F-350 Ride Quality!! 😁
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Tuned
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 296
Likes: 14
From: Jefferson, TX
F-350 Ride Quality!! 😁
Short version. F-350 long bed is just a nicer riding truck than a F-250 short bed.
So we did the travel trailer thing. Started out looking for a lil camper. Then my wife saw bunks for the grandkids. So of course we got that one. 35’ 5th wheel, about 10,200 lb loaded and scaled.
We setup our ‘22 F-250 CCSB 7.3 3.55 with all the goodies to tow it, but ended up needing more payload. Power etc was never an issue and I really rather enjoyed towing with the 7.3. But with only a couple hundred pounds of payload left on the 250 we decided to fix that and go with a long bed while we were at it. Add in grandkids and their junk and we were done as far as payload goes. Hence the F-350.
What I really didn’t expect was how much better the ‘24 F-350 CCLB 6.7 rides when empty! It’s night and day. I ASSUMED (yeah) that the F-350s would be way harsher than a F-250 and never even toyed with the idea back when we got the F-250.
So if you go truck shopping don’t shy away from looking at the F-350. You might be pleasantly surprised.
So we did the travel trailer thing. Started out looking for a lil camper. Then my wife saw bunks for the grandkids. So of course we got that one. 35’ 5th wheel, about 10,200 lb loaded and scaled.
We setup our ‘22 F-250 CCSB 7.3 3.55 with all the goodies to tow it, but ended up needing more payload. Power etc was never an issue and I really rather enjoyed towing with the 7.3. But with only a couple hundred pounds of payload left on the 250 we decided to fix that and go with a long bed while we were at it. Add in grandkids and their junk and we were done as far as payload goes. Hence the F-350.
What I really didn’t expect was how much better the ‘24 F-350 CCLB 6.7 rides when empty! It’s night and day. I ASSUMED (yeah) that the F-350s would be way harsher than a F-250 and never even toyed with the idea back when we got the F-250.
So if you go truck shopping don’t shy away from looking at the F-350. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Logistics Pro
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 4,025
Likes: 2,340
Your comparison is a bit apples to oranges. F350 diesels weight much more than similarly equipped F250 gas trucks, they hold the road better even with a little stiffer springs and one extra leaf on the back, that extra 700-800lbs on the front axle make a difference. The longer wheelbase makes a huge difference too. It should be no surprise that a diesel F350 CCLB rides better than a gas F250 CCSB.
My 22 F250 with the 7.3, 4wd, and CCLB rides like a half ton and still has about 2800lb of payload with the 10k payload package.
My 22 F250 with the 7.3, 4wd, and CCLB rides like a half ton and still has about 2800lb of payload with the 10k payload package.
Cross-Country
Joined: Jan 2024
Posts: 99
Likes: 56
From: Dayton, OH
We were pleasantly surprised when my 24 F350 DRW CCLB 7.3 came in. The ride was so much better then our prior chevy 2500 and comparable to the 2017 F150.
We were expecting a rough ride but didn't really have a choice with the camper we decided on.
We were expecting a rough ride but didn't really have a choice with the camper we decided on.
Official Ford Pro Rep
Joined: Feb 2023
Posts: 1,350
Likes: 1,285
Short version. F-350 long bed is just a nicer riding truck than a F-250 short bed.
So we did the travel trailer thing. Started out looking for a lil camper. Then my wife saw bunks for the grandkids. So of course we got that one. 35’ 5th wheel, about 10,200 lb loaded and scaled.
We setup our ‘22 F-250 CCSB 7.3 3.55 with all the goodies to tow it, but ended up needing more payload. Power etc was never an issue and I really rather enjoyed towing with the 7.3. But with only a couple hundred pounds of payload left on the 250 we decided to fix that and go with a long bed while we were at it. Add in grandkids and their junk and we were done as far as payload goes. Hence the F-350.
What I really didn’t expect was how much better the ‘24 F-350 CCLB 6.7 rides when empty! It’s night and day. I ASSUMED (yeah) that the F-350s would be way harsher than a F-250 and never even toyed with the idea back when we got the F-250.
So if you go truck shopping don’t shy away from looking at the F-350. You might be pleasantly surprised.
So we did the travel trailer thing. Started out looking for a lil camper. Then my wife saw bunks for the grandkids. So of course we got that one. 35’ 5th wheel, about 10,200 lb loaded and scaled.
We setup our ‘22 F-250 CCSB 7.3 3.55 with all the goodies to tow it, but ended up needing more payload. Power etc was never an issue and I really rather enjoyed towing with the 7.3. But with only a couple hundred pounds of payload left on the 250 we decided to fix that and go with a long bed while we were at it. Add in grandkids and their junk and we were done as far as payload goes. Hence the F-350.
What I really didn’t expect was how much better the ‘24 F-350 CCLB 6.7 rides when empty! It’s night and day. I ASSUMED (yeah) that the F-350s would be way harsher than a F-250 and never even toyed with the idea back when we got the F-250.
So if you go truck shopping don’t shy away from looking at the F-350. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 996
Likes: 132
From: Oklahoma
We take ours on solo trips on occasion. The highway ride is really good. Towing our 14,700 pound fifth wheel is also pretty darn good. I know it's back there but it handles well. I have a Reese Goose Box on our fifth wheel. It has an air bag and 2 shock absorbers which I think helps some. I also changed the factory shocks on the truck to a set of Fox 2.0 which give a little softer ride but also hold up well for towing. I think the longer wheel base does make a difference.
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Aug 2022
Posts: 1,590
Likes: 1,118
I've been really impressed with the ride of my CC/LB DRW F-350 6.7 and believe that the 176" wheelbase is a big contributor to the ride quality.
Dave
Dave
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5th Wheeling
Joined: Jan 2024
Posts: 30
Likes: 14
Can confirm, I test drove a 2021 F250 short bed diesel a few years ago, rode like crap.
My 2024 F350 7.3 gas long bed is unbelievably smooth for this size of a vehicle. I had a Ram 1500 Limited with the air suspension before this truck and the ride on it was fantastic.
Payload not so much which is mostly why I upgraded but I thought I was going to lose a TON of ride comfort going from that to my F350. I obviously definitely lost some but not nearly as much as I thought I was going to. It's rather astonishing.
My 2024 F350 7.3 gas long bed is unbelievably smooth for this size of a vehicle. I had a Ram 1500 Limited with the air suspension before this truck and the ride on it was fantastic.
Payload not so much which is mostly why I upgraded but I thought I was going to lose a TON of ride comfort going from that to my F350. I obviously definitely lost some but not nearly as much as I thought I was going to. It's rather astonishing.
Cargo Master
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 2,429
Likes: 701
From: Minnesota
And our 2021 F350 SC short bed rides way better than our 2018 F250 SC short bed did. Equipped nearly identically. Some changes clearly to ride quality. So it might be year change as much as long vs short. Not sure what your "year change" was.
Logistics Pro
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 4,025
Likes: 2,340
The pattern seems to be
-the longer the wheelbase, the better it rides
-the heavier the truck the better it rides, so for same weight class, trim, cab/bed configuration, the diesel will probably ride better than the gas one, even if the diesel is in the next weight class up compared to the gas one.
-if all else are equal, 23+ are reported to ride a bit better than 20-22 which are in turn noticeably better than 17-19 which are in themselves better than previous steel body SDs, especially the pre-2008 SDs with the shorter rear leaf springs.
I guess it all just comes down to physics.
