A teapot in a tempest: F-250 offers work, comfort
Finally, I cleared the crash derby that is Houston’s morning rush-hour traffic. Superior visibility, aided by five mirrors and seven cameras on the $84,500 Ford F-250 4x4 Limited, had given me an edge.
The sheer bulk of the 22-foot, 3.5-ton behemoth, plus a cabin worthy of a five-star hotel lobby, left me feeling safe as a stone in a peach.
Then a chilling rain that enfolded East Texas from the Gulf of Mexico to the Red River picked up its pace. The temperature dipped below freezing. Suddenly, all those big, wide overpasses that mark the southern trace of U.S. 59 became ominous.
The tempest grew worse around 18-wheelers that spun whirlwinds of dense spray. Tall walls of water blinded drivers trying to ease past the big rigs. What, me worry? Sitting nearly seven feet above the pavement, I was confronted with only the spray’s wispy upper layer. I could see over and through. A quick twist of a knob put the truck into four-wheel drive, guaranteeing sure footing at all four corners.
A slight push on the throttle of the 6.7-Liter turbodiesel Powerstroke© V-8 unleased enough of its 450 horsepower and 935 ft.-lb of torque to zip around the trucks.
A glance at the Nav system kept me abreast of the posted limit, a lifesaver on a road where the allowed velocity is more changeable than an adolescent’s whims. It also told me I still had 250 miles to go to the place where I sleep.
I checked the cluster of gauges and noted that the truck was averaging more than 16 mpg. The 34-gallon tank I filled the night before — $90 when empty, but I’d needed half that — was still good for nearly 500 miles.
The coffee was still hot. Despite the rain, the road was clear — no construction zones this day — and I settled in to do what this truck does best. Eat up the miles.
With a buttery, heavy-duty 10-speed automatic transmission, plush and supportive seats, and a Bang & Olufsen 10-speaker sound system, the journey was as comfy as a Sunday afternoon cruise in a Rolls Royce.
Okay, that’s hyperbole, but only a little. Our tester came able to carry 3,000 lbs. in the bin and haul a 15,000-lb. horse rig or travel trailer in the rear. With a suspension that stout, gooseneck and fifth-wheel hitches installed, it was a little bouncy, but not as much as I’d expected
Don’t get me wrong. A Super Duty does not drive like a car. It’s certainly not as clumsy as the deuce-anda-half I drove in the Army, but things like turning, braking, and parking take more time, more space, and planning.
A working truck
Ford builds Super Duty trucks in three capacity configurations, F-250, F-350, and F-450, with three cab choices, two bed choices, and in five trim lines, XL, XLT, Lariat, King Ranch, Platinum, and Limited. A base F-250 XL starts at $33,705, a Limited F-450 tops $90,000.
According to Cargurus. com, the median selling price for a 2019 F-250 is $48,309. A large chunk of the market is in the $29,000 to $35,000 range, many of those fleet buyers. Two smaller slices fall in the $55,000 to $60,000 range and between $70,000 to $85,000.
Who spends that kind of money on a pickup? In many cases, people who expect it to pay for itself. That represents a wide slice of East Texans. According to Ford, Super Duties are used by:
■ 58 percent of electric, gas and sanitation workers
■ 50 percent of forestry workers
■ 50 percent of oil and gas extraction workers
■ 48 percent of heavy construction workers
■ 42 percent of manufacturing workers
Like the ad says, “Ford trucks own work.”
Ford steps up
The Big Three (Ram, Ford, GM) jockey back and forth over the numbers — torque, payload, towing capacity — because they know those things deeply influence buyers.
The current crop of Ford Super Duty trucks rolled into showrooms four years ago as 2017 models. Built on an all-new, high-strength steel frame, the truck was the first in the segment of offer a military-grade, aluminum-alloy body. That cut more than 350 lbs. off the previous version. Ford invested 250 lbs. of that back into stronger axles, springs, suspension, and advanced electronics. Work.
The 2020 model year brings a mid-cycle refresh with some important new features. For one, the diesel gets a 135 ft-lb. torque boost to 1,050 and horsepower jumped to 475. The diesel is a $10,495 option, but that brings with it the 10-speed, which replaces a standard 6-speed transmission.
Though Ford developed the 10-speed with GM, Ford’s feels better dialed-in.
Also new is a 7.3-Liter V-8 gas engine, nicknamed “Godzilla,” a $2,045 option. If the standard, 6.2-L V-8, with 385 hp and 430 ft.lb of torque won’t get it done for you, Godzilla’s 430 horses and 475 ft-lb. of twist might get the job.
For 2020, Ford is offering a Tremor off-road package, a step up from the FX4, which is mostly an appearance package that retails around
$400. Tremor sells for $3,975 for a long list of suspension, tire and wheel upgrades. It includes a locking rear differential, a limited-slip front differential, and a rock-crawl mode. It can ford 33 inches of water thanks to vent tubes on the transfer case and axles.
A 12,000-lb winch ($3,000) will make a Super Duty Tremor the baddest truck off the beaten path. The Ram Power Wagon offers neither diesel nor a winch.
Caveat Emptor
According to Consumer Reports and repairpal.com, Ford Super Duties have had below-average reliability ratings the past few years. It’s hard to pin down the source of that, but the data indicates the Fords have an average number of repair issues but have problems that cost more to fix.
According to the National Highway Safety Administration, there are eight recalls active on the 2019 Super Duty. Some are minor, like an issue with daylight running lamps, but a couple regarding the power train look serious.
Buyers of such a hard-laboring truck might investigate an extended warranty. Ford fixes everything for three years/36,000 miles, the power train for 5/50,000 and diesel engines for 5/100,000. That’s not a lot of miles for a work truck.
Bottom Line
If you need one and your accountant says you can afford it, you can’t go wrong with a Ford Super Duty.