New to us TV to match up with our new to us TT

[JohnB]

Fellow Campers

Thru an exhaustive search and destroy mission…. We have located our new camper with the help of Quetse back in October and today we have brought home our new to us TV.

She is a 2005, F350 Lariat also with the FX4 package off road package. Crew Cab/short bed, 4 x 4. Has the V10, 3 valve engine connected to the 5 speed tranny joined to a 4.10 rear end. GCWR is 21,000#. Truck GVWR is 11,000#. Truck empty with full gas weighs 7260# confirmed today on the way home from a trip to the CAT scales.

This TV has a Payload capacity we can use of 3,740# which puts us where we need to be with this heavier TT tongue layout, truck stuff, people, bikes etc. Figuring 2960# of payload needs which just about broke the ¾ ton truck limits. The ¾ ton that would come close is a 2500 HD GM, 8.1, ext cab short bed and there I would be right on the max GVWR. The F250 Super Duty ext cab/short bed with the V10 was also just as close. Either would not make it with a Diesel under the hood due to the weight of the heavier engine. And then there are the trades off between gas and diesel. Both have +'s and -'s. It is a personnel choice on how you want to get to your needed GCWR.

So now we can hold up our new T310SR when we fully load it, add all the stuff in the truck one normally takes and not worry I’m going to hurt the truck. This 156.2” wheel base is a better match to this 32 foot TT. I have some hitch and receiver upgrading yet to do to allow going above a 1,200# tongue but we are almost there….

After a long search and research, I decided to go gasser in place of the diesel. It came down to an 8.1 GM or the newer V10 Ford. GM does not offer the short bed 1 ton truck and finding a good used 8.1 big block is not an easy task in the 2500HD. They no longer offer it new and do not offer the short bed 1 ton truck. Even finding a V10 is hard new or used unless you order it new. Lot’s of 6.0 Ford Diesels to be had though.

So here are some pic’s. Have yet to tow with her, but the ratings are all lining up both in pulling, GVWR, axle loads with room for reserve.



And here with Cindy at the wheel. (Boy, I can't park this big thing like the Suburban with the Quadrasteer )










Now we just need to go camping…. Maybe next weekend. I hope. I hope. I hope

Just sharing our new toys with the Sunline family.

John

[Hematite]

Wow, she's a beauty! I agree completely with your choice of the V10! They are hard to find, though. That F350 will serve you very well, best of luck with your "new" tow vehicle!

[Sunline Fan]

Originally Posted by JohnB

She is a 2005, F350 Lariat also with the FX4 package off road package. Crew Cab/short bed, 4 x 4. Has the V10, 3 valve engine connected to the 5 speed tranny joined to a 4.10 rear end. GCWR is 21,000#. Truck GVWR is 11,000#. Truck empty with full gas weighs 7260# confirmed today on the way home from a trip to the CAT scales.

Congrats on the new truck and welcome to Ford Country!!!!

Jon

[Poppy & Nana]

John & Cindy,

Congrats on your new toy (oh I mean tow) vehicle!

Leo and I stopped by our dealer and told him what we are looking for a F250 - V10 - Super Crew with short bed 4x4 ....we have bought a few vehicles from this guy and he looks for what you want! We are not in any big rush, but is something comes along....guess well also be a V10 owner!

Lots of luck with your new "set up"!

[rich2500]

Very Very nice John

[PTHutch]

Hey John,

Congrats on the F-350, it looks like a perfect fit and mate to your trailer.

Thanks for sharing the pictures – it’s a beautiful truck.

Enjoy.
Hutch

[Steve Collins]

Sweet, John, just sweet!

(Did I start something when we picked up our 3500 last week? )

[emam]

That's one purty truck there John!!

You'll love it I'm sure.

Pat

[kanyonkitty]

Congrats John & Cindy,

Beautiful truck. I was torn between that color and my blue F-350. I love burgundy vehicles. The only reason I didn't get the burgundy was I wanted the burgundy over silver and they had the burgundy over tan.

