F250 towing 30' GT RBT

[NMathews]

Hi all,

We originally had a Ford F150 Lariat on order to be the TV and DD for our 30' Globetrotter on order, and after receiving an email from the Ford dealer today that we need to change our order from a '21 to a '22, we second-guessed our decision.

After reading the numerous forums here about tow vehicles, I realized the F150 just isn't meant to tow a 30' AS.

We are now looking into a F250 Super Duty Lariat, with the 6.2l Gas engine, Supercab, and 6 3/4 bed, as this is one of the recommended TV for our size and weight of AS, due to the payload capacity compared to the F150.

Our question is (sorry for being drawn-out), is this a better choice for our TV and have better performance/capacity towing?

Thank you!

[Capt who]

Payload wise you would be good but if it were me I would look at the 7.3 gas or the 6.7 diesel. The diesel wouldn't be best as a DD if you do a lot of short trips. I have the diesel and like it but it isn't a DD.

[Woolecox]

Originally Posted by NMathews

Our question is (sorry for being drawn-out), is this a better choice for our TV and have better performance/capacity towing?

Thank you!

It will absolutely be better. I am going the same route to pull my GT27FBT. Except, I went with the 6.7 Diesel. I don't want any overload issues or problems in the mountains.

Nothing is close where I live so, an F-250 Diesel is not a problem as a daily driver. If you have to park in parking garages or tight parking lots, yes, it is a problem.

Enjoy!

[KK4YZ]

My 2cents: I’d go with an F250 with the 7.3L gas OR a F350 with the 6.7 diesel. Why? The Diesel engine is very heavy and will subtract about 900 lbs from your rated payload….so if you go diesel, consider the F350 which is the same size, not much more $, and enough load capacity to make up for the heavy Diesel engine.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

The diesel engine would take a chunk out of the payload. The 6.2L gas engine is more than adequate for pulling the trailer. That's what we had on our F250 and it pulled the 30' Classic (a heavier trailer) all over the country. No problem going up hill not problem in the rockies. It did what it needed to do.

We had the FX-4 package and all the "max tow" stuff. We also put on the camper and locking rear axle options (both very much recommended and not much money). Same cab and bed you are looking at. We did a Platinum to get the electric running boards and not be forced into a sun roof.

So .... umm .... errr.... about that "had" in the previous paragraph. It's not just about the engine or handling the trailer. Payload came in at around 2,900 pounds. With all of us and all we normally carry that didn't turn out to be enough. We swapped it out for a F-350.

Bob

[uncle_bob]

Hi

(should have added)

So after ... errr ... beer ...

One gotcha with the diesel is that they are not quite as tolerant of a "mostly sitting there" usage pattern when not towing. The diesel fuel ( and bio diesel ) is part of this. You can play with additives but .. yuck .. The DEF and the regeneration process is another part of this. Short runs in town and mostly sitting, not ideal.

Bob

[Daquenzer]

Since you live in California I would consider going with the diesel if you travel a lot in the mountains. You really can’t go anywhere in the West without dealing with mountain travel. I have an F150 that tows my 28’ just fine. But I live in Wisconsin, and we have no intention of heading to the Rockies. And even if we did it would be a kind of one off trip. You will probably have a different scenario.

But again it depends on your travel plans. And diesel is more expensive.

[CRH]

I have a 6.2 gas F350 with 4.30 gears. I have had zero complaints towing with it. I tow more than just a AS. I sometimes tow a dump trailer weighing up to 15k. No problems.

The truck has 4k of payload. I figure I'll never have an issue there, either.

[KK4YZ]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

(should have added)

So after ... errr ... beer ...

One gotcha with the diesel is that they are not quite as tolerant of a "mostly sitting there" usage pattern when not towing. The diesel fuel ( and bio diesel ) is part of this. You can play with additives but .. yuck .. The DEF and the regeneration process is another part of this. Short runs in town and mostly sitting, not ideal.

Bob

I agree with the part about short trips. The diesel wants to get up to temp and be driven long enough to clear out the particulate filter (regeneration).

I’m not sure I understand the “just sitting” part. Sure, you don’t want condensation in the fuel tank, but just keep the fuel level high.

DEF is no big deal. I drop a jug in every 2-3K miles. Regen happens automatically without operator intervention.

About once / month I drain the water separator and have never found evidence of moisture in the fuel.

About 2/3 of my mileage is towing.

