F150 to an F250 or F350

[Redtruck]

You sound old enough to be over the "big truck thing" just to be equal to the other 250's-350's at the traffic light.
I ran them (350's 4x4 crew 8' bed, leveled and big tires) for work for 15 years. Before that it was a 79 f350 and a 88 f250, (my first diesel) super cabs for a couple of trucks or 10+/- years.
I think that you're going to miss a f150 in overall convenience of driving, parking and feeding only for occasional use.
I'd spend $40k on a cherry 96 f350 regular cab for a unique ego wagon that will stand out and tow your occasional heavy work and watch them drool keeping your, or a 150 in the driveway for every day.

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[Calson]

The big gain for towing is a diesel engine with its engine brake. Even with a 15,000 lb 5th wheel trailer the load can be managed with a SRW truck and its two tires at the rear axle.

Going with a crew cab most people want the short 5 ft bed to manage the greater turning radius. My truck with the super cab barely made some turns and I sure did not want to be backing up blind with a trailer attached to make multiple passes.

 

[js312]

Not pretty. But knew that to be expected.

9-10 when steady towing RV
12-14 when farting around in small town stop&go
14-15 on highway/interstate steady cruising.

The good thing is that the Godzilla is the one engine I have that doesn't warrant 93. And that's something for me to have come to terms with because I'm a 93'r by nature

Funny, every vehicle I have ever owned has recommended 91 in some way, so I have always run 91 or 93. Even for my small engines, the ethanol free I can get here is 91. It would feel weird for me to buy 87 too.

 

[Snakebitten]

Funny, every vehicle I have ever owned has recommended 91 in some way, so I have always run 91 or 93. Even for my small engines, the ethanol free I can get here is 91. It would feel weird for me to buy 87 too.

Yeah, me too.

I've researched it pretty well and the best way I can describe it is that Ford has the 7.3 de-tuned and has it conservatively managed regarding timing advance. Or put another way, unlike the 3.5 Ecoboost, for example, they don't use KR and OAR to leverage 93 (or better) and squeeze it for additional torque production.

Note Ford does recommend 91 for towing in hot temperatures. So KR and OAR isn't hamstrung completely. But it doesn't let the horses out of the barn like it does with the forced induction Fords.

Of course there's a lot of aftermarket support for addressing that conservative approach. That's why there's a healthy Godzilla hotrodding cult.

 

[powerboatr]

I went from tye f150 kr to the f250 kr
6.7 ho
Night and day
Interior is still plush
Empty the 150 struggled in normal driving to stay 18 to 19 mpg
Occasionally at highway it would touch 21 once 23
Towed very well with 5k out back flat trsiler
Turn radius was not great
The 250
All day long normal driving 19 solid
Empty highway 23. At 77
Just towed a nearly 8k boat from Kentucky to house in Texas at 70
Got 16.3 incredible mpg
Its not the daily..in fact has 6k miles and have had it since Jan
It does have hctp
Empty rides great, not as smooth as the 150
Quiet cabin
Built in 20 Amp on board generator
Which is awesome.
I used it this trip to run a compressor to do the tires
I do wish it had the larger 40 gallon tsbk
For fuel
6.7 uses a lot more DEF
And less egr
Engine is smooth and quiet like the eco boost was
Your smart. Research now and plan
If they power boost a super duty..
It will be a game changer.

 

[obert]

Thanks for the reply

It's a while out still and a power boost would seal the deal for me.

Nice boat

 

[wessermgm]

Well, I guess I am a good candidate to address this since I am one of the most recent converts from a Powerboost to a F250 King Ranch Tremor.

First, the practical reasons all speak for themselves. Personally, apart from looks, I think the Super Duty diesel and Godzilla are practically different vehicles. I chose the Godzilla as I didn't need THAT much towing capacity and I would rather spend the $12K towards other items on the truck (wanted to stay in a King Ranch - wanted a Tremor).

It has been a compromise. If you choose a Tremor, be wary that a Tremor is seriously different than most of your F150s. The ride is definitely harsher and my Tremor is right at 7'2" high. Thus, you have to be aware that things like parking garages and car washes will likely not accomodate you. The ride quality did get to me, so I swapped the crap Tremor shocks in the front to Bilstein 5100s and it improved that immensely.

