1/2 Ton vs 3/4 Ton for Family Adventures?

[Tex68w]

I went 3500 this time after four F250's and a RAM 2500. In stock form they definitely ride rougher but the payload peace of mind is well worth it and a quality aftermarket lift from Thuren or Carli will take 75% of the harshness out of the ride while not compromising the payload. Here in Texas there are no extra charges on tax/registration/insurance for a one-ton for personal use.

 

[B^2]

I went 3500 this time after four F250's and a RAM 2500. In stock form they definitely ride rougher but the payload peace of mind is well worth it and a quality aftermarket lift from Thuren or Carli will take 75% of the harshness out of the ride while not compromising the payload. Here in Texas there are no extra charges on tax/registration/insurance for a one-ton for personal use.

I could see on the ram2500 how that makes sense since it's coil sprung in the rear. I guess my biggest concern on f-250/f-350 is having a harsher ride driving around town unloaded. In an ideal scenario it would have a full carli set up but that's not in the cards right away. If the truck isn't comfortable the wife and kid(s) then they won't want to ride in it and I'm not going to get to take advantage of the vehicle in the first place. I'd love a slide in camper like a lance but then again probably not in the cards for at least another 2-3 years.

 

[ripperj]

my buddy just got a new F250 lariat with 7.3 and his payload sticker is 3330. it is a sweet truck. I love the drivetrain compared to my 2020 ram with 6.4. mine rides smoother ride wise and would be more comfortable on a long trip but that 7.3 is noticeably more powerful. he has a wb micro mini 2108ds and said his 1500 with 5.7 did ok pulling it. he goes south for a month or two and said if he were just pulling it locally he would not have really needed to upgrade.

It’s funny how these things cycle through the years(some is definitely driver preference)
When I bought my 2012 Ram 2500 I drove lots of trucks . The Fords all drove like tanks with no suspension . They did( in both the 250/350) have hundreds of pounds more payload capacity than the Rams I could find, so made sense at the time.

At the time I had a Popup and didn’t need the extra load capacity , so I went with Ram.

This time around I just stuck with what I know and got a Ram 3500 CC LB 4x4 Hemi with 4250ish payload. So far I love the 8 speed transmission.



Sounds like I better not ride in my buddies new 350


Back on topic, even in todays market , in the northeast, it’s easier to find a new HD truck cheaper than a 150/1500
The HD are often work truck spec’s,vice a fully optioned 1500 with back massager and heated hat warmers


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[eyemgh]

I could see on the ram2500 how that makes sense since it's coil sprung in the rear. I guess my biggest concern on f-250/f-350 is having a harsher ride driving around town unloaded. In an ideal scenario it would have a full carli set up but that's not in the cards right away. If the truck isn't comfortable the wife and kid(s) then they won't want to ride in it and I'm not going to get to take advantage of the vehicle in the first place. I'd love a slide in camper like a lance but then again probably not in the cards for at least another 2-3 years.

It's hard to have it both ways. I'm getting a Pintop system installed on Monday. In order to have it ride well camper on, which it'll have 99.999% of the time, it'll have to ride poorly if I take it off.

If it's going to be on and off and you want it to ride it as well as it can in both scenarios, it'll have to have bags, but then it'll be suboptimal with the camper on.

 

[Tex68w]

The only time I find it still harsh is below 15mph over really bad roads. At speeds in excess of that it rides better than my buddies stock Tacoma, we both agreed.

