2012 Ford Super Duty F-350

Hello Everyone,

I am on the verge of buying my first F350 with a diesel and looking for the do's and don'ts.

A few questions first:
1) I have narrowed choices to the Lariat and the King Ranch. Is the King Ranch worth the $$$?
2) Which is better for pulling a 5th Wheel, short or long wheel base?
3) What is the best gear ratio for the truck
4) Finally, which color pulls the best?

FWIW, after the F350, I will be in the market for a 5th Wheel Toy Hauler.

Any other feedback will be appreciated.

R/Chris
Havelock, NC

Hi cwoods,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum. You'll no doubt get a lot of good advice about what to look for in your tow vehicle.

Let me start by suggesting you consider payload specs as well as towing specs. Toy Haulers can put a lot of weight on the hitch, so it would be a good idea to check the specs on truck and trailer to make sure you're matched. This website created by another Heartland owner can help you check this out.

Fortunately, one of the options available to you is to buy a dually, which usually comes with significantly greater payload spec and also often has a greater towing spec, also helpful since some of the toy haulers have a GVWR of 18,000#.

We have the F350 SRW Crew Cab... Our Big Horn is 14,000 Lbs GVWR and we weighed fully loaded on CAT scales and were real close to the 14,000 lbs. Our total load truck payload rating is very close to max with this unit, so if your GVWR on the toy hauler is greater than the 14,000 lbs., you will need the F350 dually minimum. Depending on total GVWR, you may need an F450...... In other words, you should size the truck based on the maximum GVWR of the toy hauler.

1) I have narrowed choices to the Lariat and the King Ranch. Is the King Ranch worth the $$$?

For me not so much but if you like it get it.

2) Which is better for pulling a 5th Wheel, short or long wheel base?

Long bed DRW. We went from single to duals and would not go back

3) What is the best gear ratio for the truck

For us the lower the better but we are in the mountains a lot

4) Finally, which color pulls the best?





Good luck with your search

cwoods said:

Hello Everyone,

I am on the verge of buying my first F350 with a diesel and looking for the do's and don'ts.

A few questions first:
1) I have narrowed choices to the Lariat and the King Ranch. Is the King Ranch worth the $$$?
2) Which is better for pulling a 5th Wheel, short or long wheel base?
3) What is the best gear ratio for the truck
4) Finally, which color pulls the best?

FWIW, after the F350, I will be in the market for a 5th Wheel Toy Hauler.

Any other feedback will be appreciated.

R/Chris
Havelock, NC

Click to expand...

cwoods, I am new to the 5th wheel world, but not new to the diesel pickups and trailer towing world. 1st) a hard loaded Lariat will cost almost as much as a King Ranch. The King Ranch has beautiful, but higher maint leather. It's just a matter of preference. 2) Long beds do not require a slider for 90 degree turns, have a larger fuel tank, and IMO ride much better loaded or empty. Short beds are not an option for a dually. If you are making a new purchase and wanting a large toy hauler, I would definitely buy a dually. As bad as I hate dually's, i will eventually buy one. 3) Factory gears are limited to 3.73 with diesel engine (Ford and Chevy) unless you go to F-450. 4.10 is only available for gas engine, for the life of me I don't know why. If a C-3500 was available with a 4.10, I would be all over it. I think they need more gear for a 18K toy hauler and is why I am considering a F-450. 4) White definitely pulls better. Dirt doesn't stick, so friction is less.

450 gives you an even higher tow capacity. The 4.10 axle would be great if you will be pulling in hills. And the wider front axle will allow greater turning ability with close quarter maneuvering

Lariat or king ranch?

Do you like that "brown"?


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I would say I have never owned a ford ever in my life and I bought a 2011 F350 lariat diesel fully loaded and I love it. Top it off Bought a 43'11" cyclone toy hauler and it pulls it like a dream. I do not have the long box or the dulley. To tell ya the honest truth of buying a king ranch is like buying a harley of spending more money of paying for the name.

Ordered my F450 CCDRW, nothing fancy but I can tow almost anything I want. Go for the 5'th wheel / Gooseneck prep package. Roll up factory installed tonneau cover is nice. Difference between a F350 DW & F450 not much in price, big difference in towing.

As expected, everyone provided a lot of great info. Keep it coming.

R/Chris

I have a 2011 F-350 Long Box DRW Lariat Crew Cab Diesel FX4.
Go with the DRW, you will not be sorry.
I went from SRW to DRW and will never go back.
Dan has it right, spec out the 5er you plan to purchase and it's projected (wet) weight first, then spec out your tow vehicle.
I think you have the cart before the horse on what you are doing.
I thought about the F-450 but I really (my towing profile) didn't need the 4:30 gears.
One other thing with the F-450, is it has larger Brakes than the F-350.
If mountain towing is in your future, the 4:30 gears and larger brakes would be a plus.
Spend your money on more useful options than the King Ranch Package.
Go for the comfort options, you will spend a lot of hours driving.
I like my heated and cooled leather seats.
Get the Ford Option (Reese Power Puck) under bed hitch hookup.
I did that, (nice flat bed when hitch is out) though I did order my Reese 5th wheel hitch from my local RV dealer and saved $250.00 over the Ford hitch.
The Ford 5th wheel hitch is a Reese Elite Series with a Ford sticker.
Go over the option list for your 5er, and truck many times, because you always find something you missed.
It's cheaper to put things on the original order than to try to add things after you own it.
Have fun shopping.