OH, "IF" you have the 18" wheels and centennial tires, you can bet your bippy that you can't park it like the 'burb. I find it much much easier to "back-in" when I must park in a parking space.

SO, I'm sure hoping you'll be able to bring this beautiful new setup to the GTG in June.

Fuel tank size is 29 gal for the short bed. And of course mine is diesel. Certified scale, full fuel, 3 adults 8400 #, guaranteed accurate plus or minus 20 #. I have an 11,400# GVWR. These are one heavy truck.

I have the colored sales brochure for the "05 F-250/F-350 Super Duty, so "IF" you want or need any factory info, let me know. I can even copy it for you and send it to you.

Kitty

[DF5.4]

That is a nice looking truck.

[JohnB]

Thanks Folks for the good words.

Today I had to fiddle with the garage door so I could get it the garage and not rip the cab lights off. Now have 2” to spare….. And I had to raise the Canoe rack…

See here:




And it just fits…


She sleeps inside now with her sister Trail Blazer


The weather cooperated today long enough so I reset the WD hitch and DC to the new truck. And I took it down the road a whopping ¼ mile to the grade school parking lot to set the DC. Here is what it looks like connected to the new camper.

Leaving the house


Adjusting the DC


While I have not towed far yet, all I can say is WOW…. The stability of this truck is outstanding. It is that noticeable. I had this same feeling on the T2499 when I went from my 1500 Tahoe to the 2500 Suburban. Now we out grew the Suburban and the F350 has fill her spot as the “right” TV.

Hopefully next week we can get out and I can try it towing for 50 miles or so. Plus get more camping in.... Can never get enough.

Thanks again

John

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by Steve Collins

Sweet, John, just sweet!

(Did I start something when we picked up our 3500 last week? )

Steve, I saw your TV sig pic changed in another post. WOW, Great for you. Did you start this? Well no, but timing is everything.... I looked over literally hundreds of truck on line within 500 mile radius. And even some new ones. Once I made it past the gas verses Diesel decision, I was almost going to have to special order one with the V10 in this combo.

Then I stumbled across this beauty, right here in Ohio, only 135 miles one way to North West, OH. Since I drove 500 miles east to PA one way for the new camper, heck 135 miles was a short trip for the truck....

Have you hitched up yours yet? I saw several duallys for sale in my search but I cannot turn in my yard with one so that option would not work for me. They are selling duallys used cheaper then a 3/4 ton. Lots of ¾ tons PU’s, in any of the big 3 makers.

Good luck

John

[Steve Collins]

Originally Posted by JohnB

Have you hitched up yours yet? I saw several duallys for sale in my search but I cannot turn in my yard with one so that option would not work for me. They are selling duallys used cheaper then a 3/4 ton. Lots of ¾ tons PU’s, in any of the big 3 makers.

John,

Haven't been able to hitch up yet. The Sunline is put to bed for the winter, and the wheels and tires are off it, stored in the shed out of the sunlight until April. The A-frame is stripped and the propane mount and other parts are getting new coats of paint in the basement. Nothing's open here in NY state in the winter so there's no point in keeping the trailer ready to go....

Luckily, I have a large turn-around in our driveway. It's about 5 or 6 cars' wide and two car length's deep so there is no problem with turning this thing around and finding a decent place to park it. We'll see how that works once the snow plow guy starts building snow piles.

I think you are right about the 1 ton duallies selling cheaper than the 3/4's up here, too.

Boy, is this thing stable in the turns! No body lean at all.

[HappyCampers]

I noticed the flood of duallys too when I bought my truck about two months ago. The 2001 2500 Ram diesel was a little under matched for the heft of the 304 so I had to move up. I looked at the wrong towing chart when I bought the trailer so we ended up being slightly over our limit. It towed it fine once I got it moving, but it had 3:55 rear gears in it sooooo . I scoured the land scape for awhile looking for a 3500 with singles in the back. I finally found the one I was looking for in Lebanon, even the right color. It's a 2004.5, with the upgraded 5.9 H.O. Cummins. Lots of duallys out there, and even more 3/4 tons.

