Ram 2500 6.4 vs F150HD 3.5 Eco as a daily driver

Acei wrote:
I guess if anything, that will decrease the payload since it is not infinitely light... :)

Since I am going to get a fully loaded truck, payload could be a concern for me..

The 2015 and up trucks take the same SSA28 kit that I have which weighs not more that 25-30 lbs for both sides if even that. Although, if you are going for a F150 HD crew cab towing an 8k lb trailer at most then you should have more than enough payload.

A worst case 15% tongue weight on an 8,000 lb trailer is 1,200 lbs. Then subtract the 20% of tongue weight the weight distributing hitch will send back to the trailer axles will bring you to about 960 lbs distributed on the truck. According to Ford, an F150 HD crew cab 4x4 has a starting payload of 2,650 lbs. This is just starting payload and getting a fully equipped truck will probably take about 300 lbs from that bringing the final payload to about 2,350 lbs. That means that 960 lbs the trailer is putting on your truck minus the 2,350 lbs of payload you have would leave you with about 1,390 lbs of payload left for your family, you, and your cargo. That is quite a bit. If you (hypithetically speaking) weighed 200 lbs, your wife weighs 150, you had two kids that weighed 100 each, and had about 300 lbs of cargo then that would still leave you with 540 lbs of payload.

I guess if anything, that will decrease the payload since it is not infinitely light... :)

Since I am going to get a fully loaded truck, payload could be a concern for me..

Acei wrote:
So the Superspring offers more stability when towing without sacrificing the unloaded ride?

Yes, unloaded ride is not effected, and it increases stability with less sag when loaded.

Keep in mind that this does not increase your payload, and only allows you to handle the payload you have better.

So the Superspring offers more stability when towing without sacrificing the unloaded ride?

Acei wrote:


I guess tuning the engine will void warranty. What about that SuperSpring stuff? Also, how does it affect the ride of the truck? Does it feel more stiff over rough pavements?

Yes n reprogramming(tuning) the truck will void the warranty depending on which tuner you get. You can get the Roush tuner from Ford dealerships that are also Roush dealers that will not void your warranty from what I have read, but their tunes are not as good and cost more. You know a dealership is a Roush dealership if they are able to sell brand new Roush customized Ford vehicles.

The Supersprings do not effect unloaded ride if you do not have it on the preloaded setting. The normal setting is fine and you can literally change between the two in minutes with the proper tools (C-clamp, 2 wrenches). The Supersprings only start to apply force as the spring starts to flatten out with a load which is basically like adding another overload spring. When unloaded, the do nothing and you can't even feel a difference. You basically just install them and forget them unluss you want to change the setting. I did once just to try it out. It raised the backed end up almost an inch and it made the unloaded ride a little stiffer since it was already preloaded a little. It did not make much of a difference when I was loaded besides slighlty less drop than the non preloaded setting . Once I put the WDH on, there was not difference between the two settings.

ShinerBock wrote:
Performance, mileage, gobs of low end torque, and "fun to drive" would be the Ecoboost all the way. Especially a tuned one that can easily put out 410 hp and 530 lb-ft with spending just $450 on a custom tow tune. My tuned Ecoboost is way more fun to drive than even my tuned 2014 Cummins with no deletes. That is if you get the right tuner who knows what he is doing likeMike over at 5 Star tuning.

Any 250/2500 will handle a load better than a 150/1500 truck, that is a given. It will all depend on how much you will need to tow with it and what you are willing to deal with when towing. I can tell you that I have towed almost 10k lbs with my Ecoboost up and over the Rockies a few times and it easily pulled it at the speed limit to where I think that 6.4L might have been struggling a little bit. With the trailer loaded properly and a WDH, I felt in control of the load...well as much as you can with a bumper pull. No doubts the 2500 would have been more stable with less bounce in the back, but it was more than manageable with my F150HD especially the second time when I installed Supersprings which just about eliminated all rear end bounce. If it were me and it was between the 3.5L Ecoboost and the 6.4L then I would go for the 3.5L EB and just add Supersprings or an add-a-leaf. Now if it were between a 3.5L EB and a HD diesel then that would be a different story.

I guess tuning the engine will void warranty. What about that SuperSpring stuff? Also, how does it affect the ride of the truck? Does it feel more stiff over rough pavements?

Performance, mileage, gobs of low end torque, and "fun to drive" would be the Ecoboost all the way. Especially a tuned one that can easily put out 410 hp and 530 lb-ft with spending just $450 on a custom tow tune. My tuned Ecoboost is way more fun to drive than even my tuned 2014 Cummins with no deletes. That is if you get the right tuner who knows what he is doing likeMike over at 5 Star tuning.

Any 250/2500 will handle a load better than a 150/1500 truck, that is a given. It will all depend on how much you will need to tow with it and what you are willing to deal with when towing. I can tell you that I have towed almost 10k lbs with my Ecoboost up and over the Rockies a few times and it easily pulled it at the speed limit to where I think that 6.4L might have been struggling a little bit. With the trailer loaded properly and a WDH, I felt in control of the load...well as much as you can with a bumper pull. No doubts the 2500 would have been more stable with less bounce in the back, but it was more than manageable with my F150HD especially the second time when I installed Supersprings which just about eliminated all rear end bounce. If it were me and it was between the 3.5L Ecoboost and the 6.4L then I would go for the 3.5L EB and just add Supersprings or an add-a-leaf. Now if it were between a 3.5L EB and a HD diesel then that would be a different story.

I just went to Ford Canada website and they clearly say HD payload is available:

--
• 3.55 Electronic-locking rear-axle (3.73 Electronic-locking rear-axle
with Heavy-Duty Payload Pkg.)
--

The reason I'm still looking at it is not the the cost reason. Even at a same cost point, some may find 1/2t HD more preferable over 3/4t. This of course is assuming that the 1/2t HD truck has the clear advantages when not towing, which is what I'm trying to figure out...

I'll be purchasing a fully loaded truck, so more tech options they offer, more attractive it is to me.

brulaz wrote:
The F150 *MaxTow* is a lot less truck than the F150 with HD Payload option.

I have a MaxTow and had to spend a lot of money upgrading the suspension and tires to LT-E before I was comfortable towing at its max weight ratings. The HD Payload option does all that for you and more. It's a cheaper and smarter move. But you pretty much have to order it (and dunno if Ford has even started making them yet for 2016). The MaxTow you may find on the lots, but you'll have to look long and hard to find a HD Payload on the lot.

The 250/2500 and up trucks are a lot easier to find and certainly more capable if you need it.

As far as I know Ford hasn't produced any HD Payload trucks in MY 2015+. Even in prior years they were pretty rare, and never found one on a lot that wasn't a higher trim level than I wanted. It didn't take me too long to figure out that an actual HD truck would cost less than a HD Payload F150, and you get a lot more truck for the money. Why half-a$$ it?

Oh ok, so that F150 didn't have the max payload package...