2019 Ford F-250 Diesel

[JFRINALDI]

Bought the 2019 F250 Diesel in King Ranch trim to replace the 2015 F150 Platinum gasser in October and now have 6,500 miles of experience. The new one is a beast, pulling the 2018 30’ Classic up and through the mountain passes from California to Washington with the ease I was seeking when deciding on the upgrade. The DW enjoys it too and I wasn’t worried at all when she drifted down the pass into Ashland, Oregon.
That said, the ergonomics on the new truck leaves me wondering just what Ford was thinking: the move of the shifter from the floor to the column makes it very difficult to find the downshift button and the parking brake now has an impossible to reach lever for release without striking the rear tailgate opener. I was glad to get the new topper put on before the tailgate opened and hit the Airstream.

[Doc Foster]

I changed from a Toyota Tundra to a Ford F-250 a few years ago and wish I had done it sooner. It tows my 30' International with ease. The diesel braking is wonderful, the Ford built-in trailer brake controller has worked flawlessly as well. I always felt maxed out with my Tundra towing the 30', though I know a lot of people on this forum tow them with Tundra's. I tow frequently in the mountains (east and west) and the Tundra struggled with towing uphill and braking downhill. I get better mileage with the diesel, though there is obviously a bigger upfront charge for that, as well as more $$$ towards maintenance. I will only go back to a gasser if I ever downsize below 25'. The Super Duty is also much more comfortable than the Tundra as well.

[mikeoxlong]

I live in illinois and own a F350. There is no safety inspection.

[superChop]

2008Phoebe - I am very impressed that you admit the limitation of my preferred manufacturer, Toyota. Their vehicles max out payload around 1400 to 1500 lbs, and I see a lot of over the payload limit Tundra's pulling all types of trailers. We switched from our beloved 2009 F150, XLT, Supercab, shortbed, "Big Red" last May and ordered a F250 Crewcab, 2WD, 6.2L, std bed Lariat with few options.
Payload is 3,500 lbs. My friend's 2018 King Ranch, Diesel with max tow, has a payload, just under 1900 lbs! Add his topper and he is down to 1700 lbs! Also, someone developed an excel spreadsheet including a 10MPG for the gas engine and 14MPG with the diesel and 50 cents more for diesel fuel, and 12,000 miles per year (all in a towing mode) and result was a few hundred dollars difference for fuel between the two engines, which means that the $10,000 purchase price cannot be justified on fuel savings, or as someone else mentioned the much larger maintenance costs of a diesel engine. MPG should not be a determinator on selecting a tow vehicle. It should be your family's preference for features, comfort and appearance!
I miss the quiet smooth riding F150, but love the heated and cooled seats and better towing ability of the F250, particularly the ability to shutdown overdrive gears when needed! I can actually pass some vehicles on the freeway now! Overall MPG for the F150 was about 17MPG with the 4.6L, and is about 14 with the F250, 6.2L. When towing they are similar at around 10MPG.
One item on the F250 that has eluded an answer from the dealer, factory and TFL's Andre Smirnov. Max Vehicle Wt is 10,000lb. Max tow is around 13,000 lbs. Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating is 19,500. So if I have my tow vehicle maxed on weight, I have a tow capacity of 9,500 lbs, not approx 13,000 lbs. In the past when I looked at tow vehicles, I saw the max wt of the vehicle added to the tow and that would be the gross combined vehicle weight rating.
Suggestion - ask many people what they think about using Diesel's as daily drivers. Majority say don't do it. Great for towing, but not designed for a few mile RT daily errand vehicle. Look at the percentage of time you will be using the vehicle towing and determine if a diesel fits for your use. We are headed to Land Yacht Harbor in Melbourne, FL for the winter with 300 other Airstreams and some SOB's and this topic is always a favorite. When I ask how they like their Tundra, Titan, Sierra, Silverado, Ram, F Series, ALL say they love them! Every tow vehicle at the RV park is used for daily drivers for months, with little to no towing. I yearn for the comfort and maneuverability of the F150! Youtube channel has a video on the Super Duty compared to a 1/2 ton and they compared turning circles, I chuckled because that is exactly what I experience. It is not terror, but challenging when my Navigator/DW tells me that I have to make a u-turn with my 34 Ft Excel and the F250 in the suburbs of Atlanta! I lean very far to the right in my current lane and need THREE lanes in the opposite direction to make that turn. Best bet as always is to make a left turn into a large parking lot rather than the u-turn, but what's the fun in that? It would be nice to hear how much your dealer is taking off the MSRP for the F250. We talked to five dealers in April before ordering and found two that would take about $6K off the MSRP. We also put an ARE topper with LED lights in the ceiling and bed carpet in our F250 vice spray in liner. When our bed is packed with camping equipment, those LED light in the rear corners are nearly useless. Turn on those LED lights in the ceiling and you will have fellow campers coming by to see this neat accessory.

