F250 options

alan40 · Jun 28, 2003

Looking at geting a F250. One because I like a Ford product and two I need a better towing/hauling truck. Of wich I have done little. My question to you all is what setup do you reccomend? My Dad just bought a F150 with a 7700 towing package. We both had never heard of it until they bought a fifth wheel and the salesman recomended the package. It's also the only package recomended for a plow. So is there a similar package for a 250? I'll be hauling sap and pulling a trailer for my tractor? Talked to a local salesman and he said he never heard of the package. Just go's to show that just because your truck saleman dos'ent mean you know trucks.
Thanks in advance.
P.S. I really need spell checker /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Anonymous Poster · Jun 28, 2003

From what I understand if you get all the tow/camper/ (whatever)spring options on an F-250 you basically end up with the same frame/springs/axle combo as a single rear wheel F-350. So you would think you would be able to tow/haul the same as a 350, the problem is the F250 has lower GVW ratings so you won't be legal depending on how much you carry.

This has been debated to death on other forums if I remeber correctly the conclusion was that everything on similarly equiped trucks was identical. They had the same spring codes, axles, brakes, etc.

This may or may not be a problem depending on your needs. What is the price diference from a 250 to 350. I would think in resale you could surely make it up, I don't think it is that much $$$.

If you don't need the "legal" weight rating an F-250 with the tow/camper/snowplow (whatever gets you the heaviest springs) should work.

I could be wrong and I am sure someone will chime in if so.

Bird · Jun 28, 2003

( Talked to a local salesman and he said he never heard of the package )

Reminds me of when I was looking at new Ford pickups in '88. I asked a young salesman which engine a particular pickup on the lot had and he said, "The V-8." I asked, "Which V-8?" and he got a blank look on his face. I found that he had no idea Ford made more than one V-8. And when we went inside to ask someone else about the towing package, no one there knew anything about it, but someone mentioned an older salesman who was off that day. Sure enough, I stopped by the next day out of curiosity and that one old salesman had the books on towing. Ford's towing specs will provide information as to which truck with which engine and which rear end ratio will pull how much, and while I haven't checked on the latest models, I'll bet they still have one or more "towing packages" which will include some or all of such things as heavier duty cooling, stronger springs, extra transmission cooling, higher capacity alternator, load distributing hitch platform, heavier stablizer bars, etc. But you need to find a salesman who is familiar with towing trailers.

Bird · Jun 28, 2003

I just had another look at Ford's web site and it shows a "trailer tow package" as standard equipment on the F250s (without showing exactly what that includes), but then they show a "heavy service suspension package" and a "camper package" in addition to that.

jray · Jun 28, 2003

Hey Alan I've had both an F250 and a now a F350. The First truck was ext. cab Short wheel base 4wd my truck now is a Crew Cab 4 full doors, Long wheel base 4wd SWD. The first truck had the camper tow package and did a good job with everything I put behind it "Which wasn't a whole lot". My truck now is a brute it is just as rough riding as the shorter wheel base F250 but IMHO can do more if I really need it to. We use the truck as our family hauler so we do everything in it. We just took a trip to New York from Colorado in it which wasn't bad considering we had about 1500 - 2000 lbs of stuff in the back which makes everything smooth out /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif. We had to haul hay from kansas last year I think we had about 250 bales with truck and trailer 26'GN were pushing way over the rated wheight limit which is not something I would have tried in the F250. I guess with all this wind I just blew out I am saying that IMO the F250 would haul your tractor just fine the only thing about upgrading to the 1 ton SWD and especialy (SP) the dually you will not be limited with what your able to do. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Boone · Jun 29, 2003

After listening to my Dad talk about his 5th wheel camper towing truck, I'd think a good place to research trucks would be at a big campground filled with fifth wheel campers. These guys talk about axel ratios and air assist bags for the rear springs, which engines are their favorite all kinds of good info from guys that like to pull big trailers.

bgott · Jun 29, 2003

This is a website dedicated to Ford pickups...

http://www.thedieselstop.com/

banjobj · Jun 29, 2003

www.rv.net=[www.rv.net] also has lots of good info. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

cowboydoc · Jun 29, 2003

You can get the heavy duty front springs but that's about all the upgrade there is on the SuperDuty F-250. You can easily haul 13k loads with this truck, Fords rating.

Inspector507 · Jun 29, 2003

From Fordvehicles.com:
Camper Package includes Heavy service front springs, rear stabilizer bar (SRW) auxiliary rear springs (SRW models with 5.4L engine, effective Winter ’03) and camper certification

Snow Plow Package. Includes: highest front GAWR/springs, steering damper, auxiliary rear springs (SRW models with 5.4L engine, effective Winter ’03)

And cowboydoc is right you can haul/tow a lot with the F250 SD. Had one for 5 years and I don't think the helper springs ever touched /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

StanInCalif · Jun 29, 2003

I think you want the camper package, which gives you front and rear sway bars and rear overloads, at no expense of ride quality. Also, a club cab results in a longer wheelbase, which greatly enhances stability when towing. BTW- if you tell them you want to order it, you will usually get the fleet salesman, who is typically the most knowlegeable. This is how it was three years ago, when I bought mine- I'm assuming it hasn't changed appreciably.

