Hey guys, I do construction work and some farm stuff, and need a "real" work truck. Have been looking at some flatbed dump F450s that would seem to be perfect for me. I need to tow around 10k pounds off the bumper, and/or haul a heavy load of building materials on the 12 foot bed. Anyways, Some of my job sites are kind of in the woods and lack real driveways beyond just having trees cut down to clear a path.

So, will a 2011 F450 (165" wheelbase, regular cab) struggle with this and also driving around farms and stuff? Not worried about my small farm because I will always have my tractor around to get me unstuck, I just don't want something that will make it easy for me to get myself into a real problem! I have never driven a big dually off road before and don't know how they handle, especially with 6k pounds or so on the bed. It seems like having 4 rear wheels would help with traction, but that is just speculation on my part.

So what do y'all think? Worth considering or hold out for a 4x4? A bunch of these are coming up at an auction next week, and it looks like the prices will be very reasonable, if recent sales are any indication.

Thanks for your thoughts! David.

 

For what your doing I'd say wait for a 4wd to pop up. Even if you added a 16.5k winch up front your still gonna be asking for trouble. And when you get a 4wd truck I'd still add a 16.5k winch because your still gonna get stuck on occasion

 

Get a 4wd for sure. I had a 2015 6.7 2wd thinking I'll just use the locking rear differential if it ever gets iffy and boy did it cost me. 3 weeks later went and bought a FX4 and I've used the 4wd several times. Just bought a 99 250 4wd also. I will never buy another 2wd when towing especially medium/heavy towing or when going off road just a little to make a turn around or back into someone's lawn

 

Hey guys, thanks for your replies! This is the answer I was afraid of, but better to know now than make an expensive mistake. The truck I'm looking for is rapidly shaping up to be something of a unicorn! But the good news is that I'm not in a huge rush from a need standpoint, I just really want one soon because it will be so fun. Thanks again, David

 

Not sure where you are located, I'm along the west coast of Florida and deal with sugar sand in the woods every day, and if I didn't have 4wd I'd be stuck every day. I don't have to drive far into the woods to get to my sites, anywhere between 250 - 1000 feet off the road. I'd say you need a 4wd - besides ya know what they say - better to have and not need than need and not have !

 

We had a 2wd F450 utility bed at work and it would get stuck in wet grass.

 

Thanks djm and Deuce! I am in Middle Tennessee and was checking out my next job site yesterday - it has serious potential for getting stuck, despite not being very large. I met with the foundation guy and he pulled up in a sweet 2015 F550 CC dump with 4WD and a massive winch on the front. He said the winch had saved his bacon more times than he could count. In regards to wet grass, that is one of my biggest concerns, I just felt funny saying it because it isn't serious off roading...lol.

 

Tires like Mastercraft Courser MXT or equivalent will make a night/day difference versus the typical all season or even the all terrain tires that typically come on 4wd pickups.

All season tires will get stuck on wet grass and are likely a reason for the overwhelming popularity of 4wd.

 

Just my opinion, but you could always turn a 2 wheel drive truck into 4 wheel drive, it's not too terrible to do