Posted: 5/28/2013 6:53:06 PM EDT
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I think I have decided to get the F-250 gasser instead of the F-150 or the 2500HD Duramax. Because of price, I will be going used to save as much cash as possible. There are a few out there with decent mileage for a decent price.
Does anyone know if it's possible to get away with an extended cab over a crew cab for traveling with kids? I have driven a couple and honestly it seems like there is more room in the back seat of the F-250 over our Pilot. I have not had a chance to have the kids sit in one yet, so thought I would ask. Has anyone traveled with this setup? Availability and price is a LOT better with the extended cabs. Any issues with purchasing the F-250 and the 5.4L engine? Or is it a must to go up to the 6.2L? Will be pulling a camper in the near future. Any suggestions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! |
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I have an '07 6.0L diesel (yes, that one!) and the consensus I hear is to go with the V10 if you're going with a gasser. Apparently, you don't gain any MPG with the 5.4L, but you definitely lose power. I have a crew cab, and there's a ton of room in the back. My 3 kids have plenty of space. I didn't even look at the extended cabs, so don't know about the comparison.
Will you be towing up any mountains? The gasser is supposed to lose a lot of power at altitude, so take that into consideration. I just got back on a trip to Iowa to buy a new camper, and it hauled that 8000 lb sucker no problem. |
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Crew Cab for sure. I have 3 kids and the extended cab was a tight fit with all 3, still doable but not the best situation. Traded it for a King Ranch crew cab and there is a TON more space. WAY more space in my truck than in my wife's Pilot, not counting the 3rd row/cargo area. Mine has the 5.4 and it is indeed gutless in terms of pep. But I've hauled some pretty heavy loads and it's not any more gutless with a full load. But it gets the job done. Would I buy another 5.4? Probably, if I liked the truck, but it's not preferable.
ETA, I'm talking about an F250 super duty. |
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I have had the crew and supercab and currently have the f150 crew
the superduty crew the seats are huge and roomy for any adult the supercab is fine for kids except in car seats or booster seats, and anyone over 5'8 will be uncomfortable on long trips. the crew f150 for me was kinda the right size of trruck i needed since it fits in the garage better and milage was better. my crew f250 was a 7.3 diesel annd supercab was a v10 and the f150 crew is the 5.4 |
| I've owned a crew cab f250 and 350 and the room is very nice especially when it comes down to doing the dirty deed in the back or front seat, but I grew up with my dad having extended cab f150's and while it wasn't the most comfortable it wasn't the worst thing in the world. |
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How much are you looking to spend OP ? 5.4 in an F-250 is a gas hog. They mostly run 4.10 gears in that setup to compensate for the lack of power for a heavier truck. The smaller engine winds up burning more gas than the 6.2. Thank you for all of the replies - this is good information. I am looking at used trucks and my goal is to stay under $20K. I really am not that concerned about what year the vehicle is, but I would like to keep the mileage as low as possible. The reason why I am asking about the extended cab vs. the crew cab is because there are a ton more options (availability) with the extended cab. I am looking at an 06' F-250 Lariat extended cab tomorrow with an asking price of $23K with 31K miles. I have seen a few extended cabs in this price range, but once you look at crew cabs, the price skyrockets or the mileage skyrockets. I used to have an F-150 SuperCrew, so I do have some idea on the room that a crew cab offers. Just by looking though, it appears that the extended cab F-250 has more room than the extended cab F-150 (maybe somewhere between the extended cab and crew cab on the F-150?). This may be my eyes though. This is why I was asking if anyone had experience with both. The 5.4L engine on an F-250 is much worse gas mileage wise than the F-150? I am assuming due to the weight? This will be a daily driver as well, so I want to be smart about it, but I also want to be able to pull a good size camper when we travel. Price wise, I do not really see a big difference between the F-150 and F-250 in the used market. |