Boone · Jun 30, 2003

One of the guys I work with runs a F250, he had a skidsteer trailer loaded with a NH skidsteer on the factory receiver hitch. Used this setup for his flatwork business. One day he was towing down a county highway and the bolts from the receiver hitch pulled through the frame and dropped the loaded trailer onto the highway along with the receiver hitch. No injuries or damage but a surprise for him.

cowboydoc · Jun 30, 2003

What year pickup was this? Did you actually see the frame broke? There is virtually no way even if you tryed to do it that you could pull all the bolts through the frame. I find this pretty hard to believe and would have to see it. There is something else that happened here. For one the hitch is setup so that the bolts would have to come out from the side. There is virtually no way to pull a bolt through the frame as there is no force laterally, the force is all parallel. I suppose it would be remotely possible that the bolts would be sheared, but high unlikely. There is no way you could pull the bolts through the frame though. This isn't a cheap hitch put on there.

MikePA · Jun 30, 2003

the bolts from the receiver hitch pulled through the frame 
Yikes /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif. Unless the bolts sheared, how could this have happened? I'm not questioning that this is what your friend told you but it's hard to see how this could happen. If the bolts were not Grade 8, and were just regular hardware store bolts, I could see them shearing, but otherwise I'm /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif. To pull through the frame, you'd think this would happen over time and there'd be symptoms of the hitch being loose long before it broke. On the other hand, bolts shearing could happen fast.

Boone · Jun 30, 2003

Pulling through the frame was his exact words, I understand what you and the Doc mean about forces applied. People just don't always say things correctly. I didn't see this happen but he had no reason to make up a story like this.

bgott · Jul 1, 2003

I can see this happening if the bolts worked loose over time and wallowed the frame holes out. The guy would have had to ignore a whole lot of bangin' and clangin' and a funny pullin' trailer for quite a while. But that wouldn't be the first time that's happened.

SageBrush · Jul 1, 2003

I think my whole frame would bend before my bolts sheared or pulled through and I have seen bent frames on CTD dodges from people thinking their truck was a Kenworth or Mack. I have heard of fifth wheel hitches pull through the holes do to improper size drill bits...To Large. Same thing?

How heavy was the NH Skid Steer? Some are up there in weight. An average size NH skid steer runs 7K to 8K wet. The big models are around 7800 with a heavy duty bucket. Plus filled / foamed tires or tracks over the tires could push it higher. The bare loader plus the trailer weight could easily put 1000 pounds on the hitch, probably more with tools, fuel, ice water a few bags of ready mix..........

A F-250 Superduty can't handle most skid steers with out spring bars or a class 5 hitch. The hitch was probably rated for 600 pounds, maybe 800 pounds vertical. A small goose neck and a F-250 can handel the load. Just because the truck can pull the weight dosen't mean that the hitch can carry the weight without a load distibition device. Now if you have a Reese Titan, then you'll be stylin...but will probably still have too much weight on the back axel, but at least the hitch will stay on the truck. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

If I put a 7K bobcat on a 6 ton trailer, I would exceed the limits of a Class 4 hitch on any truck without a weight distribution set up. Around town, I would get a dually with a Class 5 hitch which should be able to handel 1000 to 1200 pound tongue loads and 10K trailers with out exceeding the load ratings of the hitch. With a F-250, you could quickly put to much weight on the rear axel without a proper spring bar hitch. Because most people will have cargo or tools in the bed. If you overload a hitch enough times it will break something, sooner or later. A dually could handle the tag trailer weight much better with less wear on the rear tires and springs of a SRW. Any thing over 8K really works a Class 4 reciever hitch hard and most manuals will require a weight distribution device on trailers over 3 to 5 thousand pounds. Over 10K trailers should always be goose neck, unless you have a big truck like a F-550 or larger with a pintel hitch.

I looked on th NH web site and a 42 to 52 hp Skid Steer weighs about 5500 pounds with standard bucket. A 67 hp one is over 7000, thats about the size I'm acustomed too. Add some fuel trailer weight some dirt a HD tooth bucket..... Thats why I used a F-650. No worry's.

cowboydoc · Jul 1, 2003

Shoot my wifes Expedition has a factory tow rating of 9k. The 250 and 350 are I believe 11 or 12k. A person would have no problem hauling a full-size skidsteer with gear with a 250. My skidsteer weighs 6500 pounds and I have a 14k trailer and my back end barely squatted with the 250 I sold last year. The F-250's also do come with a Class V reciever hitch.

JATO_RaT · Jul 4, 2003

The 3/4 ton (whatever that means) trucks are the primary vehicles used around here to haul skidsteers to the job. They are heavy machines, feeling even more so if your using a old non turbo IDI diesel like mine. I've done it many times knowing it was easy and safe. The rental yards allow you to take them with a 3/4 ton and up. The Ditch Witch riding trenchers will give the old trucks a run too, so much so that any chance to use my brother in laws Dodge 3500 to pull it I did. The Cummins did fine, certainly better then my non turbo, but the spin I had heard about nothing slowing it down just did not pan out, it slows down, at least the one right out of the box.