The day I decided I had the right truck, a towing story.

[D2Reid]

Which tow vehicle discussions are always fun. Lots to learn when you are first starting out. Some of the considerations that few talk about is where are you going to tow? How far and often do you tow? I feel that when people say I tow such and such with my little truck that they are in flat country and don't tow often nor far.

Me, I am all over the US. I tow in some of the toughest conditions you can imagine. This last week we relocated from Houston TX to Breckenridge, CO. Coming out of Houston, Dallas, Amarillo pretty flat, some wind, decent roads. Amarillo to Pueblo some climbing, bit of wind. The last leg is where I decided I made the right choice in trucks.

Pueblo through Denver I-70 to Breck. When you consider tough towing conditions you have some fun stuff to think about; Weight of the RV; condition of the roads; wind; grade.

My Momentum weighs in around 20,000 lbs.

There is a lot of construction going on I-25, 470 in the Denver area. It's about as rough a bit of driving that I have encountered. That include I-10 in LA, I-40 a little west of Memphis, and 201 in north Maine.

All through the area there were wind advisories. But when I started up the canyon on I-70 the billboard said “Wind Advisory, expect heavy crosswinds with gusts up to 70 MPH”, (or something like that) And that wind was blowing.

While the I-70 grades aren't real steep, 6-7%, they are long. In my Chevy 350 I had to mind the temp guage as it would tend to creep up.

I think that was the leg was the hardest towing I have done. Heavy RV, rough roads, high wind and mountains.

My F450 performed well. While climbing and fighting the head wind my fuel mileage dropped from it's average 8.7 to 6.4, that's to expected. The DRW was stable in spite of high winds trying to shove the 5th wheel all around. With the 4:30 rear axle the truck produced enough torque to pull against the wind and climb the hill at 60 mph. I passed a lot of tractor trailers. The engine, oil, and transmission temperatures only climbed a few degrees and never came close to overheating.

Then, when we arrived at the RV park the streets are covered with snow and ice. Fortunately they are flat. I dropped it into 4 wheel drive and never spun a wheel getting the 5th wheel maneuvered on the snowy/icy streets. After I got the snow shoveled off the RV site I got it backed in even though I drove over a small snow bank.

[WhittleBurner]

Gotta love that F450.

[traveldawg]

Always nice to hear a good report. Sounds like a nice tow rig.

I've always found pulling a fifth wheel to be the best experience for windy driving. Travel trailers always have some wiggle and even the motorhomes I've had (both non-tag axel) always had a lot of sway in the wind. Not so with the 5th wheel.

I've seen my trans and oil temp climb high but never over Ford's specs. That was this past summer in the mountains of Utah, CO, WY & MT. Here is a nice video of Ford temps.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0iKcag-wr8

[Steven@147]

Great story Dallas, keep burning up the highways. Cant say I would care for the snow but hey why not if that is where you want to go! Cant wait till we hit the road more often. Agree 100% right truck for the job!

[bertschb]

You definitely have the right truck for a 20,000lb 5th wheel!

[Txfivver]

Great story Dallas! Of course hearing all that will make the 2 month wait for my F450 even harder...gee thanks lol.

[andrewssteve]

Gotta love that F450.

Pretty sure the difference between the F450 and the F350 is the suspension. Both have the same choices in motors and gear ratios.

I think the most important thing that the F450 gives Dallas is the ability to come *down* I-70 and take a curve at 50 or 60 MPH. Going up in an F350 with the same motor and rear-end would work just as well. Right?

-Steve

[Txfivver]

Pretty sure the difference between the F450 and the F350 is the suspension. Both have the same choices in motors and gear ratios.

I think the most important thing that the F450 gives Dallas is the ability to come *down* I-70 and take a curve at 50 or 60 MPH. Going up in an F350 with the same motor and rear-end would work just as well. Right?

-Steve

No the F350 is not available with 4:30 gears and the 450 has the "wide track" front axle for much better turning radius. The rear axle and springs are the same but the 450 has much bigger brakes front and rear and 10 lug 19.5 inch wheels. The 450 weighs 5-600 pounds more than the 350 due to these differences thus they usually always have a 5-600 lower payload rating but are rated to tow a much heavier trailer.

[phonemannn]

F350 and f450 tow the same weight trailer, F450 does not but are rated to tow a much heavier trailer.

How much can a 2019 f350 dually tow?
With an SRW and 2WD the 6.7L Turbo-Diesel engine can tow up to 18,000 pounds and has a max payload rating of 7,640 pounds and when equipped with a DRW the 6.7L engine can tow a maximum of 21,000 pounds.Sep 18, 2018

How much can a f450 pull?
Towing. The F-450 offers a maximum conventional tow capacity of 21,000 pounds or up to 34,000 pounds with a gooseneck hitch.

[backtrack2015]

I just did the Austin > Amarillo > Pueblo > Leadville (via 24) and Leadville > Denver (via 70) > Austin trek this past week in my truck. I was very glad I didn't have the 5er with me. The wind was strong (I got 12-mpg going 77-mph out of Texas, normally more like 16-mpg) and some of the sections of I-25 and I-70 near Denver were pretty rough. It sounds like that F450 handled it all like a champ while lugging 20K+ extra pounds.