New 2013 F350 FX4 Lariat 6.7L 3.55 Gears
04-05-2013, 12:57 AM
#1
Member
Thread Starter
New 2013 F350 FX4 Lariat 6.7L 3.55 Gears
I was beginning to have the commonly reported engine surging issue with my 2012 F150 4x4 Lariat with Ecoboost engine. My MPG started dropping and was averaging slightly below 16 MPG under regular driving.
I had recently bought a travel trailer that weighs just over 8,000 lbs fully loaded up. This put me right at my limit on both hitch weight (payload) and towing capacity. While maxed out, I thought I would still be fine since I was within specs for the truck. However, with the engine issues started to crop up I decided to make a trade rather than to be frustrated with trying to fix the problem... likely unsuccessfully... as so many others have tried.
With all that said, I traded in my F150 for a new 2013 F350 FX4 Lariat with the 6.7L Diesel and 3.55 locking gears. The truck had fewer than 5 miles on it and I was actually watching it on the Internet going from "on order" to "in stock" at the dealership. I've now got just over 100 miles on it after a day and a half of driving around and commuting to/from work.
I'm very excited to graduate up to a Super Duty and am looking forward to getting past the first 1,000 miles so that I can try out towing the trailer to see the difference. I am very hopeful that this truck won't develop any quirks since I am pretty much committed to this truck having carried over some "upside down" cash into the new purchase. I can't jump ship on this truck like I did the Ecoboost.
This is my first diesel truck. I am interested in any suggestions / pointers that you all can give a newbie regarding care, maintenance, etc. that I might not otherwise know about without prior experience. I am reading up on the owner's manual and just browsing around online for now to see what I can find. It appears there are some mixed reviews on the 6.7L but overall it seems that most people are reporting good results with this engine vs. some of its recent predecessors.
I had recently bought a travel trailer that weighs just over 8,000 lbs fully loaded up. This put me right at my limit on both hitch weight (payload) and towing capacity. While maxed out, I thought I would still be fine since I was within specs for the truck. However, with the engine issues started to crop up I decided to make a trade rather than to be frustrated with trying to fix the problem... likely unsuccessfully... as so many others have tried.
With all that said, I traded in my F150 for a new 2013 F350 FX4 Lariat with the 6.7L Diesel and 3.55 locking gears. The truck had fewer than 5 miles on it and I was actually watching it on the Internet going from "on order" to "in stock" at the dealership. I've now got just over 100 miles on it after a day and a half of driving around and commuting to/from work.
I'm very excited to graduate up to a Super Duty and am looking forward to getting past the first 1,000 miles so that I can try out towing the trailer to see the difference. I am very hopeful that this truck won't develop any quirks since I am pretty much committed to this truck having carried over some "upside down" cash into the new purchase. I can't jump ship on this truck like I did the Ecoboost.
This is my first diesel truck. I am interested in any suggestions / pointers that you all can give a newbie regarding care, maintenance, etc. that I might not otherwise know about without prior experience. I am reading up on the owner's manual and just browsing around online for now to see what I can find. It appears there are some mixed reviews on the 6.7L but overall it seems that most people are reporting good results with this engine vs. some of its recent predecessors.
04-05-2013, 01:12 AM
#3
Senior Member
Fricken awesome truck man! Extremely sucks the Eco has issues. F250 is slightly too big for my needs so I might have to look at another brand 1/2 ton. Congrats!
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newbolddm (04-05-2013)
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newbolddm (04-05-2013)
04-05-2013, 01:52 AM
#5
Member
Thread Starter
I was terribly disappointed that my Ecoboost suffered the same problems as others. I thought I got lucky reaching 17,000 miles trouble free. But, from there to 18,500 miles the surging and turbo dropping in and out type of symptoms started and it was just getting worse and worse.
I loved the power and good looks of the F150 Ecoboost and would have been happy to keep it for many years. But, I know I would have been miserable with it if I had to start chasing after a problem that was never quite fixed. The Ecoboost problem didn't sour me on Ford though. The Ford Super Duty feels loaded while the GMC HD Denali is missing all sorts of things that are in the Ford. Mostly convenience items but once you get used to them you want them.
Differences I found were:
Camper mirrors are electric fold and extend in Ford but manual in the GMC.
Ford has two 110v power outlets in the cabin while the GMC only has the cigarette lighter type.
Ford has front and rear door pockets with storage everywhere you look. GMC has only shallow front door pockets and none in the rear.
Ford has air conditioned and heated seats. GMC is only heated seats.
Ford has the information center on the guage cluster. GMC just has basic guages and trip button type readouts.
The list goes on. I opted for the Ford.
The only problem I found is that GMC offers a 36 gallon fuel tank regardless of wheelbase. I had to really hunt to find a F350 with an 8' bed because almost all of them out there are the 6.5' bed and those only have 26 gallon fuel tanks.
I got used to the 36 gallon tank range in the Ecoboost and really didn't want to give it up. I finally found this F350 with the 8' bed. It was literally the only new one I could find within about 100 miles of Nashville, TN. I really got lucky.
