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F450 Haul Truck

RHTrucks

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 6, 2020
Member Number
2408
Messages
55
Loc
Florence, TX
I'm a car dealer and I always need a truck that can pull my trailers. I have always been a Cummins fan, but after I bought my first F450 pickup (not C&C), I've been spoiled. I love them. So much that I have had 3, a 2015 and 2 2017s. Being a dealer, I sold them all.
I came across this truck and it had everything I wanted and it was cheap. It's a 2015 regular cab, fully loaded XLT, Tuxedo Black, with a mid-mount fuel tank. If it wasn't black and didn't have all the options it does, I would have passed on it.
The only downfall is it is 2wd, but I'll address that later.
It was a tow truck in its previous life. The first thing to do was remove the decals. Oddly enough, they weren't decals, but hand painted. I thought that was pretty cool considering you don't see that anymore. A little wet sanding and polishing, and they were gone.
Painted the fender flares and added a Ranchhand front bumper.
I also added a Platinum steering wheel and will be upgrading the rest of the interior.
I removed a shit ton of wiring, including a GPS tracker and drivers camera in the rear view. I still have a battery draw that kills the truck over night, so that is a major to-do on the list.
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I still have a battery draw that kills the truck over night, so that is a major to-do on the list.
looks like the truck is tuned and deleted. is there a tuning box plugged in? I know lots of people have issues with modules draining the batteries over night if left plugged in.
 
Why 4wd in a truck that will live out it's life towing vehicles to/from an auction?

Aaron Z
So he doesn't get stuck in his own parking lot when he doesn't have the trailer attached. :laughing:

With 90psi in the tires and without the pin weight of the trailer those trucks can't even back up a dry dirt road.
 
Very nice. Looking at the pics, was the drivers front roasted when you got it?
 
looks like the truck is tuned and deleted. is there a tuning box plugged in? I know lots of people have issues with modules draining the batteries over night if left plugged in.
It is deleted, but there's not a box plugged in. It's just a single tune saved on the truck. Checking all the fuses to see if a module is staying on after the truck goes to sleep is what I'm going to look at next.
 
I like the way the skirted CM bodies look on those trucks.

Yup.

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I'd love a 4dr F550 4x4 with a color matched and skirted CM bed to have as a tow rig. IMO that combo is one of the best looking trucks on the road. :smokin:

I agree with both of you, however this truck has had the last 12 inches chopped off for the wrecker bed it had. Luckily I have a virgin 2008 4x4 F450 sitting in the back. I chopped off the last 13 inches from that truck.
I do like the idea of a manufactured bed, but I like to be difficult.
I like a shorter rear behind the wheels, I'm extending the wheelbase at least 4 inches, and a whole lot more mess of "custom" touches that won't accommodate a factory spec bed.

I'm not 100% on this, but I do want to single wheel swap this with either DBL or Stazworks aluminum wheels.
I also want to 4 link and bag the rear, and possibly the front.
I'm leaving my options open at the moment.
 
Very nice. Looking at the pics, was the drivers front roasted when you got it?
Do you mean the driver front tire?
The tires on it were toast.
I already had 4 Accuride 19.5s and the tires, so I'm using them for now.
 
Do you mean the driver front tire?
The tires on it were toast.
I already had 4 Accuride 19.5s and the tires, so I'm using them for now.
Yes. Mine is eating that tire.... Just curious.
 
Yes. The fronts were shot. The passenger side has lost 40 psi over 2 months.
I've been watching Java's thread, with him dealing with alignment and wear issues.
I sure do love the way these trucks steer though!
 
Yes. The fronts were shot. The passenger side has lost 40 psi over 2 months.
I've been watching Java's thread, with him dealing with alignment and wear issues.
I sure do love the way these trucks steer though!
That's me :lmao: but yes the added steering angle is amazing.
 
SRW f450/550 are sweet.

interesntingly though, f250/350 has better resale, so i passed the 450

Much better truck for the money in 450/550 though. Good foe you
 
Why do single rear ?
At least with the dual if you have a flat you can keep rolling
Honestly, because I'm curious. I could keep it on dual 19.5s and I would be fine 99% of the time.
However, I've always wanted a 4x4 single cab, single wheel, like DBL, Buckstop and others build.
I have toyed with the idea of ordering 20" wheel shells and welding in centers, but honestly, DBL and Stazworks wheels are cheap enough to negate that idea.
And I've always run into problems balancing the rear duals on my F450s.
I don't know though. I have a buddy with a 19 F550 crew that DBL built and he loves it.
I would do my own suspension and clearancing. I would only but the wheels and tires, and go from there.
 