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" What weight of camper do you intend to pull ? Not sure yet on the camper. There seems to be a ton of different options for campers, so I wanted to get the truck established first and then start looking at campers. I figure it would be easier to find a camper to adjust to the truck than dealing with finding a truck that is suitable for the camper. |
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In our maintenance fleet we have:
05 f250 4x4 v10 - 11mpg 05 f350 4x4 6.0 diesel - 16mpg 06 f350 2x4 6.0 diesel service body - 18mpg 06 f550 6.0 diesel flat bed 4x4 - 13mpg 07 f550 6.0 diesel service body with crane 2x4 - 14mpg 08 f250 4x4. 5.4L - 12mpg 08 f250 4x4 6.4L diesel no modifications - 12mpg 08 f250 4x4 6.4L diesel heavily modified - 19 to 24mpg (my personal truck) 5.4L works but its under powered by a lot. Hauling in the bed sure. Heavy trailer... No dice. |
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In our maintenance fleet we have: 05 f250 4x4 v10 - 11mpg 05 f350 4x4 6.0 diesel - 16mpg 06 f350 2x4 6.0 diesel service body - 18mpg 06 f550 6.0 diesel flat bed 4x4 - 13mpg 07 f550 6.0 diesel service body with crane 2x4 - 14mpg 08 f250 4x4. 5.4L - 12mpg 08 f250 4x4 6.4L diesel no modifications - 12mpg 08 f250 4x4 6.4L diesel heavily modified - 19mpg (my personal truck) 5.4L works but its under powered by a lot. Hauling in the bed sure. Heavy trailer... No dice. What is the deal with Ford's Diesels? Why is everyone so down on them? Are they that unreliable? |
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" What weight of camper do you intend to pull ? Not sure yet on the camper. There seems to be a ton of different options for campers, so I wanted to get the truck established first and then start looking at campers. I figure it would be easier to find a camper to adjust to the truck than dealing with finding a truck that is suitable for the camper. Good thinking. I get quite a few folks that buy the camper first and find out their current truck will not tow it. The smart folks find the camper they want and get the truck to suit their needs before picking up that Taj Mahal. LOL |
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In our maintenance fleet we have: 05 f250 4x4 v10 - 11mpg 05 f350 4x4 6.0 diesel - 16mpg 06 f350 2x4 6.0 diesel service body - 18mpg 06 f550 6.0 diesel flat bed 4x4 - 13mpg 07 f550 6.0 diesel service body with crane 2x4 - 14mpg 08 f250 4x4. 5.4L - 12mpg 08 f250 4x4 6.4L diesel no modifications - 12mpg 08 f250 4x4 6.4L diesel heavily modified - 19mpg (my personal truck) 5.4L works but its under powered by a lot. Hauling in the bed sure. Heavy trailer... No dice. What is the deal with Ford's Diesels? Why is everyone so down on them? Are they that unreliable? The newer 6.7's are the shit ! I think Ford finally figured it out with that engine. |
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In our maintenance fleet we have: 05 f250 4x4 v10 - 11mpg 05 f350 4x4 6.0 diesel - 16mpg 06 f350 2x4 6.0 diesel service body - 18mpg 06 f550 6.0 diesel flat bed 4x4 - 13mpg 07 f550 6.0 diesel service body with crane 2x4 - 14mpg 08 f250 4x4. 5.4L - 12mpg 08 f250 4x4 6.4L diesel no modifications - 12mpg 08 f250 4x4 6.4L diesel heavily modified - 19mpg (my personal truck) 5.4L works but its under powered by a lot. Hauling in the bed sure. Heavy trailer... No dice. What is the deal with Ford's Diesels? Why is everyone so down on them? Are they that unreliable? The newer 6.7's are the shit ! I think Ford finally figured it out with that engine. I've had one since December and love it. I get around 14.5-15.0 mpg around town and 16-17 on the highway. It tows like a champ. And super crew all the way! |
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In our maintenance fleet we have: 05 f250 4x4 v10 - 11mpg 05 f350 4x4 6.0 diesel - 16mpg 06 f350 2x4 6.0 diesel service body - 18mpg 06 f550 6.0 diesel flat bed 4x4 - 13mpg 07 f550 6.0 diesel service body with crane 2x4 - 14mpg 08 f250 4x4. 5.4L - 12mpg 08 f250 4x4 6.4L diesel no modifications - 12mpg 08 f250 4x4 6.4L diesel heavily modified - 19mpg (my personal truck) 5.4L works but its under powered by a lot. Hauling in the bed sure. Heavy trailer... No dice. What is the deal with Ford's Diesels? Why is everyone so down on them? Are they that unreliable? Haters gonna hate basically. Our 6.0l haven't been bad. One sucked something through the intake and took out a turbo at 50k miles, was covered under warranty. No issues with that since. All of them are pushing 150-175k right now. No head gasket issues, nothing. I would avoid an 03 or 04 6.0l diesel. As for the 6.4L... Key to them is removing the dpf and egr. Do that and you will get a ton of power, great fuel economy and fantastic reliability out side of normal sensor failure and cheap plastic parts failing. (Transmission temp sensor and anti freeze t went out on mine. So nothing out of the norm.) Sure, 7.3l are bomb proof. 