Whats next? Ramblings...You'll learn nothing new here...

[Colt]

Your going to think I'm nuts when I mention this..

I've got a 07 F-450 with a service body.. It's loaded heavy, I drive it almost daily back and forth to work, when I get tired of driving it I switch to something else ( either the '00 F-250 or the '05 F-350 ).. Even then, I'm typically in that truck working 12-14 hrs a day. Often times I use it to pull one of the cars to the track because it has 99% of my tools in it.

It's bone stock other than the Edge W/Attitude. Runs 245/55 19.5's ( I might be off a little on the size ). The wheels are crazy heavy, steel 10 lug wheels. Has 4.88's gears..

If you keep the truck a tad under 65 MPH, I've seen this truck get 20 MPG many times.. But if you go over 65, or your driving in the city, idling and what not, typically I see 12 MPG, it's even been in the single digits a few times.

When I bought this truck, I figured it would get horrible fuel mileage, and it would only be used when I have to work at railyards and such. A 1 ton wouldnt have been truck "enough" for what I needed to do, so I was screwed basicly. After a while, I started driving it daily because it did better than my "daily drivers".

It sounds nuts, even more so when ya look at the size of this thing...




My 05 F-350 4 door SRW is lucky to get 15, it's got exhaust, Edge Platinum and EGR delete.. I was towing today, hauling round bales. 14K LBS load, plus trailer, plus truck, it got 10 MPG driving 60 MPH. I hauled 50 bales, 10 at a time, 50 miles round trip.. It's averaged 14-15 it's entire life.

My '00 F-250, I used to get 18 out of it ( I've seen 20 a few times, it got 22 one time ), before I tore it down to do a BUNCH of maintaince ( including injectors and such ), I only got 12 on a good day. If I can get it back up to 14-15 I'll be happy. The odd thing, I could hook up to my 35ft enclosed G/N race car trailer, with car and supplies for a weekend, on a 800 mile round trip, it got 11 both ways. Yet only got 12 empty before I tore it down. It's got a 4 inch lift, running 35's.

A pic of the F-250 and the trailer I was talking about.. Truck getting 12 empty, but 11 with this trailer Obviously has ( or should I say had? I hope ) problems..



So what am I saying here? Mileage from one truck to another is a total crap shoot. A F-450 should NOT get that kind of mileage weighting what it weights ( best guess is 14K ), but it does.. A slightly older truck, same engine, weighting much less, gets worse mileage ( running close to the same RPM at the highway speeds I run them ).

Swapping over to SRW, I really dont see you gaining a single thing from it.. In all honesty, by the time you swap that out, have the body work done so it looks right, your better off finding a different truck. Your truck is worth more now ( to the right person ) than it would be if you modify it like that..

I'd look into a different solution, but even then, that might be what your stuck with. Toss all kinds of parts and money at it, it could get worse, you just never know..

[fifity]

Well, the really only reason to convert it is to make it easier to drive around. It is my primary mod of transportation right now...as for ever selling it...heck, I plan on running this thing into the ground...

My heart is not set on 35's...I wouldnt mind a set of those new 20's that are coming on the newer superduties though. I have no idea what their size is.

I do want a bit more suspension travel for my...well...more spirited driving days...

[Colt]

Ah, I gotcha.. I know what you mean about making it easier to drive around. Dont know how many times I've got myself into a situation with the F-450 that took quite a bit of thought to get out of.. It's so easy to get into a situation ( parking spots for one ), and how hard it is to get out HAHA..

Browse around at some of the lifted DRW trucks out there.. I really like the looks of some of them. There is a F-350 that runs around town that makes my jaw drop every time I see it.. If I actually had a use for something like that, I'd have to own one.. Granted, you cant really get the width with DRW's, but if done right they look good and it's something you dont see everyday. Around here there are so many lifted big tire SD's and Dodge's it gets to the point that once you've seen one, you've seen them all. You know what really looks good? A bombed diesel, running a BIG slick in the back, and need that big of a tire. That might be a bit out of your price range though ( buying that much power to need a slick that size I know I sure couldnt afford it, I'd lift it instead HAHAHA)..

I dont think I've noticed the new wheels on the 2011's, I'm always too distracted looking at that ugly grill and headlight package. It is much better than the '08's though I like the way the 19.5's look on my F-450, they fit really well, so I'd imagine another 1/2 inch would probably look decent.