If you tow (I got this because I am towing a band trailer for the local high school that loaded down felt a bit much for the F150 -not power wise but stable wise), the Super Duty will feel night and day different than the F150. Almost all F150 powerplants are sufficient for 98% of towing. The difference is the stability. You will not know the trailer is there. It is just effortless. To Snake's point, you drop about 2 mpg while towing, but I dropped waaaay more than that on my PB.

Mileage sucks on a Godzilla. Just gotta make you peace with that. My numbers are about what Snakebitten has - can get about 14 mpg on the highway, about 12 in town. But the best reason why is.... it just looks badass:

 

[Snakebitten]

It does look baddazz!

I was a SuperDuty diesel driver for years. A couple of decades almost.

When I chose to impulse buy the F350 about 6 months ago, it was for a very specific and immediate towing situation. I told myself that I should grab the most Payload available for a SRW but gasoline platform because I wouldn't need the additional $10-12k of torque the diesel provides.

Or put another way, I'm not the least bit naive about what that insane Powerstroke brings to the table, but I will use this truck so rarely and never neeeeed the additional power. Honestly I was trying to go as cheap as possible considering the very finite mission and relatively rare use scenario. I only chose XLT to ensure I got the 7.3/10R140 vs the 6.8/10R100. And it IS a LOT of truck for $25k le$$ than my KingRanch Powerboost.

I can be a fairly frivolous spender, but not frivolous enough to buy a KingRanch F350 Powerstroke that will sit in the barn for months at a time.

Having said all that, if Ford does build a legitimate F350 Powerboost? I will give my current Powerboost to my son, sell my like brand new F350 Godzilla, and have ONE truck regardless of how stiff it rides empty and how difficult it is to park.

And you can bet it will be the longest, heaviest, KingRanch version of the SD Powerboost they will build me.

 

[obert]

Well, I guess I am a good candidate to address this since I am one of the most recent converts from a Powerboost to a F250 King Ranch Tremor.

First, the practical reasons all speak for themselves. Personally, apart from looks, I think the Super Duty diesel and Godzilla are practically different vehicles. I chose the Godzilla as I didn't need THAT much towing capacity and I would rather spend the $12K towards other items on the truck (wanted to stay in a King Ranch - wanted a Tremor).

It has been a compromise. If you choose a Tremor, be wary that a Tremor is seriously different than most of your F150s. The ride is definitely harsher and my Tremor is right at 7'2" high. Thus, you have to be aware that things like parking garages and car washes will likely not accomodate you. The ride quality did get to me, so I swapped the crap Tremor shocks in the front to Bilstein 5100s and it improved that immensely.

If you tow (I got this because I am towing a band trailer for the local high school that loaded down felt a bit much for the F150 -not power wise but stable wise), the Super Duty will feel night and day different than the F150. Almost all F150 powerplants are sufficient for 98% of towing. The difference is the stability. You will not know the trailer is there. It is just effortless. To Snake's point, you drop about 2 mpg while towing, but I dropped waaaay more than that on my PB.

Mileage sucks on a Godzilla. Just gotta make you peace with that. My numbers are about what Snakebitten has - can get about 14 mpg on the highway, about 12 in town. But the best reason why is.... it just looks badass:

Very nice truck!

I am torn between the diesel and gas due to the price increase and then lower mileage on gas.


Is that a truck attached to that bumper

 

[Snakebitten]

Very nice truck!

I am torn between the diesel and gas due to the price increase and then lower mileage on gas.


Is that a truck attached to that bumper

They are both great engines.
I would only caution you to ask yourself sincerely if you think you might regret later not getting the diesel?

(I have disdain for regret. I avoid it if it's the kind that might threaten my enjoyment)

I knew that I wouldn't have regret because in the back of my mind I knew (betting) Ford is going to build the SD I really want soon enough. So a stopgap purchase, if you will.

 

[obert]

They are both great engines.
I would only caution you to ask yourself sincerely if you think you might regret later not getting the diesel?

