Looked at a 2012 F250 "Super Duty", gasoline, extended cab, FX 4WD. Sticker sez $38K. Am seeking all comments, suggestions, advice, love, and hatred towards this truck. Regards, Jim. Bonus Question: How bad is the gas mileage!?
For $38K you'd better really love it! I drive a much less expensive '06 F250 and love/hate it for pulling (needs a little more snort) I don't care for just driving it around and generally use my old 1/2 ton that.
No eco boost option for the F250 I will be using this vehicle for my 45 mile one way commute, hauling kids, the dog, pulling a small boat, tossing the F650GS in the back. Will also be taking the occasional nap in it between jobs. May also plow my 100 yard driveway in the snowy season.
Given your intended use, I'd really be inclined to go with a less expensive and more day-to-day useable F-150 instead; in either the EcoBoost or 5.0 flavor. Seems like the Super Duty has way more capability than you need for any of those things, unless you and I have very different ideas of what constitutes a "Small Boat". Truecar says a 2012 F150 4WD Supercab XLT with the V8 would be about $31k after incentives but before negotiation, with a high predicted level of negotiation potential. For commuting 90 miles a day, transporting kids, light towing, bike transport, and clearing snow from a driveway? A 360 HP 380 lbft 4wd fullsize truck should be able to handle all that with ease. Honest question - why are you looking at a truck that big for such relatively undemanding applications?
Honest Answer: BECAUSE IT'S REALLY BIG! And your right, I do not need a truck that large but a local dealer has two and it's close to the end of the month. I thought maybe he would give me a deal or just get lucky. I just built on the Ford website an F-150XL with the similar features. 5.0L, 4WD, extended cab, tow package....will be going to see the sales guy tomorrow. Just did not know very much about the large engine, maintenance requirements, fuel economy (or not economy) on the F250. My little 2002 Ford Ranger Super Cab 4WD has 298,245 miles on it and it is getting tired. I do all of the maintenance my self and just wandered if I could also do it on an F250. Thanks for your replies. Regards, Jim
I have a 2011 F150XL 4x4 supercab long bed, 5.0 engine 3.73 axles with the work truck package It is as heavy a truck as I'll need, similar uses as you without the commute. on the highway I can get close to 19mpg (empty) around town about 15-16MPG. the 1997 F150 with a 4.6 never came close to that. There is plenty of power and hauling capacity. My brother has a Raptor, same 6.2 engine as the super duty's and he gets 11-12mpg.:huh The Ecoboost is an AWESOME engine, test drive one. I ended up with what I got because it's EXTREMELY difficult to find a long bed truck. I can't give you any hints financially because I went X plan (supplier discount) Good luck finding what you're willing to pay for (and be happy with)
+1 You don't need an F250. You need an F150 with an 200hp 3 liter six cylinder turbo diesel... oh, wait, they won't BUILD us one. Ecoboost then.
I realize that this is heresy, but if I was buying a truck with the same decision criteria I'd skip the 4x4 and spend a portion of that cost on a set of steelies with snow tires. The Ecoboost seems to be the way to go for anybody who doesn't do frequent heavy towing; the folks that do are better off with the 5.0. After near 300k in a Ranger, any modern truck you buy will seem almost comically fast and comfortable.
I'd rather have the ecoboost for towing.. as I said, with a chip, exhaust and intake, you can be making huge power numbers with torque to match that still gets the same MPG if you can keep your foot out of it.
Havnt driven the eco personally but on paper and heresay Id agree fully (and tbh Id do it just to be diffrent). For what you need it for Id just get a long bed F150, we used to have the same Ranger but traded it in for the F150...and got better mpg and more interior space and tow ability (Ive since gotten a 91 F250 diesel for even better towing ability at the cost of upkeep $$) Havnt driven any of the current motors but I know my dads 2010 F150 with the 4.6 (3v) would struggle on the hills up here in altitude pulling my 24' trailer (estimated 2k under max towing capacity) but a large portion of that is probbly the 1mile above sea level which kills all non forced induction engine power wise.
This. I'm doing everything on your intended list PLUS pulling a pretty damned heavy (when loaded) enclosed double axle trailer with an '01 SuperCrew F150 and with nearly 200,000 on the clock, it's been flawless. I can't imagine (though I do dream) the improvements in performance 12 years and an EcoBoost would give me.
the Ecoboost would be better for towing, forced induction means the torque and power start MUCH lower in RPMs If you get the work package it comes with steel wheels
For plowing in the winter, and pulling a boat up potentially-slick ramps in the warmer seasons? Are you trying to set him up for Youtube fame or something?
If you can handle something other then a Ford, try http://www.davesmith.com. They sell new trucks at $500 over their dealer cost.
Went to talk to the sales guy yesterday and here is what we came up with. An oxford white 2012 F-150 Super Cab, 5.0L engine, 6 speed automatic transmission, 4 wheel drive, and a 3.55 Non-Limited slip rear axle ratio, steel rims, trailer tow package, black vinyl floor and grey vinyl seats, am/fm radio with clock. Out the door price of $28,500. The truck is on order from Ford. I'm thinking about holding off until the 2013's come out, I was unable to order the truck with a limited slip or a locking rear axle. When the factory was asked they said "constraints" on the rear axle limited them to the non-limited slip "Regular" rear axle. I don't know if I can live with 3 wheel drive or not. He found a similar truck at a dealer in WV that has cloth seats and cruise control and a CD player, power windows and door locks, and chrome grille and bumper for the same price, he is inquiring about that one today, so we'll see. Thanks for the help. Regards, Jim.
For background I use my trucks the way they are intended, meaning everything I've owned has been worked hard at some point it time. To me, the F-150 is a nearly useless truck, and is more of a light-duty SUV that happens to have a bed on it. Snowplowing was mentioned, you do not want to hang a plow off the front of a F-150 with IFS. There is a lot of strength in the front end of a 250 that the 150 isn't even close to being able to match. When the 150 starts getting loose up front you have a ton of parts to change, and you'll change them more often. With a plow weight you are also putting more weight, meaning traction, on the front end. The axle shafts, CV's, and front diff were not meant for that strain. Something eventually will break. Depends on where you live and how bad you want to get to work in the morning. I have personally left work with a truck-load of people (I work nights normally) because there was too much snow for 2wd's to move. This is for my situation, but I can't afford to miss work because of a bit of snow. The 250's and the 150's don't get much, if any, fuel mileage difference. Sure, a base 150 will get better than a base 250. However, get a motor and the right gearing in the 150 to be able to pull, and you have a 250 drivetrain in a light duty truck. Heck the truck pricing isn't even much different, and come resale time you'll get most of that back.
That truck is not 3 wheel drive, it's 2. One front, one rear. The 'constraints' he talked about is the axle isn't heavy enough to hold up. It's the little things like that the dealers, and ford, don't want to say. Get on Ford's website and go to the build your truck thing. Look at the options difference. Then build 2 identical trucks, a 150 and a 250. The price won't be much different. The build a 250 with the goodies, and see what the price is. You're not going to get much more expensive, and not much worse fuel mileage. FWIW, my friend bought a 4 door longbed 250 about 6 months ago, it's a real nice truck. It's diesel so can't compare that, but he works it hard and hasn't broke anything yet. There's a 30' gooseneck that lives on the back of that truck, and I think he has about 30 or 40 thousand miles already. It rides nice too, way better than my 99 F-350.
