What you are measuring is not what Ford is advertising. The 2016 specs say the load floor height on a F350 SRW 4X4 is 37.7 inches off the ground. The DRW 4X4 is 35.6 inches…2.1 inches shorter. The 2017 info says the SRW is 37.9 inches and the DRW is 36.9 inches. There is only a 1 inch difference between the 2017 SRW & DRW. The 2017 DRW sits 1.3 inches higher than the 2016 according to Ford's literature. I can't imagine there being a 5 inch difference between a 16 and 17. 1.3 inches seems more like it with a more compliant suspension making up the difference. My 2016 DRW measures exactly as Ford says at 35.5 inches. I looked at the 17's before buying the 16 and did not see a big difference. I was trying to stay away from a DRW truck, but the GVW on the trucks stayed the same. The SRW is still at 11,500 lbs which makes hooking up a large 5th wheel or toy hauler a problem for me. The tow rating and combined went up significantly, but the GVW did not go up at all The truck lost about 250-300 lbs after beefing up drivetrain and going to aluminum. I like the new 28K combined, but don't know how you get close to that without busting out of the GVW in a single rear wheel truck. I had to trade my SRW for a DRW to keep under the GVW and Combined. My 2016 SRW KR 4X4 Longbed hit the scales at 8110 with the hitch in it and a full tank of diesel. By the time 2 people climb aboard (400 lbs) , a couple of pups and some gear the weight goes to 8700 lbs. That leaves 2800lbs of king pin weight…. likely 3100 in a 2017. Not enough for my fiver or any triple axle toy hauler I know of. Make sure you order enough truck. A SRW will have a hard time staying under it's GVW with a triple axle toy hauler hooked to it.
2017 Bed Height?
As I recall many years ago after complaints from gooseneck and 5ver towers to Ford about to little bed clearance, Ford gave an order option for lower bed height. I think I remember ordering my 1996 with a lower bed??? My 2001 and current 2011 dually 4X4's have stood much lower than Dodge and GM. I am happy with my duallys clearance being able to pull my trailers level with good all around clearance. My Dodge friends still gripe about low clearance and my Dodge neighbor still has his 5ver at a really stupid angle after trying many hitch adjustments. ---- On a couple RV forums I frequent the chat on the new 2017's is that the 4X4 models are really higher again causing concern for new potential buyers. Why is Ford going high again? And is there a order option to get it back to a good clearance height for gooseneck and 5ver towers? ---- Towing my trailers level is very important to me and that low back corner clearance caused by a high bed is nothing but trouble. This could be a deal breaker for many buyers.
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It should be noted that the PAYLOAD numbers did not really go up that much on the 2017 trucks.
2016 SRW 4X4 Longbed: MAX PAYLOAD 3610 lbs. GVW 11,500 TOW: 15,700 COMBINED: 23,500
2017 SRW 4X4 Longbed: MAX PAYLOAD 3930 lbs. GVW 11,500 TOW: 20,600 COMBINED: 28,700
2016 DRW 4X4 Longbed: MAX PAYLOAD 6460 lbs. GVW 14,000 TOW: 23.5/26.5 COMBINED: 32,100/35,000
2017 DRW 4X4 Longbed: MAX PAYLOAD 6540 lbs GVW 14,000 TOW: 27.3/31.3 COMBINED: 36,000/40,000
The 2017 SRW enjoys a 320lb higher payload than the 2016. That's not a lot of margin for a 5K lb additional tow capacity in the form of a 5th wheel or gooseneck. That's only about 1500lbs more trailer based on a 20% king pin weight.
The 2017 DRW enjoys a 80lb higher payload capacity than the 2016. It can handle any pin weight of 5th wheel or toy hauler I know about…but the 2016 could as well.
I was hoping the GVW's would have been a little higher on the F350 SRW in order to stay out of a DRW. The extra 320lbs of capacity isn't that much. Its going to be hard to find a 20K lb 5th wheel trailer which doesn't put the weight on the kingpin that doesn't bust the SRW out of it's GVW rating. I like the new towing capacity and combined numbers…just don't know how you get close in a SRW without over loading the truck past it's 11.5K GVW.
2016 SRW 4X4 Longbed: MAX PAYLOAD 3610 lbs. GVW 11,500 TOW: 15,700 COMBINED: 23,500
2017 SRW 4X4 Longbed: MAX PAYLOAD 3930 lbs. GVW 11,500 TOW: 20,600 COMBINED: 28,700
2016 DRW 4X4 Longbed: MAX PAYLOAD 6460 lbs. GVW 14,000 TOW: 23.5/26.5 COMBINED: 32,100/35,000
2017 DRW 4X4 Longbed: MAX PAYLOAD 6540 lbs GVW 14,000 TOW: 27.3/31.3 COMBINED: 36,000/40,000
The 2017 SRW enjoys a 320lb higher payload than the 2016. That's not a lot of margin for a 5K lb additional tow capacity in the form of a 5th wheel or gooseneck. That's only about 1500lbs more trailer based on a 20% king pin weight.
The 2017 DRW enjoys a 80lb higher payload capacity than the 2016. It can handle any pin weight of 5th wheel or toy hauler I know about…but the 2016 could as well.
I was hoping the GVW's would have been a little higher on the F350 SRW in order to stay out of a DRW. The extra 320lbs of capacity isn't that much. Its going to be hard to find a 20K lb 5th wheel trailer which doesn't put the weight on the kingpin that doesn't bust the SRW out of it's GVW rating. I like the new towing capacity and combined numbers…just don't know how you get close in a SRW without over loading the truck past it's 11.5K GVW.
My 2016 DRW measures almost exactly as your 2011 does. It may be .5 inches higher on both sides. Its new with little time to flatten out any springs. When I was looking at both a couple weeks ago, I really did not notice much of a difference between the truck I bought and 2017's that were on the lot.
2016 is 20" bed depth. 2017 is 21.1.
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