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

[Grassland]

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.

No doubt the Expedition is the vehicle for you, but it's not an F150 wagon. Too many differences outside of the "cab"

 

[calicamper]

No doubt the Expedition is the vehicle for you, but it's not an F150 wagon. Too many differences outside of the "cab"

If your not hauling lumber or wet messy stinky stuff in the bed of the truck all the time the Expedition is definitely the wagon version of the F150. I haul bee hives in the Expedition and my tools and property management/ repairs etc a bunch. The really messy crap gets utility trailer use. Even if I had a F150 the really messy crap would get trailer duty. No need to mess up the bed of the truck when the cheap trailer is just a better choice.

As for off road both are fat / wide ******** beasts!!! They just can’t fit the places I took my J80 and 07 Sequoia (sequoia and Expedition are near identical length) but the width of the Expedition and F150 is the game ender on trail use. The Expedition is definitely more sure footed in the snow and logging roads over the F150 just due to suspension differences.

Towing heavy F150! For sure
Hauling farm junk F150 for sure (I don’t do farm stuff anymore)

Urban active family that does lots of winter sports, summer hiking, camping and urban property projects the Expedition has been really good.

 

[BikePilot]

FWIW I run a Ram 3500 SRW megacab with the H.O Cummins for family hauling, camping, towing moto bikes around, moving equipment, etc. It has Thuren suspension up front, factor air assist in the back, and 37" tires on 17" wheels. It rides like a dream, gets 20mpg in empty highway cruising, has huge interior legroom and width (3x carseats are no problem in the back), and can tow/haul almost anything. It suits our purposes really well. The ride on modern 1-tons is really pretty decent, and if you bolt on Thuren or Carli goodies it's downright luxurious. It's genuinely not far behind the LR4 at all (and the Rover has killer air suspension). 37s fit without lifting it and are also an important component in the good ride. Don't believe people who say you don't need to re-gear. Can you drive around without re-gearing? Yes. Does it suck and torture the transmission, yes. I re-geared and used that as a good excuse to toss an ARB air locker at it at the same time.

The wife's DD is a LR4 and I have a commuter car for going to work and such. I wouldn't personally be inclined to use a HD diesel for a DD. If the wife wanted a full size to DD it'd likely be a half ton pickup, or 'burb, expedition, Wagoneer, etc. Big diesels are, well, big and kinda clunky for DD use. These things weigh 8500-9k lbs empty and are tall and long. Mine doesn't fit in many parking garages either.

 

[calicamper]

Also not mentioned

The steering gear on the F150 is car style Rack system. The F250 and up run the heavy track bar system that do wear and cost a bit more to rebuild when you get the death wobble issues. Not ideally a daily driver due to maintenance cost, unladen ride quality, size, fuel consumption etc.

The heavy payload F150 is basically an effort to offer a more daily friendly driver with F250 load capacity.

 

[TexasSixSeven]

I’ve always got a new half ton crew cab truck, a new HD truck, and the wife has a 2017 4Runner. I drive a ton. Typically replace my half tons every 24-30 months, my HDs every 4-5 years, and the wife rarely drives so her 17’ 4 Runner we’ve had since new has 70ish thousand miles. I put that on my half tons in a year, and my HDs in 2-3 years. I prefer to drive a HD for everything, but it’s just not cost effective for the majority of my uses. However anytime we go on a road trip we always prefer my HDs, and will always take it regardless of cost. Wife much prefers the ride of it, and I prefer the ride and space offered. We do quite a bit of camping and off pavement exploring on any of our trips, and both of my trucks see a ton of time on nasty West Texas oilfield lease roads. The best thing I ever did for those roads was install a Carli Backcountry level kit. The highway ride was always better on my HDs, but now the off road ride is better than my half ton as well. Much smoother and more compliant. My current truck is an 22’ F250 Tremor with the 7.3. My last HD truck was a 2017 F350 6.7 FX4.

From a long time diesel driver I have been thoroughly impressed with the new 7.3 gasser. Something I haven’t been able to say about any gas HD truck previously. My dad has a 22’ Chevy LTZ with the 6.6 gasser, and while it gets good fuel mileage (for what it is) I’d be driving a Duramax if I was only able to drive a GM.

Since it won’t be used as a daily driver I’d be leaning towards the 250, but don’t overlook the 7.3 gasser. You couldn’t give me one of those old buckboard 7.3s from the 90s and early 2000s. Been there done that. I like a truck that will get out of its own way, and won’t beat you to death while accelerating at the speed of smell. While I’m thoroughly happy with my 7.3 I’m tempted to go back to diesel. A new high output 6.7 has me tempted if I move back to a long bed truck. My only regret with my current truck is that I went short bed just so I could get the Tremor package. Love the Tremor but hate the short bed. Wish they’d offer the crawl control and limited slip front differential on long bed trucks. I miss the bed space and 48 gallon tank of my long bed.

