Just got my F-150 SuperCrew FX4 10 months ago and have managed to put 16000 miles on her already. . . . . have it edged, bedrug, truxedo, stainless rockers, etc. . .

Just bought a 24' pontoon which of course the 5.4 doesn't hardly know it's there. . . but am now looking for a travel trailer. . . . prob won't tow it over 300 miles very often but am running into a size issue. .. . we have 3 kids and I have been looking at bunkhose trailers. .. . 26ft to 30ft. . .. 8000# loaded to 10000# loaded which of course are at the top end and over the top end of weight for my current truck. ..

If I stay around the 8000# area do you think i'll be find with the F-150??

Do you guys have any opinions on wether or not it would be a good idea to trade in for a f-250 deisel or not?? Please only educated comments.

Daily driving will be 60 miles or so round trip to work and back. . ..

Let me know your thoughts. . .

 

I towed my 5th wheel which weighs about 8000lbs loaded with my 2004 F150 (with Edge as well). It towed it ok on the flats, and up to speed.

But get into any kind of wind and it will be in and out of 2nd gear constantly, if not in second all the time. I live close to the mountains too, and took it there once, got back and traded it in on my PSD. I think I nearly cooked the tranny on a couple of them mountain hills, the tranny temp was reading around 280F and speeds were down to about 15mph. One thing to keep in mind when looking at the weight of your trailer and the rating of your truck is that is doesn't factor in the wind resistance of the trailer which can be like adding another 3000lbs of trailer in a strong head wind.

I now can tow my trailer, with my boat in tow behind the trailer (total of about 10500lbs) with the PSD, put in on cruise at whatever speed I want, with no concern about wind or hills. It is much more of holiday that way IMO. Plus I get much better mileage with the diesel compared to the 6mpg mileage while towing with the f1fitty.

For not towing, a daily commute of 60miles in fine for a diesel. The only thing I miss about the F150 compared to the PSD is the ability to just jump in it cold in the winter, run down to the store a couple blocks away. The diesel likes to be warmed up fully before getting into city stop and go traffic. I find myself just taking the wifes Jeep Liberty more often for running around town.

What I'm trying to tell you though is that you won't regret the diesel for the way you plan to use it.

 

I went through a similar range of thoughts a little over a year ago, and went ahead and traded in my 04 150 for an 06 F250 PSD, and could not be happier, as others have said Diesels like to be warmed up and aren't the best for short hop trips, but for towing they just can't be beat, the difference pulling our boat between my old truck and the PSD is night and day, not only in power but all of the other heavier duty components (suspension etc.) are better and more well suited for heavy pulling.

 

I haven't towed anything yet, except for a small motorcycle trailer, but I am loving the diesel. It's like I was driving a toy truck all these years and finally moved up to the real thing. I have the stock exhaust, but even the sound of the diesel engine and the constant whistle of the turbos just makes me so happy!

 

Make sure you have your numbers correct. A TT that is 26-30' long normally run between 8 and 10k unloaded. Figure another 1-1.2k worth of food, H20, supplies, chairs, toys, tv's etc. You could hit 10-12k depending on how much crap you take. Hills will kill the transmission. You also need to figure the truck weight with 5 people, animals, bed full of grills and crap, tongue weight, etc.
I made the same mistake a couple of years ago. Traded up from a pop up to a 28' TT. Was alright on flat land and short trips, but then did a couple of NC mountains and SC foothills trips. 2000 f150 4x4 lariat extended cab. Found out it's limits very quick. As a matter of fact, on one of those hill climb trips, I spotted a black and silver f250 PSD with a 5vr attached in the c/g. He drove the truck by our site about 25 times a day. I fell in love with the diesel sound. So about a week later along comes employee pricing (July/05). Found a CC 4x4 fx4 PSD XLT sport with chrome package, all black, w/sunroof, backup sensors, captains seats, etc and walked out the door for $33.5k, a full 14.5k less than sticker.....the dealer had 2k worth of home depot pre-paid card, and some kind of Sears outdoor furniture they were going to throw in. I told them to keep it and discount it from the truck after the deal was made.
Anyway, back on subject, the f250 had no trouble with the TT and by October we had a 5vr of that year. I get between 15 and 16 mpg city/rural driving now and I commute 9 miles one way. Truck has no problem getting to operating temps in that distance, of couse our winters are mostlys 20's + degree's. I got 12 mpg towing my 12k 5vr on flat interstate and have to remind myself to not run 75+ with it. The tranny usually takes the longest to warm up, it will be about 130 degree's by the time I get to the office.

