Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives 3/4 ton gassers

Wondering if there's a preference between GM and Ford..

Looking for a 4x4 crew... '24 or '25

My 3/4 ton crew cab is a 2002 F250 Super Duty with the V10 6.8l gas engine. I may very well be in the market to upgrade it soon so I will be very curious to hear what people with some experience with late model gassers have to say.

The only 3/4 gasser I’ve had is my ‘23 F250 with the 7.3, and so far, no complaints….

John

I have a '24 F250 7.3 and am happy with it so far. There were no '25s on the lot when I traded two weeks ago. Over the 2,000 miles I've put on it in the last two weeks, it gets 2-3 miles per gallon less than my '22 6.7 diesel that it replaced but gasoline is 25-30% less per gallon than diesel on average, which offsets that difference. Plus maintenance and repairs run about 1/2 as much as the diesel and no CP4 or DPF worries with the gas. It doesn't have the torque of the diesel but it seems to have enough. I will know more when I latch onto a trailer in a couple of weeks.

So far, I'm happy with my 3/4-ton gas purchase. I wish the manufacturers would do turbo inline 6 hybrid with about 300 cubic inches in 3/4 ton trucks. With current technology, I don't know why they couldn't get 22-24 MPG unloaded and 600-700 foot pounds of torque with a combo like that.

Ford just starter production of the 25’s this week so don’t expect to see any on the lots for a few weeks.
Consider buying a F350 instead of the 250. They are the same basic truck with maybe one or two different parts on the rear suspension. They ride the same.
F350 is about $1100 more and brings a much higher resale value and is more desirable in the used market. They also have the door jam sticker with the higher payload ratings.

While true, keep in mind that the 3500 GVWR is over 10 K, which puts you in DOT territory if used commercially. A whole lot of paperwork and expense a 2500 with airbags doesn’t have….

So it’s legal to overload an F250 or 2500 with airbags commercially?

I don't think it's the case now but for many years the only difference between a Dodge 2500 and 3500 single rear wheel was the springs. Everything else was interchangeable.

Friends have a ‘23 F350 w/ the 7.3L gas engine. 18K miles and no problems. The fella has a ‘25 F150 for himself and says it’s like a Cadillac ride by comparison.

For sheer comfort I would say the Ford is the way to go. Having said that I just bought a 1-ton GMC because it had one future the Ford doesn't-- Auto-4. If the Ford had that system I would most likely be in a Ford right now. I have talked to one person who has bought a new Ford for his business. He says he had to get a special rack to fit his truck because of the Aluminum body (He hauls glass panels around.) He also said a friend who hauls heavy metal containers in his new Ford had the ribs in the bed flatten out from the weight on the aluminum. Ford does not recommend slide in campers for certain models of their heavy-duty pick-ups if you want to do that. I have heard that is the same in the GM trucks but am not sure about it.

Current truck is a 24 Ford F350 CC SB with the 7.3 gasser and 4:30 gears. Great rig, zero issues to date (11K miles), OK mpg. Hauled a 7K trailer and had over 3K in the bed during my drive from TN to AK and averaged in the low 10's for the entire distance. Towing is interesting in hilly country as it will often downshift and bring the rpms up to 4,000 or higher. Kind of alarming until you get used to it.

The ride is totally dependent on the load and the tire pressure. When not towing or carrying less than 1,000 pounds I run 45-48 in the rear tires and 55 in the front. Rides great. If you want to run empty with the tire pressure that is on the door jam sticker expect to be bounced all over the place.

When I ordered my 2022, I bought from a friend that at one point owned a bunch of small-town dealerships (around 50, I think). I spec'd it out as both an F250 with heavy duty suspension and towing package with all the bells and whistles and an F350, which came with all that as standard. As a SRW shortbed, both had the exact same towing and payload ratings and were within $100 of each other regarding price. I called the manager of my friend's dealerships when ordering and asked which would have the better trade-in value. Based on his advice for his dealerships, I went with F250. They were otherwise same-same.

