ok stooooopid question time again please don't kill me for this.

f 350 frames are stronger than an f 250.
camper special are stronger built than their base unit
so does this mean that basically a camper special f 250 is around a regular f 350 in strength?

if that is the case would is be practical to use an f 250 camper special w/ 1 ton suspension to fill the role of a standard 350? or would this be an utter waste of time and money?

 

Sorry bub, but you have it all wrong. Camper Special is only an option package that got you extra wiring along with other goodies that would aid hauling & using a slide in truck camper. There were F100 Camper Specials available for a few years.

Extra spring packages could be ordered with all models, ND can help with that.


QUOTE: if that is the case would is be practical to use an f 250 camper special w/ 1 ton suspension to fill the role of a standard 350? or would this be an utter waste of time and money?

Describe what you are wanting to use the truck for and that will help us give you a better answer. A overload built F250 will be able to handle many things a "nonoverloaded" F350. IMHO




John

 

*WARNING LONG POST SORRY ABOUT THIS* *SKIP TO NEXT POST FOR QUICKER INFO*
basically i work construction *concrete/ carpentry* i was residential till this hit now i am trying to get back in industrial. i messed up my shoulder and my truck a few years ago. Now wife is working making the bigger bucks and while she is medium pimping *in the twist of words of my generation haha* i am trying to fix both.

my motor will be stock on the build but then again the f600's of the day were using stock 390's

i will be hauling potentially very heavy and still wet dirt. bags of cement. various bit of trash from demolition including chuncks of concrete and sand *to get you started thinking * i will likely have to tow trailers full of that crap again. there is always 2 reactions to my truck with the bosses first is what an old piece of crap *that is when they see it before hear it* the second is wow let really use this big old truck *that is when they hear it first* i have dual exhaust with 2 flowmasters about 1 foot mabey 18 inches away from the end of the tail pipe *it sets of car alarms*

i have already had to use it to haul over 14000 pounds of crap *measured at the dump as load size not total weight. that load killed my rear end then transmission. i also had a full pallet of spanish clay tiles in the bead at the time. often i had to drive slowly to avoid damaging my frame or my axle tubes in the rear *my tires were undersized and boss demanded i load till i couldn't load nomore ie axle on rear end or for others till tires almost rubbed*

those were damn dark days for me and i never wish to return there again and damage my truck. so i am severly over building it. i am going to replace my rear end with a dana 70 and my springs with either air springs or 1 ton springs or both. i would give a full run down on my build but this post is too long.

i know i sound crazy but i do what i need with what i have. and no i don't ever abuse my truck by choice but work is hard to find and i have 3 kids so i can't just tell a paying boss to f him his mom his dad f his sister her dog and f the fing horse he rode in on. which i used to do when there was alot of work to be had and some one told me to be insane to my tools like that.

 

basically would my frame be strong enough handle the load that the 1 ton spring would allow to be loaded.

 

You have to use judgement with any truck that you have. There are a lot of things that can be damaged from overloading, but these ol Fords are pretty darn tuff.

Get yourself a cheap 600 or 700 to use for the heavy duty run, you don't have to have it a daily driver.

But back to your original, forget the CS part, work with the chassis setup.

guluk


John

 

no offence but your post is part of the problem i face. "this old trucks are pretty tough"
i do have good judgement but the truck does need to survive short term abuses

a f 400 or a large flat bed would be a good idea but it is too much andthe insurance and regestration etc would kill. bottom line is this is the truck i have to work with. from what i gather the frames are the same just power train and suspension arre the only difference. that is what i had always been told and believed then i log on here and some of you guys start talking about different frames from 100 to 350.

 

what i am talking about is not an over loaded super f600 use.
i am just trying to set up my truck to run it's full capacity a little more often than the stock ones should be run for example max spring load for my springs lets say is like 2300 pounds ok 350 springs run 3200 pounds my tires can only carry 2500 pounds.
now we all would like to say "i would never carry more than 2 tons in there" but it happens some times the dirt is wet some times you load up and there is just that little bit extra and it is the difference between all done and one more trip to the dump which could be an extra 1 1/2 - 2 hours. if i told you yeah i got 2 hours over time on you cuz i had to make an extra trip to the dump and then gave you a dump slip for a pidley 4-500 pounds and a 30 dollar only fee to dispose of it you would be angry no?
that is all and there is no real way to guestimate with out some lenght of experiance. i don't have the budget for oops half full of sand will break truck dont do again.
most reputable companies provide company truck for heavy use. so in the past i stuck with them however now that is not an option. *great advice from dad "never turn down getting any kind of job" *
in the past all repairs on this truck have been rush to get it up as soon as possible. they have included :
a semifunctioning C6
ford 9 rear end swap
craptastic tires all passenger mostly low profile as the truck was droped one set was 255x 60 and mounted on a 12.5 inch wide rim.
my rear springs are from a car turns out.
my front springs are so soft *new* that they are affecting the handling.
oh yeah a fix for my trucks swerving to the right that included 200 buck labor and a new steering gear and the problem still is there.
most of these repairs were done by a bonafide mechanic who was the only mechanic to let me make payments. i don't go to him any more.