[tbashin]

Hands down the F250 is a better TV than the Tundra!!!

[DewTheDew]

For the record, I daily drive my truck during the winter (20 miles each way so it gets warmed up properly). The F250 does not ride substantially stiffer than the 150, or at least I don't notice (note that my summer car is a Miata so I am used to a stiff ride). However, the F250 does feel noticeably bigger and heavier when driving. The F150 handled more like a car (a big one, but still) where the F250 is DEFINITELY a truck. I'm fine with that, but parking lots and curvy roads are different. That weight also helps with stability when towing, I believe, so that is the trade off.

To me it is silly to do cost comparisons of diesel and gas. They are different beasts and it will be a preference of how you like your power. I view it the same as choosing heated/cooled seats; I don't know if it is "worth it" financially when I re-sell it, but I LIKE it when driving so I get it. I realize that this is a privilege that comes with a decent income, but I think if we are talking 27' airstreams and new 3/4 ton trucks we likely all have a decent income.

[Life is a Highway]

It’s a towing machine 6.7 Diesel. There are a few issues Ford took care of them

[GlideMC]

Originally Posted by 2008Phoebe

Does anyone have experience with the F-250? There are some good deals out there on 2019s. Love my 2013 Tundra but maxed out on weight with my 27FB.

We own 5 F-250s as a part of our fleet and tow work trailers with all of them. We tow a 2017 Airstream Classic 30 with a 2017 F-250 4x4 Crew Cab with the 6.7L Power Stroke Turbo Diesel. These are excellent trucks. The truck does not lag at all pulling the AS up steep hills. The Equal-I-zeR hitch keeps the AS from wandering around.

This is a very good vehicle pairing, as far as I am concerned. Without a trailer, the F-250 gets 17.2 MPG average. With the Airstream behind it, it get about 12.6 MPG. Good luck with your purchase!

[Kyoshi]

We are hauling an International 28ft with a 2017 F150. We have never had any hauling issues. Lots of power on hills. I would question whether F250 is over powered for what you need.

[jeffmc306]

Originally Posted by mikeoxlong

I live in illinois and own a F350. There is no safety inspection.

Mikeoxlong, if you have a D plate in Illinois you must get a safety inspection. You could put C plates on an F350 but that limits you to 10,000 Gross Weight.

https://www.rondotrailer.com/article...ane-inspection

If you have a D plate and haven’t been stopped, lucky you! I Googled it and there’s loads of stories from guys getting ticketed unaware of the law. https://heartlandowners.org/showthre...ks-Requirement

[KK4YZ]

We previously had a Tundra to tow a 23D. It did a great job, but, even with the 23D we were VERY limited in what we could bring, payload-wise. That got me thinking about an F250 gasser. Then, after being on a long caravan, we decided to upgrade to a 28RBT so then in my mind, we really needed to go for a HD truck.

We ended up with a F350 Lariat Crew cab (short bed)..Diesel. The Diesel adds 900 lb of weight, so going F350 reclaims that payload without a lot of extra $ (F250 vs F350).

An F250 gasser would have been fine, too but we just decided to go diesel.

Also, even with the short bed (6.75’) it’s longer than the 5.5’ bed we had in the Tundra.

We loved the Tundra. Toyota’s just run. However the F350 Lariat is VERY nice. Whether you go gas or diesel is more a matter of budget. If you can afford the diesel and don’t mind paying more attention to maintenance (draining water separator periodically) and extra cost for oil changes, the Diesel is a wonderful tow vehicle. As others have mentioned, with today’s emission controls, a diesel is not best suited to mostly short trips. You have to frequently take the diesel rig for a highway drive to clear out the Diesel Particulate Filter.

[DewTheDew]

Originally Posted by Kyoshi

We are hauling an International 28ft with a 2017 F150. We have never had any hauling issues. Lots of power on hills. I would question whether F250 is over powered for what you need.

As mentioned elsewhere, the issue is more payload than power. With our Platinum F150 we had plenty of power but only 1500 lbs of payload. About 950 of tongue weight, spouse, dog, Yetis, some firewood, tools; we were bouncing off the limits for axle weight and total weight. And that was before we loaded the grandkids. The towing stability with the F250 is dramatically increased when we are loaded versus the F150.

