Truck upgrade time. Eyes open please.

[JShort880]

Originally Posted by rhagfo

Well when we were looking four years ago, I set the search range at 500 miles. We ended up traveling to northern Washington state, from the central Oregon Coast. It was a long day, but got a great truck, at a great price.

Funny thing is plenty of good trucks around. I'll be linking what I'm thinking once I have a list.. Seems like we have a lot of support for the 450 here. We have absolutely no issue making a trip out of it and I haven't been to Oregon yet (so I'd be happy with that).

[JRTJH]

Good Luck with your searching for the right truck !!!!! Part of the fun (the frustrating part for me) is the uncertainty of trying to determine if it's the right truck, in many cases, all "sight unseen" until the investment of several hundred miles to finally get a glimpse....

That said, as Danny mentioned, be very cautious with a "lifted truck" when trying to find the perfect tow vehicle for a fifth wheel. Not only does lifting the truck make it "taller" thereby causing the trailer to "sit pin high" shifting weight from the front trailer axle to the rear axle, and in some situations, overloading the rear trailer axle.... But also, those "taller and wider tires" can induce greater tire sidewall flex, making controllability of the trailer more difficult in sway conditions....

For me (others likely have a different opinion), I wouldn't want to be climbing into the cab of a taller than stock HD truck and I can assure you my DW would NEVER find it "amusing" which would almost always make the "towing adventure less enjoyable" on every trip as she complains about that "first step".....

Looking at the F350 you posted the link to, those larger 35X12.50R20LT Toyo tires with the "aggressive tread" would, very likely be much louder on the road and may not tow as well in crosswinds or when encountering the bow wave from passing trucks..... I'd "shy away" from any truck that's been extensively modified to "excel in desert offroading" and then expect it to retain all the towing characteristics of the OEM suspension and tires.....

The truck may be in excellent condition, but as it sits, it's not going to be a "great fifth wheel tow truck"....

[notanlines]

About 70k on our F-450 and have no problems. I will say this: I’m not so sure there are many differences between it and the 3500’s and 350’s on the market, but turning radius alone is worth the minimal price difference.
Also, we have friends with a Ram dually that I drive occasionally to take him to the VA and I positively HATE the big 12” screen on the dash. Just too big. He feels the same way.
While I’m yammering on I will say that our new Bronco does not come with a “driver one/driver two” option for the seats mirrors, etc. and we miss it terribly! Any new truck would have to have this option for a daily driver.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by notanlines

About 70k on our F-450 and have no problems. I will say this: I’m not so sure there are many differences between it and the 3500’s and 350’s on the market, but turning radius alone is worth the minimal price difference.
Also, we have friends with a Ram dually that I drive occasionally to take him to the VA and I positively HATE the big 12” screen on the dash. Just too big. He feels the same way.
While I’m yammering on I will say that our new Bronco does not come with a “driver one/driver two” option for the seats mirrors, etc. and we miss it terribly! Any new truck would have to have this option for a daily driver.

LOL! It's not such a big deal Jim. We've adapted...DW just takes the wheel from the passenger position, I put on my quadfocal sunglasses (the screen is so bright after eye surgery) and while she "guides" us I scoot over to see the smaller icons, then squint while looking through the countless icons trying to figure out how to do the simplest things - seems like they're spread over a half acre. Spent 1/2 hour looking for the icon to turn on the back window/rear view mirror defroster, gave up then found a button somewhere off on the side!

The above said in jest of course. The screen IS too large but I have figured out the important places to look to get what I need done. Next truck will have the 8.4" which is much easier to use.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by notanlines

About 70k on our F-450 and have no problems. I will say this: I’m not so sure there are many differences between it and the 3500’s and 350’s on the market, but turning radius alone is worth the minimal price difference.
Also, we have friends with a Ram dually that I drive occasionally to take him to the VA and I positively HATE the big 12” screen on the dash. Just too big. He feels the same way.
While I’m yammering on I will say that our new Bronco does not come with a “driver one/driver two” option for the seats mirrors, etc. and we miss it terribly! Any new truck would have to have this option for a daily driver.

Better turning radius and better looking wheels and tires imo…it’s part of the “stance” i think looks better if those kind of things are important to you.
it’s the little details that make the truck look better..the 19.5 continental tires just look great imo….some people may balk at the replacement cost of the tires but i think they last a fairly long time

I also prefer a 1” leveling kit on the front of most hd trucks because imo it looks better then the nose down configuration ..the 450 already looks like it’s close to level from the factory

I’ve known people that could look at three different trim levels of cars and not pick up that one has larger wheels and deeper offset rims…17” truck wheels and tires dont look any different then 20” factory wheels…and that’s fine but i like the little extras.

