F-350 SRW CC SB 6.7L Power Stroke V8 Turbo Diesel .... enough truck .....for 310GK

**boyscout** · 09-11-2019, 10:54 AM

Originally Posted by traveldawg

if you don't need/want a 4x4 you can get a higher payload capacity (and a lower trade in / desirable value). I've been there too.

@LonnaB traveldawg makes a good point but I've been in several situations with the trailer where I was awfully glad to be able to engage 4-wheel drive.

One of them was when backing into a pretty soft almost-muddy site in an Encore RV park on which the trailer was sinking ~5" or so into the ground as I backed in to it. Rear wheels began to slip on the gravel road as I was backing in, 4-wheel did the job getting it in, and out. A few other times it gave a lot more confidence as we drove into unimproved fields where we were boondocking.

Though I've only used it a handful of times, to me it was worth having for those times.

**CoChris** · 09-11-2019, 04:58 PM

Originally Posted by LonnaB

.... My questions is to THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE THIS SAME SET UP: Are you comfortable with this combo? I thank you very much in advance. Dealerships of both do not seem to be much help.

Yes. See my setup in my sig below. That said, I do watch how, what and where I load the trailer. Just the wife and I. We take 4~6 week trips (two this year). I have never felt overloaded or not enough truck. I live and pull in, over, around the Rocky mountains. I have weighed the setup multiple times on CAT scale. Many posts with weight details on the forum here. Use the search function to find some of them.

That being said, I feel a 310GK (without wash/dryer or gen set) is right at the limit for a SRW truck. You can use the freash water tank to take a little weight off of the pin. I never travel very far with much waste in the black or grey 2 (bath) tanks. The kitchen grey 1 tank is closer to the axles and less of an effect on pin weight.

Chris

**LonnaB** · 09-11-2019, 06:49 PM

Do you think a long box helps a lot with stability.? We live in Minnesota so there is no getting around a 4 x 4! Thanks for info on water. Would never have thought about that.

**traveldawg** · 09-11-2019, 08:54 PM

Originally Posted by LonnaB

Do you think a long box helps a lot with stability.? We live in Minnesota so there is no getting around a 4 x 4! Thanks for info on water. Would never have thought about that.

I would say yes - a longer wheel base is better than a shorter wheel base for towing. At least up to some point. It also changes the turning radius.

**CoChris** · 09-11-2019, 10:52 PM

Originally Posted by LonnaB

Do you think a long box helps a lot with stability.? We live in Minnesota so there is no getting around a 4 x 4! Thanks for info on water. Would never have thought about that.

Pros for the Longbox (in my opinion)
- Better ride, both loaded and empty
- A little more stable pulling (especially in side winds), but not a major difference
- In the Ford a long bed with crewcab gets the larger 48 gallon fuel tank from the factory
- Do not need a slider hitch & more usable bed area

Cons
- I larger turning radius (CC LB 4x4 59.6' vs CCSB 4x4 54.7'). Two interesting notes: The 4x4 has a tighter turning radius then the 4x2 and the F450 (wide track front suspension) has a much tighter turning radius then the F350/F250s.
- about 200(?) # less payload capacity
- Longer (draw back for parking spots)

Chris

**boyscout** · 09-12-2019, 09:01 AM

Originally Posted by CoChris

Pros for the Longbox (in my opinion)
- Better ride, both loaded and empty
- A little more stable pulling (especially in side winds), but not a major difference
- In the Ford a long bed with crewcab gets the larger 48 gallon fuel tank from the factory
- Do not need a slider hitch & more usable bed area

Cons
- I larger turning radius (CC LB 4x4 59.6' vs CCSB 4x4 54.7'). Two interesting notes: The 4x4 has a tighter turning radius then the 4x2 and the F450 (wide track front suspension) has a much tighter turning radius then the F350/F250s.
- about 200(?) # less payload capacity
- Longer (draw back for parking spots)

Chris

Good synopsis!

