2012 F-350 - First Impressions

[Diamondpilot]

I see. It just had me curious. I noticed the pic of the narrow road with the steep incline/decline. How do the 1/2 tons do stopping that load vs the 3/4 or 1 tons? It seems they would be "pushed" a little more. Where I tow, it is mostly flat with some gentle hills, nothing steep by any means. The furthest I have been from home is Atlanta with a trailer.

This whole 1/2 ton 3/4 ton thing is a real wash now days in my eyes when it comes to chassis and brakes. Yes, the diesel option, larger tranny, and heavier axles and suspension come into play but I can see no real difference in braking. Just put the auto tranny in 1st gear and keep the speed 15 mph or so. I would guess that grade is near 30% You go up it in 4 low. Its so steep you just about cant walk up it, you must use a zig zag pattern.

Chris

 

[jeffsw6]

dp, for road use, do your DMAX buddies have anything to say about the engine braking with the new turbo? It's one of those things that looks good on paper but I haven't driven one.

 

[Diamondpilot]

dp, for road use, do your DMAX buddies have anything to say about the engine braking with the new turbo? It's one of those things that looks good on paper but I haven't driven one.

The newest Dmax in our group is a 08 and the most he tows is 7,000#. Most are 06 and 07 classic models and as you know they had a Variable Vane Turbo much like Ford had in the 6.0L and after which was a major improvement over the old waste gate setup. They tow between 9,000 and 12,000# so no real big loads for these guys to really see the difference.

Sorry, no real help.

Admittingly though the Dmax guys have very few complaints over the motor. I did not either on my 05 I had for 9 months. Some of us have or had Glow Plug issues and Injectors stuff but all in all the motor has been good. Tranny leaks, transfer case failures, GM paint jobs, interior parts, and typical GM nickle and dime stuff are most common issues like carrier bearings and U joints. This seems to be the trend among all GM products to me. For the most part the motors and trannys are as good as any, its the other stuff that is frustrating.

Chris

 

[BXinNH]

I can't speak to the Chevy/Duramax engine brake but I have a 2012 Ram 3500 with the Cummins and the engine brake is awesome. I haven't towed too much with it yet but if I shift the auto trans down manually when stopping I hardly use the brakes at all. It has more power than I can use. So far a great truck.
Matt.

 

[sparc]

You don't want the standard 12v socket on your truck? Its taken 25 years to get more than 1 of the things on a vehicle, I say don't mess with it.

You are right, it took too long for that to happen, but it happened so late that its out of date. I'm just saying they need to get with the times and stop using that 12v socket and move to something from the 21st century.

I don't want to give up all the accessory sockets, no way, just looking for something that is more universal so that I don't need a bunch of special adapter cords. I did pick up a cigar lighter to USB adapter so I can plug in any std USB and charge most things that way. I've had that for a while and used it in my other truck.

 

[General Lee]

You are right, it took too long for that to happen, but it happened so late that its out of date. I'm just saying they need to get with the times and stop using that 12v socket and move to something from the 21st century.

I don't want to give up all the accessory sockets, no way, just looking for something that is more universal so that I don't need a bunch of special adapter cords. I did pick up a cigar lighter to USB adapter so I can plug in any std USB and charge most things that way. I've had that for a while and used it in my other truck.

What trim level is your new Ford? In my Lariat, I have a USB port built in the dash.

 

[sparc]

Raining here this afternoon so I got to try out the speed sensitive wipers and the autolamp function.

SSW (Speed Sensitive Wipers) adjust their speed to the speed of the vehicle. So if for example your on the second click on intermittent wipe then as the truck speed increases so does the frequency of the wipers.

The Autolamp feature is something they should have ALL had ever since the requirement came out to have your headlights on if your wipers are on. It's such a simple thing to do electrically that there is no reason for any of the manufacturers not to have done it already. So anyway, when your turn your wipers on IF you have the Autolamp function (which will turn your headlights on at dusk and off at dawn) the headlights will come on automatically and go off when you turn the wipers off IF it is not dark, in which case the photocell will keep the lights on.

