Did the first tow with my 2018 Lariat 4x4 CC LB 6.7L
14k RV Fifth wheel with the Andersen Ultimate hitch.
6500 miles on the truck, running MC 5W-40 Syn oil.

Let me start with the dislikes, just one:
When towing at night, you get flashed by nearly every vehicle out there. This happens once in a while when not towing but way too frequently when towing at night. Truck sits level with RV hooked up so the light beams do get pulled up a bit.
I did replace the four halogen bulbs with the LED bulbs, way brighter. And the two fogs for LED as well. So maybe people just don't like seeing six lights coming at them

Trip was from Ridgecrest CA, down to San Diego, and then up and over the mountains east of San Diego to Yuma AZ, then returned to San Diego.
Heavy winds both ways, truck was rock solid.

Likes:
6.7L power and smoothness
Tow/Haul with engine brake on
Trailer brake controller
9.8 MPG over 640 miles, hand calculated. Lie-o-meter is much more accurate in Tow setting on the DTE calculation option. It said 9.6 and 9.2 on the two legs and I got 10.2 and 9.2. First leg was over 420 miles, second leg 220 miles.
F350 suspension, Sits pretty level and no porpoising in the "woooops" section of some bad roads.
Long bed room and accompaning 48 gallon tank - I departed Ridgecrest and arrived in Yuma (the long way through San Diego) and finally got a low fuel light when I got into Yuma 417 miles later. Took just under 41 gallons to fill it up. That left me with about seven gallons in reserve.

Over 90 degrees when I headed up the mountains on the return trip. Coolant topped out at about 215, oil about 240, and trans about 230 going up. It would pull faster if I wanted it too but kept it at about 65 the whole time and A/C on. Bucked a head wind all the way up the mountains, then it turned into a side wind at the top.

I was considering a Maghytec rear cover when they come out with the one for the newer SRW F350 but my final leg had me coming up a twisty, windy, slow, 2nd-3rd gear road until I got to my house, about 15 miles. Got out and checked the rear axle housing temp and it was a cool 165 deg. Pretty low considering the work it just did getting up that hill and the two hundred miles before it at 65. OAT was in the 80's. That is one beefy axle and one hell of a heat sink to dissipate heat.
This same tow caused the paint to blister and peel off the 06 dodge ram 2500 axle cover.

220 mile return only seen the DPF filter go from 60 to 75 percent. Passive regeneration at work...

 

Thats great news. Sounds like the truck did awesome. I would agree with all of your numbers and your overall experience. I get around the same with my 13K 5th wheel.

Coming from my 2005 6.0 this new 2017 6.7 makes the trip relaxing instead of a chore.

 

Excellent news and report! I too have a new 5er. 2,400 tongue, about 13,500 pounds (gvw of 16k). I may have made a mistake ordering a f250 CC SB 4x4. I have not received the truck yet and my dealer is fine with me changing to a LB f350. I am concerned about being overloaded. I know everything else is pretty similar, except the rear springs, axle, and gvw rating. The f250 I have on order does have among other options, high capacity trailer tow and camper package. However by my calculations, based on the dealers claimed dry weight of 7,242 pounds, I will most likely with fuel, the wife & I, and tongue weight will exceed the gvw by a few hundred pounds. I know there are a few "boosters" available, air bags, somo, etc...., but I would still be over loaded. My concern about the f350 is unloaded ride harshness. The f350 seems to be the logical choice, but I would like your opinions. Thanks.

 

Many fifth wheels have actual tongue weights higher than what the manufacturer claims. I've been driving around with our relatively light fiver, and our truck barely feels it back there. I' really glad we have the excess capacity. IMO it' always better not to be at your max.

 

Hi TheLex,
What is is like riding around town after your done towing with that F450. It looks like a clear winner over a DRW F350 when towing but I am a bit concerned that once we arrive at our destination and we explore local areas it will be a very rough ride. Very interested in your experience.
Thanks!

 

I have daily driven my 2017 F450 for over 18k miles. With the tires inflated to 80/70, it rides similar to a SRW short bed. With the RS9000xl shocks, it rides even better. I'm quite pleased with it.

I wasn't even going to consider an F450, but one test drive, and the decision was easy.

 

2x.

80/70 works really well on an empty F450.

 

 

Actually the ride with the supposedly horrible FX4 fake Ranchos is fine IMO. Yeah, you get some wandering if you're right on top of a tar strip or broken pavement due to the hardness of the tires, but you can easily steer the tires to one side or the other of the problem pavement. It's a 1 ton truck so it's not Cadillac smooth, but all things considered, the ride is pretty darn decent. The tighter turning radius of this beast of a truck makes it so much more maneuverable.