 

[tatanka48]

with this being a year old thread i started not to read it thru butt ...

early on in the thread B^2 you mentioned looking at/for a used 7.3 diesel(2002 or older)

i can strongly recommend that engine/vehicle

my 2002 F-350 srw 4-door 4x4 w/ an 8' bed has over 365k miles on it and no major engine work has ever been needed

the transmission was replaced @ about 200k

butt other than that it's been nuthing butt normal wear n tear stuff like water pump fuel filter/pump alternator U-joints brake shoes/pads and front hub bearings and other auxiliary stuff

so far only replaced 3 out of 8 injectors

add to those expenses batteries and tires...

since it was paid off it has cost me less than 3 month's worth of car payments in any one year usually averaging just over one month's payment

once that sets in you can realize the savings over buying a new/newer 1/2-ton unit for $65k+++

350's can usually be had for less than 250's because most folks ass-u-me the 250 will ride easier

KNOT SEW !!!

in the following picture you will see 6 leaves of the rear leaf spring system in my F-350



the middle 4 are what the empty truck rides on day in n day out

as weight/load gets added and the center 4 begin to flatten out absorbing the weight the other 2 come into play making the ride go frum what i call a heavy 1/2-ton ride to being able to hande a 1-ton load

those 4 in the midde are the same as on a 3/4-ton F-250

over the years i have had Wranglers and Cherokees while the bridal unit has an Accord

when asked the bridal unit always chooses the F-350 to travel in whether empty or any level of loaded

we both finish up a day's worth of miles(up to 800 miles) feeling better for it

B^2 you aso mentioned a short bed ... for what you've listed so far that is probably a good idea

the long wheel based PU's wont make the tight turns that a short one will

butt if you ever see a gooseneck/5th wheel/travel trailer of any kind in your drive way the 8' bed will be a better choice

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR QUEST

"T"

 

[B^2]

with this being a year old thread i started not to read it thru butt ...

early on in the thread B^2 you mentioned looking at/for a used 7.3 diesel(2002 or older)

i can strongly recommend that engine/vehicle

my 2002 F-350 srw 4-door 4x4 w/ an 8' bed has over 365k miles on it and no major engine work has ever been needed

the transmission was replaced @ about 200k

butt other than that it's been nuthing butt normal wear n tear stuff like water pump fuel filter/pump alternator U-joints brake shoes/pads and front hub bearings and other auxiliary stuff

so far only replaced 3 out of 8 injectors

add to those expenses batteries and tires...

since it was paid off it has cost me less than 3 month's worth of car payments in any one year usually averaging just over one month's payment

once that sets in you can realize the savings over buying a new/newer 1/2-ton unit for $65k+++

350's can usually be had for less than 250's because most folks ass-u-me the 250 will ride easier

KNOT SEW !!!

in the following picture you will see 6 leaves of the rear leaf spring system in my F-350

View attachment 703076

the middle 4 are what the empty truck rides on day in n day out

as weight/load gets added and the center 4 begin to flatten out absorbing the weight the other 2 come into play making the ride go frum what i call a heavy 1/2-ton ride to being able to hande a 1-ton load

those 4 in the midde are the same as on a 3/4-ton F-250

over the years i have had Wranglers and Cherokees while the bridal unit has an Accord

when asked the bridal unit always chooses the F-350 to travel in whether empty or any level of loaded

we both finish up a day's worth of miles(up to 800 miles) feeling better for it

B^2 you aso mentioned a short bed ... for what you've listed so far that is probably a good idea

the long wheel based PU's wont make the tight turns that a short one will

butt if you ever see a gooseneck/5th wheel/travel trailer of any kind in your drive way the 8' bed will be a better choice

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR QUEST

"T"

I still love the 7.3L diesel ford motor but the idea of having a leaf sprung front end isn't worth it for me. I need something that the wife won't hate to ride in and to do a coil sprung front swap is probably more money than I care to dump into a truck that old.

 

[jadmt]

Are you sure? My 250 Lariat Tremor stickers out at 2970lbs.

ok I will get this right yet eventually lol.

 

[B^2]

For those of you who have 3500's or f-250/f-350, how much weight do you have to have in the back for the ride to not be as harsh. While I aspire to having some kind of camper whether it be a Lance or a FWC type, it's unlikely that I'd have it on there permanently. I live in a fairly urban environment in California so driving around all the time with a full camper just isn't going to happen. When I had a midsize truck, I had a ARE CX HD cap with a rhino rack platform on it but I wonder if that's not enough weight for a full size truck.

