rbaevergreen

Sometime next year I'll be purchasing my first truck.

I think my max towing would be a 7k GVWR trailer for my Kubota BX with four people in the truck. In running the numbers for the truck's GVWR, I think, for the F-150, I need to be in the Max Tow / HD Payload combo. This also puts me into either a supercab/8ft bed or supercrew/6.5ft bed.

With that said, I have a Suzuki SX-4 which is my daily driver. Since it's rare to find dealer stock of the F-150HD & max tow, I'm wondering if it would be cheaper to get an F-250/F-350 with the 6.2. In that combo I can also go supercab/6.75ft bed, which I'm hoping is easier to park. The supercrew/8ft bed looks nice but is probably too large for me to park easily.

That plus I think the Super Duty looks awesome.

lariatpsd

Really personal preference I have had a ton of f150's and they are beast. Just traded up to a SD diesel and absolutely love it. Don't think unless they start using diesels in 150 I could go back!

RainDesert

I'm not sure you would have to get the max tow, especially on the 2015 body. With that said, similar equip trucks will probably be pretty close in price. I saw a lot of 6.2 F250's in a CCSB for pretty cheap, but they were usually XL's. Once you go xlt I would think the SD would cost a little more.
I have had diesels for a long time. I just traded my last 2014 powerstroke F350 in on my EcoBoost. I still am amazed when I tow equipment how strong these new F150's are. I will never have a diesel again, and I will not have a SD unless I find myself towing over 10k regularly. My friend just went from a powerstroke to a 6.2 in an CrewCab short bed and really likes it.
I tow up to 10k for work, and camp trailers in the 6k range. I just have the regular tow package and 3.55 gears.
You could hope like me that when the new body SD comes out this fall, it will have an EcoBoost option!

SkiSmuggs

Honestly, if you are planning to tow, get Max Tow as a minimum. I've seen way too many posts crying about how little payload they have with their F150.

rbaevergreen

I had trouble explaining to a sales manager that the used 2013 F-150 CC 5.5' FX4 with the 7200# GVWR package he wanted to sell me was going to have trouble towing 7k lbs. He kept pointing to the "tow rating" and ignored all the fine print.

Taurkon

I've a 32' long TT weighing in at 8K lbs. My 14' F150 FX4 guzzleboost hauls it just fine, albeit the fuel economy sucks. Where I get killeld was payload. My truck is rated at 1410, tongue on the TT is 810, 2 dirt bikes, generator, fuel, water, 2 big dogs and my wife and I..... Just laid down the clams last Saturday for a 15' F350 Platinum. It was hard to shell out the coin, but I could not do what I wanted with the F150 safely as I estimated my payload would be closer to 2300 lbs all loaded up.

The other consideration is I wanted to do long trips with the TT and had no desire to be filling up every 175 miles. The SD will get much better towing mileage.

In the end, think hard about what you might use the truck for in the future, not what you need it for today. That was my mistake when I upgraded my TT and did not consider payload. Sure, the guzzleboost had the towing capacity, just not payload.

SkiSmuggs

You have to weigh your needs and make choices. For me, the F150 was going to be doing double duty as a commuter and towing a fifth wheel. Until the Ecoboost, no one made the truck I wanted. After reading about the Ecoboost, I knew what I wanted and got Max Tow for the 450-500 lbs of extra payload. The HD was not available for 2011. If I were to make the same choices today with the same parameters, it would be the F150 HD for the 2300 lb payload. The 2011 got 20/10 mpg for driving/towing.
But things changed and I realized I was better off commuting with a smaller, older car to save the truck from the ravages of winter chemicals so now I was looking for primarily a tow vehicle. Let's see, 6.2 gasser at 14/8 mpg driving/towing or 6.7 diesel at 19/12 driving/towing. It's diesel for the win! I can't justify it by fuel economy, but I can by the towing experience. I am so over non-turbo engines pulling hills at 4500-5500 RPM and stopping to refuel every 150 miles. The downside is that the once a week 70 mile commute (to keep the truck alive) beats me to death on secondary roads, but is not bad on the interstate.

sunset

After doing the math and realizing that my Coyote 150 with a payload of 1424 was not up to what I wanted to tow,so glad I went with the 350 S.D. Hardly knew the trailer was back there with out looking in the rear view mirror. These 1/2 ton series 5th wheels are not made for all 1/2 ton trucks that's for sure.

ford15012

I too recently traded my F-150 for a F-250 PSD. I tow a 34 foot, 8000 pound travel trailer. What a difference! As long as I own a large camper, it's super duty diesel all the way!

SkiSmuggs

I had the 2011 F150 CCSB Ecoboost with Max Tow and pulled my 9500 lb fifth wheel all over the country with it for 3 years. I had added Supersprings and Bilstein HD shocks to simulate the HD Payload package that I recommend for this kind of towing. I never felt the F150 was not up to the task as it handled well up and down mountains and through a couple of panic stops. But as I added batteries and solar to the RV, it got heavier and I was over the GAWR to begin with and I think I may have warped an exhaust header with an 8 mile climb in Wyoming as that was the only time I ever saw the water temp go past the middle position. I slowed down and it cooled back to normal.
So I traded it in for a 2015 F350 PSD CCSB. While the Super Duty feels stronger stock than my tuned Ecoboost, it also has a much harsher ride and a more spartan interior than the same trim (XLT) F150, plus the back seat of the crew cab is smaller. I don't regret the decision at all, but there is certainly a trade off. Had I not been approaching 10,000 lbs and had the warped exhaust manifold, I wouldn't have bothered. That said, any fifth wheel upgrades in my future will be heavier for a stronger, more insulated unit so I am ready for that future.
I guess I am just going with the practicality of it rather than the fan boy approach. The F150 was a far better commuter and a great tow vehicle if properly set up with Max Tow at a minumum and HD Payload combined with a good tow tune for great towing up to 10K or so. After 10K and longer distance, I definately recommend a Super Duty. With 13 quarts of oil, I don't use the SD for trips under 30 miles as it takes about 15 miles to fully warm up. Now I add Opti-Lube Summer Plus and Archoil AR6200 to my fuel for better mpg and to protect the fuel system and have to search out diesel fuel as many gas stations don't have it. There is cost and inconvenience for the stronger towing capability.