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by kanyonkitty

OH, "IF" you have the 18" wheels and centennial tires, you can bet your bippy that you can't park it like the 'burb. I find it much much easier to "back-in" when I must park in a parking space.

SO, I'm sure hoping you'll be able to bring this beautiful new setup to the GTG in June.

Fuel tank size is 29 gal for the short bed. And of course mine is diesel. Certified scale, full fuel, 3 adults 8400 #, guaranteed accurate plus or minus 20 #. I have an 11,400# GVWR. These are one heavy truck.

I have the colored sales brochure for the "05 F-250/F-350 Super Duty, so "IF" you want or need any factory info, let me know. I can even copy it for you and send it to you.

Kitty

Kitty, thanks.

I knew this one was close to yours. I do not have the camper package but do have the heavier spring pack with the 18” wheels taking it up to 11,000 GVWR.

Turning, My K2500 Burb had the rear steering option. It turned sharper then our short version Trailblazer finding a parking spot… That feature is now lost... and missed But this F350 is some much more stable on this T310. I have come to grips with giving up the Burb.

BUT, turning was one things I had to prefigure in my search. I was originally looking at the F350 ext cab, short bed. But finding one with a V10/ 4.10 was scarce as hens teeth and one that was not older then my present truck.

I have to do this 180 degree turn in my yard. The Burb just made it with the new T310SR. And I thought for sure the only thing saving me was the Q Steer being able to make this turn. So I started measuring. Well come to find out the inside of a U turn on the Burb is 21 feet with the Q steer on and No TT. So I tried it with the Q steer ant T310 and measured the truned. 31 1/2 feet. So I tried turning the TT with the Q steer off and just use the 130” WB. The inside of the turn now was 31 ½ feet….. H’mm. So I tried it again, this time 32 ½ feet. Seems I had to watch crunching the propane tanks more then using all the sharp turning I could do.

So part of my Test drive on the F350 was to do a full hard 180 and measure the inside turn. 32 ½ feet. Wow it just fit. While I can make the turn in my yard, this 156.2” WB takes some compensating for, for sure when one turns. Ford did good with the front end to make it turn as good as it can for such a long WB to start with.

Here is the Burb making the yard turn
Stage 1


Stage 2


The inside of the turn


And the turn complete


Now today repeating this with the F350


Clearing the house…


The inside of the turn


And the final result


I did have to back up once with the F350. I may get better at this in time, OR 2 pines trees will be come brush pile soon….

Making it to the M & G. Well we are trying to line this up with work and make a reservation soon. May compare truck notes along with other things…

Thanks

John

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by Sunline Fan

How many gallons does your tank hold? Mine is 44 (I'm sure yours is probably less) and the old title from Florida says she weighs 6955. I don't know if that's with the tank full or empty. It's a good thing I kept a copy of the old title because MI converted it into a funky wt. category that means nothing to me.

Jon

The gas tank, from what I can find in my manual and the Ford Source book on F350's, this short bed is a 30.5 gallon tank. So your 44 has me beat on that front. But I have 1 more valve per cylinder, more HP and Torque and an extra tranny gear.... I hope all 3 make the MPG’s more bearable....so I do not need the 44 gallon tank. But I'm sure they are both heavy drinkers....

Anything that hauls a good size TT down the road consumes fuel. Some more some less all depends on what you are comparing it too. However the large 44 gallon tank is a plus for RV'ing. There is something about a 19 gallon mid ship tank that I have to investigate and what it costs to add or not…

On the weights, heads up that 6955#. My Ford dealer almost got me mixed on that too as having enough payload was a main part of me upgrading to a 1 ton. This new F350 I have was a lease trade in that they originally sold. He gave me a copy of the original bill of lading when the truck was delivered on the flat bed and it listed 6486#. And I quizzed him where that number came from as the posted curb weight, no options weighs more than that….. So I went to the Ford source book and added all the options up and that weight was a lot heavier, like 7,444#. It still allowed me the 3000# payload I needed so I was OK. BUT still the only tried and true method went to the scales and now have a weight slip good within 20#. Weight 7,260# So the book math came in heavy.