5.9s are awesome engines. Durajunks are izuze engines and I won't buy an izuze engine. And in today's world I won't buy a fiat made truck, or a government motors vehicle. So fords are my only choice for a heavy duty pick up. I will also not touch diesel exhaust fluid with a 10ft pole, as its going to be a dieing technology. In a fleet application with those specs, buying used, I buy 6.0 and 6.4l. The trucks listed are just at my Youngstown office. I have triple that company wide. I think we replaced a v10 engine in an f350 in my Lansing office and a 6.0 in my Toledo office. Don't know how many miles were on them when we did it. |
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My old man has a 2000 F-350 king ranch crew cab, dually, 7.3 diesel (i think). They used to haul a 25 or 30' travel trailer all over the US and Canada for months at a time. Without the trailer he gets about 18 mpg at best, typically ~15. With the trailer he gets around 11 if I remember correctly. They now have a camper thing that fits in the bed. He had to have the suspension upgraded a bit, but they actually like it more than the big trailer. Fuel mileage for the camper is about 13 mpg. He did buy some chip or something for the engine and a monitor for the transmission - apparently he had some transmission issues with overheating with the big trailer and the truck either didn't have a good monitoring system or it was broken. not sure what the deal was.
He bought the truck about 10 years ago and has put around 225k miles on it since then. The thing is rock friggin' solid and my dad plans to continue abusing the truck until it dies, which he jokilngly says will likely be a few decades after he's gone. He keeps it impeccably maintained and always has - when you look for a used one, make sure it's been maintained by someone super anal about that kinda thing. Ride is really nice, interior is nice and the amount of room in the cab is impressive. I've rented apartments with less room. edited for numbers accuracy - got some more info from him. |
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In our maintenance fleet we have: 05 f250 4x4 v10 - 11mpg 05 f350 4x4 6.0 diesel - 16mpg 06 f350 2x4 6.0 diesel service body - 18mpg 06 f550 6.0 diesel flat bed 4x4 - 13mpg 07 f550 6.0 diesel service body with crane 2x4 - 14mpg 08 f250 4x4. 5.4L - 12mpg 08 f250 4x4 6.4L diesel no modifications - 12mpg 08 f250 4x4 6.4L diesel heavily modified - 19mpg (my personal truck) 5.4L works but its under powered by a lot. Hauling in the bed sure. Heavy trailer... No dice. What is the deal with Ford's Diesels? Why is everyone so down on them? Are they that unreliable? The newer 6.7's are the shit ! I think Ford finally figured it out with that engine. That they are! 2012 Crew Fx4. 20 MPG keeping my foot out of it at 65. Normal city/hwy was 16-17. With a tune and deletes you can see high 20's |
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In our maintenance fleet we have: 05 f250 4x4 v10 - 11mpg 05 f350 4x4 6.0 diesel - 16mpg 06 f350 2x4 6.0 diesel service body - 18mpg 06 f550 6.0 diesel flat bed 4x4 - 13mpg 07 f550 6.0 diesel service body with crane 2x4 - 14mpg 08 f250 4x4. 5.4L - 12mpg 08 f250 4x4 6.4L diesel no modifications - 12mpg 08 f250 4x4 6.4L diesel heavily modified - 19mpg (my personal truck) 5.4L works but its under powered by a lot. Hauling in the bed sure. Heavy trailer... No dice. What is the deal with Ford's Diesels? Why is everyone so down on them? Are they that unreliable? The newer 6.7's are the shit ! I think Ford finally figured it out with that engine. I've had one since December and love it. I get around 14.5-15.0 mpg around town and 16-17 on the highway. It tows like a champ. And super crew all the way! 6.7l have their own set of issues. Let alone adding to your fuel costs by making you buy diesel exhaust fluid. Which in 10 years probably isn't going to exist any more. Also, I'll put this out there. I am biased to Ford's. We are the largest motorcraft oil distributer in the US. By a lot. |
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DO NOT buy an 05-07 5.4L. Read up on Triton spark plug issue, you'll see why, it can be overcome, but if you're not mechanically inclined someone that is will probably take you for a decent amount of your money.
