Congrats on the truck, it's beautiful. I'm hoping to get one soon, but I share your concerns with the exhaust. Looking forward to seeing what tune you decide to use.
I am planning on a Lariat or King Ranch. I don't think I need all the goodies on the King Ranch but I like a lot of the extras you have on this one. I am replacing a 1997 F350 DRW which is almost like new. 114,000 on it. On a trip to Alaska pulling a 32' 5th wheel I sure could have used 2 more gears and another 100 hp. I am impressed with the comments on power and fuel use. I get about 15 mpg on my old truck. Great review I look forward to more.
A cross country trip to Alaska would be the trip of a lifetime! From what I can tell, and correct me if I'm wrong, but the only difference between the Lariats and King Ranch editions is the interior trims and exterior badging. With the Lariat, most leather options are black. The King Ranch is a combo of browns and the King Ranch Brand. It just comes down to personal preference! The way I understand Ford's options, you can still get all the bells and whistles like the panoramic sun roof, cameras in the bed/grille, and adjustable cruise control on the Lariat like you would a King Ranch or Platinum. A little secret that Ford doesn't tell you is that you're just paying a lot less for it to say Lariat!
I needed a DRW 4x4 to carry a large Lance camper I'm retired and I live in the Cascades of Oregon hence the 4x4 to get through sometimes deep snow. Anyway I found a 2018 Lariat few options with a sticker of 68,000 and would take 64,000. Another dealer had a loaded 2017 King Ranch with a sticker of 76,000 and I got it for 68,000. What axle ratio did you get? This one has a 4.10 like my old pickup and probably can pull a mountain but will need a refinery attached. I am guessing you are farmers since you are not worried about fuel mileage? Thanks again.
If you go to advance settings. Then to vehicle..then to lights you will see a box for day time running lights. It’s in your owners manual too....might want to read up on it
Very nice video Clay. What is the max cargo capacity? Also, what is the max towing capacity? This exact truck is 5 miles from my house at the dealership right now!
Very well done clay. I have been comparing the ford vs the dodge. Do you guys ever buy dodge in your operation? Looks like S ID ranching?? I would've enjoyed seeing what you actually do with the truck and why it was the best choice. I have a buddy as a concrete contractor that buys these loaded F350 leather short bed trucks with wheels etc and then pulls a form trailer all over daily. To me, it would make sense to buy a cab / chassis with aluminum flat bed. You sacrifice power and torque, but you get a straight rail frame, and just more of a work truck platform, manual locking hubs, 4:10 rear diff etc. Also, i was wondering why you didn't order from the factory? And why not long bed with a larger fuel tank? Ha ha..sorry for all the intrusive questions. Very well done video getting to the good points and not too much bla bla bla redundant talking about stuff we all already know about. My fav part of the video was how you explained getting the snow plow prep pkg with stonger front suspension and raised up a bit. I love the stance of your truck. It looks awesome! That cummins is hard to beat though.... I currently am driving an 05 bulletproofed 6.0 F350 that I love! I've done many cross country adventure trips buying vehicles online to save a few bucks. Life is an adventure and a short precious gift. Doing a return road trip in a brand new truck??...perfect! Thanks again for sharing. Brig Tremonton, UT
The last truck our ranch owned that wasn't a Ford was in the 70s. We are sort of brand loyalists and have never been disappointed with any of our Ford trucks. But don't get me wrong, all brands have their hiccups, but we like that bold Ford look, and towing is a dream in the 2018s! Other than a daily driver, we use it to tow our horses, cattle, and various other loads for projects, we occasionally haul hay as well. But it is definitely a work horse that is put to use. First thing that happened was getting the bed Linexed, not worried about puncturing/denting the aluminum, but just wanted a slip resistant surface for wet or icy conditions. No particular reason for getting the shorter bed, I just think it looks better than a long bed! But a larger fuel tank would be nice! An auxiliary tank that holds 60+ gallons was considered, but thought it was too much $$ and more of hassle than it was worth. Also didn't order from the factory because of the savings on this vehicle. Had all the options a man could want for a good price!
When I bought my 6.4 power stroke it was a small drive but worth it, definitely gives you the most feel of a vehicle when you take it for the trip home
Nice truck, I have the same setup in a 2017 model. I noticed your shocks are not the white Ranchos that came on my ‘17 FX4. Did they change those for 2018? I know a lot of people complain the Rancho are crap.
