Hey Guys,

I happened to be able to peruse the auto issue of CR. CR is not particularly glowing in their review of the F250 (and I'd assume 350). Now, I will admit this is the first heavy duty / work truck I'll be buying. My assumption (I know, I know) was that trucks that folks rely on as part of their living would be more reliable the grocery getter type trucks. Looking at CR, that does not seem to be the case.

Full disclosure this is not a work truck for me. It's a pavement queen w/ recreational RV tow duty responsibilities. I got tire of playing the weight games w/ light duty trucks (payload, RAWR, etc.).

I had thought that the various problems I always see on the F150 forums would be behind me; oil burning 5.0s, overheating 3.5 EBs, janky IWEs on the 4WD systems, etc.

Are these trucks reliable? I know the 7.3 had spark plug issues early on, and there looks like a bad batch of phasers went out. I'm thinking I won't have those issues (I hope) since my truck will be way past when those problems were identified.

CR doesn't split across engines and what not. Did the score go down b/c of the truck themselves? Diesel engine issues? Godzilla spark plug issues? CR just full of crap?

Thoughts, opinions, rants?

 

Oh, re: janky problems let's not forget the F150 Max Tow rear axle bolt shearing problem; which Ford still has no remedy for save an axle swap.

 

I've owned 3 Ford diesel SD's since 2005, and have a 2023 on order to be the 4th. All were great trucks. Don't get in your head on the internet.

 

I can’t speak to the gas engines, but I have been very happy with the 6.7. Mine is my DD but also tows our camper and won’t see any true off roaring, just dirt or gravel roads getting to some campsites if needed. The 6.7 is a great engine, but being a diesel folks don’t like the emissions systems on (any of) them, although so far mine has been great. The biggest downfall on the 6.7 is the CP4 pump, however as I understand it they improved them on the 20+ MY’s and there are aftermarket options to help it out too. Lastly, I think a big concern with diesel is the costs of fuel and where are we going with diesel. Diesel has become the devil, no matter how clean they run. Besides all of that though, I love the extra mpg’s the diesel gets and that I don’t have to listen to it rev up to get up a hill. And of course the power… there is no lack of it! Another nice thing is I can use the big truck pumps when towing which makes navigating the stations even easier.

I’d go to each of the respective forums and read through them. Neither is perfect and you will get a better idea of issues folks report from either engine.

 

My truck on order is the 7.3 gasser. Diesel, for my use case, was never in the equation. I've followed the Godzilla engine for awhile as I had it in a E450 chassis under my since sold Class 'C'. Aside from (from what I can tell) is a bad phaser batch and bad plugs early on, things seem pretty good w/ that engine so far.

 

Side question, do I have to be a member for 10 days before I can make a signature? I'd love to put in what I ordered, but I don't have the signature option anywhere in my User CP.

 

Consumer reports should be your last source for reviews on full size pick up trucks, especially in the 8500+ GVWR segment. Their strong suit is reviewing minivans and cross over commuters and should stay out of reviewing trucks in general.

If a buyer is sure half tons are not enough, Ford is still in my mind the best out of the three options unless one is looking at Ram 3500 with the HO and Aisin for commercial work, which is not the case here. the 7.3 gas is a great motor and will serve you well.

 

Maybe CR bases their ranking on recalls, warranty repairs and customer complaints, which Ford is probably pretty high up on.

 

Most of my friends run super duties, '19 platinum, 20 STX dually, '22 XLT and a '22 Platinum in my sled riding group. Nobody seems to stray when they need a new truck, my last few were Fords and my '22 F350 7.3 is almost out of warranty as it closes in on 60k miles. It has not needed a single repair, never been to the dealer for anything.

There are lemons among them all. I have, overall, had better luck with Ford trucks than the others. The Fords seem to have fewer issues than my buddy's Ram and nobody I know is fool enough to try something from GM. I honestly do not think CR is a good resource on any level, certainly not for vehicles.

 

The only possible argument I could make for GMs was that for 4wd models they used to have the most comfortable ride being IFS up front, but now that Ford has vastly improved the F250 line to the point where I am perfectly content with the 4x4 SD ride.

 

CR has always had a burr up its -ss when it comes to heavy vehicles with the lowest mpg. "They" wont say it outloud, but they dont approve of the heavy truck pulling heavy trailer lifestyle.

Supposedly all their data comes from subscribers that fill out the annual vehicle survey they sent out. But they never say what the sample size is. And if they dont even break it down by engine type, then what good are the results?

 

It is amazing how far Trucks have come. My son drove today in his '06 duramax, certainly the best riding truck of its time. We went down a potholed dirt road past a listing I have. I drive that road every few days in my truck and the old Chevy felt like it was going to rattle itself to death where the f350 does a much better job with the ride. Even my 2012 with similar mileage as the Chev but a few less years on it rode way better. They may have rode better once but it has been a long time as near as I can tell. Of course the last GM truck I bought was a 2003... I have driven a friends '19 Denali HD and honestly I prefer the Ford. Now my other buddy has an '18 2500 Ram with rear air suspension and that is by far the best riding HD pick-up I have ever been in.

 

I was a CR subscriber for 20 plus years. They claim their ratings are mostly based on reviews from subscribers who own the vehicles in question. In over 20 years they never once asked me to review any vehicle. During the same time I owned mostly Ford trucks and Corvettes. They slammed both of these constantly. While the ones I owned were trouble free. I came to the conclusion they simply did not know what they were talking about.

 

The magazines try to show how smart they are by nitpicking things that rarely occur. For what you want, a capacity upgrade from a half ton, you will love your new truck. The F150's 5.0 and ecoboost are always trying to play overachiever by towing at most of their max capacity, and a heavier truck is just loafing.

 

I have been driving super duty trucks since they first became available in 1999 and I am presently on my third one. I have had a few issues over the years but nothing that I would call a serious problem...so far. It has been my experience that the majority of those with major issues are generally the types that start tearing them apart and modifying them. Granted, if you know what you are doing then by all means but if not, don't go breaking into the engine trying to create something that may give you problems and have dependability issues for the rest of its life. It's better to start off with the truck you need over buying something less-than and modifying it to create something that is arguably "just as good as" because for many, it does not work out so well.