School me - F250's?

jscusmcvet

Adventurist
Ann and I have begun looking a bit more seriously at "unjeeping" our life. Hard for me to say, actually. You may or may not remember I started down this road last year with a nice Chevy Suburban. We cannot keep two, so... at that time I could not bring myself to let go of the jeep so sold the Suburban.
We have zeroed in for the moment on a full size truck of some sort. We do not need fancy but are ready to travel in a more comfortable arrangement than my soft top Jeep, yet still have some level of off road ability as we explore. Here are some basic requirements:
  • 4x4
  • Back seat for the monster to ride in
  • Dependability over all else
  • Flexibility to tow or haul a slide in camper
  • Used... I am looking in the $13k - $20k range. We dont buy new and in this range I can pay cash + whatever the jeep sells for.
  • Some aftermarket support so I can build for a reasonable level of off road worthiness such as bumpers, sliders, lockers?
  • Gas or Diesel is fine... would like to understand the problems with the 6.0
  • Reasonable life expectancy. In my price range, I need to have some confidence that the truck/engine particularly can go for many, many miles.


While I was leaning towards a 4 door F150 - I have been counseled ,thanks @100acrehuphalump , that if we want to haul a slide in, it would be best to go 3/4 ton. I have no brand loyalty beyond Jeep, so I am open to discussions other than Ford. I am not interested in brand bashing, so if there is a good reason to not consider the F250 in lieu of a 3/4 ton truck from another manufacturer, please stick to those reasons.
I am not on a time schedule. Jeep will get it done until we figure out what is right. Thanks for your input.
 
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If you give GMC/Chevy's a look, the two best years for the Duramax/Allison is '06 and '07 Classic's. They have the higher horsepower Duramax, and the 6-speed Allison, but they don't have a particulate trap or require DEF (diesel exhaust fluid).

Biggest advantage IMO with the GMC/Chevy's besides the Dmax/Allison is the independent front suspension. While IFS may not be as stout off highway, generally speaking it will have better ride quality on the pavement.

All GMC's/Chevy 2500/3500 will have a sticker in the glovebox showing max slide in camper weight.
 
Again Ford does have a heavier duty tow package which will increase carrying capacity for the F150's as it has beefier axels, bearings and suspension. One just needs to specifically find one.
 
If you give GMC/Chevy's a look, the two best years for the Duramax/Allison is '06 and '07 Classic's. They have the higher horsepower Duramax, and the 6-speed Allison, but they don't have a particulate trap or require DEF (diesel exhaust fluid).

Biggest advantage IMO with the GMC/Chevy's besides the Dmax/Allison is the independent front suspension. While IFS may not be as stout off highway, generally speaking it will have better ride quality on the pavement.

All GMC's/Chevy 2500/3500 will have a sticker in the glovebox showing max slide in camper weight.
Bob did you have to do anything to the IFS to make it worthy of the type of off road travel you do?
 
Bob did you have to do anything to the IFS to make it worthy of the type of off road travel you do?

I put a Cognito steering correction kit on it, other than that it's all stock, other than the lift, which I hate. I carry a spare half shaft, a spare hub bearing and spare tie rod/end, all of those parts will fit either side.
 
The Chevy Duramax/Allison is a great combo. IFS is a great thing actually - I can tell you they soak up the bumps better than a SFA truck.

Many folks really love the older Cummins Dodge/Ram trucks (I do). IMHO, Cummins makes the best Diesel engine period. The 4th gen I'm driving now is an amazing mashup of power, technology, and comfort. Really any truck built within the last 10-15 years is amazing.

I don't know as much about the various Powerstroke Fords other than they've made lots of changes over the years, some popular some not. IMHO the Ford frames are less robust compared to Ram. The new 2017 Super Duty is a thing to behold...

:drool
 
I've been enamoured with my 04.5 Cummins since I bought it new 12 years ago. While I like the newer dodges is buy an older dodge with no DEF or emmissions to contend with.

They are large and long but can be made into fun overland rigs..

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^^^^My next truck will be for a 5th wheel tow rig, I'm with you on that one except for the lift. When I worked for Allison Transmission, I worked on some Ford F-550's with Cat diesel's and Allison Transmission's. Those things had enough torque to climb telephone poles.
 
