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Will a half ton work? Another truck post

F

Fred Werring

Well-known Member
Just started thinking about a new truck.

Off the bat, I work for Ford, so it's gonna be a Ford.

Pull the usual small farm stuff, 16ft cattle trailer, hay wagons, etc.

The one that worries me is fertilizer buggies...4 tons of fertilizer plus the buggy. seems like a lot of weight on the tongue. Not like I haul a bunch of them, but I prefer not to wait on the dealer to deliver.

Use an F350 now, was wondering if I really needed a heavy truck. My old half ton seemed squirrely with a heavy (to me) load behind it, wondered if the new ones with the tow package were better.

Was thinking F150, 5.0, regular cab, 8ft bed, tow package. Might be a rare bird, seems like everybody wants supercabs now.

Anybody got one and use it like I'm talking about?

Thanks

Fred
 
No advice,but think back to how light a half ton was in the 60s and 70s. The little Rangers and what not are probably more truck than they were. My 07 F250 is a heck of a lot heavier truck than my 85. I've gotta think a new 150 would be has heavy duty as an 80s 250.
 
I know of few 1/2 ton truck rated to pull a 4 ton fertilizer buggy. With the weight of the buggy your easily talking 5 to 6 tons or 10-12K of weight. That is not something you want to pull behind a 1/2 ton pickup.

I have found very little different between a 1/2 and 3/4 ton truck in price and fuel mileage if they have the same motor and gear ratios. So just get a 3/4 and then your can safely pull your fertilize buggy. If there is a big cost different can you really justify owning a heavier truck just to pull fertilizer buggies a few times each year??? How far do you pull the buggies??? Can you just go and get them with your tractor??? Maybe just plan ahead more and have them delivered.
 
I've made that comment more than once. Our modern day 1/2 ton trucks have better drive lines than the 3/4 tons made in the 70's. The modern day Ford Super Duty has a nearly indestructible drive line. I've seen lots of old 70's 3/4 tons with broken input yokes and input shafts on transmissions. The newer trucks make twice the power and seem to take all the abuse that can be delivered by too much skinny pedal....
 
Pulling it isn't the problem, stopping it is!
Friday I was on a stretch of highway that was hilly and
full of curves. I was stuck behind an enclosed trailer being
pulled by a truck that was obviously to small for it. Every hill
we encountered he couldn't hold speed. And then on the straits the
rig would start shaking and he would have to slow down to get control.
I always keep a good following distance and I never saw the truck.
Choose wisely!

Steve A W
 
I've pulled 4 ton in a fertilizer buggy with a half ton more times than I can count. Like someone said it's the stopping that's the problem. All the buggies that I've pulled are almost balanced with not much tongue weight. If you have hills a bigger truck with bigger brakes would be much better.
 
What's the buggy weigh? Usually there isn't that much tongue weight - unless you have a high sitting hitch. The 2016 Ford can be as low as 5000 pounds and as high as 10,400 pounds with a receiver hitch- more with a 5th wheel.
 
I have always had Ford trucks since IH quit building them. I can not count on my two hands how many friends bought F150 and traded within a year to a F250 or F350. You have a 16' trailer and or a farmer and you don't think you will have 4 ton in it. LOL
I have a F250 7.3. That is what i have to have. Do all the numbers. Cost and load rate.
 
Believe me, those thoughts have crossed my mind. Sure don't want to wind up with not-enough-truck. But don't want to pay for more than I need. There is about 5-6000 difference between a 150 and 250. But engines, trannys and suspensions are all different.

I was hoping someone on here had one and used it like I would, get some actual user feedback.

The planning ahead part is hard. Still working 60+ hours a week with a 135 mile round trip, and trying to take care of the farm. Usually when I get a good spreading day, I'll burn a vacation day, and try to get it done. Seems like whenever I tried to have it delivered, there's always a delay. Not knocking the supplier, cause when I'm spreading, so is everybody else. Hope to retire in about 6 years, then I'd have more leeway time wise.

Thanks

Fred
 
I used my 2014 F150 subercab with 3.5 ecoboost to pull:

~16' BigTex trailer with brakes (dont know model, friends trailer, but it was very well built)
-4,000 pound IH 2444 with hydraulic lift on it
-400 pound small lathe
-500 pounds of random stuff on side opposite lathe for balance

I did 70+ on the highway with it from Austin to DFW and averaged over 12mpg. Truck acted like it could've taken another 2-3000 pounds back there easily. Also I had the bed loaded to the gills with tools, probably ~1200 pounds of weight in it.

