F550 vs. Dodge 5500

[strawking]

I'm looking at getting a new ranch pickup and I am looking at either a Ford 550 or Dodge 5500 with the 6.7 diesel. Does anyone have these and how do you like them? I'll be putting a hydra bed on it.

 

[Angus Cowman]

Why are you going that heavy
Unless you are pulling a big trailer all the time it just seems like extra wt and expense main thing the 4500 and 5500 or 450 and 550 have is heavier axles and brakes over a 3500 or 350

 

[hillbilly beef man]

My work truck is a f-450 that I have put 84,000 miles on it and have liked it so far. Rides surprisingly good, but the 13,000 lb dry weight probaly helps some on the ride. But either one should suit you fine.

 

[Nesikep]

If I had an F450 that weighed 13,000 lbs empty I'd go back to a 350... My dodge diesel is just over half that weight empty (7,000 lb)...

I know I'm going to get crap for this, but in the 450 class I'd go with the ford, there's lots of them around for parts, Don't see many 550's around here, and even less 5500's.. It would be a tossup at that point... I do like the inline 6 better than the V8 for workability and bottom end grunt.

I think the 450's and 550's have significantly heavier frames than the 350 class, as well as axles, brakes, etc of course too.

 

[highgrit]

Uncle Tom has traded off all the Ford 450's and bought RAM 4500's. He owns U.T. elevator sales and service located in Jupiter Florida. They are in the union and handle the southeast. The Fords were nothing but trouble and averaged 4 mpg. less. I talked him into trying a RAM 4500 in 2011, and now the Fords are history. They have 6 RAM 4500's and drive 50k+miles a year. And the majority of the time their pulling a trailer over loaded. And that's a fact.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

I'm kinda like AC, the new 3500 rams are rated to pull 30k, seems like alot to me, but that's what they are rated at. I can't imagine needing a 5500, but I don't know everythibg you do with your truck either.

On the ford vs ram thing I don't believe ford has had a reliable and dependable diesel since the 7.3. People can say what they want about ram front ends and a few other things and I'll give them that, althought most of that stuff has improved in the last few years. I know for a fact you won't buy any truck that doesn't have issues, but I'll take the proven engine and transmission of the ram any day.

 

[hillbilly beef man]

If I had an F450 that weighed 13,000 lbs empty I'd go back to a 350... My dodge diesel is just over half that weight empty (7,000 lb)...

I know I'm going to get crap for this, but in the 450 class I'd go with the ford, there's lots of them around for parts, Don't see many 550's around here, and even less 5500's.. It would be a tossup at that point... I do like the inline 6 better than the V8 for workability and bottom end grunt.

I think the 450's and 550's have significantly heavier frames than the 350 class, as well as axles, brakes, etc of course too.

It has a 35 ft Altec boom mounted on it that weighs 5,000 lb for the boom. 13,000lb is truck gassed up, and loaded up with 1,500 lbs of crap to work with.

 

[hillbilly beef man]

I'm kinda like AC, the new 3500 rams are rated to pull 30k, seems like alot to me, but that's what they are rated at. I can't imagine needing a 5500, but I don't know everythibg you do with your truck either.

On the ford vs ram thing I don't believe ford has had a reliable and dependable diesel since the 7.3. People can say what they want about ram front ends and a few other things and I'll give them that, althought most of that stuff has improved in the last few years. I know for a fact you won't buy any truck that doesn't have issues, but I'll take the proven engine and transmission of the ram any day.

Unless these new trucks have some wonderful brakes I think that the tow ratings are getting a little over the top. Towing 30k with a pickup would put you real close to 40k gross. My single axle F-800 grosses 34k loaded with rock and it is still stops pretty good, but I would not be comfortable with it at 40k and it weighs 14k empty.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

I'm kinda like AC, the new 3500 rams are rated to pull 30k, seems like alot to me, but that's what they are rated at. I can't imagine needing a 5500, but I don't know everythibg you do with your truck either.

On the ford vs ram thing I don't believe ford has had a reliable and dependable diesel since the 7.3. People can say what they want about ram front ends and a few other things and I'll give them that, althought most of that stuff has improved in the last few years. I know for a fact you won't buy any truck that doesn't have issues, but I'll take the proven engine and transmission of the ram any day.

Unless these new trucks have some wonderful brakes I think that the tow ratings are getting a little over the top. Towing 30k with a pickup would put you real close to 40k gross. My single axle F-800 grosses 34k loaded with rock and it is still stops pretty good, but I would not be comfortable with it at 40k and it weighs 14k empty.

