18 replies to this topic

[Machinebuilder]

Pods, I am going to step away from this discussion with this.

 

having spent the last couple years following super duty's on Ford Truck Enthusiasts, the common discussion is that higher ratio gears are worth 1/2 to 1 mpg.

 

With the majority of trucks being higher trim levels with much higher prices for them chasing that small a difference is the billionaire chasing penny's on a busy road.

 

Mine is an XL with the only "luxury" option of Sync3 it still cost me $50K

[pods8]

Pods, I am going to step away from this discussion with this.

 

having spent the last couple years following super duty's on Ford Truck Enthusiasts, the common discussion is that higher ratio gears are worth 1/2 to 1 mpg.

 

With the majority of trucks being higher trim levels with much higher prices for them chasing that small a difference is the billionaire chasing penny's on a busy road.

 

Mine is an XL with the only "luxury" option of Sync3 it still cost me $50K

 

Fair enough, there is a snowball effect to the if it cost $X what's a bit more, esp. when ordering options. Like I said not arguing, I went back and forth a bunch mentally, currently my order is in with 3.73's but I could likely change to 4.3's. If it wasn't a 10speed I'd absolutely get the 4.3's, still just not sure I gain anything in my usage is all. IE why give up that 1/2-1mpg if I'm not towing 15k+ fifth wheels was my 51/49 mental split at the moment.

 

Yeah I hear you I had no desire in my mind to order a new vehicle in my typical financial planning however the used truck market is so very screwed up right now, those 3yr old 25% depreciated trucks don't exist anymore, they're priced higher than I was able to order one for. It'll be a LONG wait and it might not get build but feel like I did about the best I could given the market place right now. Ordered a F350 lariat, value package, black appearance (gets LED lighting most affordably), skid plates, 5th prep, heated rear seats, etc. msrp $69k, negotiated for $63.7k if ford builds it. That's after ~$2500 in msrp price increases that have already rolled out in Dec and Feb on the 22's which cost me some money not having decided to order earlier.

[BBZ]

We have a 2016 F150 supercab 8 foot bed XLT HDPP for our Grandby Shell (plus a few items, furnace, king bed, some cabinets, 1250 lbs when ready to hit the road). Our payload is 2611 lbs.. 5.0 motor

 

My 2 cents..

 

Its perfect (for us).  We use our truck for work and play and I test drove an F250 and simply hated it, too tall, too stiff, just an uncomfortable ride.   

 

I found a HDPP used and jumped on it. (often used dealers have no idea its a HDPP truck, which was the case and I stole it). 

 

We just did a 5200 mile round trip from Colorado to Baja and back.. averaged 15 mpg for the whole trip.. Truck gets around 18-19 in daily mixed driving. 

 

Not once did I feel underpowered or under trucked. We hit plenty of rough roads and got to some remote places. 

 

We took the back seats out and built a platform for the dogs and storage underneath. 

 

I did add airbags, but mostly for leveling, my truck and camper are both heavier on the drivers side.. 

 

We sit right around 2000 lbs when traveling if we have all the toys and dogs.. plenty of extra..

[Stokeme]

Back in internet range. I am glad to see other posts about payload with their F-150. I’ll vent here to say if u own a F-150 … it does not mean you are “running things at 90+% of their capacity.” My door sticker payload is 2373lbs. My 2018 Ford brochure (says 2700lbs payload) states my GVWR is 7850lbs. I have an enhanced Shell when wet & loaded (dry 1150 ) runs 1350lbs. So, 56% of my payload is in the rear. My wife & I, combined w/gear in SuperCab, depending on trip duration, runs at max 450lbs, or 19%, up front. Our max payload total is 1800lbs. We are never over 75% of payload, often less. That weight is spread out over our 20’ truck length. The Camper does make our ride smoother by depressing the springs a bit.
I wanted light & nimble for a Grandby. (That’s a joke) I have always been into light since backpacking days. With my 3 kids, & separately w/fishing buddies, I’d bring the kitchen sink. After driving a friend’s EccoBoost 3.5L, that was the engine for me. N/A on the 250, it actually has more torque than V8, 470 vs 430, & nearly the same HP, 375 vs 385. With a comparatively lighter vehicle I cruise up passes. Now retired I like being lighter, still w/plenty, but with less clutter, less in the way. The MPG is a plus but just part of the overall consideration.
When my new dry Camper was loaded onto my truck at FWC, I asked the tech what he thought. He showed me how little it had compressed my springs, my bump stop still had a ton of space. With the HD pkg you get an extra leaf spring. My towing capacity for my mini kayaks trailer or 15’ Klamath aluminum w/trailer is enormous.
It all comes down to weight vs payload, individual preference & comfort. Different strokes for everyone’s unique situation.
I planned thoroughly to be weight efficient. As mentioned previously, a built out factory FWC probably requires a F-250

Edited by Stokeme, 14 April 2022 - 03:08 PM.

