Any TV off road type tires? 2016 F-250. 250 vs 350? 6.7 Diesel or 6.2 Gas? Need help!

[Wolf Alaska]

I am having good results with General Grabber AT2
tires on V10 Excursion. An agressive tread that is quiet on highway. Very heavy load capacity.
The Excursion V10 burns gasoline but is very diesel-like in performance. A F250 SUV.
9,500 lbs towing capacity.

Let's Roll !
Wolf

[rbs]

the best tire for all around traction, longevity, quite ride is the Firestone Wilderness A/T, if your size is available. When I replaced the tires on my previous truck, F150, I used Toyo, because the Firestone's I needed were made in Mexico. The Toyo's did a good job, but there were noisier, and didn't look like they might last as long. I have Michelin on my F250 and they are a great road tire, but not remotely close to the Firestone's traction in mud/snow

[Msmoto]

Sounds like you are a Ford man, so I will not bring up the others, but in Colorado I saw more D's than C's or F's combined. Almost all diesel.

IMO, if you can afford the diesel the ability to pull in tough situations is very nice. Also, one can install an auxiliary tank, mine is 60 gallons, thus allowing a 1,000 miles between fill-ups when traveling across country. Through the states with high prices.

It is about the money, and a diesel cannot economically justify itself except by convenience, and in my case having to worry about fuel only once a day at most.

Also, on my crew cab long bed, I have the Michelins and love them.


Ms Tommie Lauer
Greensboro, NC
2015 Serenity 30 RB / 2008 Dodge Cummins 4 X 4
WBCCI #4165 AIR #31871

[Echelon73]

I put a new set of General Grabber AT2 tires on my truck late last year. They are load range E so I thought they would be perfect for towing. They have a very aggressive tread which I love. They are excellent off-road and in the snow and they are relatively quiet on the highway. They do have what are in my opinion a few downsides though. When I first had them installed the truck wandered all over the place. I thought there was something wrong with my steering, but decided it was the tires and almost took them back. The soft and deep tread blocks are not as directionally stable as a good highway tire and they "squirm" a lot when they are new (full tread height). I really feel like I gave up some of my highway performance with these tires. The other problem is they pick up gravel in campgrounds (lots of gravel) and sling them at your Airstream as soon as you get up to speed, so some good mud flaps would be useful. Even with the problems mentioned I still like the tires and would probably purchase them again. I'm just a sucker for a truck with "chunky" tires and I really like having off-road and snow capability.

[Danattherock]

Thanks for the above post. I greatly appreciate you guys and gals taking the time to help us out.

Originally Posted by BoldAdventure

I'm running Toyo Open Country AT/2 and they're great E rated tire. 60K warranty too. Very low noise and excellent off road. I offroad in Moab and southern Utah the most, but we also do a lot of mountain access roads, fire trails and such.

Went to a large volume Ford dealer in Charlotte,NC today and saw these tires on a F-250 Lariat. Very nice tires and similar to what I had in mind. Look sharp too.

Test drove a F-350 with 6.7

Yeah, I want one. Won't bother rationalizing about durability of diesel motor, better gas mileage, etc. I WANT ONE. Couldn't believe how fast this truck accelerated. Dang. It was a long bed stripped down XL. Still, amazed me. What a truck.

Now I just need to settle on buying a stripped down model and adding nicer wheels and tires, side steps, chrome front grill, etc. Or just ponying up the extra $15k for a loaded Lariat. I do like the lack of fancy gadgets, computer screens, etc in the XL model. Many less things to go wrong later. At a pretty penny to fix. Plan to keep truck a long time. Simpler is better most the time. But the Lariat interior was sure impressive. Like being in a space shuttle to me. But at a cost.

So what say you? Buy stripped down XL and drop $4-5k to make her my own, chrome, wheels/tires, etc, or just buy the loaded Lariat 350 for $15k more? I know what my wife will say. She has uncanny habit of being right. She likes the plush loaded interior. I like both trucks. I'm buying a motor and transmission. And peace of mind. Either truck will offer same amount of that.

Anyone got any thoughts? XL has vinyl, Lariat has leather. And then there is the space shuttle factor of the Lariat where XL looks like interior of my 1999 Tahoe. Which I loved. Less to go wrong. That's all I'm seeing. But don't wat to skimp and regret it.

For you guys towing Airstreams, any must have options on a new Ford F-350? Dealer couldn't tell me about tow ratings varying from 10k, 11.4k, 15k, etc. Why would you downgrade the tow rating to 10k? Registration cost? Commercial tags in some states?

