Made The Move F-150 to F-250

[jeffmc306]

gypsydad is spot-on about the difference between 1/2 and 3/4 ton. We made the change and found it reduces your stress level because the truck feels more "planted". In our case, the 3/4 was over 1000 lbs heavier but got the same if not better fuel economy.

[DewTheDew]

Originally Posted by olgoat

DewTheDew, our F-250 is a Platinum with the Marsala interior. We love the interior color. I am not a fan of the Camel interior and my last several vehicles had black interiors, so I was ready for the change.

Unfortunately the receiver size is not the same. The F-150 was a 2" receiver and the F-250 is a 2 1/2" receiver. I looked for a 2 1/2" shank for our Reese SteadiFlex hitch, but they are not available. I am using an adapter, about $20. The fit up is rather poor when you stack all the clearances, but I haven't noticed any issues with it thus far.

I looked at a lot of F-250 Platinum diesel Fx4's and it sounds like the payload on the truck you referenced is a bit on the low side. Most are around 2,190# without the 5th wheel prep and 2,090# with the 5th wheel prep. Just be sure to check the label inside the drivers door. I am not sure what extra options would drop payload to 2,024#. Maybe dual alternators or a pto.

If you do not have plans to tow a 5th wheel at some point, find a truck without the 5th wheel prep, it adds 100# to payload.

Let me know if I can help with anything else.

Thank you olgoat and others for the guidance. We bought an F250 platinum (diesel) last week. It was great that you mentioned the extra weight with the fifth wheel hitch prep and I managed to find one without it. Our payload is now 2132. My wife loves the Marsala interior. Haven't towed yet but got the hitch adaptor, and then had the hitch lowered, and hooked it all up today to make sure it was at least reasonably situated to start. I am looking forward to towing! Though my F150 with the 3.5EB had plenty of power and was stable when we were relatively lightly loaded, it was fairly squirrely when loaded with water (and wine, of course!).

Do not have a pretty picture of the whole rig yet but if you've seen one you've seen them all, right? I would have preferred something other than black but this is the tail end of the 2019's and with new things on the 2020 the selection was getting thin.

[olgoat]

DewTheDew Great looking rig you have there. I bet the marsala interior looks great with the black exterior. At least based on our experience, you should see a huge difference in towing.

[SteveSueMac]

DewTheDew - congrats! I have a black 3/4T diesel (Chevy variety) and therefore am obliged to tell you your rig looks awesome with an aluminum trailer [emoji3]

Is the trailer nose low? Could be the angle of the picture but looks to my eye like it’s looking down a bit.

Happy trails and congrats on the new truck!

[DewTheDew]

Originally Posted by SteveSueMac

DewTheDew - congrats! I have a black 3/4T diesel (Chevy variety) and therefore am obliged to tell you your rig looks awesome with an aluminum trailer [emoji3]

Is the trailer nose low? Could be the angle of the picture but looks to my eye like it’s looking down a bit.

Happy trails and congrats on the new truck!

Thanks! Yes, the front looks a tad nose down. It should be okay for now but I will need to work on that. These hitches (Equalizer) have a couple of different "knobs" and I am unsure how to use them effectively. I will check with the hitch masters at Colonial airstream in New Jersey next week when I pull it there for service.

[SteveSueMac]

I don’t know anything about equalizers but the team at Colonial reinstalled my ProPride as my selling dealer didn’t do it correctly. They nailed it! You’ll be in good hands there. Good luck!

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by DewTheDew

Thank you olgoat and others for the guidance. We bought an F250 platinum (diesel) last week. It was great that you mentioned the extra weight with the fifth wheel hitch prep and I managed to find one without it. Our payload is now 2132. My wife loves the Marsala interior. Haven't towed yet but got the hitch adaptor, and then had the hitch lowered, and hooked it all up today to make sure it was at least reasonably situated to start. I am looking forward to towing! Though my F150 with the 3.5EB had plenty of power and was stable when we were relatively lightly loaded, it was fairly squirrely when loaded with water (and wine, of course!).

