Help spec a new F-250

[DewTheDew]

Originally Posted by nryn

I was ordering some Rigid lights for the grill and to install in the rear bumper of the Airstream. I’ll report back when I have them on the truck. I believe the user Turk123 says he likes them.

Given I was just thinking of buying a Weber, I was at first confused why you need so much light to BBQ some burgers. Then I figured it out.... :-)

[nryn]

Originally Posted by DewTheDew

Given I was just thinking of buying a Weber, I was at first confused why you need so much light to BBQ some burgers. Then I figured it out.... :-)

Ha! Really, though, the F-150, 250, and 350 grill the same...

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by nryn

I can’t speak to HDPP, but it’s a pretty popular working truck, particularly in the 150. One of the games I played with my kid while I was doing research was to ask him to identify truck make, class, and config—this one came up a lot more than I expected. Might be a fleet purchase thing.



I got them at summitracing.com—total with shipping was $357. In all honesty, your dealer is probably right. The right move for me would have been to wait until the “Ranchos-not-Ranchos” die and replace them with the Bilsteins. I expect a marginal-but-noticeable improvement when not towing. I’m told that I should object to the way the truck rides, but I don’t, I’d just like a little less “jitter” overall. It was more of an impulse purchase than anything; I was ordering some Rigid lights for the grill and to install in the rear bumper of the Airstream. I’ll report back when I have them on the truck. I believe the user Turk123 says he likes them.

On the topic of lights, I find the 250’s LEDs to throw excellent light, but they have a steep cutoff. I find this also on my Volvo (my last Volvo had bi-xenons). Hoping that adding the lights in the grill gets me a little more distance to see wildlife at night (I’m told by a friend of mine who hunts and who also has a 250 that they are excellent). I don’t expect to be towing at night much if at all, but I do drive and use the truck at night when at the farm and before/after Airstream trips.

Grill lights...I'm thinking; "why is he buying grill lights; must like to BBQ at night!" Now I understand...never heard of adding additional lights, but I really try not to drive after dark with the AS anyway...Interested to see more info if you can share where to find these...may take a look.

[nryn]

Originally Posted by gypsydad

...never heard of adding additional lights, but I really try not to drive after dark with the AS anyway...Interested to see more info if you can share where to find these...may take a look.

A friend of mine is a Rigid dealer and is procuring the grill lights for me (I ordered the backup lights, also Rigids, from Amazon). I ran the wire to the upfitter switch relays when I installed the power lines for the dash cam and Voyager monitor. I’ll post links to the lights in just a bit. I’ll admit that some of it is just that I like to tinker.

But our farm is smack dab in the middle of “the golden triangle”—a term used by many hunters to describe the size of the deer and other game at the corner where Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin meet. And during rut, deer are stupid (more than usual). And when I lived in Maine, well, moose are BIG. I am a very careful driver and still had two close calls in the White Mountains.

I also don’t plan on towing at night (but plans are only plans) and this truck will be primarily used for towing. But it will also be used around the farm. Anything to get a few seconds more of response time is worth it in my opinion.

[SouthForkAS]

"The right move for me would have been to wait until the “Ranchos-not-Ranchos” die and replace them with the Bilsteins."

Why wait? A few years back, I swapped out the factory Ranchos on a 250 Platinum with ProComp ProRunners. That was a major improvement, especially in the rough country.

Sell the take offs on Craigslist (or something).

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by nryn

A friend of mine is a Rigid dealer and is procuring the grill lights for me (I ordered the backup lights, also Rigids, from Amazon). I ran the wire to the upfitter switch relays when I installed the power lines for the dash cam and Voyager monitor. I’ll post links to the lights in just a bit. I’ll admit that some of it is just that I like to tinker.

But our farm is smack dab in the middle of “the golden triangle”—a term used by many hunters to describe the size of the deer and other game at the corner where Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin meet. And during rut, deer are stupid (more than usual). And when I lived in Maine, well, moose are BIG. I am a very careful driver and still had two close calls in the White Mountains.

I also don’t plan on towing at night (but plans are only plans) and this truck will be primarily used for towing. But it will also be used around the farm. Anything to get a few seconds more of response time is worth it in my opinion.

Yea, I have the same problems in MT! Maybe I need those lights after all!

[nryn]

Here are some links to the lights.

The Rigid LED grill lights for 2017-19 Superduty (note I did not say "grilling lights" ) have a mount made specifically for the Superduty Grill--they fit into the "eyes" on either side of the Ford badge. The mounts angle the lights slightly outward, which gives you much more distance and breadth than either the stock LED headlights (normal or bright) or the fog lamps. I was able to see these in person; my friend has them on his 350.



