1996 Ford F250 camper- Long post...
Good morning all. This post is to make a few observations and ask a few questions that I think a lot of folks could benefit from. I have read everything I can here and appreciate the thoughts and ex...
Forum Discussion
I started RVing in 1986 with a 1982 F250 and a brand new 9.5' Jayco TC. The truck was the first year of the diesel powered Fords, using the IH 6.9L V8. 150 hp, 285 tq.
I never weighed it, but I'm sure that truck was grossly overloaded when the camper was on it. But, I drove it all over the US, sometimes even pulling a flatbed car hauler as well. The original owner had replaced the tires and wheels with stuff that looked good, but was actually under-rated for the truck. After several tire and wheel failures I finally replaced them all with higher rated tires and wheels, and never had any more issues. Lesson learned with that rig: don't overload the tires and wheels.
I replaced the F250 with a 1995 F350 CC dually, which was the first year of the 7.3L Powerstroke diesel. 235 hp/425 tq. I carried a second new Jayco TC on it that was called a 950, but was actually 10 ft long. I also carried my current 2001 Lance 1121 on it. I did weigh that rig once, and it was about 12,600 with the Lance on it. So it was also overloaded just a bit :W I had no tire or wheel problems with that truck after replacing everything with Michelin XPS traction tires on Alcoa wheels. I had airbags on the rear axle, and the lesson learned with that rig was: don't let the airbags carry too much of the load. Airbags are fine up to a point, but it's actually better to let the steel springs carry the majority of the weight. After having a couple extra leaves added to the overload springs on that truck, I could lower the pressure in the airbags to about 40 psi and it rode a lot better.
Replaced that truck with a 2010 F450, 6.4L diesel. 350 hp, 650 tq. It was great having a truck that could haul a 5500 lb TC with almost no mod's or upgrades to the suspension or engine. I made some homemade "stableloads" for it and that was it. Loved everything about that truck except the type of emissions control all diesels used at that time. They had DPF's but didn't use DEF. The truck never broke down and it made crazy amounts of power, but I got tired of the erratic regen behavior and wondering if it was ABOUT to break down while trying to relax on vacation. I never weighed that rig either, but the 2008-2010 F450 had a 14,500 lb gvwr. The truck weighed about 9200 lbs, so I suspect it was overloaded by a couple hundred pounds with the camper loaded. Lesson learned with that truck: the F450 is actually one of the best TC haulers made. Little to no mod's needed, and the wide-track front axle gives it a turning radius that is small-car like. I came to believe that diesels with DPF's but no DEF can be troublesome. I decided to avoid them.
Replaced that truck just a few months ago with my current 2016 F450. 6.7L 440 hp, 860 tq. I had been hoping Ford would go back to building an F450 like the '08-'10 models, instead of the dumbed-down abominations they were building for a few years (2011-2014?). The 2015 and '16 F450's are very close to the same as my 2010, but better! For some dumazz reason they lowered the gvwr to 14,000 though, so technically the new truck is more overloaded than the old one. I still think it's one of the best heavy TC haulers made though, and the only mod I've done to mine is adding some real Stableloads instead of my homemade ones. Lesson learned with this truck: Well, I'm still learning. I enjoy it more every time I drive it. No great revelations yet.
:):)
I never weighed it, but I'm sure that truck was grossly overloaded when the camper was on it. But, I drove it all over the US, sometimes even pulling a flatbed car hauler as well. The original owner had replaced the tires and wheels with stuff that looked good, but was actually under-rated for the truck. After several tire and wheel failures I finally replaced them all with higher rated tires and wheels, and never had any more issues. Lesson learned with that rig: don't overload the tires and wheels.
I replaced the F250 with a 1995 F350 CC dually, which was the first year of the 7.3L Powerstroke diesel. 235 hp/425 tq. I carried a second new Jayco TC on it that was called a 950, but was actually 10 ft long. I also carried my current 2001 Lance 1121 on it. I did weigh that rig once, and it was about 12,600 with the Lance on it. So it was also overloaded just a bit :W I had no tire or wheel problems with that truck after replacing everything with Michelin XPS traction tires on Alcoa wheels. I had airbags on the rear axle, and the lesson learned with that rig was: don't let the airbags carry too much of the load. Airbags are fine up to a point, but it's actually better to let the steel springs carry the majority of the weight. After having a couple extra leaves added to the overload springs on that truck, I could lower the pressure in the airbags to about 40 psi and it rode a lot better.
Replaced that truck with a 2010 F450, 6.4L diesel. 350 hp, 650 tq. It was great having a truck that could haul a 5500 lb TC with almost no mod's or upgrades to the suspension or engine. I made some homemade "stableloads" for it and that was it. Loved everything about that truck except the type of emissions control all diesels used at that time. They had DPF's but didn't use DEF. The truck never broke down and it made crazy amounts of power, but I got tired of the erratic regen behavior and wondering if it was ABOUT to break down while trying to relax on vacation. I never weighed that rig either, but the 2008-2010 F450 had a 14,500 lb gvwr. The truck weighed about 9200 lbs, so I suspect it was overloaded by a couple hundred pounds with the camper loaded. Lesson learned with that truck: the F450 is actually one of the best TC haulers made. Little to no mod's needed, and the wide-track front axle gives it a turning radius that is small-car like. I came to believe that diesels with DPF's but no DEF can be troublesome. I decided to avoid them.
Replaced that truck just a few months ago with my current 2016 F450. 6.7L 440 hp, 860 tq. I had been hoping Ford would go back to building an F450 like the '08-'10 models, instead of the dumbed-down abominations they were building for a few years (2011-2014?). The 2015 and '16 F450's are very close to the same as my 2010, but better! For some dumazz reason they lowered the gvwr to 14,000 though, so technically the new truck is more overloaded than the old one. I still think it's one of the best heavy TC haulers made though, and the only mod I've done to mine is adding some real Stableloads instead of my homemade ones. Lesson learned with this truck: Well, I'm still learning. I enjoy it more every time I drive it. No great revelations yet.
:):)