I loved the power and good looks of the F150 Ecoboost and would have been happy to keep it for many years. But, I know I would have been miserable with it if I had to start chasing after a problem that was never quite fixed. The Ecoboost problem didn't sour me on Ford though. The Ford Super Duty feels loaded while the GMC HD Denali is missing all sorts of things that are in the Ford. Mostly convenience items but once you get used to them you want them.
Differences I found were:
Camper mirrors are electric fold and extend in Ford but manual in the GMC.
Ford has two 110v power outlets in the cabin while the GMC only has the cigarette lighter type.
Ford has front and rear door pockets with storage everywhere you look. GMC has only shallow front door pockets and none in the rear.
Ford has air conditioned and heated seats. GMC is only heated seats.
Ford has the information center on the guage cluster. GMC just has basic guages and trip button type readouts.
The list goes on. I opted for the Ford.
The only problem I found is that GMC offers a 36 gallon fuel tank regardless of wheelbase. I had to really hunt to find a F350 with an 8' bed because almost all of them out there are the 6.5' bed and those only have 26 gallon fuel tanks.
I got used to the 36 gallon tank range in the Ecoboost and really didn't want to give it up. I finally found this F350 with the 8' bed. It was literally the only new one I could find within about 100 miles of Nashville, TN. I really got lucky.
04-05-2013, 01:58 AM
#6
Member
Thread Starter
I wonder if you could go with the 5.0 F150? I don't see too many people complaining about those engines. From my hunting around and comparing GMC, Chevy, and Ford... the Ford really felt upscale by comparison and I was really staying open minded about it between those brands. Admittedly, I ignored the RAM because I just don't care for how they look. I think they look old / dated. And, I didn't consider any of the foreign makes for a heavy duty truck. Foreign cars... sure... foreign heavy duty trucks... just feels not quite right to me.
04-05-2013, 02:31 AM
#7
Senior Member
I was terribly disappointed that my Ecoboost suffered the same problems as others. I thought I got lucky reaching 17,000 miles trouble free. But, from there to 18,500 miles the surging and turbo dropping in and out type of symptoms started and it was just getting worse and worse.
I loved the power and good looks of the F150 Ecoboost and would have been happy to keep it for many years. But, I know I would have been miserable with it if I had to start chasing after a problem that was never quite fixed. The Ecoboost problem didn't sour me on Ford though. The Ford Super Duty feels loaded while the GMC HD Denali is missing all sorts of things that are in the Ford. Mostly convenience items but once you get used to them you want them.
Differences I found were:
Camper mirrors are electric fold and extend in Ford but manual in the GMC.
Ford has two 110v power outlets in the cabin while the GMC only has the cigarette lighter type.
Ford has front and rear door pockets with storage everywhere you look. GMC has only shallow front door pockets and none in the rear.
Ford has air conditioned and heated seats. GMC is only heated seats.
Ford has the information center on the guage cluster. GMC just has basic guages and trip button type readouts.
The list goes on. I opted for the Ford.
The only problem I found is that GMC offers a 36 gallon fuel tank regardless of wheelbase. I had to really hunt to find a F350 with an 8' bed because almost all of them out there are the 6.5' bed and those only have 26 gallon fuel tanks.
I got used to the 36 gallon tank range in the Ecoboost and really didn't want to give it up. I finally found this F350 with the 8' bed. It was literally the only new one I could find within about 100 miles of Nashville, TN. I really got lucky.
I loved the power and good looks of the F150 Ecoboost and would have been happy to keep it for many years. But, I know I would have been miserable with it if I had to start chasing after a problem that was never quite fixed. The Ecoboost problem didn't sour me on Ford though. The Ford Super Duty feels loaded while the GMC HD Denali is missing all sorts of things that are in the Ford. Mostly convenience items but once you get used to them you want them.
Differences I found were:
Camper mirrors are electric fold and extend in Ford but manual in the GMC.
Ford has two 110v power outlets in the cabin while the GMC only has the cigarette lighter type.
Ford has front and rear door pockets with storage everywhere you look. GMC has only shallow front door pockets and none in the rear.
Ford has air conditioned and heated seats. GMC is only heated seats.
Ford has the information center on the guage cluster. GMC just has basic guages and trip button type readouts.
The list goes on. I opted for the Ford.
The only problem I found is that GMC offers a 36 gallon fuel tank regardless of wheelbase. I had to really hunt to find a F350 with an 8' bed because almost all of them out there are the 6.5' bed and those only have 26 gallon fuel tanks.
I got used to the 36 gallon tank range in the Ecoboost and really didn't want to give it up. I finally found this F350 with the 8' bed. It was literally the only new one I could find within about 100 miles of Nashville, TN. I really got lucky.
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04-05-2013, 07:51 AM
#8
Member
Thread Starter
I've heard you can swap out tanks or add a second or something along those lines. I decided I'd rather just get the 8 foot bed since if we ever went to a fifth wheel it would already be ideal for that purpose. The shorter beds I understand can work but require extra procedures to be dealt with when making sharp turns and such in order to prevent damaging the truck or trailer since turning clearance is limited. I thought with the 8 foot bed I get the larger tank and the easier set up for the fifth wheel. This truck already has the wiring harness and the bed is already prepped for the hitch or whatever you call it that goes in the bed if I should buy one.
