Question about a Ford F 350 Drw

JIMNLIN wrote:
Its clear the F450 pickup has better capability in some areas.... except payload..

Please tell me you don’t believe this....
I thought your career was hauling stuff around on little trailers behind pickups, or
Maybe I’m thinking g about someone else.
Alright Kayteg, now you have someone who is confused to argue with....

I used 2006 C & C F350 for TC. Bought it originally with Utility bed, what with needed shimming gave me 13 -6" to top of my AC.
That wasn't comfortable at all.
I converted it eventually to standard bed, but the frame and wheel base was bigger than on standard truck, what cost me quite a bit of headaches.
My wife refused to ride in empty truck due to constant vibrations.
My F350 C&C had 10 leaves in the rear suspension what my earlier F450 did.
Choosing the truck is a compromise unfortunately.

If you go the cab and chassis route, I would also offer this counterintuitive observation: don’t fall for the old “you can never have too much truck” saying. You actually can. Lightly loading a 19.5K GVWR truck is a good way to end up a Kelderman customer.

:):)

mattyj wrote:

I need something I can air down because we will be going to the beach with the camper on.

I've been researching around this topic (350/3500 vs 450/4500) and converting from DRW to SRW with a "super single" rear axle is a solution for some specific needs.

DRW to SRW

A single wider tire improves off road (airing down in sand) as well as driving in snow w/out losing the payload.

The 450/4500 and 550/5500 are readily available now in sensible builds vs the 350 GM's heavily laden w useless add on's to jack up the prices. I'm planning on a flatbed camper anyway.


550 SRW

mattyj wrote:
I need something I can air down because we will be going to the beach with the camper on.

Well there you go. You’ve identified your “Can’t live without it” feature. If I were in your position, I’d be looking for an F350 as well.

Tighter turning radius might not be of any value to you either. Before I started buying F450 pickups, my last F350 was a ‘95 CC DRW, and the turning radius was just horrible. But I lived with it just fine, and the truth is, today’s F350’s turning radius is probably better than the ‘95 was. But the F450 pickup’s turning radius is even better.

I’m never on a beach, but I spend enough of my off-road time on roads that can do serious damage to tires that having the 19.5’s is important to me. The turning radius is also greatly appreciated when I’m maneuvering in tight areas. My own driveway and yard is one of those areas.

As far as payload capabilities go, the F350 only has the advantage if you insist that the 14K GVWR actually means that’s all it’s capable of. I’ll put it this way: put a 6K lb TC in the bed of an F350, and a F450 pickup of the same year (except for the 2011-2014’s) and the F350 is closer to its true limitations than the F450 pickup.

:):)

jimh425 wrote:
True that the differential is the same Dana model on the 2021s. Page 52 shows the rest of the story. The F450 Axles are bigger with more splines and the brakes are much larger with almost double the liner area for the rear with also bigger caliper pistons.

https://madocumentupload.marketingassociates.com/api/Document/GetFile?v1=5641565&v2=111920091727&v3=60&v4=aab797d46fa16d22dd60927744e1b23cba1ecf1722b9a82790d1e244&v5=False

I think the 9900 RAWR on the F450 is understated. If it is right for the F350 DRW with bigger axles, bigger brakes, and more tire capacity on the F450, I think that is a reasonable conclusion even for the 2021s that the F450 is more capable even though the stated payload is less.

To be clear, you pay for that capability with a rougher ride and more expensive tires, and no ability to air down.

I need something I can air down because we will be going to the beach with the camper on.

You are probably aware of features that reduce the weight capacity F350. Features like 4 wheel drive, Crew or extended cab, and the diesel engine are the big three. I often wish I could get rid of my 4x4 and diesel, and 8' bed weight, but I love the options too much. :)

JIMNLIN wrote:
Looking at Fleet Fords weight specs shows a 2021;
F450 DRW 4wd 176 wb 6.7 diesel 14000 gvwr 9900 rawr 8587 base weight.

F350 DRW 4wd 176 wb 6.7 diesel 14000 gvwr 9900 rawr 8133 base weight.

That why Ford folks on Ford diesel forums and the specs above tells us the the F450 is 450 lbs heavier than the F350 drw. Payload advantage goes to the 350 drw.

Both have the same Dana 256 front axle and the Dana 300M rear axle with the 9900 rawr that will carry the load in the bed.
Fleet Ford specs shows the F350 drw has a 270 Lbs in the bed payload advantage. fleet ford

Many new gen F350 drw (in my above configuration) rear axle can weight in the 3700 lb range leaving around 6200 lbs for a truck camper.
A lighter F350 drw super cab 164" wb can get you another 200 lbs or so of payload.

Now if you move up to the F450 cab/chassis with a custom hauler bed you get those big 12880 lb rear axles that can carry any TC you want. My neighbor lady has a Ram 4500 cab/chassis/custom haulers bed. She says her Rams rear axle comes in at 3880 lbs with around 8100 lb money payload depending on how much fuel she has in the tanks.

. Great info I will be saving that fleet Ford link for my research of a dual rear wheel, I knew there were variations of models but not to this extent, thank you!

Its clear the F450 pickup has better capability in some areas.... except payload.

However the OP has finally said he needs around 4500 lb payload which the F350 DRW has plenty of rear axle payload 6000+ lbs) and plenty of brakes to stop the rig.
The F450 also will have no problems with 4500 lbs in the bed.

The F450 pickup absolutely is more capable than the F350. The bigger brakes, 19.5” tires, and the wide front axle that gives it a much better turning radius are all the reasons I need to choose it over the F350. That doesn’t mean the F350 can’t handle a heavy payload, because it obviously can. It just means there are features available on the F450 pickup that aren’t available on the F350. If you want those, you have to buy the F450 pickup.

There are also trim packages available on the F450 pickup that aren’t available on the cab and chassis trucks (King Ranch, Platinum and Limited). If you can get past the idea that the GVWR is some magic number that must never be exceeded, the F450 pickup seems to me like the ideal combination of a pickup and chassis cab without having to put your own bed on it.

The GVWR of the F450 pickup is intentionally limited to 14K by Ford to keep it a class 3 truck. Anyone who’s familiar with corporations that have multiple product lines will understand why they try to avoid having overlap and competition between them. It does the company no good to have the F450 pickup gvwr set >14K so that it’s technically a class 4, and compete with the cab and chassis F450’s that are all class 4. The F450 pickup isn’t intended to be a vocational use truck.

:):)