2022 F-350 Demo Impressions

[blofgren]

My work just took delivery of several 2022 Ford F-350 CC 4x4 LB XLT pickups with the 6.7L diesel and I had the opportunity to drive one for a couple of days while my F-150 was in the shop for maintenance.

A few impressions I had of the truck:

Power - wow, this truck has a lot of get up and go! Definitely a lot more than my detuned G56 Cummins Ram. The 10 speed auto is also very impressive with very defined shifts; it skipped gears (ie 1 to 3 and 3 to 5) when I first got it, but started going through every gear after about a day which I assume is the transmission still learning.

Cab - very nice with great visibility and very good ergonomics as everyone has come to expect from a Super Duty. I had forgotten how much I liked the side windows dipping down by the mirrors in the Super Duty. I also was surprised by the truck telling me to check for occupants in the rear seat after I shut it off; it turns out that it sensed my briefcase on the floor in the rear seat. Pretty cool feature!

Noise levels - the 6.7L engine is super quiet when idling, but the cab did have considerably higher levels of engine noise inside while driving than I expected. Maybe the higher trim levels have more insulation in the cab, but I'm not sure.

Exhaust brake - I played around with the settings on it, and even in full on and the transmission in tow/haul mode, it worked OK, but definitely not nearly as strong as the one in my Ram/Cummins. I would estimate it to be about half as strong, but I suspect that the one in my truck is super strong due in part to the manual transmission.

Fuel tank - I was shocked by the huge fuel tank; the truck had 1/4 tank and still took over 120 litres to fill it up. This would be great for towing.

Overall, it was a very nice truck and I can certainly see why so many people buy them. The truck itself was very solid and well put together, which Ford is well known for. It would have been great to keep it longer to get an idea of fuel economy, but unfortunately my F150 was ready for pick up then!

[Cummins12V98]

Being blind in one and can't see out of the other does make it hard to see some things. BUT it was clearly visible if I had looked a bit closer.

Thanks

[4x4ord]

^^^ There is a window showing which gears are available and what gear the transmission is in. It might be too small to see in the video? The display is a vertical window on the right hand side of the tach. The transmission was in second gear in the video.

[Cummins12V98]

Maybe I missed it, are you able to see what gear you are in?

[4x4ord]

Here's a video from today of my 3.31 geared pick up with 36k lbs gross combined weight. I'm going down a short 9% grade. It gets a little steeper at the end of the video where the engine revs to about 3200 rpm. I've got quite a bit of cushion before I'd have to use the brakes.

click

[Cummins12V98]

YEP

Unfortunately I did not get the tach in the pic but it was around 3k.

[4x4ord]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

FishOnOne wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
blofgren said: "Exhaust brake - I played around with the settings on it, and even in full on and the transmission in tow/haul mode, it worked OK, but definitely not nearly as strong as the one in my Ram/Cummins. I would estimate it to be about half as strong, but I suspect that the one in my truck is super strong due in part to the manual transmission."

The EB is the same and works the same with a stick and the auto's in lockup in the newer RAM's. No matter how you slice it the CUMMINS EB is second to none. When I can hold back 34k on a several mile 14% downhill locked in 2nd without touching the brakes that says it all.

I will take cold brakes at the bottom over winning the race to the top.

The truck that has the capability to be first typically will give you a more easier pleasant towing experience.

Remember... Towing just got easier!

I am fine with getting to the top every time AND having cool brakes on the way down. If I am fine with my measly 385/865 and towing 35k combined West coast most anyone else will be thrilled.

My expectation is a Ford dually with 3.55 gears would handle your trailer on that same grade in 2nd gear and 4000 rpm fairly similar to your Ram. The problem with the Ford is that you'd have to slow down at the top slow enough to get the truck to drop to second then let er go, where as the Ram will drop to second and hold things back without as much drama. The Ford would be at 4000 rpm and about 37 mph and a Ram with 4.10 gears at 3000 rpm and 35 mph both in second gear.

[FishOnOne]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

FishOnOne wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
blofgren said: "Exhaust brake - I played around with the settings on it, and even in full on and the transmission in tow/haul mode, it worked OK, but definitely not nearly as strong as the one in my Ram/Cummins. I would estimate it to be about half as strong, but I suspect that the one in my truck is super strong due in part to the manual transmission."

The EB is the same and works the same with a stick and the auto's in lockup in the newer RAM's. No matter how you slice it the CUMMINS EB is second to none. When I can hold back 34k on a several mile 14% downhill locked in 2nd without touching the brakes that says it all.

I will take cold brakes at the bottom over winning the race to the top.

The truck that has the capability to be first typically will give you a more easier pleasant towing experience.

Remember... Towing just got easier!

I am fine with getting to the top every time AND having cool brakes on the way down. If I am fine with my measly 385/865 and towing 35k combined West coast most anyone else will be thrilled.

Maybe... Maybe not...

[Cummins12V98]

FishOnOne wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
blofgren said: "Exhaust brake - I played around with the settings on it, and even in full on and the transmission in tow/haul mode, it worked OK, but definitely not nearly as strong as the one in my Ram/Cummins. I would estimate it to be about half as strong, but I suspect that the one in my truck is super strong due in part to the manual transmission."

