Long bed dually f350 or am I going overkill?

[marlowefamily]

Current tow vehicle - Ford expedition platinum rated 9300lbs, 123in wheelbase, 20in tires, 3.5L HO ecoboost engine

New trailers this month:
33ft 8k gvwr transcend 265bh
30ft 9.5k gvwr imagine xls 24mpr

Distant future trailers:
35-37ft 10-12k gvwr
Will not ever go above 13k gvwr
Probably never 5th wheel

Other needs:
Just started buying land and building house and need to be able to haul in construction supplies to save $ versus having general contractors do everything

Travel/Driving:
Daily driver but low miles
Trailers used 60-150 days/yr
Travel across continental USA
5-10k miles/yr

Durability:
Will be keeping vehicle forever

Proposed Vehicle:
F350 King Ranch 8ft Bed with 7.3 gas engine
Undecided on axle ratio (3.73 or 4.3), leaning 4.30 in case of heavy hauling loads

Leaning dually but is that overkill? Odds are never haul more than 4k lbs or tow >12k

Am I being silly not just getting f350 tremor srw short bed like everyone else?

Everyone seems to want to avoid long bed dually unless 5th wheel required. I'm not doing 5th wheel.

Sent from my SM-N986U1 using Tapatalk

[FT4NOW]

If you live somewhere where there isnt a bunch of snow I say get the dually. When I lived in VA, my crew cab long bed dually was my daily driver. I now live in Idaho and it is awful in the snow so I bought a car for daily driving and only use the truck for truck stuff or the camper. I dont think you'll regret the dually for the construction stuff, and even towing a TT, it will be very stable.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[marlowefamily]

In San Diego now... the least snowy place, but over the next twenty years...I can see myself wanting to travel everywhere and possibly moving where there is snow....oldest kid might end up in Michigan... so, not sure if that is a yes or no.

But, at least it seems you are recommending long bed dually.

Sent from my SM-N986U1 using Tapatalk

[bertschb]

...Leaning dually but is that overkill? Odds are never haul more than 4k lbs or tow >12k

A dually is never overkill when trailering. It provides the most stable platform and the extra tires add a safety cushion.

Having said that, if you know for a fact that you will never tow more than 12,000lbs, an SRW F-350 will have sufficient payload capacity for that weight. But, hauling 4,000lbs will push the payload capacity of an SRW F-350 with the 7.3 gas engine. If you regularly haul 4,000lbs, I'd opt for the 4.30 rear axle otherwise the 3.73 will be fine.

[orbsah]

Go big! Another thing the long bed gets you is the 48 gallon tank. I really like my setup.

[geotex1]

You can NEVER have too much truck!! Nothing tows like diesel and dual rear wheels, but I would steer your to the 1-ton single rear option with your current situation and future outlook. Plus, if you change your mind about a 5er, plenty of choice will tow beautifully with SRW.

[huntindog]

With the amount of towing you do.... You will be very happy with a dually

[Geodude]

Nobody ever wished for less tow vehicle that I know of. The towing experience with a dually is noticeably better, just from a handling point of view. As for commuting, I used mine for commuting for two years, and this was into downtown Ottawa, a city of 1,000,000 people, so lots of commuter traffic, tight parking, etc. Was it a pain? Sometimes, but never anything horrible. Would a SRW have been better? Maybe but not by much. If your mirrors don't fit through then your hips won't fit through, and the SRW and DRW trucks have the same mirror width.

[powerscol]

You can go SRW at an 11500 GVWR and have plenty of truck for your future needs. Now while I too am considering the 7.3, the fuel mileage on the new 6.7 diesel is impressive. Might consider that for your forever truck.

[marlowefamily]

Sounds like most of you are suggesting I should stick with long bed dually. Good. I was questioning myself heavily there.

The initial cost of diesel isn't a problem, but what about long term maintenance and operation costs. Most of my daily driving is quite quick and short. I'm worried that diesel engine will only rarely get the full workout.

7.3 engine with 4.3 axles, 7.3 engine with 3.73 axles, or 6.7 diesel with 3.55?

Gas 3.73 and Diesel 3.55 save most on fuel.
Gas 4.3 is the most I really need.

Sent from my SM-N986U1 using Tapatalk