F450 - Too Much Truck?

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Sprigelz

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Dec 21, 2017
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Looking at a reasonably priced used F450 King Ranch (dual rear wheel) to throw a TC in the back and live in full time. Is the F450 too much truck and considered un-necessary in your opinion?
 
Welcome to The RV Forum!  Don't worry, there is no such thing as too much truck.  ;)

Seriously, though - you'll be able to carry any camper you want to put on it without having to worry about payload as you load all of your stuff in.  Some truck campers are pretty heavy to start with and really aren't suitable for anything less than a dually F-350.  There isn't that much difference between an F-350 dually and the F-450. 

If you're planning to go too far off the beaten path, be aware a dually needs more clearance and has less traction on slippery surfaces than a truck with single rear tires, especially if it's 2WD.  It's counter-intuitive, but doubling the surface area of the tires on the drive axle places less weight on each tire, lessening the truck's ability to dig into slick surfaces.

And check the costs of insurance and registration compared to a smaller truck, just to make sure there aren't any surprises.
 
The last time I checked a couple of years ago, there was no difference between the cargo capacity between the F350 and F450 pickups.  The difference was the towing capacity. 

Note: I am referencing the F450 "pickup" truck.  The F450 chassis (no pickup bed) does have a greater carrying capacity. 

If you are looking at a large truck camping, be sure you check the weight of the camper.  The very large campers weigh 3500-3900 pounds before you load fresh water, all your gear, passengers, black & gray water, etc. 

By my estimates it is easy to have a total cargo (camper, water, passengers & gear) coming up to 5500-6000 pounds. 

So "no you can't have too much truck"!
 
I agree that there is no such thing as too much truck! I have a 2015 F350 Dually Crew Cab Diesel hauling a 2015 Lance 1052. When I bought this truck, I looked at the F450 and it actually had less payload capacity than the F350 but way more towing capacity. Even with airbags and a bigger sway bar I still feel like the suspension is lacking for a big camper with two slides. Thinking about maybe changing the rear springs. As far as power the, diesel has no problem hauling the camper and towing my ATV trailer up the mountains.
 
In my opinion, it depends on how you plan to use it.  If you plan to use it for a daily driver and occasionally tow with it, you may not care for it.  I have a good friend with an F-450 and he loves it for towing, but he does not like the  harsh ride and the 4:10 gears for when driving around unloaded.  His wife passed away last summer and is considering buying a 3/4 ton truck with something it will pull comfortably. 
 
Hello folks,

Interesting info, that a F450 actually has less payload capacity than a F350, both being DRW; this seems quite counterintuitive to me. The fact that the former has more towing capacity doesn't seem to me to make up for it, as in all my 5thWheel weight simulations, the real limit was the total payload and/or individual GAWRs. This makes it seem as the F450 is actually a worse choice for RVing...

Cheers,
--
  Vall.
 
After doing some research it appears the F450 and the F350 have about the same GVWR strictly for marketing purposes.

The F450 actually a Class 4 medium duty commercial truck that has a De-rated GVWR,  so it can be sold as a Class 3 truck. 

It actually can carry much more than it's DOT rated for.  The wheels, tires, brakes, springs, axles and a bunch of other stuff is bigger than that of the F350.

But since both DOT and Insurance companies look at Class 4 trucks as commercial vehicles... Ford just changed the Yellow sticker numbers and sells them as pickup trucks.

Thank you Ford...:)) :))
 
sightseers said:
After doing some research it appears the F450 and the F350 have about the same GVWR strictly for marketing purposes.

The F450 actually a Class 4 medium duty commercial truck that has a De-rated GVWR,  so it can be sold as a Class 3 truck. 

It actually can carry much more than it's DOT rated for.  The wheels, tires, brakes, springs, axles and a bunch of other stuff is bigger than that of the F350.

But since both DOT and Insurance companies look at Class 4 trucks as commercial vehicles... Ford just changed the Yellow sticker numbers and sells them as pickup trucks.

Thank you Ford...:)) :))
Keep in mind there are 2 versions of the F450 truck. 
--  The "pickup" truck that comes standard with a pickup truck bed, just like the F350 and lower trucks.  I am guessing these are what you are referring to as being sold as a Class 3 truck.  This version has the same GVWR as the F350
--  The chassis cab truck, which is sold with just the cab and seating with the rear of the truck just the frame, axle, fuel tank, etc.  This version has a heavier GVWR.  I guess these are sold as a Class 4 truck.  The buyer of this version can buy an after market pickup truck bed or a flat bed and have it installed. 

At least this was the status of the 2 versions about 3-4 years ago when I researched the vehicles.
 
in CA,  if you put a flatbed on a pickup truck ..you now have a commercial vehicle that is governed by DOT commercial rules.

Ford ..and others with 4500 series pickups are just marketing commercial vehicles to non-commercial users... and saving us a lot of taxes and other DOT hassles by selling it with a pickup bed.. and de-rated GVWR numbers.

and since the GVWR weight numbers don't matter to Non-com truck users ...it's a big win for everyone ! 
 
You can register a pickup truck as non-commercial passenger vehicle in CA, but if you put so much as a garden rake in the open bed you're violating the terms of the registration.

99.99 percent of pickups in CA have the commercial single letter series license plates instead of the three letter passenger car sequences.  The registration is marked Commercial and they pay CA's commercial registration and weight fees regardless of usage.  The only reason they don't come under DOT commercial authority is because they're not used for commercial transport.

Take that same truck regardless of body type and use it for hire, such as transporting cargo or towing a trailer for pay and DOT has jurisdiction over it and it's operation regardless of whether it's an F250, F350, F450, etc.
 
and also in CA ..  you can register an F350/450 the same as a passenger car..... if you put a camper on it.


FYI...I had a CHP chase me down on the 15 FWY and make me go back through scales in a little Toyota utility bed P/U.

Many years ago a cop pulled us over in my friends Surfer Van on the way to the dump.. (I'm sure he just wanted to search us for weed  ;D...)  he ended up writing my friend a ticket for carrying his mom's old washing machine inside the Van ...(a non commercial registered vehicle).

when I asked the cop if it would be legal to put the washing machine in the trunk of a car...he threatened to arrest me for being a wise ass.
 
The F-450 has the front wheels set further apart which allows it to turn in a tighter radius which would be a positive for towing. I counted it as a negative with the TC?s high center of gravity; seems like it could be a little more tippy.
 
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