I agree, but that's what they rate them at.

 

[highgrit]

The boys a U.T. Elevator have been getting fined for being over 26k without a class A license. Most of the guy's have ended up getting what they need to be legal.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

The boys a U.T. Elevator have been getting fined for being over 26k without a class A license. Most of the guy's have ended up getting what they need to be legal.

Not having a CDL when you are supposed to have one is a expensive fine, some places you get a ride to jail also.

 

[highgrit]

I sat 2 days at the weight station in Florida years ago. Finally on Tuesday I bought my way out and got on my way. That's when I went from being a commercial fishermen to being a farmer. There's loop holes in every law, but figuring them out is the problem.

 

[Brentp]

I have a 2008 Dodge 5500 that I use in my business. I bought it in 2010 from a bank sale and it already had 200k miles on it. It now has 325k. It is hands down the roughest riding truck I have ever been in. But I will also say that I have yet to overload it. It will easily take 5 tons on the bed without even touching the overload springs. Same way with trailers - 20-25k is not really a problem weight-wise. There is no amount of weight that will smooth out the ride to even that of an empty 3500. I am pretty sure the rear end comes off the ground when you hit a good sized pothole or expansion joint. The brakes are huge, and I have yet to change any brake pads. The 19.5" tires seem to last forever. It gets used hard every day. I had to use it as a daily driver for about a year when my business was young and I don't think I'd do it again. Maybe it's cause I'm over 30 now and I feel old. Ha ha. Supposedly the 4500 models ride a good bit better but I haven't driven one. As someone else stated, there are way more Fords on the road so parts availability would be better on the Ford. Unless they have updated the capacities the 3500 models are actually rated for a higher tow capacity right now than the 4500 and 5500. I am kind of partial to Dodges (or Cummins to be more specific) and my next truck will either be a 3500 or 4500. The 5500 is a solid truck that you'll never wear out but if you don't need the payload capacity I'd go for the 3500 or 4500.

I've been lurking here for several months and have learned a ton from you all so far. Seems to be a wealth of knowledge here.

 

[Nesikep]

Around here the licensing laws are stupid.. I can insure my truck up to 8500kg for personal use before I need and NSC (National Safety code) number.. If its on the farm, I can only go to 5500KG. Not only that, but I need a heavy trailer endorsement for a trailer weighing over 10,000 lbs.. the requirements are the same as a class 3 (dump truck), so I might as well get that!.. If I go that far, why not go with the Class 1 and air and just be able to drive anything (I have the motorcycle already).

I tow a fair bit with my 3500, and I know I'm pushing it's limits in this kind of rough country.. With the engine brakes a set of front pads lasts 100,000 miles depending on how you drive. The Dana 80 rearend is pretty good, but mine does need a going over.

 

[B&M Farms]

We use quite a few Ram 5500's at work moving equipment. I will say a 3500 will out pull them and the only reason I can think is they are detuned or just weigh that much more. They do have heavy brakes and suspensions and seem to hold up well enough considering just about every mile is loaded.

Texas requires a CDL pulling a trailer with a truck capable of hauling a gvwr of over 26,001 lbs. unless its used solely for farming and within 150 miles of said farm. A 3500 with a tandem duel trailer connected to it would fall in the same category. Most states probably have similar rules.

 

[bigbull338]

you start ragging out your 3500s and f350s every 3yrs.youll start looking at stepping up in truck size.ive got a friend that was going through 1 tons like that.he got smart and got an f450 and that truck lasted him till he decided to semi retire.

 

[hillbilly beef man]

We use quite a few Ram 5500's at work moving equipment. I will say a 3500 will out pull them and the only reason I can think is they are detuned or just weigh that much more. They do have heavy brakes and suspensions and seem to hold up well enough considering just about every mile is loaded.

Texas requires a CDL pulling a trailer with a truck capable of hauling a gvwr of over 26,001 lbs. unless its used solely for farming and within 150 miles of said farm. A 3500 with a tandem duel trailer connected to it would fall in the same category. Most states probably have similar rules.

If you are comparing a pickup 3500 to any chassis cab the pickup will have a lot more power. The EPA requires any diesel chassis cab to have less hp and torque than their pickup counter parts. On a Ford the pickup 6.7 diesels have 440 hp and 880 ftlbs and the chassis models have
300 hp and 660 ft-lbs. Dodge and GM have their chassis cab models detuned by similar margins.