Ford doesn't publish fuel economy ratings for these trucks, making it more difficult to answer questions about axle ratio and fuel consumption. I've wondered if the F-450, with the larger tank but with the slightly-heavier long box and a lower (4.33) axle ratio, would see much range improvement from the larger tank. The same question might be applicable to the F-350 if its axle ratio changes from the 3.55 typical on short box versions to something lower on long box versions.

Anybody know?

**Oldcow** · 09-12-2019, 09:54 AM

Originally Posted by CoChris

Pros for the Longbox (in my opinion)
- Better ride, both loaded and empty
- A little more stable pulling (especially in side winds), but not a major difference
- In the Ford a long bed with crewcab gets the larger 48 gallon fuel tank from the factory
- Do not need a slider hitch & more usable bed area

Cons
- I larger turning radius (CC LB 4x4 59.6' vs CCSB 4x4 54.7'). Two interesting notes: The 4x4 has a tighter turning radius then the 4x2 and the F450 (wide track front suspension) has a much tighter turning radius then the F350/F250s.
- about 200(?) # less payload capacity
- Longer (draw back for parking spots)

Chris

@CoChris do you know how much sharper the turning radius is on a 450 than the 350?

Oldcow

**moenoodle** · 09-12-2019, 10:03 AM

Originally Posted by boyscout

Good synopsis!

Ford doesn't publish fuel economy ratings for these trucks, making it more difficult to answer questions about axle ratio and fuel consumption. I've wondered if the F-450, with the larger tank but with the slightly-heavier long box and a lower (4.33) axle ratio, would see much range improvement from the larger tank. The same question might be applicable to the F-350 if its axle ratio changes from the 3.55 typical on short box versions to something lower on long box versions.

Anybody know?

My wife and purchased our 2019 310GK last Sept and pulled it with a 2016 Ext Cab SWB SRW 3.55 axle ration F350. Our Pin weight is right at 3000lbs, no washer & dryer or gen set but we did load the trailer basement with "camping stuff". We had a B&W slider hitch and the truck pulled it fine, it had no trouble getting up to speed, braking or passing large trucks at high speed (65 mph is our cruising speed). We live in central OK so the roads are pretty flat but the wind is huge. You could definitely feel the trailer pulling the truck in strong winds. We got about 10-11 mpg on average. The truck has around a 25 gal tank so we could go about 150 to 200 miles on a tank of fuel, not all that far really so that was a downside as well as it was a real pain having to move the slider every time we needed to maneuver the trailer in a tight place. The cargo weight of the truck was 3540lbs so with me, wife, hitch and tools, we were over the limit by a couple of hundred pounds and we just did not like that at all, even thought the truck handled it really well.

We purchased a 2019 F350 dually with 4.33 axle ratio and a B&W puck hitch, we absolutely love this setup!!! No problems pulling the trailer, braking, turning the truck, backing the trailer into tight spots or anything else so far. We are averaging about 8.5-9.5 mpg on fuel, not as good as the 2016 F350 but with the larger fuel tank we can go over 300 miles. Much better than the 2016 F350.

The dually is a much smoother ride, more room, better acceleration and we NEVER worry about our weight. I still weigh the truck and trailer about twice a year just out of curiosity.

So you can make the smaller truck work, it will take more planning and caution on your part to keep everything safe and comfortable but I can tell you from experience, we really like having the larger truck. The peace of mind is well worth the cost difference, for us anyway.

**boyscout** · 09-12-2019, 10:05 AM

Originally Posted by Oldcow

@CoChris do you know how much sharper the turning radius is on a 450 than the 350? Oldcow

I believe it's just over 50 feet, 50.4 IIRC. (That's about nine feet shorter than the F-350 long box, which is notoriously bad, and about five feet shorter than the 350 short box which is not great.)

**Oldcow** · 09-12-2019, 10:15 AM

Originally Posted by boyscout

I believe it's just over 50 feet, 50.4 IIRC. (That's about nine feet shorter than the F-350 long box, which is notoriously bad, and about five feet shorter than the 350 short box which is not great.)

Maybe a stupid question but does a long bed truck have a shorter turning radius? I will be selling my Tundra this Fall and considering the F350 DRW or the 450 version.

Oldcow