My pay is a little more complex than this. I don't get paid to drive, really. I am a regional sales manager, so my driving is to get around to all my franchisees in my area. My pay is a salary plus bonus based on sales to forecasts. The trailer is to move product around to facilitate the sales, as well as special promotional sales events out of the trailer. That's why its hard to say how heavy I will be towing, because sometimes it will be nearly empty at 2k and two days later be packed full at 8k. I do get reimbursed by my company for miles driven, at the IRS standard. I think that is still at 54 cents per mile, so in a way they pay for my vehicle.

I live in central Iowa, and travel the midwest, so not exactly like mountains around here. Some of my area gets a bit hilly, not quite flat as a pancake a lot of people think of the midwest. Up in Minnesota/Wisconsin it can get pretty hilly, with areas requiring run away truck ramps, but again, not like climbing the mountains or anything.

So after all the great advice, and some more in-depth research, here's where I am at. Definitely a SD Screw 250 or 350 SRW 6.75' 4x4. I'm all about the stability and safety for highway towing, especially when loaded heavier and in the winter snow up north. I have spent the last 3 weeks in 2 two different rental 250 XLTs, one extended cab 6.75' and one Screw 8', both 6.7s. I am going to test drive a 350 when I get a free second, see how the ride compares to the 250, and also try to drive a 6.2 to check it out. I want the Lariat trim with upgrades, but the Seats thread has me concerned about that, so want to get in a Lariat. What I am really still hung up on is the engine choice. I love the diesel- the power is awesome, its quiet, better fuel mileage, will do better if my needs expand later, the resale value should cover a lot of the extra purchase price, and the longer warranty is big for me with the miles I rack up(will hit the miles long before 5 years). The 6.2 seems like a great choice as well- Cheaper, less expense in operating, and will handle my towing needs.

How does the longevity look for the two engine options? I am not one that trades up every few years, I do/plan on hanging on to vehicles until they make me get rid of them. If the towing need didn't pop up, I would be throwing the money at my F150s timing chains and keep running it.

 

In my opinion, the 6.2L will last as long as the average 6.7L. It used to be a diesel pickup engine would last two or three times as long as a gas engine, but this is no longer the case. The 6.2L still has an iron block. It runs a very low compression ratio for a modern engine. It has no turbo, and only has single overhead cams. It has variable valve timing on the intake side only, and instead of using an electro-hydraulic solenoid to operate this like most engines do, it uses something called "cam-torque actuation" or CTA. This is a mechanical process.

Don't get me wrong, the 6.7L is a heavily built engine using a CGI block, very heavy duty roller lifter assemblies, and no valve bridges to operate it's 32 valves. But the near constant introduction of soot-laden dead exhaust gases back into the cylinders, combined with repetitive regeneration cycles which dump raw fuel into the cylinders I believe reduces the average life expectancy for the truck in addition to lowering fuel economy.

 

 

While the 6.7s are more reliable than their predecessrs, they still can't match the 6.2s for reliablity. If my paycheck depends on my truck staying rolling, my money is on a 6.2.

 

That's cute.

So we're recommending the less reliable, more expensive option, that doesn't return the economy it needs to pay for its self, with more power than is needed to do the job, and triple the replacement cost? (we're not talking about F550's and car hauling here)

Sounds like a great business plan. Kinda like the diesel lawn care trucks that never see the highway, or a proper EGT to clean out. [They're having great luck with Ford, doge, and GM diesels.]

I think my next work truck is going to be a 6.7L F450. I'm going to see if I can opt for the 6.8L instead.

 

^^^^^^ Your confusing a business plan based on dollars and cents when the topic may be farfegnugen.

 

 

With the mileage you might be putting on it, it might be prudent to know that you get 100,000 mile warranty with the diesel and only 60,000 with the 6.2L

Just another data point to make your choice harder. Personally, if you're towing a lot, I would choose the Diesel all day every day. Its just so much better in that regard. Pulling into your stop and still feeling fresh is worth more than any perceived costs. Listening to that motor rev all day through the mountain was exhausting.

Can't go wrong either way though!

 

Sorry, for the delay, been busy and then had my wisdom teeth removed. The warranty is something very important to me, as the 5 years means nothing to me. I hit the mileage much sooner than the time frame, so basically the extra 40k is an extra year of warranty. Thanks for mentioning it though!

 

After earlier posts about the 350 vs 250 and registration fees, I have been doing some digging on costs. I can't seem to get anything very clear as to the fees for vehicles over 10k. I found an Iowa(my state) estimated fee claculator, plugged in a VIN for an F250 lariat and an F350 lariat, and the estimated title fees were within $20 of each other. It said both were registered at 4 tons, and the difference in fee was because of the higher list price of a 350. Does this sound right to you guys? With everybody mentioning the extra costs, I assumed it would be something substantial, but $13 isn't even something I would consider mentioning. This makes me think I am not getting the correct numbers...
(For reference in case it matters, I got the VINs from a local dealer inventory. F250 had 10k rating package, sticker priced at $66,245. F350 has 11,500 rating package, stickered at $70,645.)

 

Sounds about right for Illinois. Price difference between 250 and 350 is ~ $800, I have driven them back to back and can't tell any difference in ride. Baffles me why people buy 250's. If you live in a state with crazy registration fees, get the 350 and downgraded GVWR, again, baffles me why people buy 250's.

 

I almost feel looked down upon on this forum for buying a 250. Everyday I read someone saying why not to. For me I needed to get something different ASAP as my 16 platinum F150 was taken out in a head on collision. I didn't have time to order and all the 350's in my area were striped down base lariats. Therefore I went with a loaded XLT premium 250 that has 2400lbs of payload. I'll pay it off and then order what I want and consider a 350. For now the 250 handles the trailers I own with ease.

 

No intentions on bashing anyone with a 250, it just doesn't compute for me. I have traveled over 2000 miles for a vehicle before so buying local doesn't compute, I have waited almost 2 years now for a 2019 Super duty (I don't buy first model year, and avoided the 2018 as I was hoping they would change the Sony stereo, and add Fordpass which they did) so "rushing" into a purchase also seems crazy to me. After driving both back to back I felt absolutely no difference in ride, and with the 350 you get a significant more payload, better axle, and at $800 it seems like a no brainer.

Honestly it baffles me Ford lets the difference in the two be $800. Either way there are way more 250's sold than 350's, I just don't understand it. To each their own.

 

I find that interesting. I went through the same exercise two weeks ago and drove an F-250 and F-350 back to back with the same rear tire pressures. I did observe (as did my wife) a significant enough ride difference between the two to pick the F-250 since most of my driving is empty. Wife never liked the empty ride of my Ram...so you can say she was sensitive to this.

If I didn't have an 8 month or wife who had an opinion, I'd drive an F-350 as well.