning towards the diesel for whatever reasons, just go for it. I'm sure all of the reasons are completely valid and having an actual engine brake, is definitely one of them. It just wasn't a huge deal for us. If I was putting more than 2000 pounds on my hitch, I'd have to reconsider my decision to go gas once again.