The Grand Haul
2019 Ford F-450 Limited
Story By: Staff of UTV Sports Magazine
Photos By: Brandon Bunch
Not too long ago, a rather silly but controversial argument was going around social media that pinkies are pointless. Why was it an argument? Because people will talk about complete nonsense these days if it gives them attention. The only thing I have to say about that is those people obviously never made just one trip into the house carrying groceries. You might be asking yourself, “what does this have to do with Hitched?” Well, just like my pinky offers me plenty of extra space and strength to tow the groceries into the house with just one load, so does the capabilities of the 2019 Ford F-450 Limited.
Our motley crew here at the UTV Sports office was granted the opportunity to showcase one of these goliaths during our time at the first-ever Trail Hero SXS Rally. For us, it was a nine-day venture completely full of activity, and fortunately, we also had a 44 foot toy hauler to accommodate our stay. Getting there is where we learned more about the F-450 and it’s potential. To start the adventure, we drove out to Los Angeles, California from our hometown of Lake Havasu City, Arizona to pick up the truck. Our initial thoughts on the truck were shock and awe as we looked at the over-equipped commercial-grade pickup truck. It was beautiful as equipped with the simple and stunning White Platinum color, and it had great styling both inside and out with the two-tone Camelback Leather upholstery (Not made from real camels). Looking around the truck, it was obvious the giant beast was loaded with all the options available and we were very excited to take this thing onto the road and tow with it.
Hitting the road, our next destination was down in Yuma, Arizona to pick up the toy hauler. It was about a four hour drive, and with us being just as big of music enthusiasts as anybody else, we definitely had to try out the Apple Play. Although the B&O Premium Sound System sounds absolutely incredible, using the built-in Apple Play still isn’t as intuitive as navigating through the music on our iPhones themselves (First world problems…) We were however very pleased with how comfortable the interior was and surprised at how good the unloaded ride quality is for being in a vehicle capable of towing 34,700 lbs! It’s not long ago that the ride quality of a half-ton pickup wasn’t even this good, so it’s clear to see that Ford has been putting a serious amount of work into making these ultra-capable rigs much more easy to live with on a daily basis.
We made it to RV World of Yuma to pick up the trailer (read all about that in the November issue) and it was time to see how the F-450 would perform with weight in tow. After hooking up to the massive Raptor 5th-wheel toy-hauler (a process made very easy by the impressive suite of 180 & 360 degree cameras onboard), we continued onward to our final destination in Hurricane, Utah. Pulling a nineteen thousand pound trailer is no small feat, however the 6.7 Powerstroke’s 440 horsepower and 925ft lbs of torque combined with the 6-speed transmission made pulling this load feel like we were pulling a 14 foot flat-bed with a single UTV on it. “This thing will pull a house off a foundation,” said our very own Kyle Callen, and he’s probably not wrong for once.
Having such a large vehicle pull an even bigger trailer made navigating residential streets a bit of a challenge, but once out on the open highway, the absolute control provided by the F-450 while towing became extremely obvious. It was no problem running 65-70 MPH up the long grades encountered while heading north on I-15, and on the downhill return-trip, speeds were easily managed by downshifting and utilizing the exhaust-braking before having to get into the massively powerful disc brakes. Even while cruising at 75 mph through some pretty heavy crosswinds, trailer sway was rarely felt and steering input was fairly minimal for what you’d expect while hauling something this size… This might just have to do with the fact that this truck is rated to tow nearly 15,000 pounds more than what our 44-foot 5th wheel trailer weighs when loaded. 34,700 pounds is a serious amount of weight, and while most recreational trailers will never even come near that, having a vehicle that capable definitely gives you the peace of mind that the truck will handle all the abuse you could throw at it.
All in all, we think it was a fantastic truck—very spacious, clean and luxurious interior, comfortable, loaded with options, and offered plenty of towing power. But at $90,000, there’s no doubt the F-450 Limited we drove is an investment. If you’re in need of all the capability this truck offers and can do without the lavish luxury, this same truck can be configured in the XL trim package for right at $60,000… a full $30,000 less than our sticker price so don’t be totally turned away by sticker-shock. During our time with the truck, we traversed plenty of terrain that is terrible for towing, and it was outstanding to see the F-450 take it all on with ease. It’s no understatement to say that this thing can carry heavy loads like a beast while doing so in style… just like my pinky.