 

[phsycle]

@TexasSixSeven You drive 100k a year?? That’s a LOT of driving!!

Good to hear feedback from someone with a ton of seat time.

 

[TexasSixSeven]

I

@TexasSixSeven You drive 100k a year?? That’s a LOT of driving!!

Good to hear feedback from someone with a ton of seat time.

Ive averaged 85-105K for the last 9 years. That was a drop from the previous 6 years lol I received a new 2012 Chevy 2500 with 75 miles on it in June of 2011. By December of 2012 I turned it back in with 199K miles. Company policy dictated we turn them in at 160K. They ordered my new truck at 150K. I had 199K on by the time my new truck arrived. However that was a VERY unusually busy year, and I was covering the territory of 3 guys.

These days I drive significantly less in the field, but my office is 140 miles from my residence. My drive time is part of my day, and lots of days I work from home. However nothing is out of bounds territory wise for me, and it’s not unusual for me to end up halfway across the country at a moments notice. While I’m allowed to fly for work I typically always choose to drive. It never fails we’ll need something on my truck if I catch a flight. The good news is I’m always on my schedule and their dime. Lots of time fly fishing and creating adventures on the return trip.

 

[givemethewillys]

I’ve always got a new half ton crew cab truck, a new HD truck, and the wife has a 2017 4Runner. I drive a ton. Typically replace my half tons every 24-30 months, my HDs every 4-5 years, and the wife rarely drives so her 17’ 4 Runner we’ve had since new has 70ish thousand miles. I put that on my half tons in a year, and my HDs in 2-3 years. I prefer to drive a HD for everything, but it’s just not cost effective for the majority of my uses. However anytime we go on a road trip we always prefer my HDs, and will always take it regardless of cost. Wife much prefers the ride of it, and I prefer the ride and space offered. We do quite a bit of camping and off pavement exploring on any of our trips, and both of my trucks see a ton of time on nasty West Texas oilfield lease roads. The best thing I ever did for those roads was install a Carli Backcountry level kit. The highway ride was always better on my HDs, but now the off road ride is better than my half ton as well. Much smoother and more compliant. My current truck is an 22’ F250 Tremor with the 7.3. My last HD truck was a 2017 F350 6.7 FX4.

From a long time diesel driver I have been thoroughly impressed with the new 7.3 gasser. Something I haven’t been able to say about any gas HD truck previously. My dad has a 22’ Chevy LTZ with the 6.6 gasser, and while it gets good fuel mileage (for what it is) I’d be driving a Duramax if I was only able to drive a GM.

Since it won’t be used as a daily driver I’d be leaning towards the 250, but don’t overlook the 7.3 gasser. You couldn’t give me one of those old buckboard 7.3s from the 90s and early 2000s. Been there done that. I like a truck that will get out of its own way, and won’t beat you to death while accelerating at the speed of smell. While I’m thoroughly happy with my 7.3 I’m tempted to go back to diesel. A new high output 6.7 has me tempted if I move back to a long bed truck. My only regret with my current truck is that I went short bed just so I could get the Tremor package. Love the Tremor but hate the short bed. Wish they’d offer the crawl control and limited slip front differential on long bed trucks. I miss the bed space and 48 gallon tank of my long bed.

As someone who sounds like they have a lot of experience with full size trucks, do you notice a long bed in real world driving/parking applications over the shortbed? My current f150 supercrew 6.5ft bed truck is perfectly fine parking in most situations, but I'm always leary of getting anything longer, even though I'm tempted. It's probably all of those "turning radius of a bus" comments over the years. I will admit my truck isn't great at u-turns....

 

[Trestle]

Admittedly skipped a lot of this post, but if going Ford would shy away from their diesel unless you plan to swap it out in a few years vs. keeping the vehicle long term. It’s not that they are bad so much as they are complicated and expensive to work on vs. other diesel options. I know many people who when having to do major work on the 6.7 diesel had to pull the entire cab off to get work done. Once chose to do it themselves and not lift the cab, and regretted it in hindsight. Two cooling systems, tight, lots of components, tight, complicated. Stick to their gas engines and be done with it.

Fords with the full four doors tend to have larger cabs than the Rams. That‘s both good and bad. More cab space, but longer truck. I honestly know very little about GM, so can’t comment with any credibility there.

We decided early on that diesel equated to Ram and gas equated to Ford when doing our searches.

As to 1/2 vs. 3/4 vs. 1 ton…some here have already said, though it bears repeating…figure out what you will carry and go from there. Be realistic, and think a few years ahead unless you swap vehicles on the regular.

Good luck.

