When I heard Ford was introducing an F-450 pickup to the consumer market, I imagined an unwieldy, cumbersome behemoth. When I got my first look at this impressive dually, I realized I'd fallen into the mind trap of judging this truck based solely on my preconceived notions of how the biggest Super Duty pickup would look, and drive.

The new F-450 is handsome and rugged looking, like the entire Ford F-Series line, but until you look at the F-450 badge on the side you really can't tell this truck is different than its smaller F-250 or F-350 Super Duty cousins. From a dimensions standpoint, the F-450 dually crew cab is really no different than an F-350 dually crew cab. While size differences are subtle at best, the biggest difference lies in capabilities.

Like all Super Duty models, the F-450 has plenty of goodies every outdoor enthusiast will love. There is enough room to haul the biggest camp you can imagine in the long-bed eight-foot box - it's rated to carry more than three tons of gear! That's likely more capacity than you'll ever need, even for the longest trips afield loaded with gear and passengers.

When you need to tow, the F-450 really shines. A massive towing rating of 24,500 lbs. fifth wheel towing and 16,000 lbs. conventional towing mean you really can hook up to just about anything on wheels. We tested the conventional towing capabilities of this truck in the Texas Hill Country. To see how F-450 handled a long climb, we found a long, steep grade and hooked up a 30-foot ocean-going fishing boat that sat atop a triple-axle trailer.

Starting at a marina's dry docks, I was impressed with how easily this truck left the line with the boat and trailer. In fact, I can honestly say I really couldn't tell I was pulling anything at all.

The all-new 6.4L Power Stroke V8 turbo diesel is designed to handle just about any job you can dream up, and our boat and trailer were no match for this workhorse of a power plant. Ford boasts this motor is its most powerful pickup diesel engine ever. Technically speaking, the high-pressure fuel injection helps deliver all of this engine's torque at an incredibly low 2,000 rpms. The dual sequential turbocharging system is the secret: a high-pressure turbo spools up first to provide fast response off the line, while a second low-pressure turbo provides added airflow at peak power and torque for great cruising speed or needed passing acceleration. What this all means is that you have plenty of power to start, maintain speed and easily accelerate throughout the entire tachometer range.

Despite all this power, Ford says this engine is the quietest Ford diesel on the road. I believe it. The cab is ultra quiet, even at high speeds and high rpms.

We hit the highway about a mile before the steep grade, easily reaching cruising speed before hitting the base of the grade. As we started to climb, it was barely perceptible the truck was working any harder than before we started to climb. Maintaining highway speed was effortless, and there was plenty of power left to tackle more hill. We ran the hill test several times, up and down, with the same results. On the way up, the truck responded quickly to the grade and easily powered through the climb. On the way down each time, we tested another innovative feature of Super Duty - the optional Trailer Brake Controller.

If you've ever used after-market trailer brake controllers, you'll really appreciate this system on the Super Duty. It's a factory-installed system featuring an in-dash fully integrated trailer brake controller. But the difference in this system is the trailer brake controller working with the truck's ABS and the TorqShift® automatic transmission to help you more easily control trailer braking.

Another towing plus on this truck are the optional PowerScope™ trailer tow mirrors. With the flip of a switch on the door's instrument cluster, you can telescope these mirrors in and out to adjust to your load, plus you can electronically fold in the mirrors for tight maneuvering.

We tested F-450 towing uphill and downhill, but the test I really wanted to experience for myself was Ford's claim that the F-450 had a tighter turning radius than any other truck in its class. This I had to experience for myself. A big, Super Duty class truck needs a lot of room to maneuver and especially to turn around with a trailer, or so I thought.

We first tested the turning radius in a huge parking lot near the boat marina. We found a section of the parking area with plenty of turning room - a few hundred feet of space between trailers and vehicles. We assumed we'd need every foot of turning space and might even need to back up and maneuver the trailer to get headed in the other direction. But, the first time we cranked the wheels and powered out of the turn, F-450 turned on a dime. I'm not exaggerating. I was dumbfounded at how easily and tightly this long-box, dually pickup turned around. We used less than half the space we'd allotted for the turning test.

We decided to test the turning on the road, so back to the highway we went. We found a stretch of two-lane highway without any traffic, and still towing the triple-axle trailer, we were able to pull off on the shoulder, crank the wheels and turn the truck inside the opposite shoulder, accelerating out of the turn and heading the other direction as if we were in a car. We repeated this several times with the same results.

I don't know how they did it, but Ford somehow engineered the wide-track front monobeam suspension to create more front wheel-well space on F-450, which resulted in its incredibly minimal turning radius. (Also available on F-350 Crew Cab dually 4x4 long box.)

The one thing I've always disliked about pickups is crawling in and out of the bed to load and unload gear. Ford answered customer desires by adding an optional tailgate step on non-dually Super Duty models. This is an option every pickup owner needs. Your knees will thank you every time you use it. The step stows inside the tailgate, so you don't even see it until you need it. A flip-up grab bar flush to the inside of the tailgate completes the step for easy entrance into the box of the truck. The step and bar deploy in a couple seconds. There's even an optional bed extender that stows along the side rails of the box - out of the way until you need more cargo space. The bed extender and tailgate step are available options on most Super Duty models, and I'd love it if Ford made these great options available in the F-150 Series in the future.

Inside, the truck we tested had the optional DVD navigation system and built-in SIRIUS satellite radio. The system sits flush, in-dash for a clean, functional look and feel. Despite the massive diesel under the hood, the cab is very quiet, thanks to the Quiet Steel® bulkhead, foam insulation in the roof pillars, quieter engine mounts and a new seal design on the windows and doors.

There's plenty of room for all your passengers, with spacious leg room and headroom throughout the cabin. I would not be afraid to take this truck on long road trips, even with backseat passengers.

My daily driver is an F-150, and prior to testing, I thought F-450 would be too big for everyday driving and too big for my tastes. It didn't take long to change my mind. The badge on the side may say F-450, but this truck is easy to maneuver, even in traffic, has plenty of power to tackle the toughest jobs you can find, and looks great doing it.

To learn more about the F-450 or any of the Ford F-Series trucks, click here: www.fordvehicles.com/ or www.insidesuperduty.com.