Would love your help deciding and hear opinions.. Medium or big!!

[Skinhyfish]

I just recently sold my 7.3 diesel and up for a new truck. Going new and trucks are so different now then back then. The diesel was great and had its advantages, but also disadvantages. Cold weather it started, but slow going. Stinky and loud. Maintenance more and bigger fixes. Lady and I are going gas route, but curious what size. Ford Dealership is offering lifetime warranty with purchase of new truck and that has choosing hard over a toyota. Our descion is based off what truck. Ford f150 v8 vs f250 6.2 gas. Gas is just a better advantage for us in winter and cold weather camping. We have a FWC and will tow occasional trailer( raft trailer/hunting boat). Curious what people have chose and why. I will list what is on our thoughts or concern, love to hear from the experts on here.

Is f150 enough or go bigger?

1 Enough power for mountain driving.
2 Offroad or clearance.. not rock crawling, just getting off roads to hidden spots
3 Gas milage
4 maybe flatbed upgrade down road
5 Price...5000 difference

Love o hear what you all chose.

 

[XJLI]

If you plan on doing a lot of time with the FWC in the truck, get the 250. MPG loaded up won't be measurably different between the two. Oh, you want to do a flatbed one day? Don't even think about the 150. Only reason to get the 1/2 ton is if you daily drive it empty more often.

 

[Rippin'AV]

I was in the same situation (I don't have a FWC but do need towing capacity and heavy payload capacity) and I was at first leaning towards the 6.2L F250. That is an amazing truck. Only issue was the overall size of it. Hard to imaging getting into and out of tight spots with the F250. I daily drive my F150 and am so happy with it. I ended up with the F150 V8 but added the extra 36 gal. fuel tank, heavy payload pkg, rear locker, etc. and am absolutely amazed with this truck off-road. I manage hillside vineyards and also do Search & Rescue so I have pushed this thing way beyond most common situations and walk away impressed after each adventure. The cabins are identical between the F150-F250 so no compromise with comfort and space there, just outer footprint and size are reduced in the F150. To me that is a benefit in real-world circumstances. I feel the F150 would perform better offroad than the F250 with a more nimble & lighter truck but I've never taken an F250 off-road. If towing is your main hangup; the F150 can "physically" tow a 10,000# trailer, I've maxed it out on one big haul...so I know it can "physically handle it" but the transmission wasn't particularly happy about it on the inclines so I wouldn't recommend it. It has no issues pulling 8,000# all day long. If you think you'll need to tow upwards of 9,000#-10,000# regularly, I'd trade up to the F250. If you'll be within the range of the F150's tow ratings, then it will handle it with ease. Regardless of the marketing hype, I'm not a fan of the EcoBoost options. I've been very happy with the V8.

Good luck with your search.

Just my $0.02...

 

[hemifoot]

i went shortbox ram 2500.had the f150.it's ok for the occasional offroad excursion but that's about it.the parts wear is no comparison to an hd truck.i'm on my 8th truck now.shortbox heavy duty crewcabs are my go to trucks from here on.i could care less about gas mileage.it's a truck.

 

[Todd780]

If you're thinking about a camper I would say 3/4 ton. If it was just occasional towing, depending on trailer weight I'd say 1/2 ton.

 

[rayra]

how many bodies / animals / how much gear. What you're hauling is the more important question, IMAO.

 

[Rovertrader]

Well, I DD my 150 w/ 5.0 (also not a fan of Ecoboost) 4x4, locker, 36 gal tank, HD payload, etc and it is very comfortable and decent tow rig under 8k. By contrast I have the 6.2 F-350 4x4 w/ Icon 2” stage 4, and it is a great tow rig!
For your application, having the FWC and possibly towing simultaneously, I would go 350 and have a safety margin built in. As said above, what kind of weight makes all the difference- but for just a few more dollars you never have to worry about ‘what if’, weight, etc...

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Really it depends on how much weight you want to carry or tow and how often you will be doing it.

You can get the F150 with the heavy duty payload package. It will probably do what you want, the trade off is durability. A F250 will certainly do the job, but will cost more in fuel and it has a craptastic ride when empty.


If it were me, I'd wait until the 2020's come out and get the F250 with the 6.2 and 10 speed. Plenty of power and more efficient than its 6 speed predecessor. It you are feeling froggy, you can opt for the 7.3 gasser and have all kinds of pulling power.

 

[ITTOG]

This past July I went from an 07 tundra with 5.7 to the F150 3.5 eco hd tow. While it had plenty of torque and power the eco is a horrible engine to tow with. Has mileage will drop from over 20 to about 10 with a 1,600 pound 6x12 cargo trailer at 70. Unbelievable drop and it sounds like it is over revving. It is so bad a prefer to tow with the tundra. It gets over 14 mpg towing the trailer. I wish I would have bought the 5.0.

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[Deleted member 9101]

This past July I went from an 07 tundra with 5.7 to the F150 3.5 eco hd tow. While it had plenty of torque and power the eco is a horrible engine to tow with. Has mileage will drop from over 20 to about 10 with a 1,600 pound 6x12 cargo trailer at 70. Unbelievable drop and it sounds like it is over revving. It is so bad a prefer to tow with the tundra. It gets over 14 mpg towing the trailer. I wish I would have bought the 5.0.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Change your plugs and gap them to .030. Get either the Motorcraft plugs... or NGK (they make the Motorcraft plugs). The EcoBoost is obnoxiously sensitive to spark plug gap, especially under load.

Also, drop in a Napa Gold air filter. Its pleats are very deep and it flows much better than the OEM.

Those two things might help ya some. If not, call BCB and get a Highlander/Megiver tune for it and you'll be grinning from ear to ear.

 

[04Ram2500Hemi]

I’d rather have more truck than I need than the other way around. If you’re debating on the F150 being enough, I’d say the answer is no.

 

[jadmt]

I’d rather have more truck than I need than the other way around. If you’re debating on the F150 being enough, I’d say the answer is no.

yes always go bigger it is like tires when people are trying to decide between 33's and 35's or 35's and 37's always go bigger.

 

[Skinhyfish]

Thanks guys for the replies... leaning towards the 250... wish I could wait till 2020 was here!!! wonder how much gas the 10 speed will save. I just want to jump on offer for lifetime warranty right now.

Really it depends on how much weight you want to carry or tow and how often you will be doing it.

You can get the F150 with the heavy duty payload package. It will probably do what you want, the trade off is durability. A F250 will certainly do the job, but will cost more in fuel and it has a craptastic ride when empty.


If it were me, I'd wait until the 2020's come out and get the F250 with the 6.2 and 10 speed. Plenty of power and more efficient than its 6 speed predecessor. It you are feeling froggy, you can opt for the 7.3 gasser and have all kinds of pulling power.

 

[D45]

Skip the Eco for sure.........get a V8

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Skip the Eco for sure.........get a V8

I've have the 2.7 in my personal truck and have had the 3.5 and 5.0 in work trucks. I'll take an EcoBoost 100% of the time over the V8.