Hockster

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Hockster said:

Get the Ford Option (Reese Power Puck) under bed hitch hookup.
I did that, (nice flat bed when hitch is out) though I did order my Reese 5th wheel hitch from my local RV dealer and saved $250.00 over the Ford hitch.
The Ford 5th wheel hitch is a Reese Elite Series with a Ford sticker.


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I also have the elite set up. It wasn't available at the time but B&W has a hitch for the factory installed rails (see link below). If I had it to do over I would look real close look at it. I've had both and preferred the B&W I had over the Reese I have now. I've been giving some thought to selling my Reese and replacing it with the B&W. If any body has seen or has it I'd love some feedback.

www.turnoverball.com/products/rvhitch/companion-oem-5th-wheel-hitch

The nice thing about the Ford packages now is you can get everything a KR has except the brown leather and KR badging. So feature wise, they are identical.
Even with the 350 DRW I think this truck is near the limit for our Cyclone. If I was going with a bigger Cyclone I would definitely get a 450.

Already several trips this year I find the truck just works too
hard on those short steep hills, typical of the NW PA. 100-300 foot elevation changes in sometimes under 1/4 mile.

Once again, leaving our dog camp in the Poconos, I ended up putting the truck in 4 wheel low and keeping the speed to a max of 35.

I sure wish someone would come up with an exhaust brake for this truck!

Somewhere on the site someone has posted on the poor application of the B&W with the 2011+ Super Duty's.

codycarver said:

I also have the elite set up. It wasn't available at the time but B&W has a hitch for the factory installed rails (see link below). If I had it to do over I would look real close look at it. I've had both and preferred the B&W I had over the Reese I have now. I've been giving some thought to selling my Reese and replacing it with the B&W. If any body has seen or has it I'd love some feedback.

www.turnoverball.com/products/rvhitch/companion-oem-5th-wheel-hitch

Click to expand...

I did read that but I thought that was for the companion in conjunction with the turn over ball???

I like the 4" range adjustment from front to back, but the height adjustments are limited (16 3/4" is the lowest setting).
16 3/4", 17 3/4" and 18 3/4" are the only height adjustments and may be too high for many modern 4x4s like mine.

Currently tow with a 2011 F350 Crew Cab 4X2 Diesel Dually 3:73 gear (Long Bed only way you can get a Ford Dually now). I could not ask for a better tow vehicle. It has plenty of power and tows my 2013 Landmark Grand Canyon with ease. Oh and my Truck is White if that matters.

I bought the 2012 F350 because it is technically advance over the competition and was well designed. After extensive testing, it was released to the public. Ford was using a tired engine and transmission design up to the 2010 model. GM and Chrysler are now redesigning to over take the new Ford design. GM has a new power train to be released next year. It includes an 8 speed transmission which is telling about its new engine design. I suspect it will have a peaky torque curve which requires the additional shift points. I have yet to hear anyone complain about the newer Ford diesels, which is testimony of their engineering and build. I am not brand lover, but simply an engineer that likes simple straight forward design and build regardless who does it.

I own a 2012 F350, King Ranch, SRW, 6.7L diesel, 4x4, long bed. I've had it since December 2011. No problems. I tow a Heartland Greystone 32RES without issue and have been very happy with it.

I have encountered a slight 'drive line angle' shudder issue when accelerating hard (slight vibration from rear end), but have discovered that this is apparently a normal phenomenon when the truck is loaded down and the angle of the drive shaft/gear box changes slightly. Hard acceleration will cause a shudder (best way I can describe it). I believe this is common for all trucks but I have no idea if one is better than the other in this regard. I have mostly solved this problem by installing Load Lifter air bags so as to maintain the same bed height when fully loaded (by inflating with the appropriate air pressure).

Having said all that, if I could do it over again, I would have ordered dual rear wheels - only because if I upgrade to a bigger heavier 5th wheel in the future, beyond the max rating of 15,700 (for 5th-wheel's), I would have been all set. If it comes to that, I will trade it in and get the dually. I really like the King Ranch interior package. That's just a personal thing... Yes it costs more, but since we'll be driving in it a-lot, I figured I would splurge for the luxury. I'm glad that I did.

By the way, I believe that the color black tows better

We bought our F350 CC DRW Long Bed Diesel Lariat last August. We tow a Bighorn 3055RL and often with a full water tank because we often boondock or go to FS campgrounds. We do a lot of mountain driving and it tows effortlessly with great fuel mileage. Our previous F250 V10 got 7 - 9 mpg towing, but the diesel gets 10 - 12 towing. The underbed adaptor works great providing a flat bed after our hitch is removed. We have the Hensley BD3 with the adaptor plate. This setup is so enjoyable to drive.

Thanks for all of the input.

So much to understand.

R/Chris