The law has nothing to do with load, just GVWR. A commercial one ton truck with a box of apples in the back across state lines is subject to the DOT rules. Logbooks, drifer qualification files, medical card, vehicle maintenance program, annual inspection, etc, etc. And going to a car race or rodeo to compete for prizes is considered commercial by the DOT. If you don't need the GVWR, best not to volunteer for those priviliges.

As Rockchuck pointed out, the only difference is the rear springs. If if bothers you to exceed the GVWR with airbags, you are more than welcome to go the DOT route.

The DOT rules for race car prize money is only if you claim it as a business which very few do in ours for the sportsman racing. But it still may under the various low weight limitations of 10,001 lbs for the trailer.

Exceeding the legal load or towing limit in a non commercial vehicle would likely only be an issue if you were in an accident. Then you are [bleep]’ed. You could argue all day long the vehicle can do it but the door jam sticker will have the final say.

All fine and good, but DOT determines if it is business or not, not the operator......... There's a bit of case law on this.

Please cite the case law where DOT determines whether or not I claim a hobby as a business.

What is the pressure stated on door sticker?

Does dropping it trigger the TPMS?

Not sure about the 24s. My 19 the door jam pressure is 80psi. TPMS doesn’t light up until under 55psi. Unless I’m pulling something heavy I run them at 60psi all the way around and the ride is much improved.

I think TPMS parameters can be adjusted with ForScan.

Mine says 75 pounds, I run 65 when empty or not pulling, No TPMS notice. I run 85 when fully loaded with trailer and slide in camper

Front is 60
Rear is 80.
Yes the TPMS light comes on. It is very small and appears in the bottom right of the dash.
The tire pressures also appear every time I start it (which I like). Hit the button on the steering wheel and it disappears. Payload is almost 4,200 pounds.
There can be a wide range of pressures and load capacity as I believe Ford equips these trucks with tires hanging from 17's to 20's.

If you are going to tow heavy at close to maximum tow ratings, chose the lowest (highest number) gear ratio that is offered. Often you have to order or search for lower geared units because the manufacturers tend to make more of the higher geared units.

I realize that OP asked for a Ford GM comparison. My experience is with a 2018 Ram 2500 with 6.4 L Hemi with the lowest offered 4.10 gears pulling a 14K equipment trailer with industrial loader tractor combo that is about 1000 pounds under the trucks 15,500 pound rating. It handles the load well once you get used to the higher RPM's. I am glad that I chose the 4.10 gears versus the 3.73 gears.

I really wanted a 2024 F250 - 350 with the 7.3 gas engine. Got prices at 2 different dealers on the truck I wanted. Ended up buying another Ram 3500 single wheel 4x4 diesel for very close to the same money. The Ford is a really nice truck and every time I fill up with DEF or change the oil I second guess my purchase of a diesel truck.

The F250 has the 10.5" Sterling rear end. The F350 has a Dana. Or a Sterling. Apparently it depends on the gear ratio you pick. If that kind of thing matters to a new buyer, they might have to dig a little deeper.

I have a 22 I bought on 12-30 of 21. I have just under 40k miles. about a third of those miles are towing a travel trailer. I had a cat go out at 20k replaced under warranty. I change my oil at 5000 mile intervals. No problems at all other than the cat.

F 350 when ordered with 4.30 you get the Dana rear end.

I believe the only ratios available on the diesel Superduty F350 are 3:31. 3:55, and 4:30
For the gas version they are 3:73 and 4:30.

You are correct have no idea why I was thinking 4.56 lol. But 4.30 come with the Dana rear ends. Few yrs back I think 2022 ford had a recall on the Dana rear ends.

Doing this thought process now. We recently purchased a skid steer for use at the farm/ranch, which are 240 miles apart. As such, there are times where we want the equipment at one place or the other and need to haul it there. Purchased a used dump trailer with ramps/tie downs to haul it but our only trucks are 1/2 ton Silverados. Looking to potentially get one 3/4 ton gasser. We have always run GM products as a long time friend of mine owns the local dealerships and my son works there. But would consider a F250 (used) as they have them from time to time. Probably will only haul the skid steer 4-5 times per year. The other consideration is that my real job has a 54 mile commute each day and I am sure the mpg would be down, even from the 6.2 in my current 1500.

