JACKAL
Ancient Honda fanboi
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So been out of the RV and HD pickup game for 4 years. From April 2010 through September 2020 I had owned (3) F450 Platinum's a 2011, 2015, & 2017 had put 780K miles on them collectively so I'm very familiar with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, gen 6.7 powerstroke diesel powertrains. I had a 2011 & 2015 Heartland Cyclone 5th wheel Toyhaulers that I dragged around with the F450's but after moving to TN in 2016 with so many trails nearby, just didn't see the need for the camper, more so that we lived in the last one 24/7 for 8 months starting in July 2016 waiting for our house to be built, so the wife & I were all campered out by April 2017.
All that said, with those times behind us we are ready to travel some more, but not take the entire house with us when we go. I bought the Salem FSX 270RTKX at end of October hoping that it's dry weight of 6100 lbs. would be handled fine by the '21 F150 that had the 14K max tow package. On paper it should be fine, except I had all those miles in a "real HD truck" towing campers, both mine and about 300 new ones from MFG's to dealerships. So with well over 400K towing miles behind me, I probably had unreasonable expectations of the F150's 3.5L twin turbo V6 that had over the past 3 years and 50K miles served me well and towed small trailers and SXS without effort. So anyway I purchased the camper in Trenton, OH about 240 miles from the house, the F150 got 22 mpg @ 74 MPH going up empty as expected, but returning only netted 6.9 mpg @ 65 mph and even with the 36 gal tank I was hunting gas after only 200 miles, couple that and with only the mild hills of I-75 from Cincinnati, OH to TN the F150 would drop from 8th gear at 65mph 2100RPM to 5th gear 3700 RPM and hold that far longer than I liked. By the time I pulled into the driveway with the camper I had already made up my mind a more capable tow pig was in order.
Truck Market Side Story - My search began, Dealerships are LOADED with HD trucks, the largest dealership in GA, Akins Ford had 540 HD Diesel trucks on the lot, they have several that have been sitting since January 2024, I set my eyes on (7) identical F250 Tremors all were built on 3/7/24 three had sequential VIN's and all were marked down 10K (just about the A plan pricing- which is 89.6% of the window sticker price) on the dealers website, will they go lower, yes they did. I started working them and a local dealer in Knoxville TN that had 150 ford Diesel pickups on the lot, many sitting over 6 months, they too had those select units marked 10K off MSRP, they weren't TREMOR's but were Lariat Ultimate packages which had the specific hardware I was looking for with a window sticker of 88K vs. the GA, Tremors 98K. Ended up trading with Ted Russel Ford on 12/6 after much negotiating, truck was $88,470 MSRP - traded my '21 F150 with 52K mile son it, with $12K off MSRP -$76,500 and got $39,500 allowance for trade in $37K difference + TTL - $41K OTD.
So Anywhoo brought this beauty home a week ago, 2024 F250 Lariat.
Very Nice pickup, night and day different from the dually of years past. Never expected a HUD in a pickup though, took a few days to grow on me, but I like it.
However one small, but large glaring detail that nagged away at me was the ludicrously tall front air dam on this, 7.8" tall vs. the 2.5" tall air dam on the Tremor versions for improved approach angle. That Tow-Mater Appalachian front valance overbite had to go. Much better look for $200 and 30 minutes of my time.
Before:
AFTER:
Only remaining nag was the pickup had the carpeted mats with minimal coverage, took a chance on these TuxMats off Amazon and the pictures online didn't do them justice. VERY satisfied with the full carpeted area and door sill coverage on all 4 doors. They are TPO / rubber but have a stitched leather / carbon fiber appearance. They fit amazingly well.
All that said, with those times behind us we are ready to travel some more, but not take the entire house with us when we go. I bought the Salem FSX 270RTKX at end of October hoping that it's dry weight of 6100 lbs. would be handled fine by the '21 F150 that had the 14K max tow package. On paper it should be fine, except I had all those miles in a "real HD truck" towing campers, both mine and about 300 new ones from MFG's to dealerships. So with well over 400K towing miles behind me, I probably had unreasonable expectations of the F150's 3.5L twin turbo V6 that had over the past 3 years and 50K miles served me well and towed small trailers and SXS without effort. So anyway I purchased the camper in Trenton, OH about 240 miles from the house, the F150 got 22 mpg @ 74 MPH going up empty as expected, but returning only netted 6.9 mpg @ 65 mph and even with the 36 gal tank I was hunting gas after only 200 miles, couple that and with only the mild hills of I-75 from Cincinnati, OH to TN the F150 would drop from 8th gear at 65mph 2100RPM to 5th gear 3700 RPM and hold that far longer than I liked. By the time I pulled into the driveway with the camper I had already made up my mind a more capable tow pig was in order.
Truck Market Side Story - My search began, Dealerships are LOADED with HD trucks, the largest dealership in GA, Akins Ford had 540 HD Diesel trucks on the lot, they have several that have been sitting since January 2024, I set my eyes on (7) identical F250 Tremors all were built on 3/7/24 three had sequential VIN's and all were marked down 10K (just about the A plan pricing- which is 89.6% of the window sticker price) on the dealers website, will they go lower, yes they did. I started working them and a local dealer in Knoxville TN that had 150 ford Diesel pickups on the lot, many sitting over 6 months, they too had those select units marked 10K off MSRP, they weren't TREMOR's but were Lariat Ultimate packages which had the specific hardware I was looking for with a window sticker of 88K vs. the GA, Tremors 98K. Ended up trading with Ted Russel Ford on 12/6 after much negotiating, truck was $88,470 MSRP - traded my '21 F150 with 52K mile son it, with $12K off MSRP -$76,500 and got $39,500 allowance for trade in $37K difference + TTL - $41K OTD.
So Anywhoo brought this beauty home a week ago, 2024 F250 Lariat.
Very Nice pickup, night and day different from the dually of years past. Never expected a HUD in a pickup though, took a few days to grow on me, but I like it.
However one small, but large glaring detail that nagged away at me was the ludicrously tall front air dam on this, 7.8" tall vs. the 2.5" tall air dam on the Tremor versions for improved approach angle. That Tow-Mater Appalachian front valance overbite had to go. Much better look for $200 and 30 minutes of my time.
Before:
AFTER:
Only remaining nag was the pickup had the carpeted mats with minimal coverage, took a chance on these TuxMats off Amazon and the pictures online didn't do them justice. VERY satisfied with the full carpeted area and door sill coverage on all 4 doors. They are TPO / rubber but have a stitched leather / carbon fiber appearance. They fit amazingly well.
