Step up to SuperDuty?
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Step up to SuperDuty?
Sorry for the long post, thank you in advance for those who read through!!
I have a 2016 F-150 Lariat SuperCrew 6.5’ FX4 with the 5.0, 3.73, and ITBC. I have a properly setup Equalizer WDH. I am towing an 8.5x16 Haulmark Transport V-nose with 7’ height. It is set up as a go-kart racing trailer with L-shaped cabinets/bench up front and a stacking toolbox in front of the axles. I have the kart and quad back against the ramp door. The trailer weight is only 6K lbs, but because of the cabinets/bench and toolbox, it is 1,000 lb TW.
I am towing over 30 weekends out of the year, about 7K miles of towing, which is almost 50% of my mileage. Two-thirds of the trips are 120 miles roundtrip, while the remaining trips are double that. Towing across the northern CA valley so flat, but almost always a headwind one way or both. Get 8 MPG with a headwind and 12 MPG with a tailwind. Most trips average out to 10 MPG. The rest of the time the truck is daily-driven 20 miles roundtrip commute on surface streets.
Crunching numbers, I am at 92% of the RAWR and GVWR. I only have a lil less than 200 lbs payload left loaded up. It tows okay, not great. 4th gear in a headwind, 5th with a tailwind, and decently stable.
I am worried about long term durability and if I should step up to a SuperDuty? I know the gross trailer weight is not that much, but the TW is what it is and I will be buying a bigger trailer when my son starts racing in two years. I checked a buddies’ similarly optioned F250 Lariat and his payload was only about 300 lbs higher than mine, so I would probably just go straight to an F350 SRW if I’m going to trade it in so I am not in the same boat again.
Thoughts?
I have a 2016 F-150 Lariat SuperCrew 6.5’ FX4 with the 5.0, 3.73, and ITBC. I have a properly setup Equalizer WDH. I am towing an 8.5x16 Haulmark Transport V-nose with 7’ height. It is set up as a go-kart racing trailer with L-shaped cabinets/bench up front and a stacking toolbox in front of the axles. I have the kart and quad back against the ramp door. The trailer weight is only 6K lbs, but because of the cabinets/bench and toolbox, it is 1,000 lb TW.
I am towing over 30 weekends out of the year, about 7K miles of towing, which is almost 50% of my mileage. Two-thirds of the trips are 120 miles roundtrip, while the remaining trips are double that. Towing across the northern CA valley so flat, but almost always a headwind one way or both. Get 8 MPG with a headwind and 12 MPG with a tailwind. Most trips average out to 10 MPG. The rest of the time the truck is daily-driven 20 miles roundtrip commute on surface streets.
Crunching numbers, I am at 92% of the RAWR and GVWR. I only have a lil less than 200 lbs payload left loaded up. It tows okay, not great. 4th gear in a headwind, 5th with a tailwind, and decently stable.
I am worried about long term durability and if I should step up to a SuperDuty? I know the gross trailer weight is not that much, but the TW is what it is and I will be buying a bigger trailer when my son starts racing in two years. I checked a buddies’ similarly optioned F250 Lariat and his payload was only about 300 lbs higher than mine, so I would probably just go straight to an F350 SRW if I’m going to trade it in so I am not in the same boat again.
Thoughts?
Last edited by 157WB; May 25, 2018 at 12:22 PM.
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IMHO, there are a few statements in your question that if I were you, I would move up to the 250 and since you will outgrow or replace w/ a bigger trailer and have a little more deeper pockets I'd get a 350. That 150 will get you by for a while but don't wait too long. The safety of your family on that SD will pay for itself. That is a lot of driving and again if it was me, I probably go w/ the diesel over gas.
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IMHO, there are a few statements in your question that if I were you, I would move up to the 250 and since you will outgrow or replace w/ a bigger trailer and have a little more deeper pockets I'd get a 350. That 150 will get you by for a while but don't wait too long. The safety of your family on that SD will pay for itself. That is a lot of driving and again if it was me, I probably go w/ the diesel over gas.
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I do have to admit I am jealous of all them toys! One day I will get a SD when the kiddos gets older and decide they want to bring along more fun stuff. So until then, my new 150 will do for the next 5-8 years...hopefully!