Do not have a pretty picture of the whole rig yet but if you've seen one you've seen them all, right? I would have preferred something other than black but this is the tail end of the 2019's and with new things on the 2020 the selection was getting thin.

Congrats! We love our King Ranch for towing the AS...I am sure you will appreciate using cruise control with auto-engine brake engaged and set at 60-65 when cruising in the mountains....I loved my echoboost also with our 25's, but no comparison to the F250 diesel with the cruise and autobraking...plus, when you do need to step on it, that 6.7L gets up and moves...no hesitation at all with the AS in tow! Best to you!

[franklyfrank]

Originally Posted by DewTheDew

Thanks! Yes, the front looks a tad nose down. It should be okay for now but I will need to work on that. These hitches (Equalizer) have a couple of different "knobs" and I am unsure how to use them effectively. I will check with the hitch masters at Colonial airstream in New Jersey next week when I pull it there for service.

Most if not all F-250 Diesels come with 3" Lifting block under the rear springs to compensate for load. That makes them look nose down.
That also makes the rear end bounce when running empty.
I replaced the 3" blocks with an 1.5 " and that leveled the truck perfectly and guess what, no more rear end bounce.
However the rear end squats about 1/2 " out of level when fully loaded, trailer hooked up and the WD is engaged.
I can live with that since the solo ride is so much improved and the nose down is gone.
Lift block and new U Bolts came as a kit, cost $ 260.00 and it took me 2 leisurely hours. You have to remove both rear wheels and will need two sets of jack stands and a good impact wrench.

[Moflash]

I replaced the oem shocks with Bilstein 5100’s.No bounce and the truck rides and handles like it should have to begin with.

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by franklyfrank

Most if not all F-250 Diesels come with 3" Lifting block under the rear springs to compensate for load. That makes them look nose down.
That also makes the rear end bounce when running empty.
I replaced the 3" blocks with an 1.5 " and that leveled the truck perfectly and guess what, no more rear end bounce.
However the rear end squats about 1/2 " out of level when fully loaded, trailer hooked up and the WD is engaged.
I can live with that since the solo ride is so much improved and the nose down is gone.
Lift block and new U Bolts came as a kit, cost $ 260.00 and it took me 2 leisurely hours. You have to remove both rear wheels and will need two sets of jack stands and a good impact wrench.

Most F250's come with 3" blocks? Is that true on 2017 and newer models?? I don't see anything on my truck and it rides much better then the 2016 and earlier shocks. I have not made the move to Bilstein's yet but that's coming in the spring..

[tsunami]

The FX4 off-road package provides softer shock absorbers to provide a softer ride, whether towing, hauling, or running without a load.

[franklyfrank]

Originally Posted by Moflash

I replaced the oem shocks with Bilstein 5100’s.No bounce and the truck rides and handles like it should have to begin with.

I started with installing Billstein 5100 shocks.
It improved the ride somewhat but didn't do much for the bounce .
Lowering the the rear end made the big difference. I did it on hunch that was proven correct. I thought a level ride would compress the distance for the rear suspension to travel when hitting a sharp bump on the pavement.

[CRH]

My F350 has FX4, snowplow springs in the front, and slide in camper certification in the back. I have no complaints about the ride either empty or loaded heavy.

[franklyfrank]

Originally Posted by gypsydad

Most F250's come with 3" blocks? Is that true on 2017 and newer models?? I don't see anything on my truck and it rides much better then the 2016 and earlier shocks. I have not made the move to Bilstein's yet but that's coming in the spring..

I believe so.
There is a 3" lift block between the Rear springs and Axle Spring Cradle . All the later F 250 models have that forward rake look because the rear end sits higher.
It's to compensate for the squat under a heavy load.

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by franklyfrank

I believe so.
There is a 3" lift block between the Rear springs and Axle Spring Cradle . All the later F 250 models have that forward rake look because the rear end sits higher.
It's to compensate for the squat under a heavy load.

I just had my tires rotated this morning at Costco. We looked for the 3" block you mention, and could not find one. I have 2017, F250 4x4 FX4 6.7L King Ranch model, pretty loaded up...it sits up in rear a little, but did not see any block?

