# 6.7 psd Scorpion



## RAK (May 2, 2010)

Alright folks,

please post year and miles on your scorpion... Im getting a good deal on "new" '13 f550 so trying to see what others experiences are.


----------



## Keith Jarrett (Dec 10, 2006)

freightliner fl-70, year 97, miles 350,000 plus, only bee truck I own.


----------



## Trevor Mansell (Jan 16, 2005)

2013 35,000 miles. Great truck ,incredible power.


----------



## RAK (May 2, 2010)

Keith Jarrett said:


> freightliner fl-70, year 97, miles 350,000 plus, only bee truck I own.


Is that 4x4 by any chance?

I need a truck that will get into the fireweed yards in the selkirks.


----------



## swarm_trapper (Jun 19, 2003)

2011 F-350 86,000 miles one sensor went out, other than that a great truck!


----------



## dback (Jan 8, 2012)

Had two of them:

2012, 550 4x4 with 42,000….blown engine, oil pump froze, seized every bearing in the thing. Ford replaced engine.

2012, 350 4x4 with 24,000…..blown engine, hydrolock….Ford refused to pay….insurance bought truck.

You don't want to know my opinion. Have gone with all Dodges…..only two Fords left to get rid of.


----------



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

I know a guy that had a 2011 F-550 6.7 that had the engine "grenade" on him with around 30,000 miles. No deletes or mods, just driving down the road and it blew. Ford did put a new engine in it. I like my Cummins/Rams especially while towing but with the complexity of the newer engines I really don't have any more confidence in the cummins 6.7 than I would in the Ford 6.7. I suppose if you are towing a lot, the diesels are a good choice, aside from that with the premium you pay for the diesels, the higher repair cost and with the per mile fuel costs pretty close to gas engines I think one needs to seriously crunch the numbers before you decide to go with a diesel.


----------



## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

In the big truck(Class 8) world, many of the shrewd operators are choosing to reman their older non-electric diesels and run a glider kit, rather than purchasing a new electric motor(electronic injectors) diesel truck with exhaust fluid. Watch out, the reliability of most diesels has decreased steadily since 2007.

If properly maintained, and properly spec'ed in the first place, a diesel should easily be 1/2 to 2/3rd the cost to operate of a gas truck. Now if you start talking CNG or LP, if natural gas prices stay low, once you get past the initial cost, you may get closer to diesel costs.

Crazy Roland

If you don't have a yellow(or red) knob, it's not a truck, just a pickup.


----------



## RAK (May 2, 2010)

I would keep on running 7.3's if I could. If I didn't pollinate almonds then I wouldn't even think about these new trucks. CA emissions...great for small business!!


----------



## acbz (Sep 8, 2009)

2013 F-550 4x4, 21k miles, so far no issues, the engine is quiet with tons of power, great truck. :thumbsup:


----------



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

acbz said:


> 2013 F-550 4x4, 21k miles, so far no issues, the engine is quiet with tons of power, great truck. :thumbsup:


Is that the v-10 Aaron?


----------



## Thermwood (May 29, 2010)

2013 550 4WD, 16' bed, 11-12 mpg. Always dragging trailer with hummerbee.


----------



## acbz (Sep 8, 2009)

jim lyon said:


> Is that the v-10 Aaron?


Mine also has the new 6.7 diesel, time will tell how it holds up long term, but so far it's been a great truck.


----------



## davidsbees (Feb 22, 2010)

2011 f450 bad exaust sensor stranded on freeway with a load of honey, blown turbo at shop lastly motor lost a main bearing going up the grapevine two totes of feed four guys and motor locked up before they could get it out of the truck lane. $1,000 tow bill to dealer. Dealer also broke rear glass and dented cab lifting cab. 65,000 miles. 2011 6.7 ram 134,000 miles not a single problem.


----------



## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

I believe that Cummins started as a Combine engine at Case in Racine? There is a reason all the big trucks have straight Six engines, more main bearings, and your experience supports that.

Crazy Roland


----------



## Sadler91 (Nov 6, 2011)

Has anyone had trouble with a 2013-2015 model scorpion? I have noticed a trend in my research in looking for a new truck. Everyone that has issues with the engine has primarily has 2011 models. I have seen a few threads with 2012's as well. Hardly any threads on the newer 13's to 15's. The 2015 has and updated motor in it now.


----------



## Leather Jim (Jun 30, 2013)

2011 F350 118,000 miles-one bad sensor, 2012 65,000 miles no problems. Both always have trailers with 7-12000 lbs weight. Love that motor, quiet-strong- good milage. 1999 7.3 348,000 miles. Still running strong. Lol


----------



## RAK (May 2, 2010)

Seems like a hit or miss with the 2011 fords. Cummins are great motors but I know local guy who blew head gasket twice on his new ram. Im leaning towards Ford just because every dodge vehicle I owned was crap. Im not talking cummins or aisin. Im talking dodge itself.


----------



## Sadler91 (Nov 6, 2011)

My 01 3500 is just a cradle for a cummins. They really built junk trucks back in the day. Rebuilt just about everything and it still needs more work. Can't speak for the new ones. I am going Ford this time.


----------



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

RAK said:


> Seems like a hit or miss with the 2011 fords. Cummins are great motors but I know local guy who blew head gasket twice on his new ram. Im leaning towards Ford just because every dodge vehicle I owned was crap. Im not talking cummins or aisin. Im talking dodge itself.