I have one, 4x4, 3.73 gears, 6 speed regular cab, daily driven, 11-12mpg city, I've seen 14.9 on the highway a few times, laden doesn't matter much, but a trailer will drag the performance and mileage way down and its pretty underwhelming to begin with. Only mechanical issue its had in 80k is an idler pulley. Not many performance parts availible for it, a programmer will wake it up, mostly by reducing throttle lag, an intake and exhaust will just make it sound like there's something under the hood. The extended cab is nice for transporting gear, not people, crew cab is very roomy. The 6.0 diesel has lots of known issues, we have a few in the fleet. It gets decent mileage and can make respectable power, but it takes a fair amount of investment to make it reliable. The 7.3 is great but the trucks are getting old and the miles are racking up. Haven't dealt with the 6.4 or 6.2 yet, the 6.8 is a p.o.s., bad mileage, worse with a load, breaks exhaust studs on the regular, not very impressive power. |
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I use to have a 99 f250 ext cab gasser. I could watch the gas gauge move when I got on in it on the interstate just to pass someone. That was one gas guzzling pig. After that I learned and got an 03 7.3. It averaged 20mpg mixed driving and 24-25mpg on long trips. All hand calculated and there were PLENTY of trips made. All VA to PA or VA to FL. If you learn how to properly drive the truck, by staying out of boost all the time, you can squeeze good mileage out of em. That's the real beauty of a diesel versus a gasser. It's sweet spot on the interstate was at 65mph. Any more or less and mileage would be lost. It's crazy.
It was a crew cab shortbed with 3.73's btw. I miss that 7.3. But the next will be either a 6.4 or a 5.9. |
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Get the crew cab, if you plan to transport rear passengers even kids unless they are all 5' tall for the rest of their life. There us way more room than a 1/2 ton ext cab, but not near enough unless the trips are short trips to town. Get the crew cab, also get the larger gas engine, 3/4 ton trucks are very heavy, the 5.4 usually gets about the same as the 6.2 empty, maybe a mile per gal more, but when you start pulling anything even a small boat, the 5.4 mileage will be terrible, and the 6.2 will pay for itself. As stated the 5.4Ls are geared lower to compensate for the lake of power.
