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Date Posted |
Forum
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RE: F250 upgrades
I have a 2015 F250. It's has a 6.5 bed, and it's a diesel. Both of those facts mean that the cargo carrying capacity is diminished compared to a long bed gasser. I haul a 5th wheel and it noticeably squats the the truck. After reading THIS article, I'm considering changing the suspension block out for a F350 suspension block, and adding air bags. This being the internet its not likely anyone has an opinion on this, but just in case, thoughts anyone?
I agree with the others, many apparent inaccuracies in this article. As we see more articles written using AI technology, we will see fiction becoming truth... but that's a whole 'nother topic. The higher block would help the truck be more level loaded, but airbags would accomplish the same. As far as the larger center diff section goes, IIRC the F250 and F350 SRW diesel models have the same rear axle and the same gear ratio. Also, same frame, brakes, many other parts and pieces. DRW models have options for lower (numerically higher) gear ratios, but those have nothing at all to do with payload. A modern diesel pickup like yours has the power and gearing to easily move huge loads stock out of the box- a fact I'm well aware of as I putt up a mountain pass at 45 mph in my 2000 F250 7.3 diesel moving 20,000 GCW. Your truck would pass me by easily while moving 30K. So, my advice, make sure your tires can take your rear axle weight, and add some bags to level your load.
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rjstractor
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05/27/23 07:59pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: motorhome pricing
When a motorhome or other RV gets to be a certain age, condition of the house portion and associated systems IMO become more important than mileage or mechanical condition in terms of value. The low mileage may mean excellent mechanical condition, but many systems on an RV suffer from age rather than use. I think that a professional inspection is your best tool in determining value. Think of an RV more like a house than a car.
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rjstractor
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05/27/23 07:42pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Thoughts on a plug-in hybrid conversion
Interesting idea for sure. Does it offer comparable performance in stop and go driving to an ICE? Would not be practical for me since I don't daily drive my pickup, an older 7.3 diesel F250. It's mission in life currently is to make five trips to Montana this summer pulling 12-13,000 lb loads of cedar logs.
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rjstractor
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05/24/23 07:44pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Generac shutdown issues, help!
For the recent respondents here asking, the OP said in his first post it runs fine without the enclosure….
Sure enough, might help if I could read a little better. :) Time to get a quieter generator or put up with the noise.
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rjstractor
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05/24/23 07:35pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: towing with a Tesla
Power and weight not an issue, as the car weighs close to 4000 lbs. For me the real deal breaker is a travel cycle of 2 hours driving and 1 hour stopped to charge, and that's with removing the A/C from the roof of the Airstream to improve aerodynamics. 200 miles on a charge towing would be livable, but many, many towing videos I've watched show that reality is more like 100 miles per charge.
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rjstractor
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05/23/23 07:25pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Generac shutdown issues, help!
Is it OK with the box off? Point the hot exhaust straight up through the top not down. Shield the serving side only.
This. Run it with the box off and you'll know soon if that's the issue. Another simple, free thing to check is to ensure the correct oil level. Very simple thing, but it will cause the issue you're describing.
And, based on the name of your food truck, I very much want to try it! Too bad I'm not in your area!
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rjstractor
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05/23/23 07:13pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Will Air bags make a big difference?
What is the payload capacity of said truck?
Trailer Specs
Hitch Weight 663 lbs
GVWR 9463 lbs
Dry Weight 5777 lbs
Cargo Capacity 3212 lbs
Vehicle Specs
4WD:
Double Cab, 5.8 V8
9600 lbs / 4354 kgs – 5.3L (3.42 axle)
None of the cited numbers have anything to do with truck payload. The 9600 lbs listed under your truck doesn't mean much- maybe it's your towing capacity?
You have a 1500 series truck, which when towing a trailer of that size and weight, it will tend to feel squishy since the rear suspension is designed more for ride quality than being able to handle heavy weights. Air bags will help, as will LT rated tires inflated to the correct pressure.