Both features worked very well and I found them useful.

Another programmable feature is what Ford calls a "courtesy wipe". No, it's not what you are thinking and apparently they weren't thinking either when they named it but what it does do is when you tap the end of the wiper control arm to squirt some wiper fluid on the glass and have the wipers make a couple swipes to clean it off is it waits about 30 seconds then makes on more "courtesy wipe" to clear any remaining washer fluid off the glass. Worked well but needs a better name.

 

[sparc]

What trim level is your new Ford? In my Lariat, I have a USB port built in the dash.

I have the Lariat and I have the one USB port. But if you are using that for your iPad or other music source then its not available to charge your phone. It's so cheap to put two or three USB ports in if you are already doing one that it is ridiculous not to, at least to my way of thinking.

 

[sparc]

The F-350 is just not needed in my opinion. I dont get it out till the loads get bigger than this. Its also a 06 and I am trying to keep the miles off it. I want it to last. I also like the Titan for driving, not that the F-350 is not nice also. But as you see, where we go lots of times there is some serious grades and the lake was down 70' so you are on gravel sometimes and the diff lockers on the Titan are nice.

That is what sold me on the Titan. We went in a big group a few years back and not a single one of us could get up the ramp. I had my F-350 and we also had a Suburban, F-150, Dmax, Suburban, Diesel Suburban, GMC 1500, Escalade, ect. A guy in a Titan walked right out with 10,000# behind it.

On this trip there were about 40 of us that went, maybe 16 boats or so. There were only 3 diesels. The F-250 I talked about, a older F-250 7.3 pictured, and the Dmax sitting next to me. We all use 1/2 tons for loads like this all the time.

Chris

Why is it no one makes an AWD pickup? you can get plenty of cars and SUVs in various sizes with AWD, but no pickups. The AWD in my hummer was awesome.

Case in point: Super Bowl Sunday 2000 I am on my way back to work in NY on a short term job. Had to be there early Monday morning and I was home 225 miles away so I drove up Sunday night. It is snowing to beat the band and its coming down all wet and heavy. I'm on the NJ Turnpike in the Hummer doing 65 like its not even snowing. Passing 18 wheelers and snow plows which were the only other vehicles on the road and in full control. When I got off the NY Thruway and headed for the Bear Mountain Bridge through the mountains I slowed down of course but still ran 40 to 45 without a problem. The ride took me 20 minutes longer than usual. the Hummer was always in full time 4WD. You could shift to Low or Low Lock but no 2WD and no locking hubs to mess with. And with 19" of ground clearance there had to be plenty of snow on the ground before you started dragging your belly. I'm gonna miss that. This will be my first winter in 14 years w/o the Hummer.

Also, you only needed grip on any one wheel to move. With the Torsen diffs power would go to all wheels and if any wheel was spinning then it directed power to the other wheel. Many people added lockers front and rear but I never saw the need.

 

[Pete6114]

Another programmable feature is what Ford calls a "courtesy wipe". No, it's not what you are thinking and apparently they weren't thinking either when they named it but what it does do is when you tap the end of the wiper control arm to squirt some wiper fluid on the glass and have the wipers make a couple swipes to clean it off is it waits about 30 seconds then makes on more "courtesy wipe" to clear any remaining washer fluid off the glass. Worked well but needs a better name.

I don't care for the courtesy wipe and it was one of the first things i disabled when i got my f150.

 

[timswi]

Why is it no one makes an AWD pickup? you can get plenty of cars and SUVs in various sizes with AWD, but no pickups. The AWD in my hummer was awesome.

