Community Forums

Scottybdivin · 01-25-2016, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbenoit28

When we move to the truck, we will need the CrewCab and 4X4 anyway so the F450 will be fine. I never thought I'd need 4 wheel drive until last March. I would have been in a serious pickle without it. Very tight and steep ascending turn on gravel road...back tires gave up even at a very low speed. Glad for that switch on my dash

Joe

Joel, I agree with anyone that prefers a dually to pull a moderately heavy 5th wheel. I also agree about the 4WD. I'll never own another truck without it. However, I think the F450 is overkill for the size 5th wheel you are looking at. Unless you will only be using it to tow, those 4.30 gears are totally unnecessary. Our F550 delivery truck has 4.30's, but it pulls a 26K gooseneck. The difference in RPM's on the highway is very noticeable. I pulled a 20K Toyhauler all over the mountain west with my 2013 F350 and 3.73 gears. My CAT scale GCW was 30,350. It didn't have an effective exhaust brake, but 2015 and up Ford has solved that issue.

BTW, nice Excursion in your Avitar. We had a 2002 Unlimited 7.3L 4x4, and I really wish I had kept it. They will be classics some day.

jbenoit28 · 01-26-2016, 10:55 AM

Scotty,

We love the excursion. It's been a great truck. Put a few $'s in it to correct a few 6.0L OEM issues and that was it.

I was wondering about the 4.30 gears on the 450. The Dually will mostly be driven around town 6 miles daily until we get a 3rd vehicle. Not sure it will be that annoying. On the East coast we camp in Florida and Georgia with a trip to NC mountains once per year. I think it will come down to which used truck I can find in our budget when we are ready to pull the trigger. I like the tighter turning radius of the 450, and the greater gearing of the 350. The hope is that this becomes our 3rd vehicle and doesn't do much else but haul trailers. What kind of MPG can we expect on average with a Dually/5th Wheel combo? Our Ex gets about 9.5 to 10MPG most of the time while towing.

So Ford has an OEM exhaust brake in 2015? Do the trucks also have built in tire pressure monitors?

Thanks,

Joe

Cummins12V98 · 01-26-2016, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shane wood

What is the total weight your tires and rims can carry

Front axle 6,170#

Rear axle 11,340#

Combined RV tires 19,224#

Total weight tires can support 36,734#

Scottybdivin · 01-26-2016, 12:57 PM

Joe, my 2013 and Cyclone 4100, fully loaded garage, averaged 8.2 MPG towing over 17K mi. You should do better with the lighter 5th wheel.

jbenoit28 · 01-28-2016, 05:27 AM

That's not much worse than the MPG I get now. Thanks for the info.

Boomer3801 · 01-31-2016, 12:25 PM

I have a 2015 F350 dually with 3.73 gear ratio. Like you, it was purchased with the plan of getting a fifth wheel. I thought about getting the 450, but decided that I wasn't going to get anything that I couldn't tow with the 350 and i didn't want to run around with the 4.30 gears unless I was really going to tow heavy. In the end, I have been exceedingly happy with my purchase. I live in a small town, so parking isn't really an issue out here. I do tend to park farther out in the lot and try to back into a spot when I can, but I can usually fit it between the lines. However, parking becomes an issue if I have to head into the suburbs and impossible if I have to head into the city. But that's what we have my wife's car for.

Another concern I have is your short commute for your daily drive. With that short of a drive, the dpf won't be able to go through a regen cycle. I've found that I need to drive for about a 1/2 hour at highway speeds to go through a full regen. I'm not always able to get through a full one, but in only about 6 miles, it's not going to be able to do much and I've heard that a clogged dpf can lead to problems. I've had my 350 for about 1 1/2 years and have averaged right about 14 mpg mixed driving empty. Unfortunately, I can't give you any feedback on towing mpg as I won't pick up my trailer until Feb 27. :-)

jbenoit28 · 02-01-2016, 05:59 PM

Boomer,

I forgot about the DPF. My Excursion is too old for such nonsense.

Does the engine need to cycle the DPF everyday? If not, I could drive the truck once per week until we can afford a third car. I have a 55 mile round trip to work.

Joe

Boomer3801 · 02-02-2016, 06:22 AM

No, not everyday. Mine seems to average a regen about once per tank of fuel.

Scottybdivin · 02-02-2016, 08:28 AM

They regenerate when they need it. It depends on your type of driving. They do not like stop and go traffic or idling a lot. Mine sees both as a work truck. I drive in heavy traffic, then off road on my jobs, every day. It gets a lot of idle time. It "cleans the filter" often, but I drive long enough for it to complete the process. Occasionally, I am near my destination and it hasn't finished. I assume that it resumes on the next leg. Not sure what would happen if you did this continuously on short drives.

We are having the same issues with our heavy equipment with DPF. It is more about re-training than anything. The operators have to allow the burn off to complete or it will eventually go into limp mode. Then a service call is necessary.