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Since you tow more than anything and it is not a 3.5 which loves towing, I would say go for the upgrade. You will get better overall MPG towing provided it is a diesel, and it would be effortless with what you have. I'm going through that same question phase, do I get another 1/2 ton, or get a SD. I pull a travel trailer and while the EB with 3.55 gears can more than handle it, the truck unfortunately is a POS, and I can't trust it to tow. At some point I may upgrade to a slightly heavier trailer, so do I go SD now, or wait. Have some crunching of numbers to do as it is also a DD.
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Agree with you on the truck choices, I can't see any use in ever picking a 250. It's either 150 or 350.
It's the trade-off between towing and daily driving. I find the 150 to be much more convenient to drive on a daily basis. My Superduty was heavier and towed better, but the daily driving tradeoff wasn't worth it.
For what you're saying, you don't need to step up to a superduty. If you want to, go for it.
It's the trade-off between towing and daily driving. I find the 150 to be much more convenient to drive on a daily basis. My Superduty was heavier and towed better, but the daily driving tradeoff wasn't worth it.
For what you're saying, you don't need to step up to a superduty. If you want to, go for it.
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Since you tow more than anything and it is not a 3.5 which loves towing, I would say go for the upgrade. You will get better overall MPG towing provided it is a diesel, and it would be effortless with what you have. I'm going through that same question phase, do I get another 1/2 ton, or get a SD. I pull a travel trailer and while the EB with 3.55 gears can more than handle it, the truck unfortunately is a POS, and I can't trust it to tow. At some point I may upgrade to a slightly heavier trailer, so do I go SD now, or wait. Have some crunching of numbers to do as it is also a DD.
Last edited by 157WB; May 26, 2018 at 11:33 PM.
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Joined: Jan 2016
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Agree with you on the truck choices, I can't see any use in ever picking a 250. It's either 150 or 350.
It's the trade-off between towing and daily driving. I find the 150 to be much more convenient to drive on a daily basis. My Superduty was heavier and towed better, but the daily driving tradeoff wasn't worth it.
For what you're saying, you don't need to step up to a superduty. If you want to, go for it.
It's the trade-off between towing and daily driving. I find the 150 to be much more convenient to drive on a daily basis. My Superduty was heavier and towed better, but the daily driving tradeoff wasn't worth it.
For what you're saying, you don't need to step up to a superduty. If you want to, go for it.
I might just get a scraper for commuting and save the truck for towing on the weekends.
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From: PA
So those of you saying that an F250 only has 300 pounds more payload than a non HDPP F150 are obviously comparing a gas F150 to a diesel F250. If you compare a non-HDPP 5.0 F150 to a 6.2 F250 with the same trim, bed length and cab, the F250 will have about 1,400 pounds more payload than the F150.
An F250 with a gas engine makes a lot of sense and doesn't cost any more than an F150 to purchase. It will get similar MPG pulling and obviously a little worse not pulling. But seems the OP only racks up about 7,000 non-pulling miles a year. So that's just a few hundred dollars difference on fuel each year. The 6.2 will out pull the 5.0 noticeably. And if you get the 4.30 gears it will pull even better.
If you want a diesel, I agree will you that it only makes sense to go straight to an F350 SRW. Even though the diesel will get better fuel mileage than the 6.2 gas - most would agree that it is less expensive to run and maintain for 14,000 miles a year at 50% towing.
My vote would be an F250 6.2 gas with 4.30 rear - unless you just really WANT that diesel - (or wait and see when the 7.0L is coming out)
An F250 with a gas engine makes a lot of sense and doesn't cost any more than an F150 to purchase. It will get similar MPG pulling and obviously a little worse not pulling. But seems the OP only racks up about 7,000 non-pulling miles a year. So that's just a few hundred dollars difference on fuel each year. The 6.2 will out pull the 5.0 noticeably. And if you get the 4.30 gears it will pull even better.
If you want a diesel, I agree will you that it only makes sense to go straight to an F350 SRW. Even though the diesel will get better fuel mileage than the 6.2 gas - most would agree that it is less expensive to run and maintain for 14,000 miles a year at 50% towing.
My vote would be an F250 6.2 gas with 4.30 rear - unless you just really WANT that diesel - (or wait and see when the 7.0L is coming out)