Better TC hauler- F350 or F450??

My F450 is a much better camper/towing machine than my Ram was. Its the most stable truck I have ever been in. The 4.30 gears are awesome for the loads we tow and haul.

I chose the F450 over a 350 because it had all the items I wanted to upgrade on an 350 platform. Specifically the 17" wheels/tires.

SoCalDesertRider wrote:
The 4.88 is not a bad gear ratio at all with the V10, if you're pulling a heavy trailer. The V10 needs to rev high to reach it's power band and to do that at reasonable road speeds, it needs the bigger gearing.

That's true, and for some I'm sure that would work. I rarely tow, and haven't had a need to tow while hauling the TC in several years. There were several things that ultimately made the cab and chassis trucks the least desirable of the available options. Axle ratio, available trim levels, and the amount of time and money to finish upfitting it for TC hauling finally made me rule them out.

After exploring the Ford and Ram 350/3500 options, it appeared to me that some owners of those trucks that had the load capacity on paper still felt the need for suspension upgrades.

Also, no mater how you ordered one of those you couldn't get 19.5 wheels and tires on them, and I know from experience that tires with an all-steel casing (tread and sidewalls) contribute greatly to making a good TC hauler. So in the end, the F450 was closest to my desires in a replacement truck. I also had a generally favorable experience with my previous F450.

I thought my 2010 F450 was a great TC hauler, took minimal suspension improvement, and I thought the ride/cab comfort/noise/etc couldn't be any better. I was wrong about the ride, comfort and noise though. The 2016 is even better.

I couldn't get comfortable the 6.4 engine and the pre-DEF, DPF equipped exhaust system. The truck never left me stranded anywhere, but the regen behavior always worried me because it was erratic and unpredictable. Worrying is not what I want to be doing when I'm on vacation.

:):)

Than on West coast I see lot of those pickups pulling 35,000 lb goosneck trailers with 4-5 vehicles on them.
Some of those pickups are 450 series, but lot are 3500 RAM

It is very easy to order a new 3500 RAM 4x4 cummins that can carry 5k plus pounds and still be under the 14K GVW with 2 people in the cab. It is a matter of ordering the right truck. Many people are carrying triple slide TC on 3500 trucks. Some are over there GVW and some are not. Everybody is different. It can and is being done.

Upgrading an F450 pickup with F450 cab/chassis rear spring packs would be an ideal solution to rear end load capacity and squatting, provided that both spring packs are the same length. I believe the springs are both the same width.

The 4.88 is not a bad gear ratio at all with the V10, if you're pulling a heavy trailer. The V10 needs to rev high to reach it's power band and to do that at reasonable road speeds, it needs the bigger gearing.

Before the F450 factory pickup came out in 2010, there were upfitter companies that specialized in adding a custom modified Ford factory dually pickup bed to F450/550 cab/chassis trucks. With some investigating, one could likely find a company that can still mount a pickup bed to a new cab/chassis.

Personally, I'd rather have a flatbed with side boxes, or a 5th wheel hauler bed, than a pickup bed. The pickup beds are very inefficient at using cargo space. Lots more storage space available on a flatbed with side boxes that can still carry a truck camper.

mkirsch wrote:
BTW, the 6450lb payload for the F350 sounds like a gasser regular cab 2WD number. You might want to double-check that and make sure you're comparing apples to apples.

Yes, that is likely the case.

Add the diesel, crew cab, 4wd and luxury option package, the payload is reduced by 1500 lbs or more.

If by "non-advertised GVWR" you mean the combined axle weight ratings, then you need to compare those between the trucks, along with the actual empty weights of the trucks to see which one has more "real" payload capacity.

Face it, when you're talking about 5000+lb campers, the GVWR goes right out the window. You're going to be over GVWR no matter what truck you get. It will be a matter of which truck has the better axle capacities vs. their empty weights.

BTW, the 6450lb payload for the F350 sounds like a gasser regular cab 2WD number. You might want to double-check that and make sure you're comparing apples to apples.

Getting the V10 gas engine in the cab and chassis F450/F550's locked you into a 4.88 axle ratio. I was seriously considering one of those until I discovered that.

Jimh425 summed it up pretty well. Wheels/tires, brakes, rear axle, and the wide-track front axle are why I chose another F450 rather than a new F350. I also got a good deal on it, and a fair trade-in on my 2010.

The F450 is lightly sprung in the rear, it's true. But, I will remedy that in due time. I just put some Stableloads on it, and if it needs more help I'll have another leaf added to the overloads. That is its only deficiency as far as I'm concerned.

I can't say enough about the value of the wide-track front axle. If you've ever gotten into a spot where maneuverability was critical, you would appreciate how tight it can turn. I appreciated it so much on my 2010 that it was a "must have" on whatever I replaced it with.

:):)