Alright so Im dreaming about getting a Superduty diesel to tow my new to me trailer (hint why Im dreaming not buying) however I dont know squat about the diffrences in the motors and whats considered high milage on a diesel (work on school busses for a living so can fix them, just never shopped for diesel trucks).

Anything to look for or avoid? For now the F150 gets towing duties but Id rather get something that wont be taxed as much (guesstimating Ill be at 80-90% of max load).

 

if you will be towing a lot stay away from the 5.4 gas burner, if you want a gasser get the v-10, but if you will be pulling the camper here and there you should be fine. 7.3's and 6.0's are good motors. but on a 6.0 check for a leaking head gasket. that could be head bolts in need of replacement. I've seen properly maintained 7.3's go for the 500,000 mile mark. but not so sure on the 6.0's. i dont know much about the 6.4's and newer diesels.

 

The 6.0 can be a high maintenance nightmare. The 7.3 is solid (but the 4R100 tranny can be troublesome), the 6.4 isn't too bad.

 

7.4 with out the turbos are slow but bullet proof and fairly good on gas (diesel) the 6.0 and 6.4 are money pits. the new ford diesel is a beast got one in my work van tows like a rapped ape. its also not to bad on fuel until you try to show up that dodge boy. my 99 7.3 has about 300,000 no the clock and still running strong my 93 7.3 non turbo has way over 500,000 and holding in there. things you need to look at are the transmissions, oh and front ends as they tend to wear out fast if they see a lot of hard work (bushings rod ends king pins and so on).

 

ops i put work van its a truck as it has not made it to the van platform as of yet

 

what load are you towing. But I would stay away from 5.4L F250's and the 6.0. I had a 6.0 and it was fine for me but a lot of stories, had a 6.4L as well so do two of my friends no problems between the three of us. Dependson your pocket book too, personally if you need the F250 get a diesel, if you dont need a F250 stay away.

 

24' car trailer, full weight between 7-8k (which while possible with a current gen F150 is close to its limit), when/if I go superduty Im going diesel (frankly if I won the lottery today Id get a F450 diesel and either a ranger or V6 F150 for around town) as the only reasson to go superduty is for the towing/payload in my mind. Looking around on craigslist etc locally figured itd be a F350 as their the same price as a F250.

 

willing to put in the effort when your searching and the maintenance the the 6.0 is the way to go unless a 6.4 is in your budget

 

right on I agree if you go F250 go diesel i had them and they work great. But I switched over to an F150 and tow my 9500lb boat fine, and have towed buddies 5k boat and 4k snowmobile trailer with ease. Most brands offer half tons with at least a 10k lb payload. I agree dont waste your time with F250 and gassers.