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rjstractor
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05/19/23 07:50pm |
Towing
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RE: Class A Motorhome Gasser
Given the age of these two motorhomes, condition of the coach part IMO is more important than mechanical condition. I'd pick the one that was the cleanest, had the most complete service records, and gave me the impression of being the best cared for. I would certainly invest in professional inspections to help you make a decision. All things being equal, I'd pick the Ford chassis for the aforementioned parts availability. Nothing wrong with the GM chassis either, both have roughly the same performance and MPG. The Ford will rev a bit higher to do the same work.
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rjstractor
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05/17/23 07:41pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Front Receiver Hitch
Go talk to a reputable welder and have one fabricated to fit.
Not a bad idea, but I would rather have a Bolt-on... that is a powder-coated unit.
Materials and time of a welder could push the product to over $500.
No good fabricator will weld the hitch to your motorhome- they will fabricate it and bolt it on, and no reason it could not be powder coated.
But there's got to be a reason no one makes a front hitch for your rig- maybe it's not structurally suitable for it.
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rjstractor
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05/14/23 07:05pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: What's your mileage?
That sounds pretty typical. I haven't had a C for several years, but I had a 1998 Gulfstream built on an E-Super Duty (which later became the E450) with the gas V10. I often towed a 3000 lb-ish car. My mileage ranged from about 7-7.5 pulling the car at freeway speeds traveling from Western to Eastern Washington, and I could squeeze out close to 10 running solo down to the ocean with slower speeds and less freeway driving.
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rjstractor
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05/14/23 09:39am |
Tech Issues
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RE: 2023 Super Duty 6.7PSD HO Review
I believe every ford I owned wandered or drove. chevman
Agreed. I've owned and driven more Fords than I care to remember, and they all wander just a bit. It's not bad or dangerous, just a characteristic. Didn't matter what type of suspension either. I've owned or driven 2WD, 4WD, twin I beam, solid axle. I drove Ford shuttle vans when I was a teenager, and Ford ambulances and an F550 rescue truck in my career. Had an E450 motorhome that drove the same way. My current personal 2000 F250 and my work truck, a 2016 F150 both have the slight Ford wander. Dad's newer F350 has it too.
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rjstractor
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05/11/23 07:22pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: I Bought Too Much Truck
https://i.imgur.com/6qWS8o3l.jpg
I just taped my cellphone to the rear seat head rest so the video is not real good. I backed up 1/2 mile before doing a blindside turn onto a narrow side road. I was in the truck by myself and had to watch for traffic coming from in front, behind and ensure no one was coming down the side roads all the while I was trying to keep my foot to the floor in reverse. I was busy. It would have been much easier with a co-pilot. Having the volume turned up makes it not a boring to watch.
I've seen it before, and it's pretty impressive. Me, I try to put my old 7.3 manual trans F250 in 4 low, let the clutch out, and idle back at a speed I can manage- about 1 mph. :B
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rjstractor
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05/09/23 07:29pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Chevrolet 6.6 burning oil
I’ve got a mint condition 2016 Silverado 2500 CC 4x4 and the 6.0 with 4:10’s that just turned 60k miles. I get asked often if I’d sell it. The answer is always no. Or at least no one has offered enough yet! Think I’ll hang on to her a while as posts like this are all to common on different forums.
As far as the 7.3 Ford gassers. We run a number of them in our ambulance fleet. 11 ambulances with a distributed call volume of 23,000 plus a year. Also have 4 F250 Battalion Chief trucks with them. One truck is at Ford now for engine replacement due to a lifter issue at 12k some odd miles, 2 ambulance have had engine replacements (one lifter, the other I believe valve issue going down into the engine) and numerous other issues like plug wires, coolant leaks, and oil consumption. Now admittedly, the ambulances get run hard. But all were low mileage issues, like well under 50k miles. I know the engine really hasn’t been out that long. But so far, they have been nothing like the pre 2020’s that had the 6.8. At least for us. Those engines took a beating and kept on rolling! YMMV.
