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First mistake already made.....he wants a DWR truck..... Period
SWR is doable for sure, especially if you are just hanging around in state. For longer journey's I'd go with a DWR. More stability is key, get in a heavy wind storm coming across the plains in that SWR truck and you will be wishing you had a dually.
From the 06 to 09 avoid the diesel. Don't even think of the Ford diesel. I'd run with the V10. Granted with gas prices it will be spend. But cheaper than repair bills for a diesel and the $4.10/gallon for fuel.
As a Ford guy through and through. I also like the Dodge with the cummins.
DWR would be prefferable for the extra measure of stability. SWR is doable, albeit not a sure footed.
I've always been a diesel guy , especially for towing and actually have an '05 Cummins truck at the moment but I was recently talking to someone on another forum and they just got nailed for an $8300 repair bill on their 6.4 Ford. They were stuck out of state and had to have the DPF, CAT and various sensors changed. I can't believe that... it just doesn't make sense to me. Personally I thought the problems with the newer environmentally friendly diesels had all been worked out, regardless of the brand. I feel for that guy. After I'm done with this '05, I'm done with diesels. Same with my car, I'm selling an older TDI and will not be replacing it with a diesel.
A co-worker bought a new Jayco 36KPTS. He's going to retire in another year and live in the trailer while seeing the family and traveling. Now he needs a 1 ton truck to pull it. He prefers Fords, but doesn't know exactly what to get. Doesn't want to get DRW (dually) if absolutely neccessary and wants an extended cab or crew cab, with a short bed. Probably will ge 4x4 if it's not much more expensive. But open to 4x2. Definitely wants a diesel.
Hoping for some good feedback he can start truck shopping with some knowledge. He's older and doesn't get on the Internet, so I'm helping him out.
He will be buying used, somewhere between $20-30k.
Our initial research shows the 06-09 F-350 being a good truck.
Looks like a 2008 F-350 SRW 4X4 6.4 is rated at 15,200lbs for 5th wheel towing. Anything more than that will require going to DRW.
So my question....with the above trailer, would you go with a SRW F-350 or a DRW F-350? You think the SRW would be enough?
To answer the question..... a DRW would be the ideal way to go.
To make some suggestions on the truck, be VERY careful on F250s between 2003-2010.
The 6.0L and 6.4L engines have some very common and costly issues. If the issues were resolved (as mine have been) you have a stout platform to pull with. If they have not, prepare your wallet for a major hit.
The EGR coolers are known to fail on these due to a couple of issues. 1) The coolant Ford used contains silicants which break down with heat and gum up the honeycomb passageways in the EGR cooler. 2) Bad design of the egr cooler itself. This eventually allows coolant into the oil destroying the oil cooler, and also causes headgasket failures because the stock head bolts will stretch (torque to yield bolts) from the added heat of the failed EGR cooler.
The head bolts must be replaced with head studs, the EGR coolers need to be deleted, and the oil cooler replaced with an air to oil cooler, instead of the coolant to oil cooler. You're in the $7000-$10000 range when (not if) these parts fail.
I'd advise your co-worker to look for a DRW that has this work done. It is commonly known as bullet-proofing because once you do it, these trucks are pretty much bulletproof. It also pays to run some sort of engine monitoring system (I use a Spartan DashDaq XL) so you can make sure your Engine Coolant Temps and Engine Oil Temps remain within a 15 degree delta. If the delta gets much larger than that, you have problems. I love my 08 F250, but if it hadn't had all of the work done, I would have passed on it in a heartbeat.
I've always been a diesel guy , especially for towing and actually have an '05 Cummins truck at the moment but I was recently talking to someone on another forum and they just got nailed for an $8300 repair bill on their 6.4 Ford. They were stuck out of state and had to have the DPF, CAT and various sensors changed. I can't believe that... it just doesn't make sense to me. Personally I thought the problems with the newer environmentally friendly diesels had all been worked out, regardless of the brand. I feel for that guy. After I'm done with this '05, I'm done with diesels. Same with my car, I'm selling an older TDI and will not be replacing it with a diesel.
I looked at a Ram 2500 before choosing my F250 for the Cummins. But.. I don't like the cheap platform they stuck the engine into. But reliability of the engine is almost second to none.
As for the 6.4 (or the 6.0).... you just need to do your research and know what you're getting into before buying one. Mine already has the dpf delete, egr delete, tune, and headstud work done. It routinely gets 24 mpg on the highway and right now 20.2 driving to and from work every day. Diesels are still very viable options, but if you're not going to tow with it, it's really not necessary because there is additional costs with owning one over a gas burner.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scarabchuck
I've always been a diesel guy , ... After I'm done with this '05, I'm done with diesels. Same with my car, I'm selling an older TDI and will not be replacing it with a diesel.
