New Tow Rig 2016 F-350 PowerStroke

[BlueThunder34]

Originally Posted by cw3jason

careful. 5 months after buying my f350, I traded in the trailer for a 5th wheel.

[CWSWine]

Originally Posted by cw3jason

careful. 5 months after buying my f350, I traded in the trailer for a 5th wheel.

Not using all your capacity of your truck is like only drinking half the bottle of beer and pouring the rest out - it is just a waste.

[dcg9381]

Some of think that it's best to stay under those max ratings... But a 1/2 empty beer is wasteful.

[CWSWine]

Originally Posted by dcg9381

Some of think that it's best to stay under those max ratings... But a 1/2 empty beer is wasteful.

I do agree - my current is heaviest 5er I have owned and the closes on specs but I still under my GVWR (that is CAT scale not stubby pencil weights). Will be looking at the payload numbers for the 2017 F350s and see how much they increase over mine.

[old timer]

I have a 250 and was impressed at how well this truck tows. I went over the grapevine at 60 and still had more peddle left. The wind was blowing and the truck just kept going. I wouldn't even know the trailer was there except for the bad roads. You are going to love how the 6.7 works. You will want to add air bags to help with the ride and if you get a 5er than it will help to level the truck out. You need to put the bags on first if you dont have the hitch already installed. One of the bolts go under the side plates.

[BlueThunder34]

It seems like an eternity waiting until I get 1,000 miles on it before I can tow my trailer! I drive 62 miles a day so it won't take that long I know, but it's hard to wait You thing they could make these things come ready to work from the plant.

[old timer]

The reason is because of the rear end. It needs to be broken in first. I got my truck in June and have 9,000 miles now and about 2,000 miles towing.

[BlueThunder34]

Originally Posted by old timer

The reason is because of the rear end. It needs to be broken in first. I got my truck in June and have 9,000 miles now and about 2,000 miles towing.

That makes sense, just hard to wait! Better to wait then to damage something in the long run.

[old timer]

I don't like to put useless miles on my stuff ether but I drove mine everywhere till i had the miles. I didn't cheat though. I also loaded the trailer into the information center so I could keep track of the miles. i called him Keith Stone. LOL

[Barbell]

Speaking of break-in period, we recently had a failure of our tow vehicle and had to purchase a replacement when about 2000 miles from home. The new vehicle had less than 50 miles on it when we hooked our Montana to it and came home. Chrysler dealer said it's fine to tow with it right off the lot and since it is standing behind the warranty, we did so. We also had no other choice. The vehicle is a '16 Ram 3500 CTD w/ Aisan. If any problems come up because of that, Chrysler will hear about it as well as this forum.

[BlueThunder34]

Originally Posted by Barbell

Speaking of break-in period, we recently had a failure of our tow vehicle and had to purchase a replacement when about 2000 miles from home. The new vehicle had less than 50 miles on it when we hooked our Montana to it and came home. Chrysler dealer said it's fine to tow with it right off the lot and since it is standing behind the warranty, we did so. We also had no other choice. The vehicle is a '16 Ram 3500 CTD w/ Aisan. If any problems come up because of that, Chrysler will hear about it as well as this forum.

That would be disappointing, hopefully it is just an isolated incident and you will not have any further issues with your new truck. Do you know yet which part failed?

[old timer]

Sometimes you have no choice and have to do it anyway. If you dont have to pull to hard on the 5er to climb hills you should be ok. This just goes for Ford owners because it states this in the owners manual. Good luck with your new truck.

[BlueThunder34]

One more week driving to work and I'll finally be there

[nellie1289]

Ram says wait 500 miles before towing but do you really think all these construction companies and businesses wait? I agree it is better to wait than not but sometimes you have no choice. the engine is definitely ready its the rear end is why the wait.

[JRTJH]

Here's the quote from the Ford Owner's Manual. I followed it "to the letter" like BlueThunder34 is doing. Whether or not it "makes a difference" is anybody's guess, but I've got too much money invested in the truck to just ignore what the factory says to do....

BREAKING-IN
You need to break in new tires for approximately 300 miles (480 kilometers). During this time, your vehicle may exhibit some unusual driving characteristics.

Avoid driving too fast during the first 1000 miles (1600 kilometers). Vary your speed frequently and change up through the gears early. Do not labor the engine.

Do not tow during the first 1000 miles (1600 kilometers).

[Ken / Claudia]

As mentioned fleet vehicles cannot or will not get proper break in. Police vehicles including the last 2008 f250 was traveling at high speed with less than 100 miles and towing right away. I remember the 1st charger we got at the office. I drove it from install to patrol and was over 100 mph that shift, As I recall it had less than 50 on the odometer when I jumped into it. Unknown if vehicles any ever had problems from not breaking in properly. Many have problems later. But, I would never drive my own boat, truck or car like I needed to at work.

[BlueThunder34]

I know there is probably some give in that 1,000 miles but for me this was a substantial investment so I will be doing everything I can to keep this thing running like it should.

[andyrad]

Great choice on your tow vehicle. We have the 2011 power stroke and it has been almost trouble free aside from a couple leaks covered under warranty. The turbo is still strong and I have since installed a Mini Maxx tuner and deleted the DPF. This has taken my fuel economy up to 12.2l/100km on the highway from about 17 before the delete. It also has as much power as I could ever hope for. Totally different truck and it can handle the tune. Towing the 5th wheel it cruises up hills without downshifting and can hold the speed limit. Steep hills I will take it down to 50mph, 80kph, just to go easier on the drivetrain. Two giant pieces of advice, install airbags just to help with a heavier load if you and also rotate your tires religiously. These trucks eat tires and they are NOT CHEAP. The truck can handle the payload but the ride is so much more enjoyable with airbags when you hit heavy bumps in the road and you're loaded up.

[Hansel]

Congrat's on the new truck, and it would be nice too break it in the right way. As for some that can't break them in the right way, I'm guilty of that when I was in the EMS field we'd get a new rescue, with hardly any mileage on them, and start running the pee out of them, no break in period on a rescue truck.

[flybynight]

Hello all,

I upgraded last fall from a 2011 F350 XLT SRW to a 2016 F350 XL DRW. This is my first DRW vehicle. I just noticed that while the outer wheels are the nice aluminum rims, the inner wheels in the rear are steel rims. Last Fall I noticed that the spare was also steel, but I didn't give it much thought. Now I am giving it thought.

The questions are:

1) If I do get a flat tire is there any special consideration that I have to worry about with using the steel rim spare?

2) Do people generally rotate tires on DRW vehicles, and if so how do I accomodate the steel rims on the inner wheels?

3) I already upgraded my compressor and air-chuck for the DRW, anything else I'm missting?

4) I'm going to be taking it in for its first oil change soon and not sure if I should ask for tire rotation - thoughts?

I finally got enough miles on it to take the Toyhauler out for a first test drive last week and again to get it inspected yesterday. Very nice so far. Eventually the plan is to go to a 5-wheel when this vehicle is paid off (2 years). For now, it's slightly over-kill for a 28ft toyhauler, but no sway!