Good deal on F550

I can give you several.

#1 Ride quality.

#2 Fuel economy.

#3 Power. What is the output of the engine? The 7.3 is not known to be a powerhouse engine. Big trucks are usually de-rated to bring the duty cycle up and if this is the case with this rig it would make it even worse. 250 HP would not be fun with a big trailer in the mountains IMHO.

Does the good out weigh the bad? Only you can answer that question.

Just food for thought, if the biggest drawback is the rough ride, you can always change out the suspension to softer springs and air bags.

If the F550 is a good enough deal financially, maybe its worth looking into.

As posted already, your ride is going to be stiff at best with RV. Without the RV it will be brutal. Not sure what rear end ratio it has, but it could very well have a 4.88 which will kill any fuel mileage that great engine deliverers.
IMO a nice TRUE MDT like a FL 60 would be a much better option.

Depending upon the HW of a 5w, an F550 may be needed to tow a 10-12K 5w with a family of 6 that is on the larger sized as mine is, 1200-1300 lbs when my 4 kids were adult sized teens. Add in 3000 lbs for hw, and you have a need for 4300-5000 lbs of payload. This would include the need for say some bikes, firewood etc that might be in the bed etc.

With that in mind, most fords, not matter the year or model, seem to be rougher/harder riding than dodge or gm in the same basic gvw/body style. Dodge being in the middle, gm usually the softer. Which is better or worst?!?!?!?!? I am sure we could ALL make reasons for all three options.......choose your poison and enjoy it!

marty

Someone told me once the 550's can't be serviced by just any dealership. Had to be a special commercial dealership.

Since it is a 2001 I wouldn't go there anyway. I do not know if the statement was true or not.

I'd still go for it. Just food for thought if you like stealerships.

An F350 should be enough. Better ride anyway.

Ya I would say go for it if you can get it a good price. The 7.3L is a great engine and the crew cab will be nice for you. The 550 is obviously overkill for the current trailer but will definitely future proof yourself if you decide to get a bigger trailer!

I say go go go go go for it.

Also check into registration, it may be higher for a commercial vehicle, along with insurance for the same reason.

The F550 has a 7000 FAWR and large 13000 lb RAWR and is very rough riding. This truck is better fit to the larger 40' + GN/5th wheel trailers with 7-8k lbs hitch weight and a air ride hitch.
I doubt that small trailer will like the pounding from the F550.

I'm not of the "you can't have to much tow vehicle school". Having towed for a living I found out the hard way (pun intended) :).

Thanks BigBaron. We love our 7.3 and would only buy another 7.3. The rougher ride is one of our concerns and wondered if anyone would say that. All the regular things to consider when buying a new vehicle are already on the table, just needing to know if we have extra things to consider with the F550.