The posted curb weight of an 2005 EX, 4 x 4 6.8 V10 is listed as 7,230# with gas and no options. See page 26 in that Ford source book I sent you. You have to add on all the nice options you have to that weight. See page 23. One of my camper buddies has an 2005 EX 4 x 4 6.8 V10, with rear seats and his scales in at 7,980# with full gas. Then he puts his family and TT tongue weight on top of that. Do not know if yours weighs this much or more, but that 6955# seems light.

Stuff adds up….

Hope this helps

John

[Sunline Fan]

Originally Posted by JohnB

On the weights, heads up that 6955#. My Ford dealer almost got me mixed on that too as having enough payload was a main part of me upgrading to a 1 ton. This new F350 I have was a lease trade in that they originally sold. He gave me a copy of the original bill of lading when the truck was delivered on the flat bed and it listed 6486#. And I quizzed him where that number came from as the posted curb weight, no options weighs more than that….. So I went to the Ford source book and added all the options up and that weight was a lot heavier, like 7,444#. It still allowed me the 3000# payload I needed so I was OK. BUT still the only tried and true method went to the scales and now have a weight slip good within 20#. Weight 7,260# So the book math came in heavy.

The posted curb weight of an 2005 EX, 4 x 4 6.8 V10 is listed as 7,230# with gas and no options. See page 26 in that Ford source book I sent you. You have to add on all the nice options you have to that weight. See page 23. One of my camper buddies has an 2005 EX 4 x 4 6.8 V10, with rear seats and his scales in at 7,980# with full gas. Then he puts his family and TT tongue weight on top of that. Do not know if yours weighs this much or more, but that 6955# seems light.

Stuff adds up….

Hope this helps

John

Yeah, that figure did seem a little bit light. I wondered if it might have been a shipping weight, so only like five gallons of gas, etc.

Our friends with the diesel had theirs weighed and it came in just over 8000#. Actually, they went to a landscape place and bought something, and before they loaded it up (I think it was landscape rocks), the store had them drive over a scale. Then they loaded the goods and drove over again, and that's how they determined the amount to charge.

I knew the diesel was heavier, but I didn't think it would be 1000# heavier.

I'm curious, do you have a trip computer with mileage readings? If you do, could you let me know what your's is reading? I have yet to calculate mine by hand, but I wrote down the mileage at the last fill-up, so next time I fill up, I can calculate it. I haven't reset the computer in a while, but it's currently reading 10.9- it was 11.1 when it got up to 55 the other day, but it dropped back down quickly again with the cold temps. I realize you have the 4.10 rear, but I'm curious to see how good that 3V is.

I know you won't be able to do this easily with the 4.10, but I always try to keep it under 2k off the line. It seems to help mileage, but I have no idea how much. I've been doing it for so long that I don't have any before numbers.

Jon

[JohnB]

Jon

I have been tracking mileage, by hand and by computer. Non towing right now I get 12.4 MPG going back and forth to work, mostly inner city high way. Doing 55 to 65 MPH

I also had 12.4 for a 135 miles trip on the way home from the dealer oddly enough. Only did 65mph max. I’m also tire pressure experimenting. On the way home from the dealer I dropped all 4 tires to 60 psi to help with the bounce and had 12.4 MPG.

Over the weekend, I up’ed the front back to 65 and the rear to 75 to set up the WD hitch on the TT. And I took it to work today, reset the computer and had the same12.4 in traffic. And it bounced too…. So I’m still experimenting and measuring.

On the RPM’s yes I already learned this on the 4.10’s in the Suburban. Those high gears will driving around empty make your vehicle kick up her heals and GO. And right along with it is the gas gage heading to E…. It’s like learning to drive all over again. You have to nurse it a little until she shifts or else pay at the pump even worse then we do now.

John

[Sunline Fan]

Message content deleted by author.

[Hematite]

John,

Considering the very heavy duty capability of the V10/ F350your fuel mileage is pretty decent. I only get 13.5- 14mpg with the F150 5.4/ 3.73 gears in combined city /highway. The F150 can't begin to do what the F350 can.