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1. I’m wondering if I really ‘need’ a diesel. Planning on getting a ‘20 F550 to haul either a Host Cascade or Everest or an Eagle Cap 1165. Ford is bringing out a new 7.3L gasser with around 380HP and 450 lb/ft. Seems like that would be plenty of oomph to me. Obviously the diesel would be superior but $8-9K buys a lot of gas.
2. I want to convert the duallies to a Buckstop super-single but at roughly $20K that might have to wait a year. In the meantime how much of a pain will the duallies be for cruising the way back roads of Utah and wherever? I hear the horror stories of getting a rock stuck and losing both tires and that doesn’t sound very fun. If I restrain myself for a year and don’t get too crazy how likely is that to happen? Since I tend to stop a lot anyway to looksee I’m thinking that if I get into the habit of always checking the duallies then maybe it won’t be a big deal. If one does get a rock pinched in them how do you get it out without causing damage or having to take the outer wheel off?
Thanks,
The n00b
(BTW – I have a lot of experience driving most anything else that
rolls, floats, or flies. Just never driven a dually.)It’s good to be a n00b - so I can aspire to be just stoopid.
Monrovia, CA
Diesel DRW. Backroads of Utah with those very heavy and large campers, IMHO, wouldnt even think of gas engine. Diesel has so much more pulling power. You have heard stories about rocks getting caught between dullies and blowing both tires, have you heard what happens when you lose a single tire? Dually gives you redundancy and a bit more safety margin. I would probably skip the super single. You must remember it takes a fairly large rock to get stuck between dailies, you will know when you drive through rocks of that nature especially with those large campers. Actually, you will not be doing much, if any off roading with those campers, they are just to large and heavy.
Driving a dually is not much different than driving a SRW, just have to be mindful of the little extra width. And that extra width also helps stabilize the load.
550 would be the way to go with those campers.Thanks, all thoughts are welcome! The Buckstop super single puts milgrade
6750 lb tires on all corners. Would take a lot to take one of them out plus I would be able to carry two spares. The other big advantage is the added clearance – with 41” tires I will gain 7-8”! Seems to me that the only limitation to off roading will be overall width. With my co-pilot we aren’t gonna get too crazy in any event. With a 12K payload I don’t think the 550 will even know there is a big camper back there.It’s good to be a n00b - so I can aspire to be just stoopid.
Monrovia, CA
7-8″ lift will make you very, very top heavy. Big wind come by and oops on the side you go.
Kind of like you said in first post $8,000 by a lot of gas, well $20,000 axle will buy a lot of tires. At the height you are proposing, width is not going to be your problem, the overall height will probably be somewhere higher than 14′ which means you gonna have problems with bridges.
Anyway good luck, I’ll step aside and let others chime in.“7-8″ lift will make you very, very top heavy“
I rather doubt that and actually my lift will only be 7” (3” spacers and 8” bigger tires). The F550’s curb weight is +/- 8K with most of that quite low down. An Eagle Cap 1165 is fairly tall but, again, most of its weight is quite low. Plenty of people running them on 350’s and 450’s so why should another 7” bother a 550? Overall it will be about 12’-2”. 14’ is generally the minimum for the vast majority of bridges. CalTrans lists a few down to 13’-4”. Not worried about winds. I’m willing to bet that the center of gravity will be about 16” or less above the frame. Not worried about wind – if it gets windy while driving I’ll pull over like any sensible big rig driver. Really doubt it will be toppled if it is stationary especially with that 92” track width and headed into the wind which is not as easily done with a big rig.
Keep them suggestions comin’, folks!
It’s good to be a n00b - so I can aspire to be just stoopid.
