Moving from 1/2 ton truck to HD truck

[tacticalturnip]

That is really cool to see.

 

[Jstpssng]

That’s why I got a Cub instead of a Super A. I hate trailers and my parents farm is 20 miles away from our’s. The Cub only goes about 11 mph at wide open throttle in 3rd gear. It would take me most of a day to drive it over there and back, but I can get it over there in just over 20 minutes, in the bed of the truck.

They have a perfect spot to unload over there. I just back up to the raised sand-filter septic system in their front yard. I was getting some looks while loading up from the folks shopping for chainsaws and lawn-mowers at the dealer’s shop across the street.
View attachment 814393

The Cub, even with loaded rear tires, must be considerably lighter than my 8 ft camper, because the truck handles better in the turns with it on back.

Your camper also sets higher, which makes a difference. Nice looking trucks.

 

[wolc123]

Your camper also sets higher, which makes a difference. Nice looking trucks.

If those 6.0 liter Chevy V8’s really are good for over 300,000 miles, then both of those trucks ought to last considerably longer than I will. I’ll be 98 in 40 years. Both of those 00’s have about 80k miles on them now.

Neither one has ever used more than a quart of oil between 6000 mile changes. I used Mobil 1 synthetic in them until (3) years ago, when I bought a new Chevy suv. That called for GM synthetic oil, which cost me about half of what Mobil 1 did, so now I use that in them.

All of the problems I had thru the years with the 4x4 were rust related: brake lines, frame rot, rear drive shaft rusted off. The engine never gave me any trouble.

The drive shaft went at a boat launch about 10 years ago. It broke off at the back universal. I just pulled the front part out of the transfer case, threw it in the back of the truck, engaged the front axle, and drove it home like that.

No rust problems at all with the rust-proofed “Florida” 2wd but I did have to replace the air conditioner manifold on it last year. I suppose my uncle must have used the heck out of that down in Florida for a lot of years.

Back to the subject of moving from a half ton to a heavy duty truck, I did that in 2000 and there’s no way I’d ever consider going back to a half ton. I had (4) of them, all with the GM 350 engine. The first was a 79 GMC “heavy half” with 8 ft box and standard cab.

That’s the only one that I regret selling. You only ever have one “first”. The only option that one had was air conditioning. It was the same air conditioner GM used on the Suburbans. It would almost freeze ice in that little standard cab, with the more powerful, but less environmentally friendly refrigerant that they used back then.

I liked those 350’s, and it’s hard to believe that engine could be improved upon much, but GM managed to do it with those 6 liters. I was a little skeptical of getting one on the year they were introduced, but it turned out ok (for the first 23 years anyhow). I’ll have to see how the next 40 goes.

 

[two_bit_score]

No rust problems at all with the rust-proofed “Florida” 2wd but I did have to replace the air conditioner manifold on it last year. I suppose my uncle must have used the heck out of that down in Florida for a lot of years.

That is very likely!

 

[BoylermanCT]

Bought a 2021 Ram 2500 6.4 gas new for $46,000. Tows 17,000lbs. I'm seeing them on Carfax for $43K and up with 27K-64K miles.

 

[Blue Mule]

OP Congrats on the New Super Duty.

is it still in warranty with those miles, or if not possible to buy an extended warranty that covers the CP4?

If so it might be worth consideration for some extra protection long term.

Thanks, I did decide to go ahead and pull the trigger, signed the papers last night. It’s a 2019 F-250 Super Duty Supercrew 4x4. It’s the base XLT trim so very few if any options. 6.7L turbo diesel. I probably will upgrade the little 4” screen to a 8 – 10” screen so the backup cam is easier to use. That’s the best thing ever for hooking up a trailer.

Truck has 81,000 miles. I was able to buy a Ford ESP warranty that covers me for 48,000 miles from today’s date. It covers engine, turbo, manifolds, fuel injectors, fuel rails/lines, fuel pump, A/C system, transmission, and several other things. I plan to maintain this truck religiously and keep it as long as I possibly can.