I've got a 2022 GMC with a 6.6 L and it's the best pickup I've ever had. On occasion I'll pull a trailer with a Bobcat on it. It's a load, but it'll pull it. Not sure if I'd want to drag a Bobcat 240 miles back and forth with it though. Gas mileage runs 12.5 mpg under normal situations, but about 18 or 19 mpg on the highway.

I put 17" wheels on my 2022 F250, slightly bigger tires and bilstein shocks on all 4 corners. Ride is noticeably improved.

The route we have to take between the 2 properties has minimal hills and is 2 lane, so high speeds are not needed. Not sure if that impacts your thought on a skid steer with the 2500?

How much does the skid steer weigh?

The skid steer is right at 10,000 lbs with no attachments. We will haul those on a separate trailer.

Highway speed? Interstate speed limits here on the prairie are 75-80 depending on what state you're in. I'm typically driving 4-5Mi over. If I could get a 3/4 gas that'd make 15MPG @ 80 empty I'd be very interested.

I’d hate hauling that 240 mi. with a 3/4 gasser unless they’ve come a long ways in ten years .

They have. My ‘23 F250 7.3 gasser tows very well.

John

I know Chevy and Ford went bigger displacement . I can see with the right gearing and good trailer brakes would be tolerable.

Not sure why to bother with a 3/4 ton. The 1 ton is only about 1200 more. Had my f350 about 3 weeks now. Its nice. Mb

8 speed trans or 10 speed? I can't remember if it was 2022 or 2023 when the 10 speed came along.

Payload is bigger in the 3/4 ton as it weighs less.

One tons get heavier rear axles for increased towing capacity, at the cost of payload.

It pulls fine with plenty of power. But to me, I'd like to have a heavier truck if I was pulling a 10K lbs. trailer for 240 miles.

Yes, it gets about 18 or 19 mpg on the interstate driving at about 75 to 80 mph.

It's got the 10 speed and it shifts very smooth.

I have aches n pains from a decade of military service and a decade runnin dog teams, building river boats and handsplitting firewood.

Youd have to be a spineless, soft, prissy sack of sht to be concerned with how a 1 ton truck rides.

Every 1 ton I've ever owned, the leaf springs get upgraded to bigger spring packs.

On 3/4 ton trucks: don't forget to install air bags and a maxi-pad dispenser.

Where are you seeing that? Apples to apples SRW F350 has a greater payload capacity than the comparable F250. 4,246 lbs for the 4x2 F250 regular cab with the 7.3L gas vs. 4,391 for the 4x2 regular cab F350 according to Ford. 3,863 for 4x4 F250 vs. 4,433 for the F350. It is the same advantage for the F350 in all comparable configurations.

That wouldn’t make sense would it? Upgrade to f350 and haul less

It was all about gvwr when I bought my 2019.
The heaviest gvwr package available was the 10k lb in both 250 and 350. The 350 had a rear axle that weighed 400lbs more than the 250 and that was the only difference between the trucks with same cab and engine.

The 350 had higher tow ratings across the board and the 250 had higher payload capacity.

Guess you didn’t notice where bunches traded everyone’s financial future for an experimental shot . It was a choice between that and going mono y mono their immune system vs a cold. 😂

Maybe that was the case when you bought a 2019, but the OP was asking about a '24 or '25.

Maybe you should check who I was responding to.

And Magnum Bob was responding to the OP.

Lol, almost there

Not sure what you are getting at, but you were the one that took it a different direction that what the OP was asking and what Magnum Bob was suggesting.

Bob asked a question and I answered it. Kinda the whole idea here. You having a bad day?

You answered it out of context, but if that satisfies your position in your mind then carry on.

Buck up little feller, your day will get better.

Nobody need to get mad at me. My 23 sc , 8' box, 4wd has 11, 900 gvwr so does the 25 f350 srw. 3/4 tons are less than 11,000. Bought mine to tow my 30' bumper pull tt and my atv in the box which mandates the 8 ' box. Buy what you want i did. Mb