[DewTheDew]

Originally Posted by CRH

My F350 has FX4, snowplow springs in the front, and slide in camper certification in the back. I have no complaints about the ride either empty or loaded heavy.

When I am not driving the truck I am driving a Miata so the truck rides like a cadillac in comparison! :-)

[Moflash]

Originally Posted by franklyfrank

I started with installing Billstein 5100 shocks.

It improved the ride somewhat but didn't do much for the bounce .

Lowering the the rear end made the big difference. I did it on hunch that was proven correct. I thought a level ride would compress the distance for the rear suspension to travel when hitting a sharp bump on the pavement.

Worked for me but I have a F350 6.7 TD SuperCrew 4x4 W/8ft box

[franklyfrank]

Originally Posted by gypsydad

I just had my tires rotated this morning at Costco. We looked for the 3" block you mention, and could not find one. I have 2017, F250 4x4 FX4 6.7L King Ranch model, pretty loaded up...it sits up in rear a little, but did not see any block?

My F-250 is a 2017 Lariat Ultimate with PowerStroke Diesel. Got pretty much all the bells and whistles that come with a Platinum the payload is at 2,320 lbs.
The 3" block is hard to miss so it could be part of how you build the truck.
In any event I was relating my particular experience.
I did learn on the Ford Superduty blog that these trucks come with a 3" or an 1.5" block from the factory.

[tjdonahoe]

Originally Posted by olgoat

So I debated for quite some time, making the move from an F-150 to a 3/4" ton truck. Our F-150 3.5EB had more than enough power to pull our AS GT 27FB and it handled the trailer fairly well on low/no wind days. With that said, there were quite a few white knuckle moments and sometimes it felt as though the trailer was driving the truck, especially on windy days.

About 6 weeks ago, we made the move from the F-150 to a F-250. Made a few local trips setting up the hitch and tire pressure monitors, and made a 400+ mile trip this past weekend, in some fairly high quartering and cross winds.

Wow what a difference. The F-250 is a drastic improvement. I never once felt as though the AS was driving the truck. In addition I felt very comfortable driving 65-70mph, something I never felt comfortable with in the F-150. Truck was very stable, the trailer never wandered behind the truck and it has so much torque it just settles into 6th gear and stays there, on all but fairly steep grades.

If you are considering the change, my vote is do it and debate less than I did. You will not regret it. Although I am a Ford guy I am sure GM and Ram 3/4 tons would provide the same upgrades.

Just do it....

yep..the 1/2 is a car....good move

[labans]

I just Love this Forum! Especially the postings about "which truck?" You guys just crack me up with all of the back and forth. So over the years I have culled the arguments to boil down to some simple conclusions:

• If your trailer is 25' or less than 25', a 1/2 ton truck, set up correctly by experienced professionals will suffice in most situations
• If your trailer is larger, then common sense, physics and reality dictate that you should have a 3/4 ton vehicle---also set up by a professional

That is the gist of close to a thousand postings back and forth and back and forth on this forum. And this thread is very good because it provides real-life grit on WHY so many folks turned to 3/4 ton after being perfectly happy with a 1/2 ton.
I just completed a survey in my city of 10 moving companies. All of them have trailers to move furniture and home goods that range from 15' to 25'. Every single company will ONLY use a 3/4 ton or larger truck and they rarely haul more than 5,000 lbs---rarely. Many of them use only 1 ton trucks and one company uses a Kenworth.
All readers take note---there is a reason for this and these folks tow trailers like yours, without WD or sway control every day of the week every week of the year, on rural roads and freeways, from 5 mph to 75 mph---AND---There is a reason they only buy hefty trucks. Which is why I think we have this current thread extolling the virtues of 3/4 ton trucks. I know that there are folks who tow their AS's with BMW SUV's and Porsche SUV's and even Acura SUV's but from all of the postings on this forum, that is the worst case scenario, aside from requiring a very very savvy driver.
Great thread!!!