[rhagfo]

Originally Posted by sourdough

LOL! It's not such a big deal Jim. We've adapted...DW just takes the wheel from the passenger position, I put on my quadfocal sunglasses (the screen is so bright after eye surgery) and while she "guides" us I scoot over to see the smaller icons, then squint while looking through the countless icons trying to figure out how to do the simplest things - seems like they're spread over a half acre. Spent 1/2 hour looking for the icon to turn on the back window/rear view mirror defroster, gave up then found a button somewhere off on the side!

The above said in jest of course. The screen IS too large but I have figured out the important places to look to get what I need done. Next truck will have the 8.4" which is much easier to use.

LOL!
Ours is the 8.4, and I feel that is a nice size. Likely the 12” seems a bit brighter due to its size. I do dim mine at night when driving, even with the funky diming that Ram has. One I dimmed to the setting that the interior lights didn’t come on when the door was opened.

[notanlines]

On the subject of the Continental tires, ours will probably be changed at 80k to 85k, unheard of on our previous trucks. We have always been Michelin people and just paid the price. The price of the Continentals pulled my pucker string tight, so I might try one set of Sailuns when the time comes. As long as John doesn’t see things differently by that time.

[JRTJH]

Something else to consider that I failed to mention is that a chassis/cab with a "rectangular utility bed" has square corners on the rear of the bed. On a pickup truck bed, the rear of the truck is "sculpted in" so the truck width under the fifth wheel nose is the same width as a SRW truck. With that utility bed, those square corners extend to the sides at the same width as the "dually fenders"... What that means is that "normal placement of a fifth wheel hitch over the rear axle" could pose a problem with truck bed clearance with the sloped front of the trailer (under the front overhang)...

You may find that you can't turn enough to maneuver the trailer into camping spaces or even make tight turns in a parking lot without the corner of the bed contacting the front of the trailer....

That can be overcome with a sliding hitch (extra expense, extra weight and extra mechanical maintenance)... But, don't "just look at the utility of the bed for other things" if the primary purpose of the truck is towing a fifth wheel, make sure it can do that job without having to "patch in more stuff so it can work"....

Truck bed clearance is a primary concern with any fifth wheel. If you can't turn the truck to navigate a parking lot without damaging the trailer, that type bed is a "NO GO" for towing.....

[wiredgeorge]

There are always truck beds for sale on Craigslist and other local sources. I think these are take-offs when a shop puts a flat bed on a customer's truck.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

There are always truck beds for sale on Craigslist and other local sources. I think these are take-offs when a shop puts a flat bed on a customer's truck.

I'm not sure a "truck bed take-off" fitted for a "non-chassis cab" will fit on a "chassis cab" frame without some significant reconfiguration. Just the location of the DEF tank and the fuel tank along with the changes in routing for the fuel filler would be "obstacles to make a retrofit pickup bed fit on a chassis cab frame"....

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

I'm not sure a "truck bed take-off" fitted for a "non-chassis cab" will fit on a "chassis cab" frame without some significant reconfiguration. Just the location of the DEF tank and the fuel tank along with the changes in routing for the fuel filler would be "obstacles to make a retrofit pickup bed fit on a chassis cab frame"....

I believe you are correct; googled and came up with a Chevy forum where the issues were discussed. A chassis cab has a different rear axle width than the pickup so dropping a bed on seems to be a not good option. A Chassis Cab might better be served with install of a flatbed w/gooseneck hitch. I do believe Andersen makes an Ultimate hitch for a recessed goose ball but would definitely check with them.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

I believe you are correct; googled and came up with a Chevy forum where the issues were discussed. A chassis cab has a different rear axle width than the pickup so dropping a bed on seems to be a not good option. A Chassis Cab might better be served with install of a flatbed w/gooseneck hitch. I do believe Andersen makes an Ultimate hitch for a recessed goose ball but would definitely check with them.

Installing a gooseneck or an Andersen hitch still doesn't reduce the width of the flatbed deck corners. They "project to the extreme corners at the same width as the "hip fenders" on a pickup bed. There is no "reduced width at the extreme rear of the chassis cab flat bed. When turning with a fifth wheel on the truck, those corners will "grow to meet the underside of the fifth wheel just like leaving the tail gate down on a pickup will "strike the front of the fifth wheel"......

There are some options, mainly a "custom flatbed deck with rounded rear corners" or a sliding fifth wheel hitch.

It's definitely not an impossible to solve problem, but being 2000 miles from home, with a trailer sitting in a campground and buying a new truck to "hitch and move on" is not the ideal situation to be in when it all needs to come together at one time on the first attempt.....