Case in point: Super Bowl Sunday 2000 I am on my way back to work in NY on a short term job. Had to be there early Monday morning and I was home 225 miles away so I drove up Sunday night. It is snowing to beat the band and its coming down all wet and heavy. I'm on the NJ Turnpike in the Hummer doing 65 like its not even snowing. Passing 18 wheelers and snow plows which were the only other vehicles on the road and in full control. When I got off the NY Thruway and headed for the Bear Mountain Bridge through the mountains I slowed down of course but still ran 40 to 45 without a problem. The ride took me 20 minutes longer than usual. the Hummer was always in full time 4WD. You could shift to Low or Low Lock but no 2WD and no locking hubs to mess with. And with 19" of ground clearance there had to be plenty of snow on the ground before you started dragging your belly. I'm gonna miss that. This will be my first winter in 14 years w/o the Hummer.

Also, you only needed grip on any one wheel to move. With the Torsen diffs power would go to all wheels and if any wheel was spinning then it directed power to the other wheel. Many people added lockers front and rear but I never saw the need.

I'm pretty sure the Denali's have that...Personally I didn't want it and that's one of the reasons I didn't buy one. I can use AUTO 4wd when I need it on my SLE...My wife's Hummer has AWD and I'm glad it does, for her safety.

I do like the light coming on with the wipers...Wish mine had that....They all should.

Nice truck, congrats!!!!

 

[Diamondpilot]

Why is it no one makes an AWD pickup? you can get plenty of cars and SUVs in various sizes with AWD, but no pickups. The AWD in my hummer was awesome.

Case in point: Super Bowl Sunday 2000 I am on my way back to work in NY on a short term job. Had to be there early Monday morning and I was home 225 miles away so I drove up Sunday night. It is snowing to beat the band and its coming down all wet and heavy. I'm on the NJ Turnpike in the Hummer doing 65 like its not even snowing. Passing 18 wheelers and snow plows which were the only other vehicles on the road and in full control. When I got off the NY Thruway and headed for the Bear Mountain Bridge through the mountains I slowed down of course but still ran 40 to 45 without a problem. The ride took me 20 minutes longer than usual. the Hummer was always in full time 4WD. You could shift to Low or Low Lock but no 2WD and no locking hubs to mess with. And with 19" of ground clearance there had to be plenty of snow on the ground before you started dragging your belly. I'm gonna miss that. This will be my first winter in 14 years w/o the Hummer.

Also, you only needed grip on any one wheel to move. With the Torsen diffs power would go to all wheels and if any wheel was spinning then it directed power to the other wheel. Many people added lockers front and rear but I never saw the need.

I know its not quite on par with your Hummer but my Titan has VDC, Vehicle Dynamic Control. It does virtually the same thing. Its by far the best 4x4 vehicle I have owned and I have had about 20 total. Mostly Ford F-150's which were my second favorite but have also had F-250's, F-350's, Mountaineer, Expedition, Ram 2500's, GM 1/2 tons and Blazzers, Toyota Trucks, and GMC dually and a GMC Dmax. Something about the balance of the F-150 make them tough to stop in the snow.

The Titan also has Detroit Lockers front and rear in 33 spline Dana axles so its very tough. The VDC is disabled though when the rear locker is engaged.

I made it though a drift 2 winters ago that 2 F-150's, a GM 1500 and a 2500 Dmax all got stuck in. I then pulled all 4 of them out. They all made smart arse comments about that Jap Truck but when I pull one of the F-150's side ways out of the ditch that he had the truck stuck with a telephone pole between the front bumper and the Fisher Snow Plow they shut up. The Dmax had a hole big enough in the tranny to put a pop can though from him being stupid and trying to get it out for 2 hours with no help. I pulled him out with the truck in Neutral and the motor running just to steer.

Our Mountaineer had AWD and was good for the little lady. Did not have low range but really never needed it with the 4.6 V8 and 3.73 gears sitting on BFG's. My Expedition had AUTO 4x4 and I hated it. It seemed dangerous to me because you would be correcting and it would then engage and pull you the opposite way if you were steering to correct. I will never own another AUTO 4x4 vehicle but dont mind the AWD.

Chris

 

[sparc]

I would not want AUTO 4WD which I interpret to be when the vehicle senses there is slip on one or more wheels it shifts the vehicle into 4WD. But AWD all the time is great.

