Truck for C Dory 25.

ken westrope · Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2019 3:49 pm Post subject:

i own one of the 1/2 ton ford 3.0 diesels. gets 25.5 hiway 14.0 pulling my 21 ft trailer. the intergral brake controller will work with electric over hydraulics. blind spot monitor back up cam yada yada. is set to tow. have not needed to tow my 25 yet but would not hesitate.

localboy · Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2019 3:55 pm Post subject:

I drive a very lo-tech, 2005 F250, 6.0 diesel, 4x4, crew cab, short bed. Only 96K miles. It’s still a big truck. Gets about 18 freeway...11-12 towing the boat. Still have surge brakes. Plenty of torque/power. Good brakes. It really is a comfortable truck, despite the “issues” with the 6.0 International. I’ve put about $3K in upgrades to alleviate some of the issues with the oil cooler et al. She runs fine...so far.

It too is my “daily” although I have a “work vehicle” assigned to me, so I don’t commute in it. It would break the bank if I had to. It has a 30 gallon tank which has proven to be sufficient so far; we don’t tow across the country, yet.

I considered buying a new GMC 3500 but the sticker shock postponed that. Plus, we don’t know if we will need the truck once I retire. We may sell the boat, we may keep the boat, we may buy a bigger boat...who knows. We are considering getting rid of a lot of “stuff” and relocating to sunny Arizona. We may then get a 5th wheel. Again, who knows.

The cost of new diesels is ridiculous! $50K plus. That’s why I’m keeping this old girl running.

thataway · Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2019 6:12 pm Post subject:

It helps to have a Mississippi Girl as a wife, who loves pickup trucks. (OK we don't have a long gun rack in the rear window) I had not made up my mind after riding in both the F 150 with the 5.0 (old school sort of) crew cab, 36 gal fuel tank and 5.5' bed, and the several feet longer F 250. When we got out and started talking, it was obvious what Marie wanted--and she drives about 50% of the time.... We both felt that the ride in the F 250 was better than in the F 150. I suspect that she also really liked the "trailer back up fly by wire", since that is an area she does not feel as comfortable. I am not sure I trust that, but we well do some trials and see...

So we ended up with a 2019 F 250, cloth seats (They get sheepskin covers no matter what.), and most of the same bells and whistles which she has on her Lincoln MKX...As she said--probably the last truck I will buy, and might as well get one which will "do the job". It has the crew cab, and 6.5' bed. Apparently the 250's don't have the 5.5' bed. It does have a 34 gallon tank, and we will add another auxiliary tank.--probably another 35 to 50 gallons. (We were used to 110 gallons in the previous RV.)

As John noted, we often get diesel in the on the road truck lanes--both in the current RV and the one we sold a year ago, so this is nothing new, and we have all of the discount cards. We also use "Allstays App" which gives us a lot of info on RV parks and truck stops. I do agree that the newer diesels are not like the older ones. But we are amazed that the little 185 hp Mercedes in our one ton Sprinter chassis, gets 14 to 15 mpg even towing Marie's MKX.

All of the comments are appreciated! Thank you. I suspect we would be equally happy with either of the trucks.

localboy · Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2019 6:33 pm Post subject:

Congrats, Dr Bob... A new toy! I always love to see people who have busted their "you know whats" their entire lives, enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Personally, I like the larger, heavier 3/4-1 tons for towing our boats. Yeah, the boats are "light" but you're still talking ~5 tons when loaded. I prefer to have that extra safety window to spare and the larger brakes, more torque et al can't be beaten, IMO. The ride/comfort of our 3/4 ton, even at 70 mph, is amazing.

Love to know your impression of the Ford, once you have some miles on it. I swore I wouldn't buy another Ford after all I've had to do to our '05, but never say never...

journey on · Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2019 6:54 pm Post subject:

Not addressing any specific post here, but we've had a F-250 for 14 years and it's been a very good truck. We only use it to tow the boat and it's great for that. The last 2 trucks I've bought new were just great: a 89 Chevvie 3/4 ton and the Ford. Judy prefers the 1/2 ton ride, but we buy the truck to pull the boat.

I'm sure that they've improved the Ford trucks a great deal: aluminum body, new engines and heated seats. If the bell or whistle is on a Lincoln, I'm sure they're selling it on a truck. I hope they've fixed the spark plug replacement issue, though we've not had to replace the plugs.

One of my son-in-laws bought a 2019 F150, with an eco-boost V-6? and a 10 speed transmission. It's still new, but he loves it.

Bob, I'm sure you'll be happy with that truck. BTW, since it's a 3/4 ton, how many speeds does it have in the tranny?

Boris

DayBreak · Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2019 6:58 pm Post subject:

Hi Dr. Bob.

We only have a 23 Venture which is lighter than the 25 Cruiser but our 2010 F-150 easily tows the boat from our place (south of Salem, Or.) to Bellingham easily on one tank of gas. We launch the boat in Bellingham, transport the boat trailer to a secure storage facility nearby, then re-fill the truck on the way back to the boat ramp. The 36 gallon fuel tank on the Ford is really nice to have. At the end of our trip, the truck is already re-filled and ready for the 330 mile trip home.

I know a 2017 F-150 equipped with a 3.5 liter EcoBoost engine is rated to tow 12,200 lbs. Glad you were able to get an F-250. That will be plenty of truck to pull a 25 Cruiser.

Gary.

Micahbigsur@msn.com · Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2019 7:06 pm Post subject:

Congratulations, that sounds like the perfect truck for your needs, good strong brakes and an economical engine and all the new towing technology!

thataway · Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2019 9:07 pm Post subject:

Boris asks

SnowTexan · Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2019 9:26 pm Post subject:

Congrats on a nice ride! Now you just need that gun rack. A speckled three legged dog is also a fair substitute.

Safe travels

thataway · Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2019 9:49 pm Post subject:

SnowTexan · Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2019 10:00 pm Post subject:

Hah! Yeah that’ll do it

Wandering Sagebrush · Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2019 10:08 pm Post subject:

Bob, I think you’ll enjoy the new truck. The 6.7 is a great engine. With the camper on, and our 22, I think we are pretty close to 10,000 pounds. It’s a rare grade that gives us any problem.

A caveat... stay away from cut rate fuel stops. I just put $3,000 into my truck be cause of a clogged inter cooler. I used a local cut rate place for the first 35-40,000 miles, and occasionally one on the road. At 75,000 miles, I got a check engine light that led to the clog being diagnosed. Now, I try to only use Chevron or other premium brands, and then from high volume stations.

Fritz and Ketzel say howdy to Miss Angel.