It's a tough habit to break but for the record you will no longer even find the word Dodge on these trucks anymore. The suits in some marketing division somewhere (probably Italy) decided to call them Rams. I think your opinion on the reliability of these trucks is rooted in the past when that was certainly true. The current build quality difference between the two trucks is almost identical in my mind. I own a couple older Ford 7.3's that are still good trucks but have since purchased 2011 and 2013 Ram 5500's. I bought the first because pricing at the time on virtually identical trucks was 4 grand higher for the Ford which was in its first year with the Ford built 6.7. I just couldn't see paying more for a truck with an unproven powertrain. My guess is that Ford resolved the first year issues with those engines and they are undoubtedly a great truck. I bought the second, virtually identical, Ram primarily because the first one has treated me so well and secondly, well errrrr, there is a school of thought among beekeepers that owning identical trucks is a good idea from a PR point of view.


----------



## Trevor Mansell (Jan 16, 2005)

Ford has probably made millions of these trucks ,some are gonna have issues. Allot of people complain about the 6.0 , mine has 250,000miles with almost no issues.I change the oil and fuel filters religiously, and kept it original. The 6.7 is a good motor IMO. I have had a sensor go out in my emissions system, other than that nothing to complain about. The power the new motor has is great , it pulls a load with little effort.


----------



## Keith Jarrett (Dec 10, 2006)

jim lyon said:


> there is a school of thought among beekeepers that owning identical trucks is a good idea from a PR point of view.


Interesting, never heard that before.


----------



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Keith Jarrett said:


> Interesting, never heard that before.


When you deal with lots of landowners there is more than one reason why they might feel more comfortable seeing the same make and model of truck driving on and off their land year after year. I know one guy that always drives a nice new heavy duty pickup and trades every year for the exact same model and color.


----------



## Chip Euliss (Sep 2, 2010)

I have a 14 F450 with about 12k on it. No issues. Mileage is about 12 hauling bees/trailer but gets 18+ unloaded at 60. I got the 4:10 rear end. Truck suits my needs great


----------



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Trevor Mansell said:


> Ford has probably made millions of these trucks ,some are gonna have issues. Allot of people complain about the 6.0 , mine has 250,000miles with almost no issues.I change the oil and fuel filters religiously, and kept it original. The 6.7 is a good motor IMO. I have had a sensor go out in my emissions system, other than that nothing to complain about. The power the new motor has is great , it pulls a load with little effort.


I talked with a really good Ford mechanic about them once. He felt the 6.0 was a little maligned. He feels they are basically a good engine but that almost every problem he has dealt with involves fuel issues. They just won't tolerate any gelling or any sort of bad fuel.


----------



## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

Trevor Mansell said:


> ......250,000miles with almost no issues.I change the oil and fuel filters religiously, and kept it original.


We take very good care of our equipment right down to the leafblowers.
I often wonder how many truck failures are due to operator error or poor maintenance. 
Do other beekeepers really pay as close attention to their trucks as we do?
When was the last time they checked and adjusted their DCA if applicable, for example?


----------



## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

If you are like me and wondering what the heck Harry is talking about with "DCA",:kn: this link is for you: 

https://www.cumminsfiltration.com/pdfs/product_lit/emea_brochures/LT33020-GB.pdf


----------



## Trevor Mansell (Jan 16, 2005)

jim lyon said:


> I talked with a really good Ford mechanic about them once. He felt the 6.0 was a little maligned. He feels they are basically a good engine but that almost every problem he has dealt with involves fuel issues. They just won't tolerate any gelling or any sort of bad fuel.


Thats what I hear also ,even current ULSD is not clean enough for it. Ive been using Stanadyne fuel additive in my 6.0 for a few years now. I have had no injector issues since I started using it . I also have the turbo cleaned once a year. If you stud them and block off the EGR you can make them pretty much bullet proof.


----------



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

HarryVanderpool said:


> We take very good care of our equipment right down to the leafblowers.
> I often wonder how many truck failures are due to operator error or poor maintenance.
> Do other beekeepers really pay as close attention to their trucks as we do?
> When was the last time they checked and adjusted their DCA if applicable, for example?


When I got my first 7.3 in 2000 we were warned about that to prevent block corrosion. You were supposed to check it with a strip on a yearly basis. Now it seems no one, and that includes many mechanics, even know what you are talking about if you mention it.


----------



## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

jim lyon said:


> You were supposed to check it with a strip on a yearly basis. Now it seems no one, and that includes many mechanics, even know what you are talking about if you mention it.


That doesn't surprise me at all these days.
Maybe that's a good test question to ask about when selecting a diesel mechanic.
If they cannot lecture you for an hour on that subject, they are totally unqualified to work on a diesel engine.


----------



## Sadler91 (Nov 6, 2011)

+1 to the maintenance. An ounce of maintenance is worth a pound of cure.


----------



## davidsbees (Feb 22, 2010)

Maintenance won't help a bad motor and don't rely on the dealer, if you want it done right you'll have to do it your self. How many of you have changed your CCV filter on your 6.7 cummins?


----------



## RAK (May 2, 2010)

Just wanted to mention that for 2016, F650/750 Ford is getting rid of the cummins/allison and is using their own 6.7. After 5 years they are pretty confident to install it in their medium duty. I know ford assembles in US. Where does Ram assemble? Correct me if im wrong but i think they are built in Mexico. Way to go on supporting US economy!!


----------

