The Only Ford Trucks Likely To Last 250,000 Miles

According to the iSeeCars' longest-lasting cars, trucks and SUVs study, the average vehicle has just an 8.6% chance of lasting to 250,000 miles, and an overwhelming number of those are pickup trucks. As a result, the average truck boasts a more impressive 19.4% chance of reaching 250,000 miles.

While the trucks with the best chance do not sport blue oval badges, two Ford models do make the list — both the F-250 and F-350 Super Duty trucks. These heavy-duty full-size models are built to last, and built with hard work in mind, so it makes sense that they would be able to achieve higher mileages than cheaper, smaller models, such as the Ranger and the (formerly) best-selling F-150. To be precise, iSeeCars reports that Ford's F-250 has a 27.4% chance of reaching the all-important quarter-million-mile mark, while an F-350 boasts an even more impressive 28.3%.

This begs the question, what makes the Super Duty Ford trucks so durable, and what evidence is there that this information is accurate? To find out, we pored through reliability data and customer feedback in an attempt to see just how durable and long-lasting the F-250 and F-350 Super Duty pickup trucks really are.

The best way to get an impression of a car or pickup truck's durability and reliability is to directly ask current and previous owners for their feedback and ownership experiences. That's exactly what CarSurvey does, and numerous F-250 and F-350 owners have shared their stories over the years.

The information provided backs up the results of iSeeCars' study, with a wide selection of Ford Super Duty owners claiming to have sailed past 250,000 miles in their full-size pickup trucks. The highest-mileage reported is from a 1989 Ford F-250, at 340,000 miles, although the owner does report that the original engine blew at 250,000 miles. Another F-250 owner managed to crack 302,000 miles in their 7.3L diesel-powered model, at which point the transmission had started to slip.

There is no shortage of other F-250 owners with similar ownership stories, claiming that their truck is built like a tank, and the best vehicle they've owned. It's not just F-250 owners either — one owner of a 2004 5.4L gas-powered F-350 managed 250,000 miles, and went on to claim they'd owned 14 in total, most exceeding 200,000 miles.

One owner – an 80-year-old Ford enthusiast by the name of John Freeland — decided to go above and beyond when testing out the durability of his 2000 Ford Super Duty truck, and managed to cover over 1 million miles.

Under the hood of his 2000 F-350 sits a 7.3-liter turbo diesel engine — and it's the same engine and transmission which the vehicle was sold new with, proving the importance of a strict and regular maintenance regime. It also makes us wonder why Ford ever discontinued the 7.3-liter Power Stroke diesel engine, as it's clearly a capable and very dependable engine. 

We're not sure what the percentage of chance for a vehicle to crack one-million miles is, but this is clear evidence that starting with a Ford Super-Duty truck is quite possibly the best decision you could make when trying to achieve moon-miles, and that one from 2000 must surely be among the best years for Ford Super Duty production.