They are rated at a bit over 7100 lumens (that's super bright for lights these size). There are other brands that will fit into this spot on the grill, some for much cheaper, and you can always fabricate your own mounting kit. None of them are anywhere near as bright, though and Rigids are bombproof. The only alternatives for brighter lighting would be to switch out the fog lamps for brighter lights (which I didn't want to do) or get a lightbar (which I also did not want to do). As mentioned, these will be wired to an upfitter switch via the relay, so I can switch them on and off independent of the truck's high beams.

The reverse lights are also from Rigid and I got them from Amazon. I'm not looking for a lot of light, but these are 1000 lumens and will be mounted at the very ends inside the rear bumper storage compartment. I haven't seen these in person but they are a diffuse floodlight and should provide decent illumination of a campsite and good (albeit bright) indication of a trailer backing up. I looked into getting the reverse lights that Airstream uses on the Classic line but getting those and either installing them myself or having them installed would be much more expensive. These lights will be wired to the reverse light pin on the trailer's 7-way connector.

[Moflash]

Originally Posted by SouthForkAS

"The right move for me would have been to wait until the “Ranchos-not-Ranchos” die and replace them with the Bilsteins."

Why wait? A few years back, I swapped out the factory Ranchos on a 250 Platinum with ProComp ProRunners. That was a major improvement, especially in the rough country.

Sell the take offs on Craigslist (or something).

They are shot on delivery .Just install Bilstein 5100’s

[nryn]

Originally Posted by Moflash

They are shot on delivery .Just install Bilstein 5100’s

Just did—two days ago!

It’s crazy how much better the truck rides now.

[Moflash]

Originally Posted by nryn

Just did—two days ago!



It’s crazy how much better the truck rides now.

It’s just crazy that Ford installs these Rancho knockoffs on their new Superduty.They have been using these same shocks for many years.Big difference in all around handling with Bilstein 5100’s

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by Moflash

It’s just crazy that Ford installs these Rancho knockoffs on their new Superduty.They have been using these same shocks for many years.Big difference in all around handling with Bilstein 5100’s

Guess I am missing something here? The Ranchos are not leaking, don't sag, and they seem to work fine for me. Besides, the Blisteins cost $$; if they ain't broke, why again, am I fixing this non-problem? Ford guys I spoke with couple months back, said nothing wrong with the Rancho's on my F250, so advised to wait till around 75k-100kmiles before spending more money, unless I am having issues with the ride or leakage/wear marks on the rubber grommets...Where did you hear the Ranchos on the new F250's are not good and don't work properly compared to the Bilsteins anyway?? Any articles appreciated...

[Moflash]

Originally Posted by gypsydad

Guess I am missing something here? The Ranchos are not leaking, don't sag, and they seem to work fine for me. Besides, the Blisteins cost $$; if they ain't broke, why again, am I fixing this non-problem? Ford guys I spoke with couple months back, said nothing wrong with the Rancho's on my F250, so advised to wait till around 75k-100kmiles before spending more money, unless I am having issues with the ride or leakage/wear marks on the rubber grommets...Where did you hear the Ranchos on the new F250's are not good and don't work properly compared to the Bilsteins anyway?? Any articles appreciated...

When I purchased my new 2012 F250 I noticed unusual bouncing on concrete interstates and the truck would change lanes on acceleration.Removed Rancho shock to check at 2k miles and found that I could totally compress it with no effort.Also found once compressed it would not rebound for almost 45 seconds.Took it to the Ford dealer and showed them.They were speechless.Ordered Bilstein 5100’s when I installed them it was like a different truck!
Traded for a new 2015 F350 first thing I did was remove and test Rancho shock with the same results! Installed Bilstein 5100’s
Traded for new 2017 F350 removed Rancho’s with 500 miles and guess what? Exactly the same junk shocks! Installed Bilstein 5100’s and it drives like it should have to begin with.$80,000 truck with $20 shocks go figure.
Take one off yourself takes (about 5 mins)and compress it with your hand and watch how long it takes to rebound.They are junk
Check the forums it’s a common fact.

I am a if it’s broke fix it kind of guy!

[nryn]

Well, man, I got the same advice. The stock “Ranchos” are adequate and if you are fine with them, no one is telling you to upgrade. An article won’t convince you, and I’m not trying to either .

