Drove my F-350 7.3 Lariat Tremor home from the dealer last night. Probably 20 freeway miles at most. This is my first 4wd truck. Has all the driving options.

Was very uncomfortable to drive! All freeway, about 75 mph. Seemed quite unstable in the lane. Had to correct the steering constantly. Did not feel as if there was play in the steering, best I can describe as it felt like there was 0 degrees caster. A long wheelbase vehicle should tend to be more stable, my truck was not. Had to be very vigilant driving, not to mention very intimidating just from being a brand new truck that was totally unfamiliar to me. My wife was driving behind me and said she could not tell that I was kind of driving back and forth in my lane.

Today it is pouring rain (for SoCal), so I did not check the tire air pressure, but the dealer PDI should have done that. Could have been adaptive steering, maybe lane assist, I have no idea. I've never had a large tired 4wd before, but I'm pretty sure it shouldn't be like that.

So do any of you Superduty vets have any thoughts on what the h**l was going on? I really would like to hear some ideas before I take it to the dealer, as I trust dealer techs extremely little. Thanks, Dave

 

My 2019 with 33" dura Tracs tracks nice and straight. I did lose a little bit of the ride quality when compared to the mild ATs the truck came with but nothing too extreme.

I'd have the alignment checked.

 

sometimes new tires can feel a bit squirmy or shifty for 1000mi or so. ive no idea if thats what your feeling however

 

I picked up my F350 Tremor 6.7 a few weeks ago and haven’t noticed anything like that, 4K miles on it as of today with most of those towing. I’ve had 4WD trucks for the last 25 years and this one is actually the best handling one I’ve ever had. I’d definitely have it checked out..the Duratrac tires seem a little soft but wander much less than the Toyo MT’s I had on my last truck.

 

I too picked up a F350 tremor last night. Mines a 7.3 xlt premium. I have just under a 100 miles on mine. It seems to drive fine. I traded in a 2016 F250 4WD on mine. My new 350 seems to ride and drive better than my old 250. Tall straight axle trucks tend to feel a bit different than cars.

 

F350 Tremor 6.7 here.....

Tracks better than my '17 F350 FX4. This is probably the 3rd or 4th person complaining of this. Wonder if its limited to 7.3? Maybe less weight over the axle?

 

What is your experience driving a pickup truck? What do you, or did you, normally drive?

 

Did you test drive the truck prior to buying it? Seems like it could be a case of not being used to a heavy duty truck. I have heard many people say the 2020 was better than previous due to the power assist. Maybe you have s bad unit.

 

I second this. I've gotten new tires a couple of times that did this. Funny it's not always, but when it does happen, it can be a little freaky.

 

My truck felt sloppy, wandering etc. As said in other posts, give it 3-500 mile..I noticed it feels better and I have 400 miles now.. ( tire break in )

 

You didn’t happen to come from a GM truck did you? As a fleet mgr, one consistent complaint I hear is from drivers that I’m switching from GM to Ford. They almost all complain about the lack of stability and a wandering sensation in Super Duty’s. It seems they get used to the feel within a few hundred miles and all is well after that.

 

My Tremor felt the same with the Duratrac tires but now well over 1200 miles it is definitely way better. Felt like a wet soap bar in a tub and it wasn't even raining. I have noticed at higher speeds 65mph + it does feel loose. I think the sidewalls must be way more forgiving and allow the tires to flex. 6.7L

 

Unlikely Adaptive Steering or Lane Assist. Adaptive Steering is supposed to change the steering input ratio as to how much the wheels turn (left / right) based on speed (so it should feel "tighter" at freeway speeds). Lane assist will only vibrate the steering wheel if you drift into the "white" lines.

However, we had test-drove a NEW F350 prior to ordering / purchasing our truck and it had the dreaded "Death-Wobble" at 65mph. Could very well be (lack of) caster. My new Tremor has a slight drift to the right, not sure if these trucks have caster adjustment, but it could be checked.

Also to note, LA freeways have rain grooves (in concrete vs. not in asphalt) that run in the direction of travel. Some tires are real susceptible to "tracking" in these grooves based on the tread pattern. REALLY noticeable on motorcycles and with my Goodyear Gatorbacks on my '89 Pontiac GTA Trans Am that also tracked horribly on LA freeways. Did you notice if there were grooves in the concrete where tracking was bad?

 

Just picked up my F350 tremor 2 days ago. 6.7 diesel and did not notice any eratic driving behavior. I have been driving 1 tons with 35" tires for 20 years though, but feels real solid.

 

Check your tire pressure. They will be way high for an empty truck.