2011 Super Duty F-350 Dually or F-450 Dually...Anyone own one yet???

I currently own a 2008 F-450 and was thinking of upgrading to the new truck...anyone have a new 2011 F-350 or F-450?

We tow a 41 t Cyclone and are getting 7 mpg....thinking the new 6 speed transmission would help with that and bump the mileage up alittle bit.

Any help would be great thanks!!!!
 

ricatic

Well-known member
I do not have a dually model but i am sure happy so far with my F350 with the new 6.7 diesel engine. Turned over 1000 miles today and mileage is up to 17.1 in mixed driving. It pulls harder throughout the entire band than my 6.0 with a 125hp tune in it. I will be hooking up the Big Horn tomorrow for the 800 mile ride home. I can elaborate on towing performance after the trip. So far I am a real happy guy. My Ford Diesel Tech friends are very hyped up on the new engine. Virtually problem free so far. there were some reports of early issues with fuel lines. This turned out to be a delivery transport improper tie down issue.

Regards
 

shriver63

Active Member
I currently own a 2008 F-450 and was thinking of upgrading to the new truck...anyone have a new 2011 F-350 or F-450?

We tow a 41 t Cyclone and are getting 7 mpg....thinking the new 6 speed transmission would help with that and bump the mileage up alittle bit.

Any help would be great thanks!!!!

I just got a 2011 F450 for my 2011 3850 Cyclone. Only had it for a week so far but leaving the 6th of July for Colorado. Will keep you posted. I had a 2008 F250 and there is a huge improvement in ride, handling, turning, and performance and that is just running around empty
 

don46

Member
I too had a 2008 ford diesel, mileage on it was 5-9 never double digits. so I bit the bullet and got the 2011 F350 srw crew cab 4x4, I pull a 365 road warrior which is also 41' just made a trip of about 1300 miles and averaged 8.3 mpg at about 77 mph. prior to that I made a 2600 mile trip pulling a 8.5 x 20 enclosed trailer with 6 bikes and a bunch of other equipment and averaged 10 doing between 75 and 80. currently I have about 4400 miles so I do assume it will do better as it gets broke in, also, around town empty I'm getting 15-17 mpg which is a huge improvement over the 08. to sit in the truck it's not a whole lot different than my 08, but what is noticeable is the motor and tranny, when you step on it, hold on it accelerates like a strong running gas motor, if that makes any sense, no turbo lag. the tranny always seems to be in the right gear and it will pull a steep grade with no problem. The exhaust brake is automatic, so you have to be tow haul mode for it to work, but coming off a pretty steep grade no problem.

so was it worth it? obviously I couldn't justify it on fuel mileage, but at the end of the day it was worth it, I went from a f-250 to a f-350 and it handles the trailer really well, the sway control is pretty awesome as well, in high wind situations the rv doesn't even move. Many people are going for the rebates on the 2010 6.4's, and after having the 6.7 there is no comparison to my 08 6.4
 

ScubaSteve

Full Timer
We just got a 2011 F450 and 2011 Cyclone 3950 in June. I love both! There are numerous improvements over previous models. I have owned several SDs: 2004 F250 Super Crew gasoline, 2005 F250 Crew Cab 6.0l diesel, 2008 F250 Crew Cab 6.4l diesel and now the 2011 F450 6.7l.

As Don46 mentioned, the turbo lag has almost been taken out of the equation which is a HUGE improvement from the 6.4l and a significant improvement over the 6.0l.

Currently sitting about 3,500 miles driven. Highway mileage is tough to compare with the difference in differentials and empty weight between F250's and F450s, but I'm getting around 16mpg at 70mph right off the lot, which is around the mileage I was getting with my 6.4l once it was broken in. I expect to gain about 10% improvement over the next 20kmiles like I did in the 6.4l. The 6.0l had slightly higher mileage around 18mpg HWY. I haven't done much unloaded driving and will try to post an updated figure when I get more highway time. City driving is about the same as the 6.4l F250 once it was broken in.

Trailer towing is a different story. I'm seeing about a 18% improvement over my '08 F250 when pulling my 8.5'X24' cargo trailer (9.5mpg at 70mph, if I slowed to 60mph it jumped to almost 12mpg). I drove the Cyclone over two days, one at 65mph and one at 60mph and accumulated about 700 miles. I was getting 9.5 mpg with the Cyclone 3950 at 60mph and 8.5mpg at 65mph, which I don't think is bad for a 14,000lb + trailer.

I have the 5th wheel prep which is awesome. Coupled with the factory spray-in-liner, it looks clean and I can load up the bed without worrying about scratching and tearing stuff up. The only complaint is that the plastic plugs pop off easily and I expect to lose and replace them a few times. I'm hoping some aftermarket place will make something out of metal that will lock into position. The prep and hitch probably cost a little more than after market, but I think it was worth it. I installed the hitch in about 1.5 min for the first attempt because I had to make adjustments. It takes about 10 seconds now. I didn't not get the Ford Custom hitch, I just got the Signature Hitch from Reese. It's the same, just lacking two things: the "Ford Custom" decal and the $300.00 that goes with the decal.

