Experience/Opinions on a 2008 F450 for Towing
I tried a search and only came up with a thread illustrating the turning radius and a payload debate. I am looking online at a 08 F450 that has 139k with an utility bed on it and no information on ...
Forum Discussion
rowekmr wrote:
You know I am also a fan of the V-10's you gave me advice on my first 2 when I joined this forum and was new to tow vehicles and travel trailers. For this tow vehicle I wanted to be able to tow up to 24K trailer weight (incl cargo). I have seen gasser roll back tow trucks but haven't seen any gasser hot shot's yet. Could the V10 reliably tow that?
:)
Almost all new roll-backs I've seen in service have gone with the V10.
You are right about hot-shots, but for them, fuel cost is a much higher percentage of total cost of ownership. And fuel range matters more for them too, vs a rollback which will be fueled at the end of each shift typically.
But at 24k trailer weight, you'd be around 33,000 combined weight. That's more than the factory rating with 4.88 gears. In fact, it tops out at 28,000 pounds, as that's the only ratio offered. Deeper gears requires stepping up to the F650. Then the V10 goes up to 37,000 combined.
Reliability at max combined weights wouldn't worry me. But if you go over GCWR, you might run into grade-ability issues (like you might not be able to launch from a stop on a 15% grade at 33,000 combined). And I'd still pick an overloaded V10 over any 6.4L.
