Hello everyone.  I'm looking at a towing rig larger than our current 95 F-150 / 2 horse slant, and I have several basic but important questions.  As is sometimes the case, my googling efforts have found everything *but* the answers I'm looking for. 

My wife would like to move up to a living quarters trailer, probably a 3h slant load and quarters on small side.  Maybe even 2h. 

1) What do these bad boys weigh, practically speaking, with cargo what's a reasonable number?

For the truck, I'm actually considering using it as a daily driver since we're also planning to move and shorten my commute.  I can tolerate that if it gets above 15mpg and isn't dually width.  So I did some digging and have my eye on a single rear wheel 3/4 or 1 ton 4x4 with diesel and automatic.

2) Does driving a diesel less than 10mi each way on a daily basis cause problems?  If so, what maintenance might solve that issue?

3) Is this enough truck to pull a living qtrs like I described?  We're in the east, so I don't anticipate big mountain passes, but it's not Kansas either.  Is the wheelbase on a crewcab shortbed enough?  I'd like 3.73 final for the daily driving but will it tow like a pig?  Does this kind of rig get unstable without a dually rear?

4) Is there any practical difference between a Ford F-350 SRW and F-250?

Thanks for any responses.

Dave

Simple .. NO ... unless you count a few hundred pounds of name plate a practical difference

I pull a 4 Horse with a 8' LQ with a 2006 F350 SRW. The trailer has a 26 foot box.

The trailer loaded with 4 horses and gear weighs 16,000lbs and maxes out my GCVW. Any heavier and I need to buy a Dually.

Depending on the trailer you buy, Aluminum vs Steel, How much the LQ conversion weighs, I'd expect your 3 horse LQ to weigh 12,000 to 14,000 loaded.

Truck pulls trailer great. I did add an exhaust brake to healp slow it on the mountain roads I drive here in UT.

My previous 3H weekender trailer weighed in at 12,000 - 13,000 lbs had a 24 foot box. Same truck pulled it fine.

The main difference between a F250 and F350 is the nameplate and "D" rated vs "E" rated tires.

I am a building contractor, I run from project to project to lumber yard to plumbing store etc. I do nothing but short stop and go driving. I am on my 3rd F350 with a Powerstroke engine. I put around 90,000 miles on each truck then sell them. I've had no problems with short trips. I get around 14 mpg daily chasing and can get around 18-19 mpg if I get on the hiway and for a longer trip. I've run both the normal diesel fuel and a lot of B-50 bio diesel in the summer months.  Also consider UPS and other delivery services. They run diesel engines and do nothing for short drives. Start stop all day long.

The Ford SRW pickups ONLY come in a 3.73 rear end with the diesel engine.  No choice here.

We have a 1997 F-250 Powerstroke diesel, 4WD, crew cab that now has nearly 200,000 miles on it.  It has single rear wheels.  We pull a steel 3H GN with a mini LQ (3' SW).  We recently took a trip to the mountains of eastern KY and it pulled like a dream.  As a matter of fact, we had to wait on our friends at the top of each hill.  They were pulling a similar trailer with a newer GMC one ton gas.

Yeah, our truck is 10 years old and it has a lot of miles.  But it's PAID FOR and it still runs like a scalded dog.  We do a lot of hauling with it and I also drive it to work about three days a week.

I think the key to the longevity of any vehicle is proper and regular maintanence.  We regularly change the oil, fuel filter and air filter and don't run the fuel tanks all the way to empty.  Other than when our son dropped it off into a ditch and broke a tie rod, we've had no major repairs.

RIDE ON!

As noted above, if you get a short box pickup, you'll likely need either a tapered nose trailer or the hitch extender.

I drive a Dodge diesel and get 20 or so unloaded, 12-15 towing our 4H LQ trailer.  I'm right at the max for my truck based upon the trailer's gross weight tag (50 lbs. to spare, actually).

To do it over, I'd have gone for the long box - if you're not sure about whether or not to go long, take one out for a drive, do some Wal-Mart type parking lots and park each one.

LAXPatrick

4) Is there any practical difference between a Ford F-350 SRW and F-250?

Here are the numbers. Main diff is payload.

BASE CURB WEIGHT

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Thanks to everyone for your responses.  They all helped a lot.

Regarding the long bed, I know we want a crew cab, and I know parking just a shortbed supercab gets irritating.  Longbed crew cab would be unacceptable as a daily driver.  20mpg highway though is not bad at all, and I'm glad to know I probably won't need dually size in the rear.  We'll definitely consider the bed size when choosing the trailer.

Though one can't judge the suitability of a truck without seeing the trailer nameplate, it does help immensely to know that your trailers are in the 10000-16000lb range.  It would have taken multiple phone calls to various manufacturers to reach a similar conclusion.

As for the gear ratio in the F-250/350 SRW, I can always change the diff gearing and speedo.  I suspect that it won't be a big deal, especially since I don't forsee getting a very large/heavy trailer.

Dave

On My Trails west,10x15 with slide and angled mid tack 3 horse,Pulled with a 06 Ford crew cab dually long bed.4.10 rear and auto.

weight

front truck 5150

rear truck 8100

both trailer axles 10600 ( 2 horses add # for 3rd)

total 23850 water,food,clothed,beer,...did I mention beer ? oh yea...

that gives a tounge wt of 4850 and trailer wt of 15450

just some info.I also added air springs and air horn, wife loves it.