Power Wagon vs F250 Tremor

[PeteEinMT]

I got suckered in 3 times.. 2007 on 35's and Thuren Goodies, 2019 on 35's and 2021 75th on 37's. My 2007 got as good mileage as the others if you can call it good. Roaming around eastern Montana is nerve-racking with the mileage they got. Any hint of wind or even towing a small 5x10 Cargo trailer and I got 8 MPG.... 14 would be a good day with wind behind me and no trailer. Its not so much the mileage its the size of the tank. (Sold my gladiator for the same reason) It really needs a larger tank as it was really more about range than MPG, It just wasn't worth it anymore. I chose gas due to cold weather and easy starts and knowing the PW would get me out of trouble if needed. I sold the PW and got a new F150 Tremor. 36 gallon tank and 15 MPG avg so far running 285/75/18's. Ford really upped the interior and sounds like the SD will get the same treatment next year. I should have kept the 2007... I would do another but would wait for some more fuel efficient options or a combo of larger tank/fuel efficiency.

 

[Todd780]

I got suckered in 3 times.. 2007 on 35's and Thuren Goodies, 2019 on 35's and 2021 75th on 37's. My 2007 got as good mileage as the others if you can call it good. Roaming around eastern Montana is nerve-racking with the mileage they got. Any hint of wind or even towing a small 5x10 Cargo trailer and I got 8 MPG.... 14 would be a good day with wind behind me and no trailer. Its not so much the mileage its the size of the tank. (Sold my gladiator for the same reason) It really needs a larger tank as it was really more about range than MPG, It just wasn't worth it anymore. I chose gas due to cold weather and easy starts and knowing the PW would get me out of trouble if needed. I sold the PW and got a new F150 Tremor. 36 gallon tank and 15 MPG avg so far running 285/75/18's. Ford really upped the interior and sounds like the SD will get the same treatment next year. I should have kept the 2007... I would do another but would wait for some more fuel efficient options or a combo of larger tank/fuel efficiency.

Love the wheel / tire combo on the Gladiator.

Congrats on the Tremor. I really wanted one but Ford doesn't offer them with a 6.5" box or the OnBoard scales.

 

[Tex68w]

I got suckered in 3 times.. 2007 on 35's and Thuren Goodies, 2019 on 35's and 2021 75th on 37's. My 2007 got as good mileage as the others if you can call it good. Roaming around eastern Montana is nerve-racking with the mileage they got. Any hint of wind or even towing a small 5x10 Cargo trailer and I got 8 MPG.... 14 would be a good day with wind behind me and no trailer. Its not so much the mileage its the size of the tank. (Sold my gladiator for the same reason) It really needs a larger tank as it was really more about range than MPG, It just wasn't worth it anymore. I chose gas due to cold weather and easy starts and knowing the PW would get me out of trouble if needed. I sold the PW and got a new F150 Tremor. 36 gallon tank and 15 MPG avg so far running 285/75/18's. Ford really upped the interior and sounds like the SD will get the same treatment next year. I should have kept the 2007... I would do another but would wait for some more fuel efficient options or a combo of larger tank/fuel efficiency.

Nice series of trucks you had there. I too wanted to love the PW but in the end it comes down to the lack of any real payload and the gasser that make it a no go in the long run. I do miss the lockers and disconnecting sway bar though. I would have had a hard time ditching that Gladiator, my father has a nicely built one now and I'd love to have one for a daily or second home run-about.

 

[phsycle]

RE: disconnecting sway bar.

Wonder if Ram’s can be retrofitted like the Wrangler Rubicons. I like that manual option as well.

 

[Tex68w]

RE: disconnecting sway bar.

Wonder if Ram’s can be retrofitted like the Wrangler Rubicons. I like that manual option as well.

Well if you're lucky enough to find one of the units scrapped from a PW then maybe. I have a feeling the intercooler might get in the way of the motor housing though, obviously not an issue if you have a Hemi truck. I would rock a Carli or Thuren Active Rate Swaybar before I went down that road.

 

[Explorerinil]

I remember a post on a forum years ago about a person that put one from a wrecked power wagon on a ram truck, and it think it was a diesel and it might have been this forum. My only issue would be, they aren’t reliable. The one on my 19 power wagon hardly ever worked properly.

 

[montypower]

Get some HD tuned King or Fox shocks. Then ditch the sway bar. Perma disconnect. HAHA

 

[Tex68w]

Get some HD tuned King or Fox shocks. Then ditch the sway bar. Perma disconnect. HAHA

I know a guy with a 3500 who used to be active on this forum that did exactly that 60k miles ago lol. No issues he claims.

 

[UglyViking]

I honestly expect the sway bar isn't nearly as important for most people if you're running tuned 2.5 shocks and don't have a camper or other high heavy load.

 

[montypower]

I honestly expect the sway bar isn't nearly as important for most people if you're running tuned 2.5 shocks and don't have a camper or other high heavy load.

We have suspension (springs and shocks) tuned for our loaded camper weight. No sway bars. It handles extremely predictably and controlled on road. Way way way better off road or any sort of on road variance that requires suspension movement (such as bumps, holes, driveways, etc). Sway bar will actually induce sway when the suspension moves (such as one tire raising or dropping). People don't talk about that... but EVERYONE keep your sway bars and spend money on upgraded versions or bigger ones! HAHA

 

[Tex68w]

The only disadvantage to running no sway bar is in the case of a high speed maneuver on the road, it could lead to a very bad handling scenario or lack thereof.

 

[skrypj]

We have suspension (springs and shocks) tuned for our loaded camper weight. No sway bars. It handles extremely predictably and controlled on road. Way way way better off road or any sort of on road variance that requires suspension movement (such as bumps, holes, driveways, etc). Sway bar will actually induce sway when the suspension moves (such as one tire raising or dropping). People don't talk about that... but EVERYONE keep your sway bars and spend money on upgraded versions or bigger ones! HAHA

IDK about the HD's, but my F150 only came with a front sway bar and that was terrible. I added a Hellwig rear sway bar and the improvement in road manners was extremely dramatic and it actually smoothed the truck out significantly while offroad. Now that that rear axle has some resistance, it can fight the front swaybar from tossing the truck side to side over bumps and it keeps the truck way flatter when articulating.

I guess my point is, its a balance. If your truck only has a front bar then adding a rear bar can improve things all around.

That said, when I do offroad my F150, I do remove one end link on the front bar. It takes all of 3 minutes to do it with an 18mm socket. I have not tried it with the new rear bar yet to say if the rear bar helps or hurts with the front disconnected.