looking at a 09 superduty 6.4L powerstroke

[crazyal]

It's turning out to be a world where you can no longer have just one vehicle that does everything. A 2wd Diesel for towing 3/4 ton+(unless you need 4wd) and heavy loads in the bed. A 4wd 1/2 ton gasser for normal use where you may be unloaded most of the time but at a moments notice you need to haul some lumber or trash to the dump. A nice 4dr midsize car to take trips in. And a econobox or motorcycle for local driving where you just need to get there the cheaper the better.

 

[westcliffe01]

These trucks are simply too heavy for commuting. You are going to burn a lot of fuel and wear out the brakes in stop and go conditions. I have a "daily driver" project which is a 93 Toyota 2wd. No-one makes a truck so light anymore. Sure the payload is not great, but thats the whole point. It is good enough to go to the hardware store and get 6 sheets of OSB or the drive to work every day.

I paid $1200 for it and will probably spend an equal amount fixing the bodywork, but then it should last me another 10 years. I can buy the entire frame from a nearby Toyota dealer for $1300 (new). The cab is tiny, an extended cab would have been better, but for whatever reason most I come across are regular cabs. I got 2 leather seats from an Audi TT for $250 which will be a lot nicer than the old bench seat. I'm pretty sure I will get mileage close to 30mpg with it. I had a Toyota motorhome and that got 14-16mpg, was over 10ft high and weighed 6200lb

In Africa and Argentina one can purchase small FWD pickups that get easily 50mpg and are fine as commuters:

 

[Diamondpilot]

These trucks are simply too heavy for commuting. You are going to burn a lot of fuel and wear out the brakes in stop and go conditions. I have a "daily driver" project which is a 93 Toyota 2wd. No-one makes a truck so light anymore. Sure the payload is not great, but thats the whole point. It is good enough to go to the hardware store and get 6 sheets of OSB or the drive to work every day.

I paid $1200 for it and will probably spend an equal amount fixing the bodywork, but then it should last me another 10 years. I can buy the entire frame from a nearby Toyota dealer for $1300 (new). The cab is tiny, an extended cab would have been better, but for whatever reason most I come across are regular cabs. I got 2 leather seats from an Audi TT for $250 which will be a lot nicer than the old bench seat. I'm pretty sure I will get mileage close to 30mpg with it. I had a Toyota motorhome and that got 14-16mpg, was over 10ft high and weighed 6200lb

In Africa and Argentina one can purchase small FWD pickups that get easily 50mpg and are fine as commuters:

Now that is ugly. Looks like a hatchback with the rear end cut off. Can you say El Camino or Ranchero all over again.

Chris

 

[westcliffe01]

Yep, its a Chevrolet/OPEL Corsa with a "tail". For someone who only tows a Jetski and does not haul a serious load, its a pretty practical solution. The styling is not too bad. They are light and can drive on the beach no problem. And with the low weight and car suspension they have fine handling too. I knew someone who had something similar from VW and we all worked at the same refinery project. Worked every second weekend, so once every 2 weeks one would have a weekend off and go "home" which was 300 miles away.

If one did that drive following all the speed limits (75mph mostly with mountain passes thrown in), it was a 4 hour drive. Now I will admit to having done it in 3 hours in a VW GTI and the record went to someone we knew with a BMW 328I at 2.75 hours or 109.1mph average speed. I personally chickened out at 130mph with cars in the opposite lane approaching at over 200mph, not the time for anything to go wrong or someone not to be paying attention.... Amazingly we did this twice a month for over 2 years and I never even got a speeding ticket.

Anyway, I guess I have strayed off the topic somewhat, but the jist of it that these smaller vehicles can be fun to drive and totally practical for ordinary people and housewives.

 

[Builder]

No offense taken. different strokes for different folks. I'm happy with mine but not everyone would be. I'm not as concerned about parts and what not for two reasons. First off I rarely keep a vehicle past its warranty period, secondly since the engine is made by International it's likely that parts will be available for quite some time. I've said it before and I'll say it again, buy the truck that you get the best value deal on and be happy. In test driving all of the trucks I didn't feel like there was a ton of difference in any of the areas that are most important and applicable to me, so I went with what I got the best value on. I really think that we're fortunate in owning trucks during a period where we have so many great products to choose from.

I agree with that philosophy. Drop the brand loyalty and buy what you think is the best truck at the time of purchase and you'll always do well. I know I did that in '07 when I bought my truck.

 

[jgrreed]

I don't own one, but I know a lot of others LOVE their Honda Ridgeline. Great mileage, drives well, comfortable, can tow jetski's/sleds, can fit plywood from Home Depot, etc. I had a Tacoma before my diesel. It was great, but a fuel pig considering it's capabilities (18-21 UK mpg). I've heard Nissan Titan's are the same way.

If I hadn't still been trying to impress girls when I bought the Tacoma, I'd have bought the Ridgeline.

-Jer.

 

[Soundguy]

The '08 - 2010's can be REAL lemons. Without chipping it, you should expect 10-11mpg (UK gallons, so more like 8-9 US gallons), and 4-5mpg towing. They are absolute pigs.

.

you sure about that 4-5mpg figure?

my 99 f450 with 7.3l PSD and 4.88 rear end wound up turning near 3000 rpm down the interstate doing 75mph towing a gooseneck loaded to 12000# gets 4.5 mpg.... drop down to 67mph and It goes to near 8-9 mpg

soundguy

 

[jgrreed]

you sure about that 4-5mpg figure?

my 99 f450 with 7.3l PSD and 4.88 rear end wound up turning near 3000 rpm down the interstate doing 75mph towing a gooseneck loaded to 12000# gets 4.5 mpg.... drop down to 67mph and It goes to near 8-9 mpg

soundguy

Positive. Hand calculated it over and over and over hoping that my math was wrong. It was an absolute disgrace. Ford should've been ashamed of themselves for putting those things on the road like that. I don't doubt that your '99 gets that mileage, the '07's did too. It was the DPF and the flow restriction that came with it that caused it. No DPF = reasonable mileage.

-Jer.

 

[JESSE1]

If the mileage was that bad, there's a problem with that particular truck. My '08 F-450 with 4.30 axles averages 12 mpg, interstate driving as high as 14, pulling a heavy trailer it will drop to 10 mpg. The 6.4 trucks don't get the mileage that the earlier trucks get or the new 6.7 but if the mileage is that low there's a restriction in the DPF that a regeneration is not cleaning out.

 

[jgrreed]

If the mileage was that bad, there's a problem with that particular truck. My '08 F-450 with 4.30 axles averages 12 mpg, interstate driving as high as 14, pulling a heavy trailer it will drop to 10 mpg. The 6.4 trucks don't get the mileage that the earlier trucks get or the new 6.7 but if the mileage is that low there's a restriction in the DPF that a regeneration is not cleaning out.

It regen'd fine - I could smell it everytime it happened. 2 friends bought the same truck at almost the same time, and had the same mileage. I know that an n = 3 isn't exactly a huge scientific study, but I did spend a lot of time on Powered by Determination, and there were many, many others that had the same experience.

Overall, mines been good to me, but only since I took it upon myself to tune it and remove the DPF.

I know what I got for mileage, I calculated it many, many painful times. I'm not going to say it again.

I'm just passing on my experience to those considering a '08 - '10 6.4L......be careful, you're taking a chance.

-Jer.