F150 or F250

Kalabin wrote:

uscgcolletti wrote:
Trade it in for a 2nd hand truck. Either a more stout 1/2 ton or get a 3/4.
The only issue I see with the 3/4 is when your not towing.... you're lugging around a 3/4 tom for no reason.
Something else to keep in mind

This is the reason for trading in my 3/4-ton for the F150. I'm a young working guy that commutes 90% of the time in my truck. For the 6-10 times a year I may pull a travel trailer the new F150 will do fine.

With 500 miles on the clock I am averaging just shy of 17mpg in mixed driving, I was doing 11.8 to 12.5 over 2 years with 3/4-ton. Just depends on where you are in life and if you really "need" the 3/4-ton or not.

I commute 100 miles per day, my older 2003 F250 4x2 with 5.4 gives me 16.1 MPG (mixed interstate and city driving). Thats about 31 gallons per week at $3.75/gallon $116 per week.

My 2012 F250 super cab 4x2 with 6.2 and 3.73 axle gives me 15.1 MPG with the same drive. That is 33 gallons and at $3.75/gal $124 per week..

A total difference of $8 in gas for the week..

Using you 17 MPG I would use 29 gallons for the week and at $3.75/gal that is $110 for the week.

To put that into perspective 17MPG will only save you a grand total of $14 per week. For the year that is $728 which isn't all that much..

My understanding is 4x4 will get about 1 MPG less from many of the forums I have looked at.

I did own a heavy half years ago, in 1997 Ford built two different F250s, one was built on the modern F150 frame and body and the other was on the older SD frame and body.. I bought the light duty version..

It did not hold up well at all on the roads I was driving.. Was hard on brakes (48K miles and the brakes were shot), had to replace the entire front steering parts at 60K and at 140K the ABS died and the entire front end needed rebuilt AGAIN.

My 2003 F250 now has just under 200K miles and didn't need brakes changed until 120K miles, had ball joints replaced at 140K and no other front suspension parts..

Towing was night and day difference going from the heavy half to the 3/4 ton and that was when I was towing a 20Ft TT. I would even dream on towing my current 26ft TT with that old heavy half..

Yep it can be a bit more costly but really in the end I don't mind the slightly less mileage as a trade off to better and longer lasting (and not to mention sturdier) 3/4 ton..