True there’s a little more messing around with a diesel, but once you tow through the mountains most will agree it’s worth it.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by KK4YZ

I agree with the part about short trips. The diesel wants to get up to temp and be driven long enough to clear out the particulate filter (regeneration).

I’m not sure I understand the “just sitting” part. Sure, you don’t want condensation in the fuel tank, but just keep the fuel level high.

DEF is no big deal. I drop a jug in every 2-3K miles. Regen happens automatically without operator intervention.

About once / month I drain the water separator and have never found evidence of moisture in the fuel.

About 2/3 of my mileage is towing.

True there’s a little more messing around with a diesel, but once you tow through the mountains most will agree it’s worth it.

Hi

The regeneration process (part of the DEF empire) depends on the engine getting up to temperature and staying there for a while ( 20 minutes ... who knows). Since diesel takes a while to get to temperature in cold months ... it will take a while.

Bio diesel is full of stuff that pulls water out of the air. Let it sit for a while and it pulls water into the fuel. Water is not a good thing for gas or for diesel. The longer it sits and the more water it soaks up the worse things get. The fuel quality degrades and the components rust .... not good at all.

Best bet: Run through a full tank of fuel a couple of tanks a month. Get the engine up and going for an hour or three every two weeks or so. Neither one is really "sitting there".

Bob

[CRH]

Diesel fuel "algae" is an interesting topic.

[1StreamDream]

Originally Posted by NMathews

Hi all,


We are now looking into a F250 Super Duty Lariat, with the 6.2l Gas engine, Supercab, and 6 3/4 bed, as this is one of the recommended TV for our size and weight of AS, due to the payload capacity compared to the F150.

Our question is (sorry for being drawn-out), is this a better choice for our TV and have better performance/capacity towing?

Thank you!

There are lots of opinions on this topic in forum threads, mine comes from direct first hand experience. I have a 25’ airstream flying cloud, I started with an F-150, now have an F-250 and you are making the wise choice to get a heavier, more stable towing vehicle. I now have a 2021 super cab F-250(4x4 lariat 6-3/4 bed), I did select the 7.3l gas engine and 4.30 rear end gear w/e-locker, and have zero regrets about any of it. Many on the forum (me included) feel that a 3/4 ton (or heavier) truck is the best choice for airstreams 25’ and longer. It does ride stiffer than a 150, but I choose safety margin over comfort for me. I’ve been towing in the mountain west this past august, including some grades at 10% and I have plenty of power. You don’t need diesel, but it’s certainly a nice thing to have that additional torque in mountain climbs. Gas will give you more payload. Diesel will beat me to the top if it was a race or a contest, I’m not interested in either one. I can already go faster than my comfort zone accepts, and faster than common sense dictates. Best of luck with your decision, I highly recommend the 4.30 rear end with the e-locker option no matter what (gas)engine/drivetrain choices you pick. Diesel has a much lower rear end gear number, I think 3.55 is the most you can get there.

[Ch47d1sg]

Originally Posted by NMathews

Hi all,

We originally had a Ford F150 Lariat on order to be the TV and DD for our 30' Globetrotter on order, and after receiving an email from the Ford dealer today that we need to change our order from a '21 to a '22, we second-guessed our decision.

After reading the numerous forums here about tow vehicles, I realized the F150 just isn't meant to tow a 30' AS.

We are now looking into a F250 Super Duty Lariat, with the 6.2l Gas engine, Supercab, and 6 3/4 bed, as this is one of the recommended TV for our size and weight of AS, due to the payload capacity compared to the F150.

Our question is (sorry for being drawn-out), is this a better choice for our TV and have better performance/capacity towing?

Thank you!

Yes

[Capt who]

Another thing about the F250 is that the 6.2L comes with a 6 speed trans but the 7.3 and the 6.7 come with a 10 speed. The gearing makes a big difference when towing. You should drive both and see for yourself. With the 10 speed the low gears are lower and high gears are higher so you don't need the 4.30 rear. The 6.7 diesel comes with a 3.31 and that gives better MPG. I think the reason for the 4.30 gear is a lack of power/torque in the 6.2.

[Woolecox]

Originally Posted by Capt who

Another thing about the F250 is that the 6.2L comes with a 6 speed trans but the 7.3 and the 6.7 come with a 10 speed. The gearing makes a big difference when towing. You should drive both and see for yourself. With the 10 speed the low gears are lower and high gears are higher so you don't need the 4.30 rear. The 6.7 diesel comes with a 3.31 and that gives better MPG. I think the reason for the 4.30 gear is a lack of power/torque in the 6.2.