(I have disdain for regret. I avoid it if it's the kind that might threaten my enjoyment)

I knew that I wouldn't have regret because in the back of my mind I knew (betting) Ford is going to build the SD I really want soon enough. So a stopgap purchase, if you will.

I am really trying to avoid regret purchase on my next truck in any form.

I have blown through 6 cars and trucks in the last 6 years LOL

I am totally fine with a Lariat model so my mind is made up on that part

 

[wessermgm]

It does look baddazz!

I was a SuperDuty diesel driver for years. A couple of decades almost.

When I chose to impulse buy the F350 about 6 months ago, it was for a very specific and immediate towing situation. I told myself that I should grab the most Payload available for a SRW but gasoline platform because I wouldn't need the additional $10-12k of torque the diesel provides.

Or put another way, I'm not the least bit naive about what that insane Powerstroke brings to the table, but I will use this truck so rarely and never neeeeed the additional power. Honestly I was trying to go as cheap as possible considering the very finite mission and relatively rare use scenario. I only chose XLT to ensure I got the 7.3/10R140 vs the 6.8/10R100. And it IS a LOT of truck for $25k le$$ than my KingRanch Powerboost.

I can be a fairly frivolous spender, but not frivolous enough to buy a KingRanch F350 Powerstroke that will sit in the barn for months at a time.

Having said all that, if Ford does build a legitimate F350 Powerboost? I will give my current Powerboost to my son, sell my like brand new F350 Godzilla, and have ONE truck regardless of how stiff it rides empty and how difficult it is to park.

And you can bet it will be the longest, heaviest, KingRanch version of the SD Powerboost they will build me.

Preach, my brother!

 

[WalterMitty]

@obert

Definitely get the F250 or F350, it sounds like you really want one. I'm in a similar but different boat. I have an F150 5.0 Tremor. But, I am not past the "I want a bigger truck phase". A good buddy of mine went from a F250 Tremor with the Godzilla motor (Blue Jean color....man that was a kewl color), to a F350 6.7 HO, and I've been jelly of both trucks.

And, it makes pretty much zero sense for me to ever change. My current F150 meets all my needs. However, the heart wants, what the heart wants. So, at some point it is very likely that I will be getting an F250 Supercrew with an 8' bed. It will largely be an indefensible purchase, but those are typically my most fun ones. The biggest decisions at the time will be....which engine....which trim (since I can mitigate the bad decision a little by scaling down the trim level)...and which color.

And hey, truck ownership isn't like herpes, I can always get rid of it down the road. But I want my truck ownership journey to be filled with the trucks that I want!!!

 

[obert]

@obert

Definitely get the F250 or F350, it sounds like you really want one. I'm in a similar but different boat. I have an F150 5.0 Tremor. But, I am not past the "I want a bigger truck phase". A good buddy of mine went from a F250 Tremor with the Godzilla motor (Blue Jean color....man that was a kewl color), to a F350 6.7 HO, and I've been jelly of both trucks.

And, it makes pretty much zero sense for me to ever change. My current F150 meets all my needs. However, the heart wants, what the heart wants. So, at some point it is very likely that I will be getting an F250 Supercrew with an 8' bed. It will largely be an indefensible purchase, but those are typically my most fun ones. The biggest decisions at the time will be....which engine....which trim (since I can mitigate the bad decision a little by scaling down the trim level)...and which color.

And hey, truck ownership isn't like herpes, I can always get rid of it down the road. But I want my truck ownership journey to be filled with the trucks that I want!!!

LOL

Thanks

I have two or three more vehicle purchases in my life and I want them to be fun and the ones that I want.

 

[Elevatorman]

If you need more than a f150, just go to a srw f350. The 250s are an absolute waste of time. Theyre 10,000 gvwr when you can get an extra 1400 pounds of payload with no drawbacks just by getting the 350. I had an 05 350 that had a gvwr of 11,400. Just such a waste to buy a 250 when you can get a 350. They ride the same, are the same size etc. Just a much more capable truck. Not the "neutered" 250 version. Ive never even understood why its in the lineup. You ain't getting a 250 to its tow capacity without going over the rear axle weight rating. The 350 also increases that by the same 1400 I believe it was. Which makes a world of difference when towing a fifth wheel or goose neck.

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