I have an F150 supercrew 5.4 4X4. Great truck...but I need more bed. My truck serves double duty (like a lot of others) as business and personal unit. My question is to anyone who has traded from 150 to 250. How much harsher is the ride when empty? Is it very much harder or just a bit? Is the 250's handling much different than 150? I intend to eventually test and compare myself. However, I would appreciate others opinions.

thanks

 

I'm was in the same boat. I have a supercab F150 4x4, and wanted to upgrade to the F250 Supercab Superduty 4x4. I have test drove about 10 of these trucks, and have come to the conclusion, that for now; i'm staying with the F150. Three reasons, One the ride is in fact much harsher then my F150 and this is the way it's designed, but for everyday driving, it's not what i really wanted. Second, the interiors feel much more comfortable in my F150 then the F250. I really wish they would have cut down on the size of the fold-down piece on the bench seat, it would make it alot more comfortable. And third, the steering and handling in my F150 is the best i've ever owned; and with the F250, it felt like i was wandering all over the road; not nearly as crisp and will definately have to get used to.

Now, I still may go to the F250 in a year or two, but for now, i'm just going to limit my trailering of my large travel trailer. The F250 serves it's purpose, but it could be a little more refined. Now, i did not in fact drive a 2002, all the ones i drove were 99, 00, or 01's. So maybe they have refined some this past year, but i'll wait til it happens for sure first.

Just my opinion..

 

The ride is harsher, the interior is MUCH more comfortable IMHO. I think my teucks are hands down the best ride on a long drive. Not cramped and relaxing. But the ride is a tank.

 

I currently have 3 Ford trucks. I had 4, but the wife encouraged me get rid of my project truck. I drive a 2000 F-250 XLT 4x4 with the V-10 engine. My wife drives a 1999 F-150 XLT Lariat with the 4.6 L engine. My son drives a 1992 F-150 XLT with the 5.0 L engine. Had a 1991 F-150 with the 5-spd man. with the straight six engine. I was going to drop a 302 in it as a play toy.

You are exactly right in saying the F-150's ride well. My wifes truck probably rides better than most passengers cars. The one thing you must remeber when comparing F-150's to F-250's is that they are totally differnt vehicles. The wifes truck has a GVWR of 6050 lbs., my F-250 has a GVWR of 8800 lbs. (If I read the door stickers correctly) This is a difference of 2750 lbs, this is well over a ton ! Some of the "rice burners" don't weight this much. I bought the F-250 to pull a 26 ft Sunnybrook travel trailer (6000 - 7000 pounds) , and a tandem axle equipment trailer ( 1500 pounds ) loaded with a 4500 pound tractor. The F-250 will pull either of these 2 trailers with aboulete ease no matter what the road conditions are. The wife's F-150 is marginal at best pulling these trailers, granted the 5.4L engine would make things better. When the travel travel is connected to the F-250 the rear end moves down maybe 2 inches, not even close to the helper springs coming into play. When you attach the travel trailer to the wife's F-150 the rear end will squat 6 inches, and requires a load equalizing hitch.

I'm not trying to be a smart @$$, but you are comparing apples to oranges. Yes, the F-250 will have harder ride, but it's also a bigger truck. Each truck is designed for a particular purpose. In my opinion they both do their jobs very well. I love my F-250, would not trade it for anything else on the road.

GA-V-10

 

I just traded in a 1998 F-150 Extended Cab 2wd - Short Bed for a 2002 F-250 SD Crew Cab 4x4 Long Bed, 3.73 LS Rear. The ride on the F-150 was very car like. The F-250 is a truck. The ride is stiffer, but not harsh. I took it out this past weekend for a 200 mile round trip to the in-laws. My Wife, 2 Kids and my Mom. The thing rode great on the Highway. Doing 70 to 80 MPH it felt like a big European Sedan, a little stiff but no bounce or road noise from the tires. I have the V-8. It is really my Home Depot truck, so towing and gas mileage wasn't an issue. I only put on about 7-8,000 miles per year, so the Diesel didn't make sense. I would have considered the V-10, but the dealer didn't have any. I'm glad I got the V-8, it seems to have plenty of power for what I do. Maybe I'll get some gas mileage out of it, time will tell. George K

 

Go for an F250 Light Duty (97-99) or an F150 7700 series (00-??). My 250 works just as good as any SD out there (well, almost) but rides like a 150.

 

I agree, my F250LD rides very much like an F150, even better with a load in it, but it can do alot more....The new 7700's would be an equal....

 

I agree, my '97 F-250 LD 4X4 SC XLT 4.6, auto with 3.73 gears rides very nice, even better than my old '89 EB Bronco. It can do it all, crusie, tow, haul, and give you decent gas mileage too. I personally like the looks of the LD 250's better, I think they look more rugged than the 150's. I suggest test drive a 250 LD or a 150 7700 series, it may be just what you are looking for.