DP - yes a locker makes a huge difference and a 2WD vehicle with a locker and good tires can get through most situations one would run across on the road. If I couldn't have 4WD for some reason I would definitely want a locking rear diff. But I have had a few pickups that were 2Wd and I will never get another that is not 4WD.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I would not want AUTO 4WD which I interpret to be when the vehicle senses there is slip on one or more wheels it shifts the vehicle into 4WD. But AWD all the time is great.

DP - yes a locker makes a huge difference and a 2WD vehicle with a locker and good tires can get through most situations one would run across on the road. If I couldn't have 4WD for some reason I would definitely want a locking rear diff. But I have had a few pickups that were 2Wd and I will never get another that is not 4WD.

Mine is 4 wheel drive with lockers. Like you said its just as good as 4 wheel drive most of the time. Almost like having 2 4 wheel drives. Makes for a tough truck.

Chris

 

[timswi]

I would not want AUTO 4WD which I interpret to be when the vehicle senses there is slip on one or more wheels it shifts the vehicle into 4WD. But AWD all the time is great.

DP - yes a locker makes a huge difference and a 2WD vehicle with a locker and good tires can get through most situations one would run across on the road. If I couldn't have 4WD for some reason I would definitely want a locking rear diff. But I have had a few pickups that were 2Wd and I will never get another that is not 4WD.

My GMC has 2wd, auto 4WD, high and low range 4WD...The auto 4wd works similar to AWD in that I can run it all the time in that mode if I choose to, works great on iffy snow covered roads where it can be clear in one spot and covered in others...Also good on wet roads, as mine likes to spin on hills when starting out.

 

[coobie]

Glad to see some honest opinions. I would love to hear real world mpg's once it's broken in.
Also, you may not want to read the Ford truck enthusiasts website. The problems related to these diesels will haunt you...
I see from this picture the tear drop steering wheel. Doesn't look to bad but it probably feels completely different in person.

I can comment on real world mileage with my 2011 ford super duty F-250.My 6.2 engine gets about 12.8 mpg driving 65-70(highway)I get around 13.8-14.0 mpg driving 55-60 mph.coobie

 

[TimberXX]

I would not want AUTO 4WD which I interpret to be when the vehicle senses there is slip on one or more wheels it shifts the vehicle into 4WD. But AWD all the time is great.

DP - yes a locker makes a huge difference and a 2WD vehicle with a locker and good tires can get through most situations one would run across on the road. If I couldn't have 4WD for some reason I would definitely want a locking rear diff. But I have had a few pickups that were 2Wd and I will never get another that is not 4WD.

When I was between a tacoma with a limited slip vs locker, I went with the limited slip. When I test drove the truck with a locker I was slipping accelerating up a wet slope.

 

[sparc]

I find the integrated key/remote fob is a PITA.

The key doesn't fit in my pocket comfortably with other keys on the same ring. I liked the key and remote as separate pieces. I don't carry a lot of keys, 5 including the truck key, but it's this one key which is almost 4 inches long that is a pain.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I will be interested in hearing your first report on towing. Also if you are now happy you went the SRW F-350 route over the F-250 and if it was worth the extra money. I know its the best $600 I have ever spent on a truck.

Chris

 

[sparc]

I should have a short tow coming up in a few days, I'll report here on how it goes but I don't anticipate any problems. The load should be about 8000# for trailer and the skid steer.

I know I have hitting all the negatives in recent posts, but I really like the truck and am happy with my purchase. There are just some things I would have done different or I can't see the logic in them yet I guess.

As I had said they had ordered the 250 and couldn't cancel it so when I changed the order to the 350 both trucks were on their way. So I guess that worked out for me because I got to test drive them both and they were fitted out the same except for tires. The 350 rides slightly stiffer than the 250, at least to me it seems to, might be the tires. But getting the F-350 was the right thing to do and I thank you for the advice DP.