Better TC hauler- F350 or F450??

My understanding is that the 450 is designed to pull a lot more weight not carry it. I think the 450 goes after the large 5th wheel crowd.

The F350 is generally rated for a larger payload than the F450 but the F450 is prepped to tow much more. That is my understanding.

Screwtape wrote:
The F350 is generally rated for a larger payload than the F450 but the F450 is prepped to tow much more. That is my understanding.

^^^^^ Basically.

OP is comparing p/u's... If he wants carrying capacity, he needs to look at the chassis version.

I do/did own both and my commercial F350 seem to have stronger suspension than F450 flatbed I used to own.
Than F450 had long overhang, so technically I can put heavier camper on my F350 setup, than I could on F450.
Learn how those truck are build. The "door sticker" payload is legal/registration game having very loose connection with actual truck capabilities.
F450 generally start with heavy rear axle and high differential ratio, but that doesn't mean you can't find F350 with the same.
My camper wet is going over 5000 lb, and standard bed dually with 3.73 differential is on my TD list.
I don't plan heavy towing, so would be fine even with lower differential, but not available on duallies.
Would I not worry about resale value, I would build cab&chassis with long wheelbase.

Fish mojo wrote:
It seems logical the F450 would be better for hauling a heavy (5000 pound plus) TC than a similar equipped F350. After all, you have 19.5's, bigger rear axle (I think), and bigger brakes. What other differences are there?

The 2017 Super Duty payload guide shows a DRW, 4x4, diesel (all must haves), the F350 payload is 6450 pounds and the F450 is 5320 pounds payload.

Is the lower number for the F450 the truck vehicle weight (heavier than the F350) less the 14,000 GVCW, just to keep the GVCW at the limit allowed for non-commercial trucks and the actual, non advertised GVWR would be quite higher in actual payload?

Which truck would you buy for the 5,000 pound plus TC?

There is no such thing as "the non-advertised GVWR". The truck's rating IS the actual rating.

The F450 pickup has a lower load capacity due to the heavier weight of the truck over the F350 pickup. As already mentioned the F450 pickup is aimed at the peopel who are hauling the larger 5th Wheels.

The Chassis Cabs (F450/550) are the ones where the load capacity climbs appreciably.

One more perspective. The F350 can be obtained with the 6.2 L gas engine version which has a much higher payload than the F450 (payload goes up by >1,000 lb's). The gas engine is easily capable of hauling the camper at what every speed you want up any of the mountain passes. (Personal experience hauling an AF1150 over Bear Tooth and up and down the Big Horns among others). If you want to also pull a heavy trailer that may be another story.

I would finally add that although both 350 and 450 have the same 14,000 GVWR the 450 does come with some heavier components (axel, brakes). The other thing to note is that the 350 can no longer be ordered with the wide front track. This means if you want the shorter turning radius you will need to get a F450.

The F450 cab/chassis has 15,000 GVWR and the F550 cab/chassis has 17,500 and 19,000 GVWR's. They are both available with the 6.8 V10 gas engine, as well as the 6.7 diesel.

The F450 Chassis actually has a 16000 GVWR option. You could add a bed to one of those. Once upon a time someone here retrofitted one. It is some work because the frame width is different or "used to" be.

I'm obviously a fan of the F450 ... look at my signature. :) Four reasons, gearing, brakes, strong wheels and tires, and turn radius. I think a fiver might be in my future before I change trucks again and a F450 with the 4.30s is better for that as well.

As far as comparing them goes, the spring pack is different on the F350 vs F450. The weight of the 2016 vs my 2010 F450 is only about 400 lbs compared to my friends F350. The F350 and F450 pickup frames are identical as near as some of us have been able to tell. The F450 has 19.5 wheels/G tires and of course, the bigger rear axle.

In practice, I don't think the F350 hauls a heavy camper as well although it does have heavier springs that could be remedied. Boatycall recently bought a 2015 F450, here's a thread with his thoughts of his truck change. http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28926729.cfm

The F450 in new version does cost a lot more and is harder to get a great deal.

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.

:):)

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.