F550 vs. F450?

[CFster]

Hi, new here to the forums.

We're thinking of buying a couple '08 Super Duty chassis' to turn into wreckers. We need at least an F450 (16,000 GVWR) chassis. I understand the F550 chassis is rated for 17,950 GVWR for not that much more money.

What is different mechanically? Is it just suspension? Are there changes to the frame itself?

Thanks,

-Colin

 

[JLDickmon]

both the guys I contract to tow for my shop are running 550's if that means anything to ya....

 

[BamaSixGun]

i'd go with the 550 too. brake rotors may be one diff. and bigger brakes, but i am not sure. i think i read that on hear one time.

and of course the GVWR is more, as allready stated.

 

[Buffs F-350]

A friend of mine has a towing company he has all f-550's and 650's (but the 650's have the cat motors). And he loves them.

 

[Frankenstien]

F-450 is a Dana 80 Rear, 07 and Back... the new '08 450's have a dif set up.

 

[fordtrucker4life!]

The 550 should be the better choice. You never know what you will end up towing. I saw a chevy 7500 on the back of a 550 the other day. It looked very out of proportion, but the Ford will handle it.

 

[CFster]

I talked to one of my wrecker outfitters today - he said that with the short wheelbase (141", which is what we need), the F550 is overkill. You get into a leverage issue where if the wheel lift is overloaded it's going to pick the front wheels off the ground regardless if it's a 450 or a 550. A 550 is only advantageous if you get the longer chassis.

Hmmm...

 

[bushpilot]

I talked to one of my wrecker outfitters today - he said that with the short wheelbase (141", which is what we need), the F550 is overkill. You get into a leverage issue where if the wheel lift is overloaded it's going to pick the front wheels off the ground regardless if it's a 450 or a 550. A 550 is only advantageous if you get the longer chassis.

Hmmm...

i saw some dumbarse towing like that...the front wheels were bouncing
off the road a good 2 feet or more !

 

[sik350]

i would go with a f550..i have a 07 550 and i havent had any towing problems i own a construction company and we have excavators and tractors and we pull em around the the 550..besides i would rather buy more than find out that you needed a lil more after your purchase

 

[CFster]

I drove an '08 F550 cab & chassis today. 6.4L. Didn't feel like a whole lot of torque off the line compared to the 6.0L. I expected it to roast the tires especially with no body on it but it really didn't. A heck of a lot quieter though. Can't smell a thing out of the exhaust. The particulate filter is huge - they recommend you clean it out every fourth oil change.

The factory black plastic running boards are cheesy and flex when I'm climbing in. The interior is nice, but still not enough room if you're a big guy - like the seat doesn't go back far enough.

Under the hood is a nightmare if you're a mechanic. There's no less than five radiators/coolers piled on top of each other up front. That's all you see when you pop the hood because of the new style grill that goes up too. It also appears that a lot of the motor is stuck under the cowl, with perhaps 2 feet of it out in the open. You can't even see the engine driven accessories because the radiator shroud obscures everything. I'm interested in it for a wrecker application and it seems putting an engine driven PTO clutch pump on there would be impossible. Supposedly Muncie is working on it, with the intention of putting the pump where a second alternator would normally go, but I don't even see where you could run hoses off it. I mean it is TIGHT.

Nice truck, but I might be going with gas instead or an '07 left over.