The 2009 Super Duty sold soon after we bought this 2018, other wise I would have reviewed it as well! But to answer your question, the only problem with the 2009 ,throughout 9 years of ownership and 160k miles, was about 2 years ago when a radiator hose popped off the radiator housing, draining all the coolant. Of course it happened in the middle of nowhere, but a service truck was able to repair it very easily and it was up and running soon after.
One other problem was with the vacuum seals for the auto 4x4. Ford has a reputation for those failing, so they were replaced at 125k miles. My brother and I also rebuilt the front end around 125k miles too.
I’m looking at this exact truck to replace my Ram 2500 Power Wagon so I can tow a 5th wheel more economically. You mentioned the exhaust delete/straight pipe and tuner. Can you go into more detail on what you do exactly, and does that remove the need for DEF? Thanks for the great video, there truly is not a lot of info out there on the 2018 350 Lariats.
Basically, you get 100% rid of the stock exhaust system and put either a 4" or 5" straight pipe in it's place. It's not necessary to replace the manifold coming directly off the engine. This eliminates the need for DEF. However, you (or most likely a shop that installs tuners) will need to install a tuner so that it tells, or tricks, the computer into thinking that the truck does not need DEF anymore. When you tune, or "chip," your truck it also improves engine performance while boosting fuel economy, power, and torque.
I can't say for the 2018s however, on the 2009 350 mentioned in this video, it had an Edge tuner. It worked great, other than it took a few minutes to change tune stages. I would recommend finding a shop where you would get a tuner installed and pick their brains about it which one would work best.
How tall are your garage doors? Does it fit inside? I’m considering one, but have a 7’ tall garage door and refuse to keep such a beautiful truck outside.
I looked into getting a 18' powerstroke and the salesman said the 18' took a long time to come out because ford had a lot of retooling to do on the 18'. The salesman was acting upset. Seems like you got a good deal.
I have the 2017 F350 and it drives me nuts that they placed the cruise control switches on the left side of the steering wheel. After over 20K miles of driving it, I just cannot get used to it. I was hoping that they moved it to the right side for 2018 but no they did not according to your vehicle. Nice video though, I agree with most of your review.
Thanks for the comment Paul! I didn't mind which side the controls were on, however I did find the placement of the cruise control and volume controls difficult to use. Each time I had to adjust the cruise speed or volume I had to take my eyes off the road to find the controls with my thumbs. Just takes some time getting used to I guess.
Clay Crandall I just ordered a King Ranch with the quad lights, so I was hoping they were running lights. Thanks for doing the review, very informative and concise.
Don’t expect to use the 110v outlet to run a saw. It is to charge laptops and phones and such. Not enough amperage to run power tools. It will charge battery for cordless tools keep your generator with you for tools
Doesn't make much sense to put a 110v outlet in there if you can't run a saw or drill from it. But we use a Honda Companion generator when we need to do stuff like that. Its great because it is the size of a large briefcase, weighs about 50 lbs, and generates plenty of power for tools and such.
Clay Crandall its only a 400 watt outlet which is better than the 11-16 which were 150 watt they are from a inverter and can’t do much more than charge stuff like a laptop but they are nice to have for trips with kids watching videos on a laptop or tablet
I have been going back and forth about getting the 250 gas or Diesel to tow a 24' 7,000lb travel trailer. Whats your opinion on this, it will be my first travel trailer to pull and ill be doing it across country. Thank bro. nice truck
fit4ya1975 for your 24' 7,000lb trailer, I think the 6.2L V8 gas would work great. Here's why. The gas motors have avout 60 less hp and considerably less torque. But where that difference really comes into play is when you are towing heavier loads, like over 15,000 lbs. The diesel trucks do have more power and torque, but your wallet pays for it too. My brother drives a 2017 F350 6.2L V8 gas and it is an awesome truck. Last week we hauled 37 calves over a 100 mile trip using the 2018 diesel and the 2017 gas. The diesel had 20 calves and the gas had 17 calves, each load was around 13,000-15,000 lbs including the trailers. Both trucks maintained 75 mph and kept up with each other over the trip. The gas did take longer to get up to speed. The bottom line is that I think both options would work great for your 24' trailer, it just depends if you want to pay more for the diesel or save money and go with the gas.
Chris, it is still 100% stock. I tried to find shops that were doing tuners and exhausts for the 2018 models but could not find any. Don't want to be the guinea pig either, have done that before and the truck was not the same after.
leje0306 Pricing at the New Prague dealership was phenomenal for the options on this truck! For the chunk of cash that was saved, it was well worth the 2 day trip and $80 plane ticket to fly from Salt Lake City to Minneapolis and drive it home.
