TomG2 wrote:
Gdetrailer wrote:
TomG2 wrote:
I tried a 2006 F-150, thinking that three valves were better than two. Not much improvement and the soft suspension had me looking at another truck within two years.
Not sure why you think the F250 had a soft suspension..
It was the 2006 F-150 that I mentioned that was softly sprung. The few extra ponies were hardly noticeable.
I have tried nine different pickups in the thirteen years since I retired. At least that many trailers including a fifth wheel, two truck campers, and a motorhome. Does not make me an expert, just experienced. Before that I ran a construction company with pickups, ten wheelers, and three semis.
Tom,
You keep mixing "apples and oranges".
OP IS talking about F250.
I AM talking about F250..
YOU are talking about F150.
Since late 1990s F150 has been on a LIGHT DUTY FRAME/PLATFORM which has completely DIFFERENT SPRINGS/AXLES/SUSPENSION.
Of course your 2006 F150 WILL have a squishy feel, that is due to being INTENTIONALLY DESIGNED for all those Boulevard queen folks who wish to have the LOOKS of a truck with the ride of a "Caddy".
I too fell for that with my first truck which was a '97 LIGHT DUTY "F250".
That was the year that Ford introduced the "new" body style for F150 and kept the old style 1980's body for the Super Duty F250.
It was also the FIRST year of the "Super Duty" name to the F250 and up trucks.
In that year Ford changed the F150 line up names so there was no "HD" version of F150, instead they called it a LIGHT DUTY F250.
I did not know until I bought a 2003 Super Duty F250, the difference was night and day, the 97 squatted easily and the 2003 almost did not even budge with the same trailer loaded.
There IS a huge difference in empty weight between the F150 and F250/350.. AND ENGINES!
Ford also has DIFFERENT HP/TQ curves for the F150s vs the F250/350 vehicles, typically the F250/350 platform will have a DERATED engine HP/TQ and that is intentional.
F150 for the crowds that wish to show off the SPEED and F250/350 for those who wish to WORK HARD.
Ford also envisioned the F150 for the folks who didn't want to pay as much, often saving $1K in the purchase price of a 150 vs 250/350.
My 97 weighted a mere 4500 lbs empty the 2003 jumped to 5,500 lbs!
Liked my 97 but once I got to 50,000 miles on the clock it was killing me in front end parts.. by the time I got to 140,000 miles I was done with it as it was requiring a third set of ball joints, new bushings, new shocks again and the final straw was the ABS system malfunctioned and the dealer said min of $3,500 to repair!
Our 2003 on the other hand was flawless up unto 197,000 miles with only needing one set of ball joints and one set of brakes.. Now it is being driven by my teen DD.
Our 2006 has had some issues, many were induced by our local dealer misdiagnosing a wrench light and replacing parts that were not needed all the while not fixing the original problem that eventually damaged the cats and oxy sensors.. That started at 80K and it now has 100K on the clock
Our 2013 F250 now has 80K and so far only had to replace the front brake pads at 70K..
IF you would have bought a F250 for 2005-2006 I think you would have been extremely pleased with how the truck handles and even the 3V performance.
All the while, I have TTs with 97 2V 5.4 with 235 HP, a 2003 2V 5.4 with 265 HP, a 2006 with 3V 5.4 at 300 HP and our 2013 with 6.2 385 HP.
our 97 got the job done but often pulled 7% grades with 4500 lb trailer at 45 MPH.
our 2003 handled 4,500 lb trailer on the same 7% grades at 55 MPH.
Our 2006, we moved to a 26Ft TT at 6,500 lbs loaded, same 7% grades had no problem towing 65 MPH in 5th gear..
Our 2013 moving the 26 Ft TT doesn't break a sweat with 7% grades, sometimes might drop from 6 to 5 but not an issue..
I do have a 18ft flatbed open trailer that I have often loaded up to 10K (trailer plus load) and have towed that with our 2003, 2006 and 2013..
Yeah, the 2003 struggled a bit but it did manage that type of load on a 12% grade that has a stop light in the middle.. and was able to top the hill at 40 MPH and that was about 1 mile of hill from the light to the top.
The OP has a 3V 300 HP 5.4 in a F250, the vehicle should be fine with 9K and possibly 10K load, the engine will also be fine although it will take some patience.
Yeah, the OP won't be "racing" but when you have high weight loads behind you, you HAVE NO BUSINESS "RACING" other folks.
Folks make a huge mistake assuming that it is "bad" to have a engine turn some RPM, the 5.4 modular series that is not true at all. They are not like the old pushrod engines where you had to be careful of floating the valves/pushrods at high RPM..
YES, it WILL be turning 4K, 4.5K and possibly 5K RPM at times.
YES, it can be a bit "noisy", but heck, it is for a SHORT TIME.
NO, it will not hurt it to do so..
If you want 2K RPM then spend the money on a Diesel or a TC engine but those engines do have some baggage that you pay UP FRONT in higher purchase price and can be very costly to repair down the road.