When I ordered my 2022 F-250 6.7 Diesel a couple of weeks ago, just about any rear end gearing was available. And, that is with the 10 speed transmission. You can go to the Ford website and configure the truck as desired.

I ordered the 10 speed and 3.55 rear end. I currently have the 10 speed and 3.55 in my 2018 F-150. That transmission had to be rebuilt twice by Ford under warranty. Even though I know the transmission in the F-250 is totally different than the one in the F-150, I am a little leery of it.

The F-250 6 speed is still available and is a proven product. I am not sure it would not have been the better choice.

Time will tell.

[RedSHED]

I looked at 250s recently, and would have gone with the 6.2 over the 7.3. Every solution is a compromise; which one to accept is a personal call.

[jondrew55]

When talking about diesels we need to define what a "short trip" is. If you only tow every few weeks or months and then just drive your diesel 4 or 5 miles and back, that's a short trip. I drive my truck once or twice a week to work (25 miles each way) and it's very happy. Since I've been WFH for the last 20 months or so it's fine as an everyday driver.

In the RAM 2500, the diesel payload penalty is 800 pounds. My GT 25' has a specified tongue weight of about 900 pounds. I think the 30' GT RB is about 100 pounds more. If we decided to move up to a 30' I'd certainly feel comfortable with my current truck. If I were buying a new truck for the 30' I'd go with a 1-ton.

[Menard]

Check out the Ford F250 Tremor! 7.3 with 410 gear's. Rear suspension is the same as the F350!

[thewarden]

Originally Posted by Menard

Check out the Ford F250 Tremor! 7.3 with 410 gear's. Rear suspension is the same as the F350!

With the gas engine, you will be fine payload-wise with the Tremor, but pay attention to the door sticker numbers. Tremors generally have a lower payload capacity than their F250 and F350 cousins.

[Trowbridge]

Either F250 engine choice can pull your trailer. Main differences will be mileage, torque, and longevity.

Mileage - Our family's 2004 Ram 2500 is an older diesel...but we often get 16 - 17 MPG pulling our 30' Sovereign (lighter than yours)....19 without the trailer. Mileage on the two F250 engine options is "14 to 15.5 mpg based on your driving style" (will be much lower pulling your 30' trailer) for the gas 6.2 versus Also, diesel fuel is often lower than the price of premium unleaded for example, today's AAA national average fuel pricing shows diesel at $3.47 while premium averages $3.89/gallon (42 cents per gallon or 12% more expensive...that's around $13.44 more each time you fill the tank.). So you'll use more fuel at a higher price. Lest you think that is just a blip, AAA reports that one year ago when we had much lower energy costs diesel averaged $2.38/GL while supreme averaged $2.80/GL (42 cents or 18% higher). And hope you don't live in California where we reside, where our brilliant politicians have escalated all fuel prices greatly, with premium unleaded now averaging $4.75/gallon in the AAA fuel study.

Torque - Those who drive diesels get addicted to the torque and using just the first third of pedal throw (gas is usually more to drive higher RPMs)... That becomes more apparent towing in mountains (we live in the Sierra foothills) going uphill and is a major comfort using engine braking going downhill. It is especially nice towing on tight twisty mountain roads. Your selection of engines and trucks may vary by brand too...Interestingly, here is an exact quote out of a recent MotorTrend review of diesel Ford F250, Ram 2500 and Chevy 2500 trucks: "And yet the F-250 feels very sluggish off the line and trails both the Ram and Chevy to 50 mph."

Longevity - Engine longevity is the final consideration in my mind. Diesels have fewer moving parts which are turning slower (our truck is at around 1,500 RPM towing our trailer on flat highways with cruise control set at 65 mph). If you plan to turn over your truck for a new one every few years, that may not be a factor. But I will admit that newer diesels have a lot of complexity that makes this a bit less of a differentiation.

Final comment, modern diesels are just as good daily drivers as their gas counterparts. Great improvements in suspension design (coil springs vs. leaf springs, air bags, etc.) have made 3/4 ton trucks far more comfortable than in the past. Much larger factors in a daily driver are overall wheelbase (cab and bed lengths), dually rear axles, etc. But for a 3/4 ton with a short bed, standard quad cab, and non-dually rear axle can be a comfortable daily driver just fine. Just remember three point turns to park in parking lots and you'll be just fine.

Just my thoughts...