Rear end gears

[haF.AST]

Looking at new Ford F350/F450 as a dump truck(3yd) and I'm wondering what gears would be best. I spend as much time driving around looking at jobs as I do towing/hauling. I will also do plowing in the winter with this truck.

3:73? 4:10? 4:30? 4:88?

I have 3:73 in my F-150 and feel I need more low end for the dump and am leaning toward the 4:30 right now...

any opinions?

 

[Ford LT-9000]

With a F-450 you don't have any choices to give you taller gears than 4:30s if you go with a F-350 which can't carry much weight then you get taller gear options.

What are you looking at Gas or diesel ?

I drive a truck with 4:63s every day the PSD gets 12mpg the truck is a 5spd and I rarely shift. If your going with a automatic it doesn't really matter you just put your foot into it

If you want a work truck most definatly go with a F-450 a F-350 cab and chassis shouldn't even be sold they have no "legal" payload. By the time you add your dump body your tare weight is so high you don't have much room left.

 

[Steve Frazier]

It depends on what type of hauling you'll do. I had an F-350 dump that I often grossed 17,000 with, the 4.10 gears in it were fine for most work. It was only when I got off road in soft stuff that I needed lower gears, and I had the transfer case for that.

My F-550 has 4.86 gears, and for me they're too low. I run about 23,000 on it and have never had a problem starting off with the 6 speed. On highway, I can only run 60mph before the rpms start using a lot of fuel. I think the 4:30s would work better for me, but they weren't available when I bought the truck.

If I were shopping for a dump, I wouldn't consider the F-350 or F-450, the 550 is the only way to go for bulk materials. The other two trucks have no payload capacity compared to the 550 and the 550 is only marginally more expensive.

I would stay away from the automatic transmission too. Heavy loads combined with hill pulls will result in lots of heat being generated in the transmission. Heat is an automatic's worst enemy, and Ford's automatics are marginal to start with. My '01 F-350 is on its 4th tranny in 60,000 miles. I opted for the 6 speed manual in my F-550 and haven't had any problems with it.

If you can wait 6 months, Dodge just announced the introduction of Class 4 & 5 trucks, they should be available mid summer. You can't beat Cummins power!

 

[haF.AST]

I plan on getting the V-10 witht he automatic 5 speed with o/d

I think I'll stay away from the 550 and maybe the 450 due to the tires(19.5 vs 17 on the 350) cost diff, available treads, etc. cost of registration in PA, and gvw diff vs cost. 450 is only 3000# more gvw than 350 16000 vs 13000 for $5000. I'm getting along with a gmc 3500 now and I want just a little more truck with more features. I plan on getting an alum or stainless bed.

 

[Ford LT-9000]

A V-10 might be a little on the thristy side I have been looking at one but I have been hearing the mileage will be anywhere from 6 to 11mpg but I think a F-450 sized truck will be 9 mpg at best.

A F-450 would be good for a 6000lb load a F-550 I have put 10,000lbs on but that wasn't legal. If you are going to use the truck as a daily driver like I use mine a F-550 will be a little rough riding. I know the 2002 F-550 I drove at work is a little stiff.

It all depends on how much hauling you want to do if your in landscaping or light excavating your prolly not going to be hauling max gvw loads every day.

You add timbrens to a F-450 you can carry some weight the truck has the same braking power same chassis same wheels tires etc.

The only difference bettween a F-450 and F-550 is the rear axle and the rear springs in the 550 are a little heavier and the rating tag that says the truck has a gvw of 17,500lbs or 19,000lbs.

The older F-450 uses a 11,000lb axle the F-550 uses a 13,500 but the 135 Dana is a little brute of a axle thou compared to the Dana 80 that is in the F-450s. The 135 has a center drop out and a heavy housing but the limited gear selection is the only drawback.

I don't know what the newer trucks run for axles.

 

[Steve Frazier]

You'll be looking at about a 1 to 1 1/2 ton payload on the F-350, that's all. Tires for the F-350 run about $125 a piece, new tires for the F-550 are about $175 new, I run caps on the rear at $100 a piece and get the same life as new. Unless you're just hauling mulch, the F-350 really doesn't make sense to earn an income with.

