I would argue that the F250 maybe even have better resale than the 150.

 

Thanks again, everyone.

Let me throw out a couple thoughts,

Re: towing confidence/performance of the heavier truck - when we retire we'll move to the Northwest and travel back and forth between our kids' homes in northern Idaho and central Oregon. It is high desert and the Columbia Gorge for all seven hours of the ride between the two. That means it is always very WINDY for the whole trip. From what you mention, the F250 could be a much better choice even for pulling a fairly light trailer while lightly loaded in the truck. (We already have an Equalizer WDH.) Am I tracking this correctly?

Re: resale value - that part of the country values the F250 more than what I'd expect to find here in southern Wisconsin, even for the gasser. The F350 idea may be too much scope creep for now. But who knows, down the road maybe we'd switch to a truck camper. Trading up from an F250 may be a benefit.

Re: actual payload of HDPP to F250 - I understand that it's not quite apples to apples. I was trying to keep the numbers close for comparison's sake and drive to identifying next level considerations. You all have provided plenty of those.

Much appreciated, all. Thanks.
-Bob

 

As a guy that owns an F-150 with the Ecoboost and max tow packages, I would go F-250 all day. The Drivetrain in my F-150 is amazing. The suspension hates the camper. Add in Firewood, Bicycles, Generator, coolers, and any other camping stuff, especially with kids, and my F-150 is literally shoved all over the rd. Everyone keeps saying Air Bags, Tires, or sway bar on rear axle. I say it is advertised as being able to do the job, I shouldn't have to put another $2,000 in to it . The F-250 is an all around heavier truck, built to haul and tow. The F-150 is a mall cruiser with the "ability" to do the job.
PS I would bet money my Ecoboost would outrun the 6.2 up a mountain loaded. (same gears), but coming down the other side of the mountain is white knuckle if there are turns or wind.

 

In my mind - I question whether are you going to keep the same small camper once you retire? That's not very big. Very easy to get a big 30' camper these days for reasonable prices and you really do want a SD for those ...

 

F350 is basically the same truck with one more rear leaf and over loads. It’s marginally more expensive but provides so much better flexibility in a truck. Up to 4000 lbs cargo capacity, higher axle limited, 11,500 GVW. I’ve never bought a 250, I am on my third 350 in 20 years. Also, remember the 250/350 can be used for a gooseneck, fifth wheel that the 150 is not suited for. A F350 rides empty just as good as a 30259 because of the overloads, which you get in the HIgh cap 250, but your paying for them. Only reason to go 259 is insurance costs, registration, and home ownership/strata issues IMO.

ultimately, you have the up capacity for whatever you decide to do, instead of buying a truck, trading it in, then trading it in again when you buy a bigger trailer.

 

I would go with the f250 gas from reading your post, # 17. The 250 and srw 350 gas have the same axles just different springs. If getting a diesel the srw 350 comes with a different axle.

If you think you’ll get a camper get the camper package but test drive one first as it may ride rougher. Like $180 for slightly heavier front springs, rear swaybar, extra rear overload, and slide in camper certification.

If you are like 50/50 thinking you’ll get a 5th wheel get the 5th wheel prep. Its $500.

 

Also if you get a diesel I would look at the 350 if you think you’ll 5th wheel. You’ll probably be over on your back axle in the 250 if you get a bigger 5th wheel considering you’ll be also loaded up with passengers and overall extra weight of the diesel engine.

 

Not true for gas, and the OP was considering gas. With gas, the F-350 also gets a beefier transmission and a larger rear axle. There is no way that an F-250 can get these in the 6.2 configuration.

If you compare F-350 diesel to an F-250 diesel with HD Tow package, then your statement is correct: the difference is a leaf in the rear spring pack. The cost difference at that point is about $50, though the various registration and insurance penalties varies from state to state.

If I were looking at gas, I'd go with the F-250. If I were going with diesel, I'd never consider an F-250 due to the limited payload.

But, again, in the current OP's scenario with a 4,000 lb trailer and no plans for upgrade, I'd skip HDPP and go with an F-150 Max Tow 3.5 EB and live with the 1,900+ payload. He wanted HDPP and, as he noted, you can't hardly find one of those in the wild. Too many exclusions ... the options that people are attracted to for on-the-lot trucks are too often mutually exclusive with the HDPP package.

 

30'+ or 5th wheel aren't in our future, they don't match what we do. But to your point, if I want to do that full family camping load out I mentioned, any trailer larger than my current TT will need to be considered carefully with an F150, even with the HDPP.

2006lariot talked about coming down the mountains in his F150. I'll have to keep that in mind, too.

-Bob

 

The gas F350 has same rear axle as the F250. The Sterling 10.5". (The gas F350 does get the 6R140 tranny vs the gas F250's 6R100.)

 

I've been burning up the interweb building trucks every which way. The F250 really seems to make sense for our needs for price, capabilities, and overall size. I'd be happy with XLT trim and the F250 prices out really close to a similarly equipped F150 HDPP. And, as all have noted, the F250 just provides much more mechanical advantage.

There's more to consider but I know what path I'll take now.
-Bob

 

HAHAHAHA!!! Not one person with experience with a F150HDPP and they are all making decision for this guy. 🤣 tell me about these apples.... these oranges that i have are great!😂

i owned a 2017 F150HDPP 5.0L and absolutely loved the truck and wish i still had it over my 350 dually.

My 2017 HDPP was a crew cab XLT and no heavy options but was still a very nice truck.

Payload sticker was 2,523lbs.

Towed a 41.5ft triple axle 5th wheel RV with it for 8,000 miles in about 10 months and never had a handling or braking issue. The trailer was 10,350lbs unloaded and 12,800lbs loaded at its heaviest. The heavier the trailer was loaded the better it felt.

Everything was great until i was in colorado high alt thin air with a 93oct tow tune and 89oct is the highest available oct out in that hippie state. Thats when the 5.0L gave out. Completely my fault for letting it ping itself to death.

I truly believe if i had never gone to colorado, i would still be driving my favorite truck.

A 4,000lb trailer behind a HDPP would be like putting a sand bag on the bumper. It wont squat a 1/4”.

To correct the guy who doesnt know what a HDPP is, the GVWR is 7,850lb NOT 7,250.

Doesnt matter if you get the “max tow” pack on a HDPP bc its already setup to tow the same as a mx tow bc the HDPP comes with the tallest gears and the 10% thicker frame rails, 9.75” diff, higher rate front springs, more rear leafs springs, trans coolers stronger wheels and tires and so on.

OP. If you have any questions, just send me a message. I know how to locate the current ones on Ford lots. Its not that difficult.

Or let the guys who have probably never even seen one in real life, tell you More about them 🤦🏼*♂️

 

Pics or it didn't happen.

 

With your use the only real consideration between the F250 and F150 is MPG and parking garage clearance. Although I personally think the 6.2 Super Duty will have a longer lifespan and residual value as the 6.2 will last several hundred thousand miles and is dirt cheap to repair if needed.

They both ride and handle fine; the F250 is a bit more sluggish handling but won’t beat you up at all unless you opt for heavier front springs.

My 2wd 6.2 is around 10.5 mpg life average and my 3.5 Ecoboost was like 15.9 mpg. Granted lots of city miles and idle time on both as they were used for work. The 6.2 likes midgrade fuel best and the Ecoboost likes premium best when working them hard, but both do ok with 87 octane.

I would consider moving a lot of weight into the trailer or installing a basket at the rear of the trailer to haul weight on and going with the F150; just for MPG.

 

It happened.