Interesting to hear about your department's experience with the 7.3 gas. We don't have any yet, have 5 ambulances with the Ford V10. Just like your department, the guys beat them like rented mules and we have no problems that I've heard of. Most departments in our area are going with the diesel Ram 4500 for ambulance chassis, despite the extra length and cost.
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rjstractor
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05/05/23 07:23pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Goodbye CH751 key!
I seldom lock my basement doors, parked at home, or camping. If someone wants something in there, they will get in! I'd rather make it easy, than repair the damage.
My water fill door locks with the 751, as does the outside shower door. I'm thinking just to ensure that they don't open in transit?
Jerry
That's all the CH751 lockset is good for. As everyone knows it's been used in a million applications. The ones I have personal experience with:
1999 Prowler travel trailer
1998 Gulfstream class C motorhome
Early '90s pickup canopy of un-remembered brand
1993-1995 Pierce fire engine compartments and cab doors
Early 2000s Loadrunner cargo trailer
I've probably forgotten a few other rigs I've been around that used this key.
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rjstractor
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04/25/23 07:40pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Weight question
That is odd. Winnebago's website shows your GVWR as 11,030 lbs., which makes your rig scale out at 70 lbs overweight. Mercedes website shows a slightly heavier duty version of a cab and chassis than the Winnebago specs with a GVWR of 12,125, still well short of 13,300. Winnebago, as the manufacturer of the completed vehicle, could have certified the motorhome at a higher GVWR, but that seems unlikely given that their website shows the View having a GVWR of 11,030. Are you certain on your numbers?
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rjstractor
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04/25/23 07:32pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Ford Lightning Fire
I love how an electric car catching fire is news (or FUD) but a gas car catching fire is meh. My favorite picture is the gas car on fire in front of the new Tesla factory in Texas.
From a firefighter perspective, that is spot on. When a gas car catches fire, typically one engine shows up, dumps less than a tank of water on the fire, calls for PD and a tow truck and goes home. No news here. When an EV catches fire (which is still extremely rare), we either have to connect to a hydrant supply, or use several tenders or engines to shuttle water. The road gets shut down for several hours. Eventually the fire burns itself out. And of course it makes the news. A few years ago in this area a Tesla ran over a piece of metal, puncturing its battery and initiating a thermal runaway and fire. And it was national news.
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rjstractor
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04/23/23 08:49am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Ford Lightning Fire
We won't really need special training per se, just the knowledge that these fires can't be put out once thermal runaway initiates. Our tactics will likely be to protect exposures and let the fire burn. It will be interesting to see the fire code changes that are coming to address issues like an EV burning in a large, multistory parking garage.
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rjstractor
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04/22/23 09:33am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: 30 vs 50 amp electrical issue help
We will see what dealer says. My gut is that it’s a 30 amp rig and that power cord fried everything but I simply didn’t notice until night when solar drained. I have pictures of everything but the breaker box unfortunately.
My gut also says that the dealer will lie like they all do.
If an improperly wired cord had fried everything, the effect would be immediate and spectacular when you first plugged it in. Should be interesting to see what the dealer says. In reading through the thread, it looks like you checked the breaker at the pedestal, but never actually verified there was power at it. Did you try plugging in the trailer elsewhere?
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rjstractor
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04/17/23 09:00am |
Tech Issues
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RE: time for a diesel?
Well, I've been looking at those 7.3's. Holy ****! They are some nice looking trucks tho. I wonder if it would be possible to put that engine in my truck. My Pop put a 327 into his 1955 Willys Wagon but I do not remember what transmission he had.
Anything is possible if you throw enough money and parts at it. It definitely won't be plug and play. Not even close to worth it for the incremental power increase.
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rjstractor
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04/14/23 08:18pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Tire Pressure?
They must have figured out how to build them lighter- I had a 1998 Gulfstream 30 foot C with no slides that ran about 13,700 loaded and 12K empty, on an E450 chassis. Having said that, those tire pressures are as recommended by Ford for a fully loaded vehicle. No reason to go any higher unless you are overloaded.
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rjstractor
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04/13/23 07:33pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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