Monrovia, CA
i see no problems with what you want to do D. Mick.
most people who say “you will be top heavy”, “you will flop it on it’s side”, “you will hit bridges” have usually never driven a lifted truck and camper.
i drive a very lifted K30 crew with 42″ tires and haul a 8 footer TravelMate for over 15 yrs with zero problems.
when your truck is that big, most people don’t realize just how heavy they are, i call my K30 my “Four ton Honey”, comes in at 7800 lbs with half a tank. just my axles, tires, t-case, trans and b block is over 3500 lbs, the weight of a small car, and that weigh down low makes you very stable. about the only way i could get it to be “floppy” or “tippy” is if i loaded 2 or 3 thousand pounds in the overhead bunk and tried turning hard right at 80 mph… and if you pull a trailer as well, even better. our quad trailer is close to 4000 lbs and it acts like a big stabilizing anchor on the truck.
you will prob find your biggest prob is the same as anyone who takes their TC seriously off road, WIDTH. i’m a shade over 12 feet high and have never hit anything, other than dragging threw tree branches on some goat tracks.
i was going to suggest slightly wider 41″ tires, but as the 550 has a 92 track, you got no worries.may not be what your looking for, but have you looked at Phoenix Campers?
custom built off-road campers, guy from FWC left them and started Phoenix, so he knows what works on off-road tc’s. buddy bought one 2 yrs ago, little over 16 grand, but it is an awesome off road camper. all alum so it won’t turn to kindling bouncing around, and the best part is you can pick any width. buddy’s camper hangs out approx 3-4″ on the sides, you don’t even need to change your mirrors
https://phoenixpopup.com/Generally speaking, I would prefer a gas engine over a diesel most of the time, just based on the high expense of fixing them and Ford’s history of poor diesel designs.
On the other hand, I would hesitate to be the first kid on the block to own a brand new engine design. Who knows if Ford is going to get the design right or if it is going to have problems? The days when you could assume that a new engine from a big manufacturer was going to be done right are over.
I have a Ford F250 with a 6.2 gas and I love it. I’m definitely not a Ford hater. But in your shoes, I might also look at the Ram equivalent (5500?). Spend some time on a Ram forum and ask questions there about the reliability and quality.
Offhand, I don’t know if GM offers a 550 equivalent or not, but if they do, I’d be checking on that also.
This free advice as absolutely guaranteed to be worth every cent you spent for it, or your money will be promptly and cheerfully refunded!
Regards
John
I don't like to make plans. They cause the word "PREMEDITATED" to get used in court!
DON'T FEED THE VULTURES!
My Body is a Temple! Ancient, Crumbling, Probably Cursed . . .Dawg and John, thanks – good replies. Yeah, I’m pretty leery of being a guinea pig for Ford. It seems like they’re getting the 6.7L oil burner dialed in pretty well now so I’m inclined to go with it. Done a fair bit of reading on powerstroke forums and the last few years have been pretty trouble free except for the stupid regen but that isn’t that big a deal especially if you don’t take short trips. I got my CFO pretty well sold on the longevity and resale value of the diesel so that will likely be my choice.
It’s good to be a n00b - so I can aspire to be just stoopid.
Monrovia, CA
Upfront cost, the cost of DEF and higher cost of diesel fuel, as well as costly maintenance needs too be considered. So much smog equipment on diesels these days.
For basis day to day, mileage is getting close between gas and diesel, diesels mileage drop off less when pulling heavy loads, if that is your intended use. Resale is always better with diesels.
I have a cabover Fuso, the dealer tells me the gas cabovers, all brands with a 350 GM outsell diesels 3-1 now.
I’ve pretty much decided to forget the single wheel conversion so the diesel upfront cost is more palatable. I strongly suspect the new 7.3L gasser would be plenty strong but I really don’t want to be a beta tester. The 6.7 diesel seems pretty reliable now although I just read where some guy’s died on him after only 1400 miles! The oil was full of metal supposedly!
As for the wheels I think I will just keep the duallies and put on a set of 37’s. My fears of jammed rocks seems ill-founded or at least overblown.
It’s good to be a n00b - so I can aspire to be just stoopid.
Monrovia, CA
I’ve pretty much decided to forget the single wheel conversion so the diesel upfront cost is more palatable. I strongly suspect the new 7.3L gasser would be plenty strong but I really don’t want to be a beta tester. The 6.7 diesel seems pretty reliable now although I just read where some guy’s died on him after only 1400 miles! The oil was full of metal supposedly!
As for the wheels I think I will just keep the duallies and put on a set of 37’s. My fears of jammed rocks seems ill-founded or at least overblown.I think some people buy a diesel because they need one, others because they want one. Either way I think what make you smile is most important. You can always change courses if you don’t get along with a truck 🙂 Enjoy the journey.
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