Howdy folks, lots of great info on these forums.

My wife and I will be buying an 06 PSD crew cab F350, (single rear wheel) truck soon. (We have a 36 ft 5th wheel trailer to tow occasionally). We are in love with the King Ranch edition, and luckily my wife gets the ford Z-plan discount, so we will be able to get the empoyee discount even without the current promotions. We will be driving the truck only 1-2 days a week around town and on the weekends.

My questions are:

1: How much typical (non-towing) MPG loss can be expected by going with 4.10 rearend gears as opposed to 3.73? We won't be towing a lot, but, I was thinking to get the 4.10s to enjoy a little more accelleration off the line. Should I do it??

2: Are there any known problems with the new 05-06 front suspension? So far I am reading that most people consider it to be a huge improvement.

3: Any lesser-known options worth considering or "must haves"?
I think the King Ranch package includes almost everything one could want for towing...?

I would very much like to hear from 05-06 PSD Super Duty owners, the good, the bad, whatever you have to report...I'm hear to learn all I can!

Thanks!
Rob

 

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I just joined up myself. Looking at trading my 99 350 for an 06 King Ranch DRW. I was hoping to get in on the employee discount but missed out. What is the z plan you are talking about?

thanks.

Ed

 

I will answer question # 3 about lesser known options. I wish I had a King Ranch but I love my Lariat and my favorite option is the moonroof. It lights up your cab, gives you a great vent in that position and is great wide open. It is very well designed and you don't need a plexiglass deflector like I had to get on my Honda Accord's moonroof to stop noise at highway speeds. Your planned use of your truck is screaming V10 and please research this terrific option. I had an 04 6.0 PSD (with a moonroof of course) and I enjoy this 05 V10 so much more. My 04 PSD was a lemon, but even when it was running good it was not as much fun to drive. Go down to the V10 Forum and get some info. Short trips and low tow use might make the V10 a better buy. Wrench.

 

I recently bought a 05 Lariet, F350, cc, PSD, drw, 4x4, moonroof. If you live on the East Coast I would highly recommend buying from Jeff Clark. Options which I have found great are the moonroof, the auto rear window, the reverse detector, and the trailer controller. These are things I thought were just too much initially but now find great. It's a personal thing but I wouldn't even consider the SD in anything other than the diesel. From what I have read I would also not consider a 4x2, they get stuck rather easily. I had initially not considered the drw but my local dealer gave my an 04 to test drive for the weekend and it really changed my mind. I think I am actually happiest with that feature, especially when towing. I also currently use mine as an every day driver and for me no problem parking, ect. I go through drive throughs all the time. I really cannot think of a disadvantage to the drw other than insurance rates in some states (not different vs srw in NC). I also like the new front end vs the 04s I had driven. I handles much better in my opinion. I have the 4.10 rear end but in my drw so my expperiences will not apply to the srw. I get 13 to 18 mpg depending. I have been told the 3.73 to 4.10 decreases milage 1-2 mpg but have no real experience here. What ever you get I don't think you will go wrong. Good luck and enjoy.
Phil

 

Hi Guys Thanks for the info. Still trying to decide if a SRW or a DRW is right for me...Bigbuck: the Ford Z plan is the employee discount for retirees. Usually a few hundred below dealer invoice....Wrench: I was thinking more about long term durability as associated with diesels, as I tend to keep vehicles for 10 yrs...But I will look at the V10 info...I remember folks saying a few years ago that the V10s didn't very make much power (over the base gas V8)? Has that changed?

 

To the tune of 362 hp for the new 3v V-10's.

 

make sure to get the tow command system and go for the 4.10 rear end. the dually will help keep that 5th stable and it is not to much to upgrade it.

 

if by chance you go v10. 4:30's are a most have. best of luck

 

We have the 05 PSD with crewcab, 4x4, DRW, 4.10, etc, and pull a 40ft 5th wheel weighing in around 15,800. Agree with the DRW comments regarding stability as well as the recommendation to go with the tow command option. Can't comment on the V10 vs PSD, but I can say that so far, we're very pleased with the PSD.

