Thought I would Share... New Tow Rig

[kyle f]

Well, since purchasing my boat I have had 3 differnt tow rigs now. The first was an 84 Bronco I picked up cheap locally. 302, C6, and 4X4. Did fine anc could handle my Sea Ray. Though as I towed it more I decided to trade in my Mustang and be more devoted to boating and got an Expedition, 5.4L Auto, 4X4. The Boat hardly felt liek it was there once we got moving.

Now, well I had a call form my dealer that my dream truck was there. A Ford D250 Extended Cab with the 7.3L Power Stroke Diesel with an Auto and 4X4, oh and only 68,000 miles on the clock. I just prefer Lauching and retrieving a boat with an automatic tranny. I can't wait to hook the boat up to this thing.

I know I don't need a truck this big or powerful to tow a 4000lb boat and trailer...but its more of a gas milage thing. I should get as good of milage with the boat hooked up to this as I did with the Expedition when the boat wasn't even hitched up. (about 16mpg on the highway)

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Thought I would Share... New Tow Rig

Good looking truck and the 7.3s are great engines.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Thought I would Share... New Tow Rig

nice rig!!

 

[External Combustion]

Re: Thought I would Share... New Tow Rig

You will appreciate it even more when you put on the brakes.

 

[cbear34]

Re: Thought I would Share... New Tow Rig

Very nice truck!

 

[guy74]

Re: Thought I would Share... New Tow Rig

Looks pretty good.

 

[SNye45]

Re: Thought I would Share... New Tow Rig

Good looking truck !!. You properly won't even notice your boat is back there, with the torque from that deisel

 

[lrdchaos]

Re: Thought I would Share... New Tow Rig

You will be amazed at the difference.....I pull with a 06 cummins, and like stated above....When pulling you will not even hardly notice it's there, mileage will deff. be up. But when you put on the brakes....the boat no longer wants to shove the truck foward. Also the constant shifting of the gas engine is gone...when you get it into od it will stay there.

Ps...Not a Ford guy, but with 68k on the clock, that is one impressive find. Sharp looking truck!!!!!

 

[Bigprairie1]

Re: Thought I would Share... New Tow Rig

Nice looking truck, I like the red!
My brother-in-law is a big Ford fan and runs one of those diesels and loves it.
BP

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Thought I would Share... New Tow Rig

Nice engine. Keep an eye on the tranny. Ford trannys in those trucks will last around 70K miles before needing to be rebuilt.

 

[EJ3]

Re: Thought I would Share... New Tow Rig

Very nice! Bet you feel like this now!!!lol

 

[kyle f]

Re: Thought I would Share... New Tow Rig

Nice engine. Keep an eye on the tranny. Ford trannys in those trucks will last around 70K miles before needing to be rebuilt.

I have a 3 year/36,000mile warranty with it

 

[futbal2332]

Re: Thought I would Share... New Tow Rig

Nice truck, i hope it gets better then 6.4 miles a gallon and i gotta tow 80miles to my dock. im thinking of trading in for a diesel, i should put a cummins in mine when i had the chance

 

[dave11]

Re: Thought I would Share... New Tow Rig

That's a real beauty. You should be grinning from ear to ear.

 

[KM2]

Re: Thought I would Share... New Tow Rig

I make a trip to South Dakota every summer about 300 miles of interstate with a expedtion but one year I took my FILs f350 diesel. (7.3) I got 14.5 with the diesel and the best I ever got with the Exped is 11. I thought the exped towed well until I hooked up to the diesel. The mileage difference might have been larger but I think I was driving faster with the F350 because it never felt like I was working it. set the cruise at 75 and go!

My boat is 3000# plus and I bet I have 1k in gear I take on that trip.

 

[Ezrider_92356]

Re: Thought I would Share... New Tow Rig

in my f250 7.3 i get 19 unloaded and 10-14 towing 9\10k 18 ft enclosed job trailer. my boat is non existent behind my truck.

 

[tylerr83]

Re: Thought I would Share... New Tow Rig

ez rider is pretty much right on...i have an '04 f350 powerstroke...i get about the same mileage, even when i pull my 10,000lb excavator i still get 13/14 mpg and it pulls/stops it no problem

...nice lookin truck, congrats

 

[Blue Water Runner]

Re: Thought I would Share... New Tow Rig

Nice rig.

 

[getusummm]

Re: Thought I would Share... New Tow Rig

You can make that tranny last a long time with a few simple things.
1) Dont pull in overdrive unless you have a very light load or are on very flat ground.
2) Add a larger tranny cooler. The factory cooler was undersized
3) Change tranny fluid on a regular basis. It may be too late to start now. If you have the records and it was changed and flushed regulary, then keep on. If it was never changed, then dont do it, you are liable to have your tranny fail soon after changing the fluid.
4) Add a tranny temp gauge. This will let you know when you can run in overdrive and when you cant.

When I bought my tow rig I was desprate to find a 7.3. I couldnt find one in decent shape and settled on a 6.0. I didnt even make it to 3,000 miles and had to change oil cooler, delete egr cooler, replace head gaskets, install head studs insteads of bolts, replace oil pressure regulator, and last but not least, the high pressure oil pump. Still fighting the dealer for all this. Luckily I did the work myself, so it was parts only. I will say that the 5speed auto tranny is much better with the 6.0 than the 4 speed auto that came with the 7.3s.

But dont get me wrong or take it the wrong way, the 7.3 tranny is a very good one, just need to treat it right and pay closer attention to it.

 

[kyle f]

Re: Thought I would Share... New Tow Rig

in my f250 7.3 i get 19 unloaded and 10-14 towing 9\10k 18 ft enclosed job trailer. my boat is non existent behind my truck.

How are you getting 19? Are you running on fairly flat land? I have the Hills of East Tennessee to deal with and regularly get around 15.5 empty.