Marc S Gombosi
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Posts posted by Marc S Gombosi
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In my fleet, I have two 4x4 F550's. One's a '17 wrecker. The other, an '18 rollback. So far, I'm fairly pleased with the rollback (although the deck and winch speed leave a LOT to be desired). The wrecker, on the other hand, I wouldn't recommend. The rear "helper" springs are only one per side and are constantly against the bumper, even without a vehicle being towed. When we load a vehicle, the helpers flatten, have zero affect, and the front wheels lift off the ground (or at least mostly, making steering nearly impossible).
I spoke with "Ford Fleet", after being on-hold 45 minutes. Their response? "It's a body upfitter issue." Nope. The upfitter did not alter the suspension in any way. This is a #19,500 GVWR truck. It should easily haul an F350 box truck, yet it won't steer with even a 2WD F150 / 1500 Silverado loaded to it.
I had the truck to this area's pre-eminent spring / suspension shop. He told me, flat-out, that he's replaced the rear springs in over 100 of these trucks and for the very same issue. It costs $1,500 to replace the springs. I told Ford all of this.
Ford said they would not do anything for me. $1,500 won'y bankrupt me, but it's the principal here. After spending $111,000 on a truck, it ought to do what I bought it to do.
Moral: If you're a die-hard Ford guy, be prepared to spend $1,500 on your new truck when you buy it. If you're indifferent as to brand, wait for 2020 to roll around and get yourself a new medium-duty Chevy. That's what I'll be doing.
F550 WEAK SPRINGS!
in General Chassis Dicsussion
Posted
It's a 4x4 extended cab 550, no tunnel box. (so it's the same length as a regular cab with a tunnel box). But the weight on the front isn't the issue. When the rear helper springs flatten without residtance, no weight is transferred to the front.