Is an F250 6.2 V8 Gas Reliable Enough?

[dole]

I'm trying to settle on a truck to carry a slide in cabover camper which I will live out of full time. I'm a Toyota guy because of their reliability and thought I could get away with a 2nd gen Tundra, but at 1,395 lb. payload capacity, full time living supplies are guaranteed to put me way over capacity.

I have about a $28k budget for the truck itself (not including camper) and for some reason Chevy's are far more expensive than Ford's so I'm considering a 2011+ F-250 with the 6.2 V8 gas engine because from all my hours of reading it seems to be what people deem the most reliable heavy duty Ford gas engine. My budget would get me one with about 150,000 miles.

I will have no home besides the truck camper, no second vehicle, and no one to come save me if things go wrong.

I will be in town working full time during the week and off in the mountains or desert during the weekends, so I don't want a diesel since I'll mostly be doing short drives and prefer the lower maintenance/fuel costs, and won't ever tow anything. But because this will be my only home and only vehicle that I will rely on to show up to work and get me out of the mountains, reliability is a huge requirement.

Can anyone with experience with these trucks chime in and help me determine if they are truly reliable enough to depend on this much? I don't know if I'm just reading fanboys posts on the Ford forums of if the 6.2 really is that reliable.

Or, should I be looking at a different truck altogether? Or should I just overload the Tundra?

Thank you!

 

[MR. ED]

From what I've gathered they're pretty bombproof. Thirsty, but reliable. I originally wanted a Tundra, but the MPG vs. payload led me to the Ford. Mine is a '14 350 xtra cab short bed with 4:30 gears. Got it 4 years ago with 30k miles and have 8?,??? on it now with no problems. I bought it because it was supposed to have the 3:73 gears for better MPG. After checking the VIN I discovered it was 4:30. I got a Bilstein deal with new springs and shocks for cheap. Think they were for a diesel because it popped it up more than the advertised 2-2.5 inches. Planning on a Buckstop bumper and winch to push the front end down a little. I had E rated tires on it before and it was a bit harsh. Put on some C/D rated 35's and run them with about 40 pounds +/- depending on what I'm doing and it's a little better.
I would never want to keep throwing money at a Tundra to make it more able to carry weight when I can get it stock from the factory. I love Toyota's as much as everyone on here but,.......
Good luck and happy truck hunting

 

[twodollars]

I got my 2015 f250 used with 45k on it a year ago. I've had to replace the driver side exhaust manifold, had a crack most of the way around the body of the manifold. Other issue I've been chasing is misfire codes on cyl 4 and 7. I've read a crank sensor position learn will correct this. Tryimg to get that done this week. Mine has 3.73s, and tows my 7k trailer easily. Until the misfire codes set. Then it feels like my wife's 5.4.

 

[IdaSHO]

140k on ours now.

I routinely wring its neck on our steep Idaho grades.
5500 RPM & pinned to the floor doesn't seem to bother it.

Coming from a diesel, I'm (still) adjusting to the high RPM it's designed for.
But it is a work horse, and never complains, only asks for more fuel.

 

[Tex68w]

It's one of the most reliable motors that Ford has ever put out. Like others have already said, it's thirsty but it works and there's lots of them out there for parts. Watch out for cracked manifolds, that's its most common failure.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Fleets run them for hundreds of thousands of miles with little to no maintenance. They are on damn near every job site and no shortage of landscape companies run them. It can be run low on oil, low on coolant, at WOT and not flinch. You literally have to try to kill a 6.2.

If you manage to break one...parts are very easy to get and they are also in pick -n-pull yards.

Two things to know:

1. It can be thirsty, but no worse than any other V8 moving that much weight.

2. They like to rev. Don't lug it, drop a gear and let it spin.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Everybody keeps talking about the 6.2 drinking gas... The 6.2/6 speed at my office gets the same MPG as either one of my Tundra's.

 

[Explorerinil]

Everybody keeps talking about the 6.2 drinking gas... The 6.2/6 speed at my office gets the same MPG as either one of my Tundra's.

Yeah they are all about the same as far as fuel economy really. People say the 7.3 gas is bad on fuel, but it gets roughly the same fuel economy as a friends older half ton Chevy.

 

[Chorky]

Everybody keeps talking about the 6.2 drinking gas... The 6.2/6 speed at my office gets the same MPG as either one of my Tundra's.

What would that mpg be by chance? 13?

 

[tacollie]

We went from an overloaded 08' 5.7L Tundra to a 6.2L Ford last December. Both trucks with the camper get around 12mpgs but the Ford's tires are 2.5 inches taller. I don't drive for mpgs.

Unloaded I think the Tundra may be more "reliable" but over loaded is very different. Being overloaded is going to tax the transmission, drivetrain, and cooling system. Especially when you are overloaded all the time. You also need to factor in a suspension upgrade to a Tundra. Leafs, air bags, and rear sway bar.

Our truck has 90k miles and over 2200 idle hours. It's no spring chicken but is never misses a beat. The 6.2 and the 6r140 that would be in the 11' are a pretty solid combo.

 

[BajaSurfRig]

@dole I have a 2014 F250 6.2 with 85k trouble free miles so far. Just for a reference point I bought it with 73k miles on it for $25k. There is an electrical harness attached to the e-brake pedal that can cause some funky issues if the pedal is being let go of and slamming back up. I snipped the connector holding the harness to the pedal and zip tied the harness up out of the way. Since then no issues. I get around 11-14 mpg with my 4WC camper on the back.

 

[Ninelitetrip]

Here is a good example on the forum along with IdaSHO of what can be done with a 6.2. Ask him.

2020 Ford F250 on 37s - Expedition Truck Camper Build!

Introducing our brand new 2020 Ford F250 XL 4x4 Super Cab that we named "DONKI" our noble steed! This truck replaces our 2019 F250 XL Crew Cab 4x4 truck that we purchased in December 2019. It is extremely similar but shorter! It has the 148" wheelbase vs the 160" wheelbase and the total...

expeditionportal.com

 

[Trixxx]

The 6.2 is a great engine. I’d pick one up in a hear beat if looking for full sized gas.
Of course, I think the new 7.3 will be as legendary, just not as tried and true, yet.

 

[calicamper]

It's one of the most reliable motors that Ford has ever put out. Like others have already said, it's thirsty but it works and there's lots of them out there for parts. Watch out for cracked manifolds, that's its most common failure.

Likely a side effect of towing hard hammer down its not my truck style of use?

 

[dole]

@BajaSurfRig great info, thanks! i had abandoned caring about mpg due to the nature of the build, but 11-14 mpg is pretty good sounding. i didn't think i'd even see 10 mpg haha