 

[Ford LT-9000]

Man you guys are lucky tires are cheap a 225/70R19.5 tire is pushing 300 each for new and retreads are not much cheaper. A LT-235/85R-16 is 160 dollars for a cheapy tire.

The benefits of the F-450-550s is better brakes,tires handle a load better,the truck can haul a load. I don't have any experience with 17 inch rubber but I do know its not a instock item at tire dealers in my area. The guys with the newer Fords are having a tough time finding a decent tire selection.

For us once the truck gets over 12,000lb gvw your into commercial truck territory so insurance and registration is going to cost more. I currently pay about 115 dollars a month for insurance for my truck its at max gvw of 15,000lbs. I also need to have a motor carrier number which I have but you need that for a truck that has a 12,000lb gvw aswell. The only way you get away from that is registering the truck for personal use but if you ever get caught making money with the truck your going to get fines.

I know where you can get a 2006 F-350 4x4 with a 165 wheelbase fully loaded XLT for 50 grand CND it is a cab and chassis. The truck has been sitting on the local Ford dealers lot since early last year. Nobody is buying it because a F-350 can't carry enough payload.

Okay here is a rough calculations with a F-350 with a 165 wheelbase and 11 body.

4x4 tare weight 7933 with approx payload of 5000lbs
2wd tare weigh 7578 with approx payload of 5422lbs

F-450 with the same wheelbase 16,000lb gvw

2wd tare weight 8318 with approx payload of 7682 lbs
4x4 tare weight 8659 with approx payload of 7341lbs

F-550 with same wheelbase with 17,950 gvw

2wd tare weight 8367 with a approx payload of 10,167 lbs
4x4 tare weight 8705 with a approx payload of 9242 lbs

F-550 with same wheelbase with 19,000 gvw

2wd tare weight 8427 with a approx payload of 10,573lbs
4x4 tare weight 8768 with a approx payload of 10,232lbs

I caculated the body and hoist for all trucks at 1800lbs and all truck have V-10 power and same wheelbase regular cab trucks. The F-550 trucks you may be getting into a heavier hoist that will make the body weigh 2000lbs.

If you went with a aluminum body you would get the body weight down to 1400 or less pounds.

You look at a F-350 4x4 and the F-450 4x4 there is a 2300lb payload difference that is a extra yard and a bit of material you can carry on the truck. Or look at the difference between the F-350 4x4 and the F-550 4x4 with the 19,000lb gvw the truck will carry 2.5 more yards of material.

 

[Steve Frazier]

Your tare weights are weigh (pun intended) off from reality. My '01 F-350 SRW 141" wheelbase with aluminum flat deck and hoist tares at 7600. My '97 F-350 DRW 133" wheelbase weighed in at 8600 with a steel body on it. The SuperDuty series are MUCH heavier than the series they replaced, this is one of my big disappointments with my trucks. My '81 F-350 SRW pickup weighed 5300 lbs. compared to 7600 for the '01. There is a hoist on the '01, but that only weighs about 500 lbs.

My '02 F-550 141" weighs 11,500 empty with a stainless dump body and hoist. I would not be surprised to see a new F-350 DRW dump weigh in at over 9000lbs.

 

[Ford LT-9000]

I got the curb weighs from the Ford body builders 2008 book so they are not real world tare weights. I was trying to show haF.AST that a F-350 doesn't have enough payload to make them worth it. Once you have gone to a F-450 or 550 sized truck you never want to go back to a 1 ton truck.

The days are gone when running overloaded 1 tons were the norm it used to be like that for years putting 3 ton on a 1 ton truck. I used to do it all the time and other guys I know used to haul that too.

I was impressed with the F-550s when the company I worked for bought a brandnew one in 2006. I put a load on the truck then I added more then I said to myself holy cow the truck carrys a good load. When I got my first "F-Superduty" which was a 88 with a 11' dump and I went into the pit they dumped a load into it. I went accross the pit scale and it showed I was carrying close to 9000lbs it was WOW this truck handles a load better than my old 1 tons used to.