cliffwva

Thanks everyone. My thoughts were to get the F250 first also. I was testing the waters to see if I could get away with what I had rather then buying a new truck this spring. Your opinions are appreciated.

FSU FX4

2003 7.3. The 6.0 is 2003.5-2007

zap

Personally I wouldn't even get a 7.3. I'd find a Fleet model SD that has a 5.9 Cummins in it or one that has had the 7.3/5.4 swapped for a 5.9 or even a junkyard truck with a blown engine and do the 5.9 swap. IMO the 5.9 is a much more economical engine. Most 12 valve guys (whether its a stock Dodge or Ford Cummins) see about 19-21 mpg and you can nearly double hp and torque on the stock 12 valves for under $1000. Most 24 valve guys see (again stock Dodge or Ford Cummins) between 22-28 mpg depending on tune, engine (common rail or not), and driving habits when unloaded and are nearly as cheap to upgrade. Just my suggestion though.
www.fordcummins.com

DevinS

well, whatever you tow with, make sure it can support the tongue weight of the trailer properly (get the add a leaf springs, or load leveling airbags if need be) so you aren't another one of those holes with the front end raised up not only blinding on coming traffic because your headlights are pointing too high, but also putting your life and the lives of everyone else on the road at risk because your front tires are no longer making proper contact with the pavement making it more dangerous around curves, and also decreasing your stopping distance because you front axle provides the majority of you braking power... And, as someone else mentioned, a brake controller, and make sure that is properly dialed in for the trailer you're pulling. If it's a long enough trailer (and if it's a bumper pull) then the anti-sway devices are also a very good investment, and not horribly expensive. And hopefully you have experience with a trailer, if not be extra careful. It always aggravates me when people drive something that they obviously don't know how to use. Gotta love it when you see someone who can't keep a half ton pickup between the lines and yet I manage to do it with my 113,000 pound semi truck, lol!

zap

Gotta rev 'em up and gear 'em down to slow down and save your brakes for when you might actually need them. A WD hitch is a cheaper way to distribute the load and generally do not require sway control as the newer style WD systems do it pretty well. Unfortunately, travel trailers are not like vans and you can not move the tandems or adjust where the 5th is on the truck (I'm talking in terms of semis) so how you load is vital to the trailer pulling right.

FSU FX4

Ive found that Cummins has the best mpg as well. Ive seen as high as 20 mpg with the 24v 5.9 and the later 5.9s

zap

Really? That's low for what I've seen. Everyone I know with a Common Rail (03-07) gets at least 24 mpg and keep it closer to 26 on the 4WD's and 28 on the 2WD's. Most of the guys I know with the 6.7's get 24 or more. These are all nice and broken in engines with more than 1500 hrs on them though (roughly 100K miles). The more modern emissions controls sap the mileage right out of the engines (new 6.7's and 6.6's only make about 16 mpg where a 06 5.9 made 22 mpg out of the factory) but a lot of people begin to delete that stuff on the engines anyway when it comes to performance tuning.

FSU FX4

Im not disagreeing with you. I've never seen that much. My buddy has a 2010 6.7 and he's getting around 12.5. It'll go up to at least 15 with the dpf delete. That thing is a huge waste of metal. Straight piping isn't just for great sound. You can get a good fuel economy jump

Wondertwin1

The epa hasnt realized if they would lay off on the emissions crap the better mileage would compensate for the problem. Stupid bastards.

zap

Even smoking people out the things pollute less than gassers. I think EPA is also thinking in a city basis though, not out here in the country no one gives a flying f***, not even the states. Texas emission laws literally state that diesels (no matter of age) do not have to have any kind of emissions control but as of 08 a single chamber muffler is required on all...yet tips count as mufflers in this state oddly enough.