Not recommended.

But yes, the truck will do it just fine
 
We have a 06 F250, 10,000lb gvw. Put heavier spring in the back. Will haul or tow whatever we need it to on the farm. Towed a fertilizer buggy with my 94 1500 Chevy and wished I'd used the Ford. It will pull it, but has a bad time stopping it.
 
My dad has 2005 f150 with the 5.4 Triton and I pulled a 2500-3000 pound flat wagon with it and it pulled it fine but I could definitely feel it pushing me when I stopped I have 3/4 Chevy now so I'll use that for pulling I'm a ford fan and I think the 1/2 would work but I would go with the 3/4 and there might be something that would come that the 1/2 was to light and you'd be happy with the extra weight my truck has a diesel in it and I get the same if not better fuel mileage than my 04 ranger
 
You actually want an aluminum one? Get a real steel F250 while you still can, especially if you are anywhere they use salt. Then you don't have to worry about having enough truck.

I bought a 2015, dad bought a 16, every neighbor with a 1/2 worn out seem to have done the same in the last year or so once a firm model change year was announced.

With a 12-14,000 buggy behind it the gas 250 pulls it fine, so well you forget you don't have brakes... I missed a turn first time I pulled a buggy with mine. With a 150 you won't forget you are towing something.
 
My thinking is that the desirable aluminum truck will weigh less. As such it will be easier to "push" into an accident unless it is also loaded to some degree. I would certainly go with the heavier 250 series. Stronger frame, bigger axle capacity, and stronger brakes. Jim
 
A loaded fertilizer buggy has a high center of gravity compared to a regular trailer, and the wheel base and tongue are fairly short. Even if the buggy has good brakes, when braking the high center of gravity over a short wheelbase can shift a lot of weight to the front buggy axle and to the tongue. The springs and rear axle of a half ton can carry maybe half the load of a one ton, so a half ton would squat a lot more trying to stop a loaded fertilizer buggy than your one ton does. A lot of guys say they get by just fine ("never had an accident") overloading trucks by twice their capacity, but it's not always safe and rarely legal.

If your F350 is older it may not have much trade-in value. Can you keep it around to pull the occasional heavy loads? Most insurance companies will let you insure a truck for only the months it will be on the road. A half ton will cost less to buy and less to operate than a 3/4 or one ton. If most of your driving is with light loads, two trucks might be the most economical solution.

The cattle trailer and hay wagons already sound like big loads for a half ton pickup, especially if the wagons don't have brakes, a 3/4 ton would handle them better. If you only want to keep one truck I would look for a 3/4 ton or another one ton truck. Good luck.
 
I've done lots of heavy pulling with my '97 f-150, far heavier than the maximum recommended. As I am located in a very hilly location, I will pull a loaded fertilizer buggy on the level or mild grades, but when I come to the crest of a rather steep downhill, to get to my valley farm, I unhitch and then retrieve it with a tractor. I'm seriously thinking of replacing the F-150 with a F-250 4x4, but then, I'm over 80 and can't help but wonder if such thinking is economically foolish.
 
Well, that's been another thought. It's only a 2003 with 90k miles, but

When I bought it, it had a snow plow mount on the front. That little voice in the back of my head said it had been used hard, should have known better, but I needed a truck.

And the salt spreader that was mounted on the back has caught up with it. (found mounting holes when I pulled the bedliner)

Bed is shot, parking brake backing plates are gone, needs ball joints, blah blah blah.

I could buy a takeoff bed, do the repairs, wind up putting 4-6000 in it and run it another 10 years.

Or I could spend that and have more problems.

Decisions, decisions.

Thanks

Fred
 
I missed the part about the 135 mile daily commute, that's 30,000 - 33,000 miles a year just commuting. That's a lot of miles for a new pickup. A mid-size or full size sedan would be a much more economical commuter vehicle than a new pickup. Three year old lease return cars usually have between 30,000 to 40,000 miles and cost about half their new price. Operating cost would be 1/2 or less of a 1/2 ton pickup. You could still keep the F350 for the heavy hauling and occasional commutes.
 
I traded in a 2011 F250 for a 2016 F250, and have had a F150, all the trucks could pull whatever I wanted, but the F250s handled the weight better.
 
Fred you might keep in mind, you can't deduct a 1/2 ton pickup on your taxes for farm use, gotta be a 3/4 ton or bigger. There are better choices out there.
 