I've been enamoured with my 04.5 Cummins since I bought it new 12 years ago. While I like the newer dodges is buy an older dodge with no DEF or emmissions to contend with.

They are large and long but can be made into fun overland rigs..

2918b11eac5f4d4f9099bafde25e5d13.jpg

1b5a7cb8b12beda85fe4e0402891d453.jpg


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Your rig is one of the ones that started this whole thought process. When I wheeled the Suburban I realized that the well built rig with a long wheel base can go darn near anywhere my Jeep can... or that I would care to. That is a big part of this process for me... coming from a strictly rock crawling/trail riding background, where we camped to be ale to stay overnight... to a more camping and human powered (hike, bike, paddle, run) focus... has led me to question the "need" for a jeep and why we might be better off with a more comfortable platform.

That's it in a nutshell... comfort and no need for the puckering trails of the past. Although, just today I had the jeep way down in my woods, toting my bantam trailer, cutting wood for the woodstove. No way I could get a full size rig of any variety where I was. Guess I need to win the lottery...
 
^^^^It's a tough problem to have. I'm fortunate enough to have my truck and the Jeep. Opens up a lot more possibilities for us. You're old enough that it doesn't have to be practical to justify it. Your boy will be driving soon enough, the Jeep will make a fine first car for him!
 
You already know this. And it's just anecdotal, but in the past year I've had two friends with the 6.0 go pop. One of them we told him not to buy that Expedition and he bought it anyways. :rolleyes: Lasted four months. But I hear the 7.3L is a beast of a motor.

Here's a consideration, the F250 has the greatest turning radius of the 3. Chevy & Ram are real close. I used 2012 as a comparison year, but it's mostly been the same in various years.

F250 - 29.25
Chevy - 27.4
Ram - 26.2

It seems like a silly comparison until you think about flipping a u-turn with oncoming traffic. And a little more anecdotal experience, back in May while going up the Shafer trail switchbacks in Canyonlands with a friend tagging along in his F250 he was making two-point turns the whole way up.

I also think the smaller cab design on the Ram and Chevy have advantages over the F250 when it comes to wooded trails. And I'm a personal fan of the rear coils in the 2014+ Ram's. But earlier years use leaf springs like everyone else. And I was one who thought IFS was great, but I now understand the appeal of SFA. For one I don't need to carry spare CV axles or worry about breaking a tie rod. :p (That was like a constant worry on my old rig.)

It's a little disappointing coming from a smaller rig to the larger one in regards to maneuverability. But you get over it. But as far as comfort goes. Hard to beat all the room. Especially with kids in the back. I'm not really sure I'd want to wheel a long bed crew cab anywhere but the desert. For me I was trying to get the best compromise I could and the furthest starting point with the least amount of work for my goals.
 
I currently own a 2005 f250 with the 6.0, and can tell you quite a lot about all of the quirks with that engine. The biggest thing with them is to get a good set of gauges (I use an edge cts) and keep an eye on things.

There is a lot of talk on the interwebs about bulletproofing. Not all of it is the same by far. There are a lot of hack jobs out there, and my mechanic who only works on powerstrokes tells me that he fixes botched jobs quite often.

I won't tell you that if you get a 6.0 that you'll have to bulletproof it. My brother in law, before he sold me his truck, didn't have to repair a single part(100k miles trouble free). Since that time, however, I've replaced many, many parts in the truck and am currently getting a proper bulletproofing treatment based on a coolant leak out of the head. Could I have kept driving it for a long time with that issue? Possibly. But now I'm confident that I have a half-million mile engine under the hood.

The 6.0 issues are well known and routinely able to be fixed. If you're super worried about it, budget 5-8k to fix the problems right off. Otherwise, buy a monitor and keep an eye on it until you need to fix something. None of the problems are catastrophic.

To summarize, I love my truck! Even though I am spending a bit of money on it right now, I know it will last and the fit and finish is IMO way nicer than any of the other offerings. If you want a truck camper, definitely look at a 350 though, my CCSB f250 only has a payload of 2304lbs. Perfect for the Alaskan camper I hope to someday own!

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