 

I have been thinking about the advantages/disadvantages of the DRW. One disadvantage is the $800 or so additional cost vs the srw. Also, some have suggested that the drw gets 1-2 mpg less vs the srw. However the drw has 4.10 or 4.30 gears (no 3.73 option) and going from 3.73 to 4.10 in a srw might have a similar effect. I get 13-18 mpg. Another disadvantage is having to buy 2 additional tires when the time comes. On the up side it is soooooo much more stable when pulling. Personally I wouldn't want to pull a large 5th wheel without the drw. In day to day driving, as I said before, it a pleasure to drive. Also in my opinion it looks better, just looks like a real truck, not like those flimsy little, truck wannabe, srw toys, lol. The important issue is to check with your insurance agent and state DMV first to find rates for the drw vs the srw. In NC the insurance rates are no different but some post have indicated higher rates in other states. Also in NC I am required to have "commercial" plates and pay by intended weight up to the gcwr. Registration here is $291/year another disadvantage. Can't think of anyother srw vs drw issues. Good luck.

 

For the 3.73 vs 4.10 questions... read this thread: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=391771

I learned a lot from that thread, and it swayed me to go with 4.10 when I order mine.

 

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Thanks guys for all the info....

I test drove an '06 F350 PSD short box crew cab, single rear wheel, this past Saturday. Here are some impressions/opinions/comparisons:

1: The off-the line throttle response of the PSD felt significantly slower than both the dodge and the GM Diesels. (But boy, does that power come on strong at about 25 MPH!). All 3 of the trucks I have compared thusfar have been with 3.7X rearend gears, for the sake of comparison. I am hoping that a power adder of some sort will help with the Ford's response?

2: Ford has the best mirrors for towing of the three, by a wide margin. No comparison to the others. There is a LOT more glass area and they are nice and tall. The added convex mirror is nice as well.

3: The Ford styling (my opinion) on the outside of the 05-06 truck is really tuff lookin'. I really like it a lot. The interior of the Ford, however, is a little disappointing. The steering wheel looks like it would be more at home in Grandma's Taurus....

4: The ride quality with the new front suspension is clearly a big improvement over the prior design (the last Ford SD I drove was an 03). The ride of the F350 was significantly better (again, my opinion) than the GM and Dodge 3500 series trucks, especially over rough pavement.

5: The "quality perception/feel" (or whatever you'd want to call it) is a little lacking when you slam the door on the Ford SD, as compared to the GM and the Dodge. The door just feels "klunky" by comparison.

6: The hardware mounting the leaf springs / rear axle out back is clearly the beefiest on the Ford.

7: The cab on the Ford, size wise, is of course larger than the Dodge which isn't a true crew cab (the upcoming Megacab would be the only thing comparable) and feels quite a bit larger inside than the GM.

8: Another opinion...The Ford SD has the advantage over the dodge and GM in that the SDs have a unique body as compared to the 1500-series F150. As such the Ford SD feels like a serious truck as soon as you get in it, whereas the GM and Dodge feel the same as their 1500 trucks until you actually drive them and then you can of course feel the HD chassis, etc.


9: Another opinion...the tailgate handles on ALL of these HD trucks feel like flimsy crap. I can't believe that something so likely to be "used and abused" over the life of the truck is made so poorly.

Sorry if I sound nit-picky in any of the above observations, it's just that I typically keep trucks for 10+ years and as an engineer I often get too critical...

Keep the great info comin'!

 

Just got a 05' F350 Latiat CC PSD with tow command. The truck is awesome. I will agree that some type of power additon is something you might want to look into. I have decided on a superchips tuner and WOW the power is unreal and throttle response is much better as well. The only option I don't have on my truck and wish I did have is the reverse sensor, especially with the long bed or a dually as you are looking at.