Is heavy duty front suspension, camping package, upfitter switches, marker lights on roof, desirable? Do they effect ride quality, vehicle height, etc? What is leveling and is it something folks carrying a camper desire? Dealer couldn't answer.

Is 3.31, 3.55. Or 3.71, better than another? Will be towing a 28-30' FC (6.5-7k) to Smoky Mtns of NC and Tenn a weekend trip or two a month and a longer 2-3 week national parks type trip each summer. Car will be daily driver at this point. But thinking about keeping my 2005 Tahoe for running kids to school, work, and such. Maybe just using F-350 1-2x/week to keep miles low. Not sure I have the will power.

Anyone familiar with the Titan 50 gallon replacement tank? Or their 30 gallon spare tire mounted auxillary tank? Would have 80 gallons if used in unison. I'm intrigued, but lack insight on how well they work, quality, etc.

Anyone familiar with ARE truck caps? Looking at the Z cap for our german shepherd. Not familiar with ARE, or trucks in general. Side note, found Truck n Buddy folding tailgate step. They have a magnum that's full width of gate for 400 lb capacity. Slick. That's how the dog, and me at 320 lbs, will get in and out. Stop laughing, I'm 6'6". Just moderately fat. Hah.



Dan
NC

[LesMesa]

Is there any middle ground for you between the XL vs. Lariat? I ended up with an XLT FX4 with the Value package, which has a few nice options. It still ended up being $12k or so less than the Lariat, but that could be because the dealer had a few of them on the lot. My personal take is that I wanted my truck to be a truck, not a luxury car. I was fine with cloth seats that I know my kids will get dirty occasionally on camping trips, and I didn't want all of the added electronics (potential problems). That said, I don't think I would want the XL vinyl seats.

DO NOT buy one of these trucks without the automatic folding mirrors. This is an option you should pay for - trust me.

Another thing to keep in mind with the F350s - they are slightly taller by an inch or so than the F250s. Mine just barely fits into my garage at work. Not sure a 350 would.

I agree that the fuel tank is small for a truck this size. So far it hasn't been a problem as it holds more liquid than my bladder, so I've always had a reason to stop.

Mine has the camper package. I think this includes a reserve rear leaf spring and mounting connections. I'll never mount a camper so haven't really looked too closely.

Is the HD front suspension intended for snow plows? I would think the result would be rougher ride. The up fitter switches would be nice if you intend to mount lights (or a plow) but not necessary.

If you go for the diesel do you have the option of the different rear ends? If there's a choice, I would vote for the higher gears (lower number) to improve fuel economy. You will have the torque to pull uphill in 6th gear.

[McDave]

My F-250 is the XLT, so it doesn't have all the bells and whistles. Never have had electrically telescoping and retracting mirrors, air conditioned seats, or built-in nav, and frankly never wanted them. At this point, I guess I'd rather live in blissful ignorance, and not know what I'm missing. I like my Garmin GPS and the flexibility of replacing it with the next generation whenever that comes out.

What the XLT does have are manually telescoping mirrors, a jake brake, back up sensors (I have a long history of backing into things), trailer brake controller, and built in anti sway (which I don't really understand, but I guess it can't hurt). I wanted a back up camera, so I negotiated that as a part of the deal. It is built into the rear view mirror, and works fine for hitching up the trailer. The fancier versions have it in the dash display, I think.

The only thing I didn't get that I would like to have is a larger capacity fuel tank. I may have to add that later, as diesel does add another increment of difficulty to re-fueling. In the mean time, I may just carry a 5 or 10 gallon container of diesel fuel in the back of the truck in case I run short.

What I did get, of course, was the big honkin' Diesel engine. It's been a long time since my motorcycle days when I could hit the throttle and have an instant response. In addition to performance, I've averaged about 20 mpg highway, 18 mpg city, and 16 mpg hauling my 23' FC.

I don't really know that much about tires, but I understand that the 18" tires are optimized for towing. I do know that the same Equalizer hitch they sold me with the AS for my Tundra works fine with the 250. Better, in fact: there was a little bit of sag with the Tundra that has leveled out with the 250. I'm not sure it would work with 20" tires.

All my electronics work fine with the stock Ford sound system. It integrates with my iPhone for music, phone calls, or audio books through Blue Tooth, the same as my Tundra. It seems to understand my voice better than the one in the Tundra, but that's probably just because they've had a few more years to figure it out. Like everything else, you could probably get a better sound system if you were really into that kind of thing.

Other than the fuel tank, I really can't imagine anything else I would want.

