F250s

I'd be interested in the feedback too.
Off road they are just too bloody big for anything serious.
But as a long-term tourer, I think that would HAVE to be on the short-list. The kind of thing you would try to get 500,000klm from.

Josh

What motor?

I've got a friend with one, diesel turbo with auto trans, tows a 16 ft van with it, reckons he doesn't even notice the van on the back. Uses far less fuel than his old 60 series, seems to be about the same or better than a cruiser diesel.
I can ask him for exact figures if you want, he is puter illiterate so cannot get him to post on forum.

Back a while ago a 4wd mag did a comparo for Patrol 4.2 Turbo, Criuser 4.2 Turbo, and F250 4.2 Turbo and the ford had the best fuel economy and the most touque and got a very good rap, from memory the only neg. were silly little things like indicator stalks and things on the wrong side to most stuff we drive.
My personal opinion is they would make an excellent tourer. If you more grunt the V8 diesel would be great.

F250, all that power, grunt, room and gotta be the coolest looking 4x4 ever, if i could convince SWMBO i'd buy one in a heartbeat. Just my opinion.

Baz.

Great range of aftermarket accessories and spare parts centres in outback areas. Not!

Company I work for runs two F250 XLT dual cab 4x4s. They are automatic with the V8 diesel turbo intercooled 7.3 litre. It is my understanding that the V8 diesel is only option now. The manual only comes in single cab. Single cab however comes with shortest tray ??? (I think it may not be by much). Super cab has the suicide doors and as much room on back seat as Japanese dual cab.

It is my experience that they can be taken on a normal 4WD track however they have a 17 metre turning circle and you will get scratches down both sides on the tighter tracks. They are fantastic on the beach. We have had them at Double Island Point and Moreton Island. They will do 80km/h in the dry sand when others can barely move.

The XLT is top of the line in Australia however it is still a vinyl floor, cloth seat vehicle. Has power mirrors and windows. Cruise control and six disc in dash CD player and air conditioning.

We have had them since November 2003 and February 2004. Only issue we have is they are very suscepitble to algae in the diesel. They have a sock type fuel filter in the tank as part of the pick up so the fuel goes through this before getting to a filter. We have had to remove the tank twice to clean these socks on the 2003 model however leaving them out will do bad things to our warranty apparently.

They are rated to tow 3500kg and we have towed about 2500 with no issues. Truck is rated as a one tonner and I can guaruntee they will take this load if not more and still overtake uphills.

The cruise control is the best I have ever used due to the abundant amount of torque on tap. You will not kick down a gear even on long uphills when unloaded or half loaded or so.

We have clocked up about 35 000km on the 2003 and 21 000 on the 2004 so they have been well tested.

The interior is not to bad but the fit and finish could be better. It is a plastic dash etc so some of the moulds I don't think are quite right. It is a $82 500 RRP truck however most of that money goes toward the mechanicals as there is not to much else (except as stated above).

As for fuel economy, on the highway they are brilliant considering what they do. I have achieved 900km from a 113 litre tank with mostly highway. Although with all city driving that will drop to around 450-500km unladen. With a mix I usually get around 650-700km between fills.

Believe it or not you can take them shopping and park undercover. In standard trim they will just clear a 2m carpark but it is touch and go. The 2.1m parks are fine. You can also fit them in a standard car bay if you have room to manouvre it in.

I think they are a great truck. We have had minimal issues with them and we have worked them hard.

Anyway if you want anymore info just ask and I will post it here.

Utemad

Hi Cliff,

There are plenty of F250 owners towing very heavy Bushtracker caravans and they constantly extol their virtues. A post on their website http://groups.msn.com/bushtrackerownersgroup/general.msnw should get plenty of first hand experience...........A lot of their vans are around the 3500kg mark (and over but they won't publicly admit to that) so that should be a lot heavier than your boat.

Whilst they are an excellent tow vehicle on and off the road they have some limitations in 4x4 applications - but not in the sand as outlined above. If you are doing plenty of touring with some 'off road' then they will be excellent but the more 4x4 you need the less suitable they become.

Research the weight specifications for each of your contenders. You might note that the F250 has a GCM (Gross Combined Mass) limitation that the Patrols and Cruisers don't have and in effect it means that if you are towing a 3500kg trailer, the F250 has a lower payload (because of the GCM limitation) than the other 2. (I think the max towing limit with the Patrol Cab Chassis is 3200kg from memory) It doesn't seem to make sense when you look at the comparitive size, length, mass, engine differences etc but they are the specifications. As the trailer weight decreases, the payload increases up to the max of 1021kg.
Larry

I JUST WANT ONE!!!!!

People have said here that they are not a good 4x4. The only issue we have encountered is their size. We have done some steep rutted off road inclines while towing without a problem in High 4WD as well as other 4WD stuff. I will admit their wheel travel isn't perfect but with that much grunt and wheel base it has never been an issue. They are built like a truck but IMHO that is a good thing for a tough 4x4. People have also said that these will have poor backup in the bush. Sure these are not all that common around the cities but have you seen how many of these are owned by farmers and outback companies? The big Fords are breeding like rabbits out there. They have only been around a few years give them time.

If you want accessories for these things then go to

F-Series Spares Qld

They have lots of cool things in stock and can import more things than you could ever imagine. Just remember that these vehicles outsell any other vehicle in the US. At least they used to not sure if that is still the case. Of course they are cheaper over there but so are all the other vehicles. Must be a reason for this!

Utemad

Just got back a few hours ago from doing Perth - Paynes Find - Sandstone - Gidgee - Peak Hill run with a new F250 XLT as company. The big Ford with the Navistar 444 7.3l donk in it got heaps better milage than my 4.5 GU Patrol. They go well too but seem to have a speed limiter.

You can get a significantly higher rated towbar than the standard Ford one. 'F-trucks WA' sell them and lots of accesories too but I've heard they aren't a real helpful mob.

F250's are getting more popular by the day apparently, waiting list until August. The lads in Kalgoorlie sure seem to like 'em enough.

Does Dave or yourself know the pros and cons of manual v auto?