We have crappy roads around Chicago, particularly in the spring. Several of the highways in the area feel like washboards in the truck and that’s exacerbated when towing. Knowing that stiffer shocks would help keep the truck more firmly planted, when the Bilsteins finally became available for the 2017+ 250/350, I pulled the trigger. Just had them installed a week or so ago.

It’s a different truck in my opinion. It’s not a sports car by any means but I no longer feel like I’m on a 7,000 lb pogo stick. That’s worth it to me—I’ll be putting 12k+ miles on the truck in the next few months.

If you like the way the truck drives now—by all means keep it that way.

[pappy19]

Originally Posted by nryn

Well, man, I got the same advice. The stock “Ranchos” are adequate and if you are fine with them, no one is telling you to upgrade. An article won’t convince you, and I’m not trying to either .

We have crappy roads around Chicago, particularly in the spring. Several of the highways in the area feel like washboards in the truck and that’s exacerbated when towing. Knowing that stiffer shocks would help keep the truck more firmly planted, when the Bilsteins finally became available for the 2017+ 250/350, I pulled the trigger. Just had them installed a week or so ago.

It’s a different truck in my opinion. It’s not a sports car by any means but I no longer feel like I’m on a 7,000 lb pogo stick. That’s worth it to me—I’ll be putting 12k+ miles on the truck in the next few months.

If you like the way the truck drives now—by all means keep it that way.

I also added rear airbags along with the Bilstein shocks, to get the "interstate hop" under control. Both together worked great.

[nryn]

Originally Posted by pappy19

I also added rear airbags along with the Bilstein shocks, to get the "interstate hop" under control. Both together worked great.

Pappy—airbags on a 250?

I’m *super* impressed with the Bilstein shocks. I mean, I can tell that the truck handles better. But my wife—who gets motion sick very easily—asked if I did something to the truck because even on a mountain road here in the Black Hills she felt much better.

I did not expect to have much difference while towing but it’s there. I’m still working out some leveling issues with the ProPride folks (and they are great and that is going well) but when I do encounter porpoising, it ends *much* more quickly than before.

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by nryn

Pappy—airbags on a 250?

I’m *super* impressed with the Bilstein shocks. I mean, I can tell that the truck handles better. But my wife—who gets motion sick very easily—asked if I did something to the truck because even on a mountain road here in the Black Hills she felt much better.

I did not expect to have much difference while towing but it’s there. I’m still working out some leveling issues with the ProPride folks (and they are great and that is going well) but when I do encounter porpoising, it ends *much* more quickly than before.

OK; I just returned from a trip on a back road in Glacier earlier this week...very poor ride, bouncing over washboard type dirt road up to Bowman lake... considering the "upgrade" to Bilstein. What model and where is best place to purchase on line? I can call around in Helena to find who can install them. Once I get these I will give you report...wife is a bit suspicious, but I showed her your post above...so she's willing to let me gamble!

[Rocinante]

Originally Posted by gypsydad

OK; I just returned from a trip on a back road in Glacier earlier this week...very poor ride, bouncing over washboard type dirt road up to Bowman lake... considering the "upgrade" to Bilstein. What model and where is best place to purchase on line? I can call around in Helena to find who can install them. Once I get these I will give you report...wife is a bit suspicious, but I showed her your post above...so she's willing to let me gamble!

That road to Bowman Lake would try the patience of a saint. You should also know they worked very hard to improve the section of road from where you re-enter the park north of Polebridge, down to the lake itself. Imagine how great that road was last season. I drove our RAM 1500 there with stock shocks (no trailer in tow) without too much drama, but it was one heck of a ride. Once I got there, the beauty of that lake blew me away. Completely worth every bump. OTOH, if those fancy schmancy shocks can make that ride easier so I can go more often and be confident my truck won't eventually shake to pieces, I'll go buy them too.

[nryn]

Originally Posted by gypsydad

What model and where is best place to purchase on line? I can call around in Helena to find who can install them. Once I get these I will give you report...wife is a bit suspicious, but I showed her your post above...so she's willing to let me gamble!

First, you are welcome :P

I got mine from Summit Racing. The part numbers were BSN-24-274937 (front) and BSN-24-274944 (rear).

I’d do some research to see if these are the right shocks for you and your setup. For me they were a good balance of price and reputation. There are higher end (Fox) and fancier “dialable” (Rancho) shocks out there too.

I had mine installed at my dealer while getting an oil change.

[Moflash]

I ordered my Bilstein 5100’s from Amazon