I Need a Truck F150 versus F250.

I've been doing an awful lot of truck things of late; which means over loading my Outback or cajoling a friend with his truck.

The biggest things I will be towing are likely to be no more than 5000lbs. My enclosed trailer is 4280lbs fully loaded. We are also looking at travel trailers. Probably 19ft which weigh around 4000-4500lbs.

I am also trying to cut down the fleet. Having 5 cars (I know, I know, that's minimalist here) is also starting to become a job.

I am leaning towards a F150 4 door 6ft bed as I would be OK driving that everyday.  My Buddy who advises me on such things tells me I want an F250 because it will tow better; the only downside for me is they are bigger.

My campervan is 35 years old and drives exactly like it. The biggest factor is noise. I've managed to damage my hearing over the years and as odd as it may seem I no longer wish to ride in noisy vehicles.

I'm looking at 2010-2014 as those are in the price range I can live with (I'm cheap).

I would love to hear people's thought / experiences. 

Go with the F150. It will be easier to drive and park (though not nearly as easy as your Outback). Most notably, the suspension will be much more compliant. The 250 is a HD truck and will ride like one, whereas most F150s ride much more gently. If you're only towing 5k pounds and even that not all the time, the F150 will be much move livable. 

I don't know if either one will be appreciably quieter inside, as an 11+-year-old-truck is going to have some noise and the interior quietness will largely be a function of the condition of the interior panels and the weather seals.

Keep in mind that the F150 went to an aluminum body in 2014. Those will get better fuel economy but may be more difficult for body repair if that is a concern. 

I'm the wrong guy to ask, but I'm in the "Go big or go home" camp.  What you want is an F-350 DRW.  It will change your life.

But seriously, go 250.  Manufacturers know that most people who buy 150s treat them like cars and build them accordingly. 

F-550 minimum...

You mentioned towing enclosed and RVs in the 4-5k range. How often are you doing that and how far are you typically towing? Will this be your only daily, or will it split with a smaller car? Do you think 5k is the max you plan to tow, or is a larger trailer a possibility in the next few years? How many people and how much gear in the truck while towing? A typical family of 4 with camping gear in the bed will eat up enough payload on the 150 to make a 5k trailer a stretch.

Either tuck should tow those trailers. The F-250 will be more stable and confident towing, but will be less comfortable, less efficient, and larger for daily duty (*snickers like a 5 year old*). The F-150 will be more comfortable, better fuel economy, and easier to park but will be less stable towing.

If you are towing those trailers 2-4 times a month for over 200 miles a trip, I would lean toward the 250, especially if you have a smaller car that can be used when the size is an issue. If they are towed 2-4 times a year and under 100 miles a trip, I would get the 150. Scenarios in between will be a balance of daily comfort vs towing comfort and what you are comfortable with. Also consider payload and what all you will have in the truck while towing. A lot of people and gear will push the equations more toward the 250.

Personally, I went with the 3/4 ton (Ram 2500) but I have a separate daily and the truck is only used for truck stuff.

Funny you say that. I drove a F-250 over the weekend and it rides like a buckboard compared to 1/2-ton trucks. It was also significantly taller, which is a bit annoying. For the moderate loads that you describe, I don't think that you need the big downgrade in comfort that a 250 would entail. - Also, worse gas mileage and things like brakes are bigger and therefore more expensive.

I've never owned one, but everyone I know who has says that travel trailers always wind up being much heavier than you expect and are also one of the hardest things to tow due to the wind loading.

Is Ford a requirement?  While I like my F-250 a lot it's a 2021, and in the model years around 2010 I think I like the Chevys better.

Modern half-tons are extremely capable. They have more power, better suspension, and bigger brakes than the heavy duty trucks of 20+ years ago. And as others have mentioned, they ride better, get better mileage, are cheaper, and are just generally easier to live with day-to-day than heavy duty trucks. If you're going to be under 5k at the most, an F-150 is more than enough truck.