[Life is a Highway]

I just got rid of a f-150 max tow it pulled it but stopping and stability were on the edge. Maybe a new 350 7.3 gas but with our 25 ft I’ll never go back to a 1/2 ton

Originally Posted by loft47

We have a 2016 F250 diesel. Love it. It handles our 30’ Classic with slide out beautifully. If I were doing it now I would get the F150 with max tow package (up to 13,200 lbs). Reason; the F250 is a real truck, rides like it and is a little inconvenient as a daily driver.

[jeffmc306]

Originally Posted by Life is a Highway

I just got rid of a f-150 max tow it pulled it but stopping and stability were on the edge. Maybe a new 350 7.3 gas but with our 25 ft I’ll never go back to a 1/2 ton

If you go with the 7.3 you’ll have plenty of payload with the F250

Check out The Fast Lane Trucks channel; they just bought a new 7.3 F250 and are doing tests now. I think the payload was close to 3000 lbs.

[KK4YZ]

Originally Posted by jeffmc306

.......I think the payload was close to 3000 lbs.

That sounds about right. My F350 Diesel has 3400 lb payload, which I think would be close to a F250 gasser.

With that much payload there should be no worries unless you plan to load the bed with lead or depleted uranium 😂

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by Life is a Highway

I just got rid of a f-150 max tow it pulled it but stopping and stability were on the edge. Maybe a new 350 7.3 gas but with our 25 ft I’ll never go back to a 1/2 ton

If you had trouble stopping your trailer hitched to a modern F150, you should adjust your brakes and controller before you get a new HD truck, or you'll be warping the truck rotors all the time. Sounds like your trailer hasn't been doing its share of the braking.

[Life is a Highway]

Originally Posted by DKB_SATX

If you had trouble stopping your trailer hitched to a modern F150, you should adjust your brakes and controller before you get a new HD truck, or you'll be warping the truck rotors all the time. Sounds like your trailer hasn't been doing its share of the braking.

Truck was fine with normal driving brakes adjusted on the trailer and gain set to stop the truck at 15 mph in a lot. ‘‘This is all mass and inertia which means in a panic stop on a freeway for an accident or a construction problem at speeds 65 and below the truck did not perform well. The truck was also maxed to capacity with its weight. Crew Cab and 4/4 takes away.
We also hated the smaller 5.5 bed vs. 6.9 250 bed length

Maybe a F-150 with 2 wheel drive the max tow package 35 gallon tank a 3.5 eco boost with trailer mirrors and long bed would have been better for us.

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by Life is a Highway

Truck was fine with normal driving brakes adjusted on the trailer and gain set to stop the truck at 15 mph in a lot. ‘‘This is all mass and inertia which means in a panic stop on a freeway for an accident or a construction problem at speeds 65 and below the truck did not perform well. The truck was also maxed to capacity with its weight. Crew Cab and 4/4 takes away.
We also hated the smaller 5.5 bed vs. 6.9 250 bed length

Maybe a F-150 with 2 wheel drive the max tow package 35 gallon tank a 3.5 eco boost with trailer mirrors and long bed would have been better for us.

A shortbox SuperCrew max-tow 4x4 Ecoboost w/ tow mirrors handles my 26U just fine. You'll find that your extra 1500 lb of curb weight over the F150 will add to that "mass and inertia" thing. I'm not saying the 250 is a bad choice, I'm saying that there's no magic involved. TANSTAAFL.

[superChop]

DKB-SATX - I did not catch the rear axle max weight, payload and gross combined weight ratings on your F150? Does it have a topper?

[Andrew T]

Personally I would keep the Tundra, when we do our track testing there is no comparison between it and a 3/4 ton. The older lower 3/4 ton GM's with independent front suspension were fine but even GM's are ridiculously tall now.

The payload number really doesn't mean anything. If you are under or close to your axle limits you will never have a problem. If you are heavy on the rear axle you have a hitch issue not a payload issue.

Because payload is a published number people pay way too much attention to it. There are other numbers that are far more important, suspension stance, center of gravity un-sprung weight. These are real numbers that have a big impact on safety and control but because they are not published anywhere people ignore them.

The other spec is total weight a 3/4 ton diesel is often 2000 pounds heavier than a 1/2 ton. The brakes are almost identical in size and the tires are harder compound with less traction especially in the rain. Actual panic stopping distance is longer both towing and solo especially in the rain.

I have customers with 300,000 trouble free miles on Tundra's that are towing considerably more than a 27FB and just never an issue.

This article has some additional information for you if you like.

https://rvlifemag.com/towing-half-to...e-quarter-ton/

Andy