The biggest improvement other than above is the interior storage. Anyone with the prior model crew cabs probably know about the metal behemoth under the rear seat. It's useless if you got a crew cab to carry passengers. They've replaced it with lockable bins. There is a removable divider so you can use the entire length or just the portion under each seat section. Locks are on both sides.

There are many other things that are great, that aren't necessarily new, but I have not had them before. I like the toy lock in the bed, the back-up camera, the a/c in the seats and a few other items. The back-up sensor now shows up every time you back up on the LCD (which I haven't mentioned yet, but it's awesome). You can turn the sensor off and it resets to on upon restarting which is handy so you don't have to worry about forgetting to turn it back on when your wife takes it for a drive :). Since I remembered the LCD, it is full of great information. Labels for your trailer that track mileage and remember brake controller settings (I think). Instant mileage as well as mileage for the two trip meters and a history that can be adjusted for several intervals from 5 minutes to the past 5 resets.

The ride is similar to other vehicles, but it is a little stiff which is to be expected since the suspension can handle 5,000 lbs of payload.

The GVR has been reduced since it is essentially a F350 with a 4.30 differential. Dropping the GVR from the previous model 14,500 lbs (don't quote me on that) down to 13,050 goes below that magical threshold of 14,000lbs, which makes getting insurance for the non-commercial driver a little easier. That's a little easier, and that's probably just because I have a great insurance company.

Overall, it's a great truck and I think they've made quite a few improvements. Hope that helps.
 
I would go for the Job 2 F350. I have the 2011 450 and am not happy with the mileage. Only 11.5 empty, which I know is because of the 4.3. The job 2 350 can pull almost as much with the 3.73's. I'm thinking of trading already. That being said I do primarily around town driving, so maybe you would notice difference towing the large trailer uphills, but beyond that, no real reason for the F450 now that they downgraded them to glorified F350 axles. Not to mention the hassle I've had with insurance since its over 1 ton. But I'll sell you mine for a good price ;)
 

porthole

Retired
Ratios - I just watched a new (I think) Ford DVD on the SD's. Picked it up at a dealer. The person doing all the hands on with trucks says the new trucks are coming with a 3.31 rear axle and it works fine because of the gear spacing in the new trans. Anyone hear that?
 

ricatic

Well-known member
The SRW F350's come with 3.55 gears as standard equipment. Depending on tire size, phase of the moon and how you hold your mouth, you can get the 3.31 gear set. The 3.73 is an option on the SRW as well. The new Ford is a powerful machine and coupled with the new 6 speed automatic handles all the weights that it is rated to pull. The Job 2 F 350 dually trucks started down the assembly line on August 16th sporting a higher gcvw and more power. These are proving to be great trucks. Ford is 35000 diesel orders behind. They are running the Kentucky Assembly Plant at full production, making 70 trucks an hour.

Regards
 

Bighurt

Well-known member
What is a Job 1 or Job 2 truck?

First production run, second production run, soon there will be Job 3! Major differences are when something changes.

For example halfway through production of Job 1 2008 F350, they discovered issues with the head-gasket and head bolts. Ford began Job 2 with different parts, Job 1 trucks were repaired at dealerships as problems occurred. This is just one example, there are actually quite a few changes between Job's.

2010-11 Job 2 came with the higher hp, Job 1 needs a re-flash between release and Dec 2011
 

Bighurt

Well-known member
I currently own a 2008 F-450 and was thinking of upgrading to the new truck...anyone have a new 2011 F-350 or F-450?

We tow a 41 t Cyclone and are getting 7 mpg....thinking the new 6 speed transmission would help with that and bump the mileage up a little bit.

Any help would be great thanks!!!!

2011 F450 is just a DRW F350 on steroids. I'm not sure I'd be willing to swap over potential mpg gains.

I actually prefer the 2008-10 body style over the 11'.

But to answer your question both are great trucks and the Scorpion is superior to the 6.4.
 

porthole

Retired
For years on any of the pickups I ordered I op'ed out of the sliding rear window because of the lack of a defroster. Looks like Ford is finally breaking the mold with a RWD availability in November.
 

4ever

Well-known member
I purchased a new F350 crew cab, dually with the 6.7 diesel just a couple of months ago. Upgraded from F250 SRW with 6.4 diesel. No compparison. I have about 2,700 miles so I am not even broken in yet however, my milegae with mixed driving is about 18 MPG now. That should improve. Also, they have bumped up the horsepower and torque since I purchased mine two months ago. Last week recived a letter from Ford announcing this increase on all new prodcutiuon and informing me that they would increase mine as well. Brought the truck in last Friday and the increased the Horse Power to 400 and the torque up to 800. Now that is power. Even before the increase I had no problem pulling the rv. This will only make it even better.

Ted

Ted
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
Turn on the air conditioning to help remove the humidity in the truck cab. Just turn up the temperature up some. It works great. It is an old cop trick to keeps windows from frosting up.
 

porthole

Retired
It is actually an old manufacturers trick too. The AC is on whenever the defrosters are on. But almost every vehicle made has a temp limit for the AC, usually less the 40 degrees ambient the compressor will not kick in.
 
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