(quoted from post at 09:44:02 03/13/16) No advice,but think back to how light a half ton was in the 60s and 70s. The little Rangers and what not are probably more truck than they were. My 07 F250 is a heck of a lot heavier truck than my 85. I've gotta think a new 150 would be has heavy duty as an 80s 250.
Click to expand...

The 1/2 tons of the 60s were capable of as much as the 3/4 tons of the late 70s and 80s.

I owned a '63 F100. Got rid of it and bought a '76 F100. The '76 was a wimp compared to the '63.
 
the most i regularly used a half ton for for was 2 tons,it was an older ford, and it would do the job, but it was wiggly too, i would go in the middle and price a f250 both regular and hd, you get bigger brakes, bearings and suspension ect but it doesnt ride quite like a rock,
 
This is just when I need a truck

My 340,000 mile 2001 Focus (cheapest one they made) is still hauling me back and forth to work. Still gets 31-32 mpg, still doesn't use oil.

I've spent $700 (started keeping track)on that car since it 300K, and that includes new tires

Thanks

Fred
 
I know what you mean about salt rusted vehicles having special problems. I had an'86 F150 like that. One time the rear brake line across the rear axle sprung a leak while hauling a load. I limped ten miles into town using the transmission to do most of the braking, found a NAPA open on Sunday and bought two bottles of brake fluid for the trip home. The repair was less than $100, but it was a rough trip. If your brake lines have heavy pitting from salt corrosion, consider replacing them before they cause a problem.
 
Already did the one running to the back..found it the hard way like you did.

Luckily didn't have a load like you did, still wasn't any fun.

Fred
 
Got a F350 now and want to go to a F150.(HUH)

I bought a 1/2 ton ONCE and wished I'd got a 3/4.Never bought a 3/4 and wished I'd bought a 1/2. JMO.
 
The fact that you have doubts says a lot.

When I was in sales for GM, the biggest mistake I saw light truck buyers make consistently was underestimating what they needed for certain use or for towing a particular load.

It was actually a "no win" situation for me as a salesman. People would start by looking at a half ton pickup when they obviously needed a 3/4. Then when I tried to sell them up to what they actually needed, they'd accuse me of trying to sell them up to a pricier pickup so I could make more money on the sale. If they then insisted on buying a half ton pickup, I couldn't refuse to sell them one, and if it didn't do the job they'd accuse me of selling them a wimpy pickup.

I came to the conclusion vehicle buyers are nuts. A lot of scorn is heaped on vehicle salesmen, and probably the majority is justified, but if you try to play it straight with a buyer, they still don't trust your advice.
 
Ford and their aluminum frame something new? nope Big trucks back in the 70s tried using aluminum frames. Weight on a big truck is a big thing. Well they aren't using them anymore because they found out an important thing about aluminum, It doesn't flex well it breaks.
 
Fred , I don't have any idea how many acres you farm , or spread fert. on . To tell you my opinion , buying a truck big enough to pull a fert. buggy , you better haul a lot of fert. to make it worth while. I could get my fert. custom applied cheaper than spending the extra to keep a truck big enough to handle that kind of load. Some times hiring out work can be more economical in the long run. As you already have a F350 , I am sure you know it doesn't just cost more to buy the truck but, tires , brake parts etc. that will wear and have to be replaced will all cost more . Not to mention fuel consumption. Many of heavy trucks sold never haul much more than the drivers big ideas,lol.
 
Wow, Goose, you just brought it home.

I sold Fords from 83 to 91. Like you, would try and advise my customers on the right truck to buy....trucks were my thing. Didn't need to look up truck specs, knew them all.

The main guys that would try to scrimp on a truck were small farmers.

And here I am, trying to scrimp. I (should) know better.

Thanks

Fred
 
(quoted from post at 17:45:11 03/13/16) Fred you might keep in mind, you can't deduct a 1/2 ton pickup on your taxes for farm use, gotta be a 3/4 ton or bigger. There are better choices out there.
Click to expand...

That may be true for the purchase price and expenses but you can deduct mileage. My main farm truck is a half ton and I deduct the mileage every year. It actually works out better than depreciation.
 
I've seen what happens to a half ton when an empty buggy gets to pushing.

I'd either get the super duty, or get the 150 and look for a cleaner super duty than the one you have.

I bet you'll find the longer cab and bed configuration has a higher tow rating than the regular cab.
 
