Anyone here use a medium duty truck to haul with? Dodge 4500 and 5500, Ford F450 and F550, etc… Do not want or need a sport chassis/ Frieghtliner type but have heard horror stories about med-duty trucks.
Thanks!
I have a 2007 F550 with the 6.0L that everyone hates. I love it because my husband understands the motor. It’s so strong it could seriously pull down a house.
It started off as my husband’s L-Pack Dump Truck, we sold the body and got a custom aluminum diamond plate hauler body for it. I love that truck. Plenty of power for anything (I have a 4 horse gooseneck and some BIG horses), great stability, amazing braking.
My daily driver truck was a F350 SRW and I hated the brakes on it. They were more than adequate, don’t get me wrong, but after hauling the trailer with the 550, there was just no comparison.
At one point we had the truck as a street mod sled puller truck, so had water meth, big injectors and nozzles, different turbo, all the gauges (still there), etc. If you have more specific questions, let me know. DH is a gear head and his best friend is a diesel mechanic.
ETA - I have owned/driven/towed with F150, 250, 350, 450 and 550 so can also compare them easily too.
I haul with a 1990 F47 (basically a F450) and before that with a 91 F450. Before that I a hauled with a LN800 (had been a dump truck, complete with air brakes, but we converted it to haul a horse trailer. It was a little too big as it was over 26000 GVW, but I really liked that truck.) And before that I hauled with a F600. All my trucks have been older–the LN800 and F600 were from the 70’s. The two F450s are as small as I would like to haul with–I haul a 20’ stock trailer which I will load with up to 8 or 9 horses (usually 8). The F450’s that I have hauled with were/are diesels, and they had the decent engines in them…I don’t know how new ones compare. The e-brake on them are definitely a better type that lighter trucks. The F600 I had had regular brakes on it, and they were expensive to work on compared the the air brakes on the LN800. But the F450’s all are reasonable to work on. The nice thing about the F450’s is that I can drive them around regular easier than I could the bigger trucks, and they serve as my daily drivers as well as my trailer hauling trucks.
Thanks for the suggestions! I have been happy with my one ton up till now, but it looks like I’ll be hooking up to the six horse more often, and while the one ton works fine, and plenty of guys use them for their six horse rigs, since I’m hauling for the barn I work at and not just myself, I think I’d feel much better with a little heavier duty truck. Actually, I think I’d be happier with a heavier truck all the way around, for hauling my own rig, work around the farm, pulling other people’s trailers, etc.
You guys sound like you couldn’t be happier with your trucks, I think I’d get a lot of of one of my own.
I absolutely LOVE my 2008 F450. It’s so nice to have the power and control when towing. It puts a smile on my face. The only things I don’t like about it the gas mileage and the price of tires.
I forgot to mention: the turning radius of the F450 is the bomb! Don’t have to have a football field to turn around like I did my old F350. HUGE difference!
[QUOTE=Qharma;7376447]
I absolutely LOVE my 2008 F450. It’s so nice to have the power and control when towing. It puts a smile on my face. The only things I don’t like about it the gas mileage and the price of tires.
I forgot to mention: the turning radius of the F450 is the bomb! Don’t have to have a football field to turn around like I did my old F350. HUGE difference![/QUOTE]
Times 2!
I hear the new 450 is going to be a beast.
We got a bigger LQ last year and bought a Dodge 5500 to haul it. I feel much safer with a bigger truck and the trailer loaded with horses is heavy. Fuel mileage sucks but safety is a bigger concern for me since we are in the mountains.
Have a 2013 F450. Wouldn’t trade it for the world. I’ve had them all; Ford, Chevy, Dodge, and this F450 is by far the best I’ve owned. I had a 2008 F450 too, and loved it as well.
My fiancé manages a transmission company (mainly high performance light duty trucks, but work on plenty daily drivers) and couldn’t be happier with the truck. It’s towed everything from a 4 horse slant to our old 44’ enclosed race trailer (which was one HEAVY trailer).
PM me if you’d like. Being in the diesel industry gives me a pretty good idea on all these trucks. You won’t be disappointed with the newer Fords.