I liked the overkill of my '06 Super Duty, The Gov't Mule.  What I didn't like was the 5.4L and it's known cam phazer issues.  Mine had begun a "start-up tick" when I sold it at about 155k miles.  

So, for the years you're looking at, did the F-250s still have 5.4Ls?  I know on your years the F-150 offered the good 5.0L

This will be my wife and I.

As for wind sail; my current 1990 E250 Camper with the enclosed trailer is a friggin pirate ship in the wind and gets especially weavy passing semi-trucks. 

Anything will be an improvment.

I say neither.  For the situation you describe, pay the Toyota tax and go Gen II V8 Tundra (basically the same rig from 2007 to 2021).  I went that route due to the one that was documented in the GRM fleet.  Their only issue is thirst - but hey it's a full size truck and besides that, you have other vehicles you can take for a run to the corner store.  Hitched to a trailer they're no worse than anything else.  
 

PS - I also own an F350 DRW 

for reelz 

I have a truck as a tool, and when I need that tool, it needs to be able to do the job well. I'd say SD, but I'll toss in not as a daily driver. Find one that can be added to the fleet and used as needed. I'll also suggest look at Ram 2500/3500 as they can be a good bit cheaper. 

A 2014 F150 has a max towing capacity over 11k lbs (in proper configuration). That means the F150 is probably overkill for your 5k trailers. No reason to jump up to the 3/4 ton trucks. And you might even consider the smaller trucks (Ranger, Colorado, Tacoma, Frontier).

Tom1200 said:

My Buddy who advises me on such things tells me I want an F250 because it will tow better...

Yeah, but why stop there when an F650 will tow even better. LOL

If you're a 'more is better' person, and want to not even have to think about things like WDH or how you're loaded, sure the F250 will be great. However, IMO the F150 is the 'right sized' tool for the job you describe.

My 2019 F150 with the 'nano' (2.7L) Ecoboost and nano (5.5') bed pulls our 21ft travel trailer great through the mountains and over long (love the 36 gal tank) distances, and makes a far better daily driver than I ever expected. I'm assuming that you mean 6.5' when you say 6' bed, but I'll offer some food for thought. For some people, 1' of additional bed length is immensely useful for their typical usage. For me the extra length has never been necessary, and and would only be nice to have on rare occasion. However, it also means a modestly-but-noticeably tighter turning circle. That's nice to have every day when parking, especially in tight lots with short spaces, but also makes maneuvering the trailer in and around campgrounds that much less difficult.

The other caveat I'll offer is that while you'll need to be aware of F150 payload limits, as you'll run out of that before towing capacity, it's not that bad. Just look at the as-built payload on the door sticker, not just the published numbers 99.9% of people quote. With the mine has ~1600 lbs, which is plenty for my family of 4+dog, gear in the bed, and the as-loaded trailer. Personally, I wouldn't go below 1500 with a 1/2 ton. I don't know what they are for the year range you're looking at though, but I have even seen some optioned down into the 1300's. You may want to keep an eye out for the 'max trailer tow package' not just the regular 'trailer tow package', as it also gets a modest bump in payload.

If you really want more capability from a 1/2-ton, Ford also made a rarely ordered 'heavy duty payload package' for the F150's that has a thicker steel frame (among other upgrades) that turns it into what I think of as a 5/8-ton (F200?) truck. I think it's easiest identified in those years by the 7 lug wheels. Holding out to find one of those could be an option.

On the travel trailer front: Watch out for the (biggest of the sngle axle) 19's. Most have pitifully low cargo carrying capacities from the as-built (sticker) unloaded weight. That's a large part of how we ended up with a 21. I do still miss the maneuverability of the single axle though.

A 401 CJ said:

I say neither.  For the situation you describe, pay the Toyota tax and go Gen II V8 Tundra (basically the same rig from 2007 to 2021).  I went that route due to the one that was documented in the GRM fleet.  Their only issue is thirst - but hey it's a full size truck and besides that, you have other vehicles you can take for a run to the corner store.  Hitched to a trailer they're no worse than anything else.  