Keep me posted on your selling your diesel fleet! I can always use another 'old' diesel (I have 34 diesel VW's and 5 CTD's at the moment) Over 3 million fleet diesel miles (on personal fleet + 3m as a commercial driver)
No worry about emission controls (or emissions) with my diesels. (WVO or home-brew BD).
it is just the trail of people following me looking for the DONUTS
I wonder how many barrels of oil I have saved getting 50 mpg since 1976 (no dinosaurs or toxic batteries required)
My 4x4 GMC got 10 mpg, so it had to GO!
I would stick with a diesel DRW for towing a heavy 5r, there are many who have tried and failed (in a few yrs) with gassers. I remember the hassle my friend had getting his V10 rebuilt in Hershey, PA (at under 100k miles), The shop lost his block, and he was stuck in PA for the winter! (NO truck! and expensive 5r)
To answer the question..... a DRW would be the ideal way to go.
To make some suggestions on the truck, be VERY careful on F250s between 2003-2010.
The 6.0L and 6.4L engines have some very common and costly issues. If the issues were resolved (as mine have been) you have a stout platform to pull with. If they have not, prepare your wallet for a major hit.
The EGR coolers are known to fail on these due to a couple of issues. 1) The coolant Ford used contains silicants which break down with heat and gum up the honeycomb passageways in the EGR cooler. 2) Bad design of the egr cooler itself. This eventually allows coolant into the oil destroying the oil cooler, and also causes headgasket failures because the stock head bolts will stretch (torque to yield bolts) from the added heat of the failed EGR cooler.
The head bolts must be replaced with head studs, the EGR coolers need to be deleted, and the oil cooler replaced with an air to oil cooler, instead of the coolant to oil cooler. You're in the $7000-$10000 range when (not if) these parts fail.
I'd advise your co-worker to look for a DRW that has this work done. It is commonly known as bullet-proofing because once you do it, these trucks are pretty much bulletproof. It also pays to run some sort of engine monitoring system (I use a Spartan DashDaq XL) so you can make sure your Engine Coolant Temps and Engine Oil Temps remain within a 15 degree delta. If the delta gets much larger than that, you have problems. I love my 08 F250, but if it hadn't had all of the work done, I would have passed on it in a heartbeat.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nlambert
I looked at a Ram 2500 before choosing my F250 for the Cummins. But.. I don't like the cheap platform they stuck the engine into. But reliability of the engine is almost second to none.
As for the 6.4 (or the 6.0).... you just need to do your research and know what you're getting into before buying one. Mine already has the dpf delete, egr delete, tune, and headstud work done. It routinely gets 24 mpg on the highway and right now 20.2 driving to and from work every day. Diesels are still very viable options, but if you're not going to tow with it, it's really not necessary because there is additional costs with owning one over a gas burner.
Okay, so no different than the 6.0, once the work is done you have a good platform. I guess I thought Ford had all that worked out from the 6.0 issues.
They all have their faults though, Cummins with the lift pump issues in the second gen trucks and lift pump and filtration/injector issues on the 3rd gen trucks.
Don't hear about too many problems with the Duramax's though.
Okay, so no different than the 6.0, once the work is done you have a good platform. I guess I thought Ford had all that worked out from the 6.0 issues.
They all have their faults though, Cummins with the lift pump issues in the second gen trucks and lift pump and filtration/injector issues on the 3rd gen trucks.
Don't hear about too many problems with the Duramax's though.
Unfortunately not.....
The 6.4 shares the same head as the 6.0.
The Duramaxes have their share of issues too.
Injectors, water pumps, head gaskets, etc.... I think all of them hit a bump in the road at some point. What's great about the F250 though... is if you can find a bulletproofed truck, you can get a great deal because their book value is lower than a Cummins or a Duramax since the demand is not as high.
Update.... He's had a SRW F-350 6.4 for a while now. Had some initial issues that his warranty took care of, but no other problems since. Only towed 12k miles with it though.
I recently bought a 2011 F-250 6.2 gasser that tows my 7500# trailer just fine.
I'm going to upgrade to a PSD once the new Super Duty comes out, most likely. We'll see what they do with the gas engine, but I'm getting the itch to own a dieselj just cuz
Did he have the head work and the other work done that I mentioned above? If not, tell him to prepare his wallet. That will NEED to be taken care of at some point. Towing will uncover the problems with the 6.4 much quicker than normal driving would.
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Over 3 million fleet diesel miles (on personal fleet + 3m as a commercial driver)