First trip home I realized just how stiff the suspension is. I knew a HD truck would ride stiff and I am fine with it. I’m just surprised at HOW stiff it is. My Dad has a 2017 Silverado 3500 diesel and it rides the same or slightly better than this Super Duty F-250. Granted, the previous owner did put airbags on the rear of this truck, and I haven’t had time to investigate yet to see if they are hooked up to an automatic load leveling system or if they are manual inflate/deflate. The power from this diesel engine is ridiculous. It’s a 7,800 lb. truck and it’ll eat the tires for lunch when a light turns green if I’m not careful.

Payload rating on the door placard is 2,350ish which is a 44% increase over the Ram 1500 I traded in. Trailer towing capacity on this truck is 14,700 which is a 77% increase over the Ram 1500. So while I ideally wanted a 1-ton truck I think that this truck will suit my needs just fine. In fact, with all my research I have discovered that the ONLY difference between the ¾ and 1 ton Super Duty is the rear axle and the leaf pack. And, most guys actually prefer the Sterling 10.5 axle from the ¾ ton so in *practical* terms this ¾ has nothing holding me back.

Got this truck home just in time, as this coming Saturday I will be using it to pull a 4-wheel-drive aerial boom. I have to reach the high spots on my rural farm house to reattach soffit and fascia that was blown of in this year’s storms.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Good looking rig!

A bunch of years ago I had an '08 F-250, I also did the research between it and the F-350. At the time the only difference the parts guy and I found was that the F-250 had a 2" spacer above the rear axle and the F-350 had a 4" spacer in the same spot.

 

[tacticalturnip]

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That sure is a handsome truck...

 

[tacticalturnip]

Good looking rig!

A bunch of years ago I had an '08 F-250, I also did the research between it and the F-350. At the time the only difference the parts guy and I found was that the F-250 had a 2" spacer above the rear axle and the F-350 had a 4" spacer in the same spot.

When outfitted properly you can match an F250 to F350 spec; to my understanding that's a run around for taxes in certain states. Now, that said, you can outfit an F350 to haul 4k pounds in the bed, but you're not doing that with an F250.

Suffice it to say, the platform is identical, and they're real nice trucks.

 

[Rdrcr]

^^^^
Absolutely correct!

Mike

 

[Too many Kubotas]

First trip home I realized just how stiff the suspension is. I knew a HD truck would ride stiff and I am fine with it. I’m just surprised at HOW stiff it is.

Most likely the dealer filled the tires to max. Try running them at pressures correct for the actual axle weights, according to a load chart, and the ride quality should improve a lot.

 

[deezler]

I went the other way, 3/4 ton back to 1/2 ton. So far so good, but I don't haul too heavy these days.

When I bought my '03 2500HD from the original owner, he was searching for mpg improvements and had 80 psi (max sidewall) in the tires. About ruptured my spleen just to drive it home. Unfortunately he didn't realize a simple 1-minute "crank relearn" procedure could fix the crank-cam timing misalignment and get the torque converter locked up again, for a quick 2 mpg boost. I typically drove around at 45/60 psi after that and the ride was far better (though still quite rough!)

Still no comparison to the plush comfort of a modern 1/2 ton ('19 F150) at 40 psi all around. I have way more power, same tow rating (11k lbs), and 20 mpg instead of 13. Only downside, which I have yet to really suffer from, is the 1820 lbs of payload rating instead of 2600+ in the 2500HD.

 

[dodge man]

Nice looking truck, congratulations!

 

[deezler]

I did decide to go ahead and pull the trigger, signed the papers last night. It’s a 2019 F-250 Super Duty Supercrew 4x4.

First trip home I realized just how stiff the suspension is. I knew a HD truck would ride stiff and I am fine with it. I’m just surprised at HOW stiff it is. My Dad has a 2017 Silverado 3500 diesel and it rides the same or slightly better than this Super Duty F-250. Granted, the previous owner did put airbags on the rear of this truck, and I haven’t had time to investigate yet to see if they are hooked up to an automatic load leveling system or if they are manual inflate/deflate. The power from this diesel engine is ridiculous. It’s a 7,800 lb. truck and it’ll eat the tires for lunch when a light turns green if I’m not careful.

Payload rating on the door placard is 2,350ish which is a 44% increase over the Ram 1500 I traded in. Trailer towing capacity on this truck is 14,700 which is a 77% increase over the Ram 1500.

Beautiful truck! Love that color.