 

mgraves, if you need any more help on how to spend your money, we are here to help

 

I think youd be wise to trade up to an F-250 if you plan on doing heavy hauling like that. Im sure the F-150 could do it, but putting that much stress on it is going to greatly reduce it's lifespan.
I think Id go with a V10 over a diesel though. The maintenance costs for diesels are crazy and around here diesel fuel actually costs MORE than gas. Im also not convinced that International knows how to make a diesel that actually holds up either. After the 6.0L, Im not sure Id want a diesel engine that was made by International.

 

I agree that a V10 might be a good choice if you don't put tons of miles on it each year. The diesel purchase price is hard to pay back, especially at todays fuel prices. While diesels are fun to play with, it can be a hard cost to justify. I know I sure can't justify it for myself, but I never said I used common sense


Navistar can make a good diesel though, look at the 7.3L. It was a pretty rock solid engine for many years. The early versions of the 7.3L had growing pains like anything, but eventually they were fixed. I think the 6.0L could have potentially gone the same dimension given enough time, but that just isn't happening. Honestly the Ford versions of the PSD had more troubles than Navistars version. Ford likes to put their hands in everything when they shouldn't if they'd left the engine to the professionals I think its could have been different. Though I do think that Cummins does have a leg up on Navistar.

 

Thats why Id go with a gasser over a smoker. The V10 is pretty low maintenance and is a proven engine. Its pretty much a 5.4L V8 with 2 more holes. My brother has a '99 F-250 SD with a V-10 that has over 100,000 miles on it. He has worked his truck to death and it has required very few repairs.


I think that at least some of the issues with the 6.0L were with people who didnt leave them stock. My neibor is a Ford tech and he has told me that the 6.0Ls were fine if you left them stock, but that in a lot of cases you have people modifying them who dont really know what they are doing and thats where you can run into trouble.

 

Modifying them was especially dangerous with the early ones. Its probably going to happen with the 6.4L too in that the programmers are going to have to "learn" this new engine and how to effectively write code. I agree that you really need to know what you're doing when you modify a diesel. There are basics that have to be done first, if not it'll easily mean a new engine.

Though leaving them stock was just as much of a crap shoot as modifying them. Both of our F550 6.0L service trucks have had issues. One is pure and simple a basket case. The trans and chasis haven't given us any problems, but the engine has been a complete disaster. I think a lemon law is in process on it. The other one hasn't been as bad, but its been far from a good truck. Just last year it required a new hpop and 4 new injectors. There are supposedly good 6.0L trucks out there, I've just never come across one.

 

I had an 05 F150 w/ 4.6, so my bumpin up to the 6.0L PSD was a DREAM!!! I wouldn't trade my truck for the world now!! My goal is to drive the wheels off this one... Enjoy it after I pay it off for a long while!!! I used to tow an 18ft ski boat w/ 115HP Merc Outboard and my F150 would struggle!!

My .02...

 

i just traded an 04 f150 supercrew with 65000 miles for an 03 f250 lariat crew cab with 92000 miles, and could not be happier. i had a choice of 2- 03's.. a 6.0 and a 7.3, both lariats, both with 92000 miles, and get this... the 7.3 was listed 1300.00 less. needless to say i bought the 7.3. plus it was green/tan 2 tone just like my supercrew.

 

'06, PSD F250 CC. One year old last week with 35,000 miles on the ODO. Lots of miles with a car trailered behind it. SCT Tune in the EEC, Zero problems. Never even been back to the dealer since it left the lot.

 

Go for the Powerstroke