The EB is the same and works the same with a stick and the auto's in lockup in the newer RAM's. No matter how you slice it the CUMMINS EB is second to none. When I can hold back 34k on a several mile 14% downhill locked in 2nd without touching the brakes that says it all.

I will take cold brakes at the bottom over winning the race to the top.

The truck that has the capability to be first typically will give you a more easier pleasant towing experience.

Remember... Towing just got easier!

I am fine with getting to the top every time AND having cool brakes on the way down. If I am fine with my measly 385/865 and towing 35k combined West coast most anyone else will be thrilled.

[FishOnOne]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
blofgren said: "Exhaust brake - I played around with the settings on it, and even in full on and the transmission in tow/haul mode, it worked OK, but definitely not nearly as strong as the one in my Ram/Cummins. I would estimate it to be about half as strong, but I suspect that the one in my truck is super strong due in part to the manual transmission."

The EB is the same and works the same with a stick and the auto's in lockup in the newer RAM's. No matter how you slice it the CUMMINS EB is second to none. When I can hold back 34k on a several mile 14% downhill locked in 2nd without touching the brakes that says it all.

I will take cold brakes at the bottom over winning the race to the top.

The truck that has the capability to be first typically will give you a more easier pleasant towing experience.

Remember... Towing just got easier!

[Cummins12V98]

blofgren said: "Exhaust brake - I played around with the settings on it, and even in full on and the transmission in tow/haul mode, it worked OK, but definitely not nearly as strong as the one in my Ram/Cummins. I would estimate it to be about half as strong, but I suspect that the one in my truck is super strong due in part to the manual transmission."

The EB is the same and works the same with a stick and the auto's in lockup in the newer RAM's. No matter how you slice it the CUMMINS EB is second to none. When I can hold back 34k on a several mile 14% downhill locked in 2nd without touching the brakes that says it all.

I will take cold brakes at the bottom over winning the race to the top.

[spoon059]

BurbMan wrote:
I wouldn't judge it based on this...it's entirely likely that the EB changes settings and gets more aggressive when you plug a trailer into the 7-pin connector.

Also probably gets more aggressive once it learns your driving style. I have 2 friends with the F350 that tow and they love the exhaust brake. They tow heavier than me and the EB keeps their speeds in check going downhill just the same as my Ram does.

[4x4ord]

blofgren wrote:

BurbMan wrote:

blofgren wrote:
Exhaust brake - I played around with the settings on it, and even in full on and the transmission in tow/haul mode, it worked OK, but definitely not nearly as strong as the one in my Ram/Cummins. I would estimate it to be about half as strong, but I suspect that the one in my truck is super strong due in part to the manual transmission.

I wouldn't judge it based on this...it's entirely likely that the EB changes settings and gets more aggressive when you plug a trailer into the 7-pin connector.

It could very well be, but I had to use the service brakes several times on grades around the city in areas that I know I don't have to with my Ram/Cummins. To me, full on should be full strength whether a trailer is connected or not.

I’m pretty sure “on” on the Ford EB is full on it just doesn’t do much without the engine screaming. The Ford exhaust brake doesn’t create nearly as much back pressure as Ram’s. The Powerstroke needs to be revving about 2800 rpm to achieve the level of braking the Cummins does at 2000 rpm. The maximum level of braking between the two engines is not that different …. the thing is the Powerstroke needs 4000 rpm to achieve its full potential and the Cummins red lines at 3000 rpm.

[FishOnOne]

IdaD wrote:

mosseater wrote:
I have the 7.3 L gas in my 2022 F-250 with the 10 speed. This is an awesome performer! Super happy with it. I'm very impressed with how a 7500 lb vehicle can move like that. So far, 11K miles and very few complaints. A couple minor glitches from Ford, but the drivetrain is all I had hoped for. Pulls my 8000lb TT effortlessly. Now I don't decide whether I should try to pass, instead how fast I want to pass. An a superb set of brakes to boot. As a daily driver it averages 15 mpg, gets nearly 20 on the highway, and just sounds tough as heck when I punch it. So far, the best vehicle I've ever owned. Well worth the $2500 price tag for the engine upgrade.

Glad you like your truck, but the 11 or so being reported for that engine on Fuelly is probably a more realistic expectation for most folks with mixed use empty and towing.

Based on your annual miles driven a 7.3 would be a perfect fit.

[mosseater]

Could be the computer is stuck in marketing mode, LOL. I spend some time every day in town and putting up at my woodlot before driving 25 highway miles to work, then back. The typical mix is a good representation of combined driving. When I went to WV for turkey a couple weeks ago, I reset it on I81 for the first hour until I got into serious hills and it was right at 22. Until I got through MD and WV to Mount Storm, it was solidly on 17.6. It snoozes at 1750 rpm doing 75. It's quite an improvement over my '07 F 150 in my sig pic. I didn't expect that. Time to calculate Payback period. HA! Towing around home in the PA rolling hills at 65 it's around 9.5