Interesting to see tow rating that low on a '19 with the 6.7L scorpion diesel. You could get an F150 3.5L EcoBoost over 14k towing and ~2600 lbs payload back in 2019 (max payload, max tow packages). I think you still can now, but only on the base trim, for whatever reason.

 

[dodge man]

Keep in mind that 2600 payload for an F150 is possible but how many do they build. It a 2wd regular cab XL with absolutely no additional options except the max payload option.

 

[Blue Mule]

Initial impressions after 28 years of driving ½ ton trucks from all the brands:

This thing sits up high. Feels like a ½ ton truck with a 6” lift kit on it. My 5’3” wife ain’t gonna’ be happy.

This truck rides like a tobacco wagon. My father has a ’17 Sierra 3500 HD that rides better than this ’19 F-250. My truck has the standard suspension. Does not have heavy service package, etc. I can’t imagine driving one of these trucks with that up-rate suspension. That would be brutal.

The steering on this truck is very slow. Seems like the ratio in the steering is a very low ratio. Takes a lot of turn on the wheel to get response from the tires. This is probably the biggest thing I’m having to adjust to. It heavily affects driving on our one-lane rural roads.

The driver seat is just terrible. The lower cushion is soft and comfy, but the back of the seat is curved far too aggressively. It pushes really hard right in the middle of my back. Adjusting the lower lumbar helps just a tad, but overall the contour of the seat is a joke. The human spine curves in low, then curves out in the middle, then back in toward the neck. This seat is contoured exactly the opposite.

More positive notes: The Power Stroke engine is amazing. Good power, showing 16 MPG so far. All fluids are easy to get to. Air filter box doesn’t require tools. And I love that the 6R140 has a real dipstick and a drain on the trans pan. That’ll make maintenance at home easy as pie.

 

[caver]

I switched to an F250 after many F150's owned. I hate the ride but do like the 6.2 when towing in the mountains out west. Yeah rides like and old covered wagon...very stiff. I will go back to an F150 after the current truck hits 200K

 

[Hay Dude]

Initial impressions after 28 years of driving ½ ton trucks from all the brands:

This thing sits up high. Feels like a ½ ton truck with a 6” lift kit on it. My 5’3” wife ain’t gonna’ be happy.

This truck rides like a tobacco wagon. My father has a ’17 Sierra 3500 HD that rides better than this ’19 F-250. My truck has the standard suspension. Does not have heavy service package, etc. I can’t imagine driving one of these trucks with that up-rate suspension. That would be brutal.

The steering on this truck is very slow. Seems like the ratio in the steering is a very low ratio. Takes a lot of turn on the wheel to get response from the tires. This is probably the biggest thing I’m having to adjust to. It heavily affects driving on our one-lane rural roads.

The driver seat is just terrible. The lower cushion is soft and comfy, but the back of the seat is curved far too aggressively. It pushes really hard right in the middle of my back. Adjusting the lower lumbar helps just a tad, but overall the contour of the seat is a joke. The human spine curves in low, then curves out in the middle, then back in toward the neck. This seat is contoured exactly the opposite.

More positive notes: The Power Stroke engine is amazing. Good power, showing 16 MPG so far. All fluids are easy to get to. Air filter box doesn’t require tools. And I love that the 6R140 has a real dipstick and a drain on the trans pan. That’ll make maintenance at home easy as pie.

Heck I drive my 5500 and the rear spring packs are huge, but I’m used to the ride.
Put some weight in the bed. Helps tremendously.

My tires take 110 PSI, but during times of less heavy towing, I air them down a bit. That helps, too. Try experimenting with less air. If you need to haul/tow a heavy load, takes 5 minutes to air them up.

Welcome to the diesel world. You’ll likely never go back to gas. After 30 years with diesel trucks, I never will.

 

[Deleted member 371759]

Welcome to the diesel world. You’ll likely never go back to gas. After 30 years with diesel trucks, I never will.

Best part about the diesel world is all the friends you make along the way.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Welcome to the diesel world. You’ll likely never go back to gas.

I dunno. After three or four diesels, my girlfriend got rid of her 2500 Cummins and bought a 3500 longbed with the 6.4. And she really likes it.

Me, I'll stick with the 3500 Cummins C&C. For normal car duty I have a 1500 gasser.