 

[TexasSixSeven]

I’ve spent a ton of time in downtown Denver, Austin, Dallas, OKC, and Houston for work in both trucks. I prefer driving the long bed almost everywhere, but the city. , However don’t hate it in the city. Ive got a bigger issue with the height of the trucks than I do the length. I’ve almost always got to pay for street parking instead of being able to utilize the customer provided parking garages. All that said it is definitely noticeable, but it’s only a hindrance if your mindset makes it one. Be prepared to walk further, which I do even in my half tons. I almost always park towards the back of parking lots regardless of vehicle. Also get used to backing into parking spots. It’s easier to both get into and out of. IMO the two largest benefits (besides the obvious more bed space), is the larger fuel tanks on the Ford long beds and the long beds tend to ride better than an identically equipped shorter wheelbase truck.

As someone who sounds like they have a lot of experience with full size trucks, do you notice a long bed in real world driving/parking applications over the shortbed? My current f150 supercrew 6.5ft bed truck is perfectly fine parking in most situations, but I'm always leary of getting anything longer, even though I'm tempted. It's probably all of those "turning radius of a bus" comments over the years. I will admit my truck isn't great at u-turns....

 

[Todd780]

As someone who sounds like they have a lot of experience with full size trucks, do you notice a long bed in real world driving/parking applications over the shortbed? My current f150 supercrew 6.5ft bed truck is perfectly fine parking in most situations, but I'm always leary of getting anything longer, even though I'm tempted. It's probably all of those "turning radius of a bus" comments over the years. I will admit my truck isn't great at u-turns....

I have a super crew 6.5 bed as well and can 2nd the turning radius...
As the song goes:

"Give me forty acres and I'll turn this rig around
It's the easiest way that I've found"

Be prepared to walk further, which I do even in my half tons. I almost always park towards the back of parking lots regardless of vehicle. Also get used to backing into parking spots. It’s easier to both get into and out of. IMO the two largest benefits (besides the obvious more bed space), is the larger fuel tanks on the Ford long beds and the long beds tend to ride better than an identically equipped shorter wheelbase truck.

I do this as well. The wife mocks me for it....



But the added benefits are a little more exercise and hopefully fewer door dings.

 

[Buddha.]

I don’t understand peoples fascination with getting the closest parking spot. People will drive around the lot three times to find the closest spot and then go into the gym and walk on the treadmill.

 

[Todd780]

I don’t understand peoples fascination with getting the closest parking spot. People will drive around the lot three times to find the closest spot and then go into the gym and walk on the treadmill.

Yep, or spend 20 mins looking for the closest spot when it would take 2 mins to walk across the parking lot.

 

[B^2]

Admittedly skipped a lot of this post, but if going Ford would shy away from their diesel unless you plan to swap it out in a few years vs. keeping the vehicle long term. It’s not that they are bad so much as they are complicated and expensive to work on vs. other diesel options. I know many people who when having to do major work on the 6.7 diesel had to pull the entire cab off to get work done. Once chose to do it themselves and not lift the cab, and regretted it in hindsight. Two cooling systems, tight, lots of components, tight, complicated. Stick to their gas engines and be done with it.

Fords with the full four doors tend to have larger cabs than the Rams. That‘s both good and bad. More cab space, but longer truck. I honestly know very little about GM, so can’t comment with any credibility there.

We decided early on that diesel equated to Ram and gas equated to Ford when doing our searches.

As to 1/2 vs. 3/4 vs. 1 ton…some here have already said, though it bears repeating…figure out what you will carry and go from there. Be realistic, and think a few years ahead unless you swap vehicles on the regular.

Good luck.

I really like the 7.3 godzilla engine from ford. Basically, I don't envision us towing super frequently plus living in a city, it would take a substantial amount of time for the extra cost of the 6.7 diesel to be worth it. Plus in california, diesel is super expensive right now. The primary goal of the truck would be to get off the beaten path as much as possible, thinking trips to baja, blm camping etc. With that in mind an f-250/f-350 tremor is probably the sweet spot. F-150 will get better gas mileage, be more comfortable since its not a solid axle but will also be limited by its payload so it would rule out a slide in camper which may or may not be in the cards.

 

[calicamper]

I really like the 7.3 godzilla engine from ford. Basically, I don't envision us towing super frequently plus living in a city, it would take a substantial amount of time for the extra cost of the 6.7 diesel to be worth it. Plus in california, diesel is super expensive right now. The primary goal of the truck would be to get off the beaten path as much as possible, thinking trips to baja, blm camping etc. With that in mind an f-250/f-350 tremor is probably the sweet spot. F-150 will get better gas mileage, be more comfortable since its not a solid axle but will also be limited by its payload so it would rule out a slide in camper which may or may not be in the cards.

Contractor buddy replaced his Dodge diesel with a 6ft bed Tremor when the 7.3 just came out. He loves it just added two more 7.3 utility trucks to his contractor business for his guys. This is CA. He runs 35k a yr mileage. I Just saw him last week. Asked if he still liked the truck. Yup said its been flawless, crazy easy to maintain and does everything his old dodge did but for less$ and way quicker