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Took it out on it's maiden voyage to pick up my dad's top drive Hummer. (yes you can drive it from the top. Start, stop, shift and go)
I drove it around with only rear outers, and an unloaded trailer for about an hour and a half before picking up the Hummer.
When I went to strap down the Hummer, my lower back let me know I was in trouble.
All the driving around unloaded must have shock loaded/compressed my lower back.
I've already removed the bottom 4 leaves from the pack, but it is still so stiff that it put me in bed for 2 days.
Even loaded with the Hummer, it still beat the hell out of me.
Oh, and the new Toyo tires on the rear made this thing handle like a carnival ride! I've had some squirrelly 19.5 tires, and I have read a lot of great reviews about these Toyos on F450s, but good lord they are a handful new.

Another problem I had was the truck started flashing the TCS light and defueling when I would get into it going up a hill. I wasn't spinning, but it sure acted like I was. I'll address that when I mess with the tuning later.

Other than aaaaalllllllll of that, It pulled great.

So now I have 2 options. Sell it, or spend lots of money trying to make it what I want. And in the spirit of IBB and the old board, let's spend money!!!

Air ride and building a bed to add weight.
1.) F350 leaf springs (longer but I think the hangers and shackles will work)
2.) Parallel 4 link, track bar, with coils (reliable, but unsure) I found a company a while ago that made a kit, but can't find it now. It was blue if anyone remembers it.
or
3.) Parallel 4 link, with track bar, bags hanging off the back side of the axle. (I've never used bags, but I know they work)

If anyone has some input, I would appreciate it. I know my wheelbase and single cab are really killing me on my ride, with the factory leaf springs.
And yes I'm aware these trucks were more built for payload, than towing.
 
How much weight do you intend to have on the rear axle? Gotta have lots of tire to keep up. The stock tire sizes can only handle about 4000# each, which will be ate up real quick. Last time I towed, I was at 7400# on the rear axle of my f550, and that was with only 25k gross weight.
 
How much weight do you intend to have on the rear axle? Gotta have lots of tire to keep up. The stock tire sizes can only handle about 4000# each, which will be ate up real quick. Last time I towed, I was at 7400# on the rear axle of my f550, and that was with only 25k gross weight.
Those are good for #4540 each in a single.
 
Small update.
Not much has changed. I keep jumping this thing off every couple of days. My mechanic read a few of the same articles I came across, and he decided to start out with the cheapest deductions.
A major, and simple scenario was the alternator. A lot of the forum reports, (we all know how those go...), was the alternator diode? failing and draining the batteries.
He unbolted the positive, and we let it sit.
18, 24, 28 hours later, it still started.
At 32 or so hours, it was completely dead.
So we moved on. I did have water leakage at first. I replaced the factory blank 3rd brake light, which had very brittle rubber sealing it. And I also replaced all the clearance lights.
No more leaks!
Back to the dead batteries.
A lot of the threads I found, talked about windshield leakage, and that leakage finding its way down the passenger side A-pillar and onto the modules mounted under the dash.
For shits and grins, I looked in there and found some water damage evidence.
You can see water drips down the side of the "APIM?"
According to the part number, it is part of SYNC and controls voice recognition, among other things.
I unplugged it.
So far, I have driven the truck home, let it sit for 30 hours and remote start still worked.
48 hours is the current test.
 

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I do have a dilemma...

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The new wheels and tires are on, but I now don't know if I want to continue fighting this battle or cut bait.
I'm going to try to keep this simple.

I'm 6'6". I kind of fit in this truck, but I really feel like a normal size person in a 4th gen, reg cab RAM.
It just so happens that I have one. *you can see it in the background when I finished the hitch.
This is Irate, so my idea isn't that far fetched.

A: Continue building the Ford and build a skirted flatbed. Eventually converting it to 4x4.
I own it for $16k

or

B: Sell the Ford, use the RAM which is studded, injectors, CP3, dual disk (yes it's a 6 speed), build a flatbed and swap in a set of 450 axles that I already have.
I own it for $25k

I don't want a standard trans/automatic debate, both have their pros and cons. I'm really looking for unbiased oppinions.
The RAM is more comfortable and easier to work on, which will probably be the biggest arguments. Whereas the Ford is SEXY, already set up with the powertrain, but will take a lot of trial and error to get right.

Help me out.
 
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