Hey gang, I am a proud owner of two mid 70's 3/4 ton 4x4's. Twins in fact. My wife has been inpired to support my quest for a new truck to tow our 6000 lb. travel trailor with. I am looking at 05 and 04 F350 Crew cap 4x4's. I understand that there are some notable differences between the two years and am tempted by manufacturer incentives for the 04's. I think I like the upgraded brakes, GVRW upgrades, tighter turning radius, and especially the trailor brake feature on the 2005 models. What do you all think about this choice? Is it worth the extra $$$ for the 2005 truck? Are there any other considerations I should look at when making my choice? Any options to look for? Any options to stay away from?
Any advise would be greatly appreciated as I have never bought a new truck before and am puckered up 'bout it. 'Tis a big investment for me.

I'll never get rid of my old trucks though. Then again, never say never.

 

I was in a similar situation I guess. I got rid of my '71 F250 and my '70 F250. Replaced them with an '03 F250 CC 4x4 XLT in May of '03.

I would go with the bigger brakes and get the '05. My brakes should be stronger on my '03. And these trucks are too huge not to have 4x4. I've spun the back wheels backing up my buddy's driveway with a motorcycle in a small U-Haul trailer. A 7700 lb truck needs 4 wheels to push it sometimes. (And I can't even back up a curb without being in 4x4 lo) Also, I wish I had skid plates (FX4?) now that hunting season is coming up. A tighter turning radius would be nice, too. I currently need 5 lanes to make a U-turn. The '05 is almost a must, in my opinion.

 

Both are great trucks, I bought my 2004 CC, 6.0 SPD in July, I enjoy driving it everyday. The most important item to get is the 6.0 PSD option. The 05 does not come with the engine heater plug, the 04 does.

You need to go test drive both and see the differences. Either way it sounds like you need to get one soon before the '04s are all gone.

 

I was also torn between the new '05 improvements and the '04 savings, not to mention the ability to order an '05 just the way I would want it. In the end, I went with an '04 because I found one that has most of what I wanted, and the things missing weren't essential (power sliding rear window and 8 ft bed, for example). It also has a few things I don't need but don't mind having, like ESOF, cab clearance lights, tubular steps (although I'm starting to NOT like these since mud gets on top of em all the time). One of the things I wanted and didn't get was the tow command, but I figure I can still add a Brakesmart unit and have basically the same functionality (I don't need upfitter switches). I also wanted the 18" wheels, but they were on backorder for special order F250s until December. I didn't want to wait that long, plus I reasoned that I'll have more tire choices come time to get new ones with 16" tires. As far as the stronger frame and bigger brakes, I don't even need all the GCWR that my '04 has, so it's strong enough I guess. That basically leaves the new '05 front end, which sounds nice (haven't driven one yet), but for the money I saved I can swing wider turns and back into parking spaces, I guess.

Basically, if you can find an '04 that suits your needs and can live without the '05 extras you can save a lot of money. Otherwise, it is worth the $$$ to get exactly what you want and need on an '05. Either way, you're probably gonna be happy.

 

You can't go wrong with any Superduty. The new front end should have a better ride but the leaf springs are pretty good too if it doesn't have the plow package. The turning circle is 5 feet less so a crew cab with 8 foot box turns in about 57 feet instead of 62. You can decide if that's worth it. Try all the motors. I was all set on getting a PSD until I drove a V10. If you keep your vehicles for a long time you may wish to go with the latest model especially if you like the most luxury options such as the Lariat luxury package.