[SCOTTinNJ]

I have a 2012 F-150 XLT. I found it a good compromise between the XL and Lariat. That truck towed my 25' fine. But I recently purchased a 30' bunk and have been considering a 250 or 350 (I looked at other brands but keep coming back to Ford).

One thing that I've seen in my research are 250 drivers adding air bags because of sag issues with larger trailers. For that reason I'm thinking of jumping straight to a 350 as the added cost is marginal.

Anyone have any thoughts there? I know folks will say the older 350's "beat up a trailer" and "ride rough" but I'm not sure that's true anymore. The suspension on the 350 is the same as the 250 until you get to the helper springs. I've driven the 250 but not the 350 yet...

[slowmover]

They add air bags because they've not a clue as to how to set a WDH.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by slowmover

They add air bags because they've not a clue as to how to set a WDH.

^
X2

I thought both the 250 & 350 had 'overload' springs........if that's true whats the point of adding aftermarket AB's?

Bob

[graysailor]

The only difference between the F250 and F350 is one extra leaf spring giving a few hundred more pounds of payload capacity. They also sit 2-4 inches higher. Not sure if you can wait but the 2017 F250's and up will be incorporating many of the features found in the current F150 series. All aluminum and better styling. All being said I determined to go with the 2016 F250 as being more then adequate to pull my 30' Airstream.

[pappy19]

A couple of comments: the snow plow option is a very good item, it basically levels the truck, plus the diesel engine is very heavy and with this option stops a lot of the "interstate hop" especially with long bed crew cab trucks. The 3.55 ratio is the new 3.73 due to the 6 speed tranny. If you don't care about leather seats and some other goodies, the XLT will do a nice job depending on the additional options the dealer ordered. The Titan replacement tank is the best option since you won't loose any bed space. I have the Transfer Flow replacement which is metal, but if they made one for my gasser, it would be a Titan. I had a Titan on my 2002 7.3 diesel and it was great BUT, it does present a potential problem if you don't use the fuel for long periods. Upfitteer switches are a definite plus since you can add extra lighting very easily. Some states charge different rates for plates depending on the GVW of the truck. Here in Idaho if over 8,000 lbs, then you need a "T" plate which is higher than the lower rated vehicle.

[mefly2]

Around here we like the Les Schwab Toyo open tread designs ...

[SCOTTinNJ]

Originally Posted by slowmover

They add air bags because they've not a clue as to how to set a WDH.

I suggested that and was promptly chastised, so I let it go.

[slowmover]

Well . . it's a Ford forum.

[reelfastgreg]

assumptions and you know what that word actually spells now don't you!

my boat and trailer weigh about 10,000#s. the trailer is a torsion axle which means it needs to be kept level to perform correctly. there is no WD hitch involved. so what happens with a 3/4 ton PU, the rear of the truck sags. so enter the airbag solution and level of both the truck and tow are achieved using my bicycle pump.

better to get your facts straight before you start kicking sand and throwing rocks.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by gpt

assumptions and you know what that word actually spells now don't you!

my boat and trailer weigh about 10,000#s. the trailer is a torsion axle which means it needs to be kept level to perform correctly. there is no WD hitch involved. so what happens with a 3/4 ton PU, the rear of the truck sags. so enter the airbag solution and level of both the truck and tow are achieved using my bicycle pump.

better to get your facts straight before you start kicking sand and throwing rocks.

You talk'n 'ta me?...

You don't have WD with your 10k boat...then I don't see any comments tossed in your direction.

I use WD to level our torsion axle equipped Airstream and our 2500 Suburban, no bicycle pump necessary.

Bob

[Moo1822]

We went with the F350 / Diesel / 8ft bed... Maybe overkill but Bilstein shocks and ProPride hitches can help with the bumpy ride. That 6.7 will put a smile on your face in a hurry and we still get right at 16mpg in the city. It is taller yes...almost annoying with that silly tailgate step but if we ever need to pull the moon then we'll be all set.

LT265/R20 Michelins btw at 65f/80r. Edge Evolution CTS2 in "Monitor" mode for a while until we get past the warranty...just to keep an eye on things of course.

[pappy19]

Originally Posted by tjdonahoe

For a daily driver , either chevy 6.2 or a dodge with the hemi gas.......

Why is it that Dodge (especially Dodge owners) and Chevy owners always try and hijack the Ford directed threads? Are they all just plan rude? I suggest they start their own threads so they can pat each other on the back and heckle Ford people there.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Oh...I'm so sorry.

Bob