That Tundra is what my boss had for years. I have a 2011 Dodge 2500. Coming home from an event, we hit major winds in Kansas. He was getting pulled all over the road, my rig was stable as a rock despite the fact that my trailer was 8' longer and I had no electronic stability aids. I eventually just left him at 60 mph as he crept down the interstate at 30 trying to survive with the trailer sway system lighting up like a pinball machine. That Tundra had replaced another Gen II Tundra that was wrecked in Utah when a fairly small Airstream got into a tank slapper and rolled the whole rig over. 

Not saying that an F250 is the right choice here, but in my experience the Tundras ARE worse than other things when towing. They're a whole lot nicer when you're running around town, though, so it's a matter of what the primary use case will be. I only fire up the 2500 when I need it to Do Work, but that Tundra used to get used for groceries constantly.

I have run both sides of this argument. Bigger is great when you are towing, it sucks when you aren't. Like others have said if you can have a dedicated vehicle for towing go big. I just sold my Escalade which I bought to tow my 5600 lb (loaded) camper while I was working from home. 6 months of driving this huge thing to work everyday at 13 mpg and I was sick of it. 95% sure I am getting a Tacoma in 2 weeks, 6,400 lb towing capacity so the 6 times a year I tow my camper less than 100 miles it won't be as good but the 200 days a year I drive to work it's gonna be great. 

BTW, one thing you might consider is that the commercial side of Enterprise will rent you trucks that you are allowed to tow with.  So you could see what they offer, rent one for a weekend, and use it as a "test drive" opportunity to compare how different classes of tow vehicle work with your trailer.

In reply to Driven5 :

My wife weighs 114lbs and I weigh 140lbs; so we don't represent much of a payload.

As for the cargo capacity of the trailer; I've been looking and it appears to be around 900lbs for what I'm looking at, for our clothes and food I think we'd have about 300lbs to work with. That should be enough.

The 250 will tow *better* but a decently setup 150 will be plenty sufficient. For pure towing duty the 250 night be the better choice, but for multipurpose including daily use driving, 150 without any hesitation.

Tom1200 said:

As for the cargo capacity of the trailer; I've been looking and it appears to be around 900lbs for what I'm looking at, for our clothes and food I think we'd have about 300lbs to work with. That should be enough.

How big is the water tank?  At 8 pounds a gallon water adds up pretty quickly.

Well, F150s in that year range are rated to tow anywhere from 10k to 13k, so I wouldn't worry about towing 4k.

The only real reason I might lean toward an F250 is because things are just beefier.  Ball joints, tie rod ends, bushings, brakes, shocks, bearings, axles, etc.  My F150 needed maintenance much like a car - brake pads every 16 months or so, chassis and suspension parts every 60k or so.  My F250 I owned from 60k miles until 150k miles, and I did brake pads once.  I never did any chassis parts, although when I sold it one rear shock was leaking a bit.  It looked OEM.

My F150 was as reliable as Taurus.  Drove a bit more like a car, needed replacement parts like a car.  My F250 was as reliable as a chunk of Oak.  I knew that as long as it passed PA inspection, it was a no-brainer.  I could count on it to not need parts for years.

The downside is potentially larger turning radius, stiffer ride (although they're getting so good with this), potentially higher registration cost.  In PA, if I have a dually, I can register it as a Class 1 truck (like a Ranger), but then I'm technically required to stay under a certain GVW despite what the truck's doorjamb says.  Some states, you pay based on the GVWR.

I rarely tow more than 6000 these days, so my Express 1500 is more than enough, but if GM had made a true 2500 Express with AWD, I'd be driving it now.  In truth, GM did make a one-year 2500 AWD, but it was a total sham.  They added a leaf to the rear springs and put a 2500 badge on it.  The front chassis was strictly 1500 parts bin.

Edit to add:  Check with your insurance/state.  Insurance might see an F250 as implied heavy-duty/towing use and it might be more expensive.