 

[eyemgh]

For those of you who have 3500's or f-250/f-350, how much weight do you have to have in the back for the ride to not be as harsh. While I aspire to having some kind of camper whether it be a Lance or a FWC type, it's unlikely that I'd have it on there permanently. I live in a fairly urban environment in California so driving around all the time with a full camper just isn't going to happen. When I had a midsize truck, I had a ARE CX HD cap with a rhino rack platform on it but I wonder if that's not enough weight for a full size truck.

My camper lives in the truck full time. I have Deaver XXHD leaf springs and it rides great. It's 10,000 lbs on the nose.

That said, if the weight is only going to be in the truck rarely, bags are the answer. It won't ride as well as a progressive spring pack loaded, but the pack I have would ride very poorly unweighted. You don't want that to be your everyday ride.

 

[givemethewillys]

For those of you who have 3500's or f-250/f-350, how much weight do you have to have in the back for the ride to not be as harsh. While I aspire to having some kind of camper whether it be a Lance or a FWC type, it's unlikely that I'd have it on there permanently. I live in a fairly urban environment in California so driving around all the time with a full camper just isn't going to happen. When I had a midsize truck, I had a ARE CX HD cap with a rhino rack platform on it but I wonder if that's not enough weight for a full size truck.

My last truck was a 2005 f250, with the HD overload springs. I daily drove it 55 miles round trip, and never once thought the ride was "harsh". I had a Honda civic that rode worse actually.

I'm sure the spring tech is better than my old 2005, so I wouldn't worry too much about the harshness. Have you test driven one?

 

[B^2]

My camper lives in the truck full time. I have Deaver XXHD leaf springs and it rides great. It's 10,000 lbs on the nose.

That said, if the weight is only going to be in the truck rarely, bags are the answer. It won't ride as well as a progressive spring pack loaded, but the pack I have would ride very poorly unweighted. You don't want that to be your everyday ride.

I'm sure I'd mostly be fine with it but with the wife, two kids and the dog in the truck I could see a bumpy ride being an issue. Ideally, I'd like to really use the truck to get off the grid for trips to baja or weekend camping and I feel like the f-250/f-350 is going to be more burly.

 

[Buddha.]

I think the ride quality thing is overblown.

I went from a chevy 2500, to a Ranger, back to a 2500. I didn’t like the ride of the Ranger, too soft. It was probably better off road though? Not sure. I just didn’t like the extra body roll and the like.

The only time I hated the ride of the 3/4 ton is when I pulled something in my back and my 45 min commute was brutal.

 

[tacollie]

For those of you who have 3500's or f-250/f-350, how much weight do you have to have in the back for the ride to not be as harsh. While I aspire to having some kind of camper whether it be a Lance or a FWC type, it's unlikely that I'd have it on there permanently. I live in a fairly urban environment in California so driving around all the time with a full camper just isn't going to happen. When I had a midsize truck, I had a ARE CX HD cap with a rhino rack platform on it but I wonder if that's not enough weight for a full size truck.

When I pull the camper I drop 10 psi from the rear tires. It makes a big improvement in the ride and handling.

 

[calicamper]

How many kids are you going to have? Grand parent hauling? I went from a Subaru- to a J80 to a Sequoia and now have a heavy tow pack Expedition. The Expedition ie wagon version of the F150. It’s shorter than the F150 which has been really nice. We consistently average 1-2mpg less than our 2.5I Subaru Outback😳. I wanted a F150 but honestly the Expedition has been the right vehicle. Hands down my favorite.

We are 2kids- 2 parents- grandparents in the vehicle seating mix often and two dogs.

Past 13yrs our camping rig us the original Lifetime 4x6 tent / utility trailer. Might pick up a Winnebago Hike 100 1316sb for some future big bear northern National Park trips.