[pods8]

 After driving a friend’s EccoBoost 3.5L, that was the engine for me. N/A on the 250, it actually has more torque than V8, 470 vs 430, & nearly the same HP, 375 vs 385. With a comparatively lighter vehicle I cruise up passes.

 

 

Have the 3.5eco boost in our expedition, its nice and zippy. Pulls a trailer quite well too, it had to work for it to climb up to the Eisenhower tunnel out of Silverthorne to hold full speed with the trailer and in the future I think I'd go more mellow but I wanted to see if it could. Glad to hear the eco w/ truck camper cruises nicely, my 5.7hemi with the 5 speed trans has annoyed me for years on that same climb with a FWC in the back, 2nd-3rd gear is too large. ANYWAYS, you're referencing the 6.2L numbers above, I don't think I'd have been as inclined to get a superduty if the 6.2L was the only offering (also in F250 its only available with the 6speed, have to get a F350 for the 10speed with the 6.2). The 7.3 is 430hp and 475lb of torque but more importantly its torque curve is much better in the lower rpms than traditional designs. The fast lane did a test run up that same climb I mentioned before and it held full speed with a much heavier trailer, that really help sell me on the 7.3.   With family 5 eating up payload I'll be in the larger truck category for a while, while the higher F150 payload sounds like it works well with FWC (which is nice), it struggles a bit (as does my expedition) with travel trailers in wind (even with the very nice hitches, and I don't mean equalizer or such) I've read/talked which many about it while trying to get my expedition as good as it could get for now with the trailer. Just random extra chatter for the conversation.

[DarinH]

Since the truck won’t be your daily driver, I’d highly recommend the Superduty with the 7.3 l gas. You’ll have payload capacity to spare,and get around 11 - 12 mpg on the highway with camper, and power to spare. You wont get any better loaded mileage than that with any of the F150 engine choices, and you’ll be near max payload. If you were using the F150 as your daily driver, it might be worth the sacrifice to be maxed out on your payload capacity, but if your getting the truck primarily for hauling the camper your better off with the bigger truck. I have a Granby in my 7.3 l gas Superduty and get around 11.5 mpg.

[BBZ]

Since the truck won’t be your daily driver, I’d highly recommend the Superduty with the 7.3 l gas. You’ll have payload capacity to spare,and get around 11 - 12 mpg on the highway with camper, and power to spare. You wont get any better loaded mileage than that with any of the F150 engine choices, and you’ll be near max payload. If you were using the F150 as your daily driver, it might be worth the sacrifice to be maxed out on your payload capacity, but if your getting the truck primarily for hauling the camper your better off with the bigger truck. I have a Granby in my 7.3 l gas Superduty and get around 11.5 mpg.

That is completely inaccurate information in regards to the f150 MPG.. we consistently get 16-17 with a full load on our F150 5.0 HDPP..  I am not sure you if you missed the point about the heavy duty payload, ours is 2611 lbs.. plenty to spare when loaded for us..

[DarinH]

That is completely inaccurate information in regards to the f150 MPG.. we consistently get 16-17 with a full load on our F150 5.0 HDPP.. I am not sure you if you missed the point about the heavy duty payload, ours is 2611 lbs.. plenty to spare when loaded for us..

That wasn’t my experience when I had a F150 with a 5.0, although I loved the truck and the 5.0 engine. If I got the mileage your getting I would have kept it. My comment was based on my personal experiences with both trucks. Congratulations on getting 16 mpg.

[BBZ]

That wasn’t my experience when I had a F150 with a 5.0, although I loved the truck and the 5.0 engine. If I got the mileage your getting I would have kept it. My comment was based on my personal experiences with both trucks. Congratulations on getting 16 mpg.

hmm.. weird.. second 5.0 that has hauled a camper and both produced same numbers (actually a little better in the older one (2014) but it wasn't HDPP so the rear axle ratio was different I believe.