Half ton no question. I understand the want to have head room but I've seen too many people go too big on trucks for the occasional load and then realize they have to maintain and fuel the larger truck and get over it real quick. A half ton is more than sufficient and is a better place to be for the majority of your driving.

Could I interest you in a non Ford product, though

Tom1200 said:

As for the cargo capacity of the trailer; I've been looking and it appears to be around 900lbs for what I'm looking at, for our clothes and food I think we'd have about 300lbs to work with. That should be enough.

As long as that's as-built (sticker) weights and not just advertised, that's better than I remember seeing during our search a couple years a go. If that's just advertised it can end up much tighter than many people expect, since they usually come in a couple hundred over advertised UVW (a couple hundred less CCC) and none of which accounts for water, battery, or propane weights. The latter two which are basically just additional tongue (truck payload) weight beyond advertised too. I've noticed that the available storage also tends to be forward (tongue weight) biased.

Keith Tanner said:

A 401 CJ said:

I say neither.  For the situation you describe, pay the Toyota tax and go Gen II V8 Tundra (basically the same rig from 2007 to 2021).  I went that route due to the one that was documented in the GRM fleet.  Their only issue is thirst - but hey it's a full size truck and besides that, you have other vehicles you can take for a run to the corner store.  Hitched to a trailer they're no worse than anything else.  

That Tundra is what my boss had for years. I have a 2011 Dodge 2500. Coming home from an event, we hit major winds in Kansas. He was getting pulled all over the road, my rig was stable as a rock despite the fact that my trailer was 8' longer and I had no electronic stability aids. I eventually just left him at 60 mph as he crept down the interstate at 30 trying to survive with the trailer sway system lighting up like a pinball machine. That Tundra had replaced another Gen II Tundra that was wrecked in Utah when a fairly small Airstream got into a tank slapper and rolled the whole rig over. 

Not saying that an F250 is the right choice here, but in my experience the Tundras ARE worse than other things when towing. They're a whole lot nicer when you're running around town, though, so it's a matter of what the primary use case will be. I only fire up the 2500 when I need it to Do Work, but that Tundra used to get used for groceries constantly.

I don't think anyone would dispute that a 3/4 ton Cummins will out tow a Tundra.  Your point about it being worse than comparable trucks (which yours is not) is not my experience or the experience documented by JG Pasterjak after upgrading to LT tires.  I recommend it because it is the undisputed champion of reliability, simplicity, ease of repair, and resale value.  

Questions to ask yourself:

- what do you use your daily for?  A work commuter?  A run-around car to take to the store?  etc.

- where do you live?  A bigger truck is a lot more of a problem in a big city than in the suburbs or country

- Being honest with yourself, do you really think you would exceed the limitations of a half ton truck?

I went from a 150 to a 250.  It was a significant upgrade for towing and doing truck stuff, and a significant downgrade for day to day running around stuff.  It's a 2nd vehicle for me; if I had to daily the truck I would get rid of the 250 and go back to a 150, and accept the attendant compromises.  I agree with the poster above that said to go with the 150 if you're towing less than twice a month, or towing shorter distances.

In reply to A 401 CJ :

Fair enough. You're definitely right about the LT tires - my Dodge replaced a first gen Tundra on Michelin LTXs and the new second gen truck was so wallowy by comparison when I drove them back to back. I always took that as a statement of intended use by Toyota, it was set up to be a car first and not a truck. 

Would an F150 have made it through the incident that totalled my boss's first Tundra or have been more stable in that wind storm? I have no way to tell, although the trailer used in that situation is now being towed very happily by a Cayenne diesel. 

My use case is that if I'm towing, I'm probably going a thousand miles and across at least one significant mountain range. I've done a 8000 mile tow with a first gen Tundra (on LT tires) with a single car trailer and it did fine. The Dodge is happier even with twice the trailer on the back, so it's a better choice for me. But it's not happy being a car, so a trade off between towing ability and car ability needs to be evaluated.