now my wife is working and making good money so it is timeto clean house.
first demand from truck is 33 x 12.50 tires front andback.
second np435 tranny with 6:1 granny
a us gears underdrive box
a dana 70 rear end geared at 3.5 ish with selectable locker *with the under drive the numbers work*
a new towing cam shaft instead of the previous mystery cam.

what is holding me up is the springs. i know 350 from a 1979 will fit up front.
however i just wanted to know if an f250's frame was strong as a 350.

sorry for the length but i worked really hard for this truck and i plan on keeping it till i die so really no matter the price or difficulty in the mods as long as they are proper and last they will pay for themselves *kinda like a titanium framing hammer* so while i have money i need to get the ball rolling.

 

The GVW is listed on the Warranty Plate. 1968/72 F250's offered GVW's of 6100, 6200, 6900 and 7500 lbs.

The GVW is not the actual weight of the truck, it refers to this: Gross Vehicle Weight Rating.

In other words, the weight of truck, driver, any passengers and cargo should not exceed the GVW.

Ford has the following printed on the Warranty Plate: If the GVW is exceeded, the Warranty is void.

Of course...at this stage of the game...the Warranty has been void since grandma was a gal.

F350's had a GVW of 10,000 lbs.

1967/72 F250 2WD: The frame's Section Modulus is 3.89 inches.

1967/72 F350 w/a 133" wheelbase: The Section Modulus is 5.57 inches. With a 159" wheelbase, the Section Modulus is 7.82 inches.

Section Modulus is an engineering term that indicates, for comparative purposes, the relative strength of two or more frames of the same supported length, shape and material.

1967/72 F250 Camper Specials came with 12" x 2 1/2" front and rear drum brakes as standard equipment.

Ford offered front disc brakes as an option for all 1968/72 F250 2WD's & F350's. When disc brakes are present on F250's, the rear drum brakes 12" x 2 1/2"

Some F250's have front and rear brakes that are 12 1/8" x 2." The determining factor is the GVW.

1967/72 F350's came with 12" x 3" front and rear drum brakes. The same rear brake size is present if the F350 has front discs.

Something to consider. This truck is almost 40 years old. Carrying a lot of weight regardless of what it is, will soon take its toll on the suspension, brakes, drivetrain and the frame itself.

One cannot expect a 40 year old truck with 40 year old parts to hold up very long...before something will self-destruct.

So...the question is not if the truck is an F250 or F350, or even an F500 or F600 or whatever.

The age of the truck is the real determining factor on whether it will hold up...or not.

 

thank you for that information. is there any reason that the 350 had the higher strength from a material or engineering stand point?

and yeah i know 40 year old parts died fast. i had to slap it back together and now i want / need to go back through and fix the patches so i wanted to make sure i did it right. and figgure out what right it.

so basically if i get a good deal on springs either 1 ton or 3/4 will work. and craming in the extra bit would be ok but not regularly done no matter the mods to suspension.

if i may just one more question.
would using 1 ton springs have any advantages on handling while towing? i have read on other threads that spring upgrades are a good route to go.

 

Some F250/F350's used the exact same front and rear springs.

There are myriad different load rates, so before you do anything, you need to find out what springs your truck has now.

There is also two different types of rear suspension as some of these trucks have Flex-O-Matic rear suspension, which features a compensator at the rear of the spring that adjusts the springs to the load.

The leaf springs have a Ford ID number stamped on the top leaf near the eye bolt.

The front springs were originally ID'd by color bands, which today...may have worn off. See if there's anything visible.

Another way to ID the coils is to mic their wire diameter. The heavier the spring, the thicker the wire diameter.

 

replies in bold

 

All Ford vehicles (Passenger Cars, Trucks, Bronco's, Econolines) have the Ford ID number stamped on the main (top) leaf.

For a truck of this vintage, the ID number will be similar to this: C8TA-5560-U.