When I was working for a fertilizer company, we pulled LOTS of 1000 gallon nurse trailers filled with 10-34-0. Weighs 12 pounds per gallon, with either 2004 Ford half ton, or a 2006 half ton GM. Either one would handle the trailers fine. The brakes on these pickups were ten times better then anything from the 60s or 70s.
I say all of that to tell you I would NEVER consider owning a half ton if I was pulling a part full fertilizer trailer, or a 16 foot bumper hitch stock trailer.
 
Easy decision to make. Check your state laws and see where you can get in trouble for being overweight. And yes, they can stop and scale a pickup that's heavy loaded and or pulling a trailer. They will go by the manufacturers stated max gross. There was a traffic accident mentioned not long ago the resulted in a fatality. Guy lost control of a pickup with a goose neck on it. Had a backhoe on the trailer. 3/4 ton truck. The driver is going to be charge with vehicular manslaughter. You know this guy is going to be convicted because he was overweight. Basically if you get in an accident of any type except you getting rear ended and you are overweight the lawyers are going to have a field day with you.

As other posters have said it isn't how much you can pull. It's how much you can stop when the vehicle in front slams on it's brakes or one pulls out in front of you.

Rick
 
Fred,

I'm not certain but it seems to me that you just answered your own question. Good luck in your final decision. Be careful and safe.

Mark
 
I sold my F3 50 diesel and bought in F1 50 with the max tow package with the echo boost engine. The tow rating for the 2012 half ton is 11,200 pounds. I found as long as you stayed within the tow rating the 150 pulled my fifth wheel every bit as good as a diesel may be better. However, the camper had brakes. If you're trying to tow something weighing 5 to 6 tons with no brakes you better have something that weighs a whole lot more than what you're pulling. If you look at the tow ratings on an F2 50 versus an F1 50 I don't think you're going to find a lot of difference in them.
 
My tax man must be breaking the tax laws, as he deducts my wifes Toyota Tacoma (small 4x4) for farm use (percentage of use), and he also deducted a Suzuki Sidekick while I owned it. There are a lot of small and 1/2 ton pickups used extensively for farm use, and years ago, the biggest percentage of farm trucks were 1/2 ton 2 wheel drive long bed reg cabs. In fact my father that farmed all his live, only owned one 3/4 ton truck. I ran 6,000 local farm plates on a few SUV's my wife owned before she traded for this pickup, which also runs local farm plates (plates are cheaper in MO and perfectly legal as far as I know)
 
(quoted from post at 10:16:32 03/13/16) That's why my biggest concern is fertilizer buggys...no brakes.

Thanks

Fred
Click to expand...
y personal take on this. If your gut is telling you there is concern you better just opt for the bigger truck. Comfort and peace of mind don't have a price tag.
 

Fred, look at it this way...
The New Pickups are being made with a great deal of Aluminum and as such, are much lighter than they used to be..

I would be happier with at least an F-250 with a decent sized engine.. what you are buying is a truck with much Larger Brakes, Full-Floating axles ( that will no Wreck you if an axle breaks), some additional steel in the Body/Frame

Myself, I would want a limited-slip rear Differential ( not necessarily 4-wheel drive)...

Ron..
 
I think I'm going to put the $4-6K into the old truck and keep it going, rather than lose $4-6K driving a new one off the lot. Less debt equals more flexibility. And, I'll guess that you can actually get it all done for less than $4-6K.
 

I do lots of work with my beefed up haft a turn GMC if I need to go on a long run with a heavy load I borrow a real 1 turn from a bud return it full of fuel with a free service...

It cost me last year I rebuilt the transmission on his Ram 3500 for free but he was a big tipper.... A truck that can do the job is worth its weight like you I just don't see me needing it but I have one I can fall back on.....
 
The weight saved by using aluminum bodies was actually gained back in the new frame. The new frames are fully boxed and have more reinforcing for more strength. The weight reduction is a bit of advertising deception.
 
You can't use BONUS DEPRECIATION (deduct the entire purchase price the first year) on a half ton but you can depreciate a half ton over 5 years.
 
(quoted from post at 12:54:27 03/13/16) Ford and their aluminum frame something new? nope Big trucks back in the 70s tried using aluminum frames. Weight on a big truck is a big thing. Well they aren't using them anymore because they found out an important thing about aluminum, It doesn't flex well it breaks.
Click to expand...

The frame is steel,I think they decided to box it on the 150.The sheet metal is aluminum.As near as I can tell all the U.S. auto/truck manufactures have forgotten about corrosion control.
 
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