Arctic Wolf/F250 maiden voyage.

Artspe · 11-06-2018, 09:56 AM

This was our first trip with our 285drl4 5er and 2019 F250 diesel. Up until now we only towed a 17' tt with a Ford Flex.

We love the combination of size, layout, and price of the Arctic Wolf, but if we had a choice of interior decoration, we would opt for light, bright, and BEACHY. In the future we will add the front a/c, tint the windows, and have the rear bumper beefed up to carry bikes. We would like to have more storage but everything is a compromise.
We were very happy with how the 5er handled and reacted on our maiden voyage (about 900 miles). I was actually a bit apprehensive but it went very well and was only slightly stressful.

Our F250 is an xlt 4x4 diesel short bed SuperCab (not crew cab). Likes and dislikes: I wanted to keep it as short as possible to ease parking and for us and 2 dogs it works. I like the 5er puck system, the tailgate steps, the center console and cloth seats. I am very happy with the power of the diesel. Hopefully, long term I'll be glad with the choice.
(To be continued)

MillMitch · 11-06-2018, 12:20 PM

Nice setup, thanks for the note.

Artspe · 11-06-2018, 04:13 PM

The 360* camera system is kink of a mixed bag. It is great for parking but of little use with the 5er (mirrors are better). As for fuel mileage, a 17' tt with v6 flex averaged 14.5-15 mph. So far with the 5er and diesel we have gotten 11.5 (I was hoping for 12-13 but still decent). We dislike how high the truck is but we knew that in advance. The ride is actually quite comfortable. I don't like the manual heat/ax but deal doesn't mind. Hooking up the 5er, the front dropped 1/2" and the back 1 3/4" (the back is still 3/4" high).

Accessories: the Turning Point pin box works great with our b&w companion hitch. Bellacorp tire monitoring system worked as advertised and helped eliminate worry. We purchased a 4U Cam for the back of the 5er. The screen is huge which is nice for seeing but makes it difficult to find a good place to mount it (bought a flexible I pad cup holder and adapted it). The biggest benefit of the camera was when passing I could see when clear of car passed.

If we have time when heading home I want to stop at a Cat Scale and get weighed.

EdJunior · 11-06-2018, 06:58 PM

I would be very interested in your weights. I have the same truck nearly (mine is the full 4 door). I am very interested to see how it rides without airbags. I've had them on my previous two trucks because the squat was a bit too much, and it really helped to smooth the ride a bit, especially on the concrete roads (think Houston!). I like your numbers on the squat, thus am interested in the weights. My 5th wheel is about 11K as we tow it.

I also envy you the tailgate step. Holy cow, if I can find a decent deal on a tailgate with the step, I'm buying. I am too old to try and climb that steep hill! As it is, I have to sit on the tailgate, then swing my legs around. Or pull out the step ladder! Geez that thing is tall.

billy bob · 11-07-2018, 05:03 PM

Sounds like a nice rig hope that you have as good service out of the Ford Power Stroke as I did with Mine close to 350,000 when I sold it only trouble was the auto transmission was over hilled at 250,000 The 7.3 diesel was still going strong. Pulled a 30ft 5thwheel

wwalker2984 · 11-07-2018, 05:56 PM

We have a 2019 Arctic Wolf CKF 305-ML6 and I tow it with a 2005 F250 6.0 that has been bulletproofed and it tows great just came back from ZION NATIONAL PARK My f250 has air bags because I needed it for the Wild Cat that we had but I only have about 20 lb of air in them for this this fifth wheel

dnicoll · 11-07-2018, 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EdJunior

I would be very interested in your weights. I have the same truck nearly (mine is the full 4 door). I am very interested to see how it rides without airbags. I've had them on my previous two trucks because the squat was a bit too much, and it really helped to smooth the ride a bit, especially on the concrete roads (think Houston!). I like your numbers on the squat, thus am interested in the weights. My 5th wheel is about 11K as we tow it.

I also envy you the tailgate step. Holy cow, if I can find a decent deal on a tailgate with the step, I'm buying. I am too old to try and climb that steep hill! As it is, I have to sit on the tailgate, then swing my legs around. Or pull out the step ladder! Geez that thing is tall.

Ed; my son found a step for me on Amazon. It bolts on under the rear bumper and folds up fairly close. Standing beside the truck bed on driver’s side, push on the step and it pivots down. When done, push it forward. Three buddies - all with Ram 3500 - ordered same. Sorry, but I cannot recall the name but I would bet you could find at either aparts store or Amazon. As I recall about $150.00 CDN

Sorry didn’t want to highjack .........

dnicoll · 11-07-2018, 11:56 PM

And I installed myself in a couple of hours. Pretty easy

EdJunior · 11-08-2018, 08:55 PM

Thanks Dave. I'll see what I can find. I've seen some aftermarket steps and didn't really like them. Of course, a few climbs in the bed and my feelings may be a moot point!

dnicoll · 11-09-2018, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EdJunior

Thanks Dave. I'll see what I can find. I've seen some aftermarket steps and didn't really like them. Of course, a few climbs in the bed and my feelings may be a moot point!

Ed..... Step was manufactured by AMP Research

Artspe · 11-18-2018, 07:17 PM

So the trip home went well and my wife even drove for an hour. Fuel mileage for the return trip was 11.6 mpg.
Our truck is a 2019 f250 xlt super cab, 4x4, diesel with the following factory options: 5th wheel prep package, gooseneck hitch kit, 3.31 elec locking axle, all weather floor mats, running boards, led box lights, reverse sensor, tailgate step, ultimate trailer tow camera, center console, sync 3.
Available cargo capacity is 2,464# 10,000# gvwr. Fgawr is 5200#. Rgawr is 6340#. (If you add them up it's 11540# combined so the 10,000# does not make sense to me). I believe the gvwr is 23,100# and max 5th wheel weight is 15,400#.
REAL WORLD WEIGHTS AT A CAT SCALE:
(With me, wife, 2 20# dogs, cooler, dog beds, and miscellaneous other stuff in the cab plus 155# hitch and a truck bed tool box with assorted tools and full 29 gallon tank)
Truck front axle 4,860# truck rear axle 4,900# (leaves 240# to spare). Trailer axle weight 7760# (for some reason my 285drl4 came with axles rated for 5040# each (10,080# total axle rating). The trailer was loaded for our 2 week trip but all tanks were dry. I hope some of you find this info useful.

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