I owned a 99 F-350 etc cab, 7.3L. The only difference between the F-250 and 350 is the rear blocks on the 250 are 2" lift blocks and the 350 are 4" lift blocks, and the increased towing/loading capacity because of it. |
| If the poster wants a late model quad cab f-250 under $20k. the PERFECT truck is on ebay right now: 2007 Ford F-250 CREW CAB 4X4 Lariat with a 12 valve CUMMINS diesel. $17000 buy it now. Having done a Fummins swap myself I gotta say it is the ultimate "have your cake and eat it too option". Not my truck for sale BTW. |
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I had a 99 F350 Crew Cab SRW 4x4 with a 5.4 and an auto. It ran and pulled fine...and got 11mpg. Always. Loaded, empty, uphill, downhill...11. I drove one of these for a few days... .GOV rig. It was g-u-t-l-e-s-s at 5000 ft AMSL where we were at. It's like Ford ran out of PSD's and V10's that day, oh, wait, ooh look, a 5.4L! Stick that in there... they'll never know the difference! |
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If the poster wants a late model quad cab f-250 under $20k. the PERFECT truck is on ebay right now: 2007 Ford F-250 CREW CAB 4X4 Lariat with a 12 valve CUMMINS diesel. $17000 buy it now. Having done a Fummins swap myself I gotta say it is the ultimate "have your cake and eat it too option". Not my truck for sale BTW. Sweet jeebus, that's a $10k swap. |
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If the poster wants a late model quad cab f-250 under $20k. the PERFECT truck is on ebay right now: 2007 Ford F-250 CREW CAB 4X4 Lariat with a 12 valve CUMMINS diesel. $17000 buy it now. Having done a Fummins swap myself I gotta say it is the ultimate "have your cake and eat it too option". Not my truck for sale BTW. Sweet jeebus, that's a $10k swap. Must be gone...I couldnt find it |
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After doing a little more research, I think a diesel might just be the best route to go. I am lacking knowledge on what makes some diesels better than others, so any input on why the Ford 6.0L and 6.4L diesels are not well received would be greatly appreciated.
I have a few friends with the GMC products and they brag all day about the Duramax/Allison combo. Is that a much better setup than the Ford offerings? If so, what makes them so much better? I would look at GMC just for the powertrain, but I just cannot stand the ride and interior. |
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Quoted: After doing a little more research, I think a diesel might just be the best route to go. I am lacking knowledge on what makes some diesels better than others, so any input on why the Ford 6.0L and 6.4L diesels are not well received would be greatly appreciated. I have a few friends with the GMC products and they brag all day about the Duramax/Allison combo. Is that a much better setup than the Ford offerings? If so, what makes them so much better? I would look at GMC just for the powertrain, but I just cannot stand the ride and interior. The 6.0 and 6.4 are good engines..they have their issues just like any other diesel IMO..the newer Torqshift Ford trannies are a hell of a lot better than the older 4R100's..I think Ford makes the best body/ frame/ axles and what not. The Duramaxes have their issues too, don't let anyone fool you. But..Allison transmissions are pretty much indestructible and are made to haul heavy loads, the toughest of the tough, biggest of the big. The m1 Abrams has an Allison transmission.. If you could mate a Cummins up to an Allison..and put in a Ford..it would be the ultimate tow-rig..But I don't think that'll ever happen. I changed the trans in a Harley Davidson F350 with the 6.4 and 5R110 Torqshift and its an awesome combo when working correctly.  |
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Consider how much you plan to drive it and the fuel economy. The 6.0l is a decently efficient motor and you can find them for cheaper than the other models.
Might want to factor in repairing it too if that is a concern for you. I've had one for 70k miles and only had to replace an alternator but your experience may vary. |
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What about a 2000 Excursion 7.3L with 120K?  I know at least 10 People looking for one. Seriously, They are hard to find and VERY desirable. Any idea what a good condition Limited Excursion with that mileage should sell for? I think I might miss the pickup, but I would think these are great for pulling a camper! |
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What about a 2000 Excursion 7.3L with 120K? I know at least 10 People looking for one. Seriously, They are hard to find and VERY desirable. Any idea what a good condition Limited Excursion with that mileage should sell for? I think I might miss the pickup, but I would think these are great for pulling a camper! With an Exc you are limited to bumper pull with your camper... 6.4 F450 KR here eta: I had an 03 crew V10 and it was bullet proof. I did not have to do anything besides change the oil and rubber and battery on that truck. Sold it with 175K |
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After doing a little more research, I think a diesel might just be the best route to go. I am lacking knowledge on what makes some diesels better than others, so any input on why the Ford 6.0L and 6.4L diesels are not well received would be greatly appreciated. I have a few friends with the GMC products and they brag all day about the Duramax/Allison combo. Is that a much better setup than the Ford offerings? If so, what makes them so much better? I would look at GMC just for the powertrain, but I just cannot stand the ride and interior. The smooth ride? haha Dont get a duramax model from before 2006. I'd get a 6.4 and do the deletes before a 6.0 |