SuperDuty tow rig: 5.4 or 6.8?

My 90 F150 with 185k is just about wore out, and I'm lookin SuperDuty.

I only tow two-three times a year for now, and never see it becoming more than 5-6 a year, so the diesel is way more than I need (or can afford!)

So, can I get by on the 5.4 V8, or should I move on up to the 6.8 V10?

I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I think I remember that...

The 5.4 is rated at 260 hp, 350 ftlb, to tow about 7400#
The 6.8 is rated at 310 hp, 425 ftlb, and tows like 10800#

I know my XJ and trailer total around 6000# even loaded with junk, so technically the 5.4 should do it. Plus, the truck will share daily-driver-duties with the Jeep, so I guess I'd rather not feed that 6.8 beast if I don't have to.

But I don't want to buy a $20,000 truck and still drag ass up hills, either.

I know the 5.4 will do it, and the 6.8 will do it better. I'm looking for any real-world experiences on how much a difference it'll be. And "My brother knew a guy that towed with one" is fine by me...

Anybody?

Thanks in advance,
Robert

One of the maintance trucks where I work is a v 10. I have driven it some, and am very disapointed in how it runs. Every one I have talked to says the 6.8 usually tows very well, but the one I have driven runs about like the 351s in 1 ton trucks I have driven. I don't know if it is just this one, or if they are all like this. Just my experiance.

Either should do the trick. However, my buddy gets 7 miles to the gallon with his V-10 when he's towing, dirving on the highway or tearin it up. My dad's 4x4 5.4 F-150 tows an asphalt late model that weighs in at 3000 lb dry with a truck box on the front of a 1500 lb trailer full of spare parts, a full rack of tires and a bed loaded down and still gets around 12-14 mpg while rounding off anything you want to on the highway. And that's every weekend. If he drove a little bit more conservatively, who knows? Not to mention, we live in the Poconos, do you guys even have mountains out there? LOL

junkxj said:

...the one V10 I have driven runs about like the 351s in 1 ton trucks I have driven.

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Damn, I'll be sure to test drive one before I settle on it!

JEEPTHIS said:

Either should do the trick. However, my buddy gets 7 miles to the gallon with his V-10 when he's towing, dirving on the highway or tearin it up. My dad's 4x4 5.4 F-150 tows an asphalt late model that weighs in at 3000 lb dry with a truck box on the front of a 1500 lb trailer full of spare parts, a full rack of tires and a bed loaded down and still gets around 12-14 mpg while rounding off anything you want to on the highway. And that's every weekend. If he drove a little bit more conservatively, who knows? Not to mention, we live in the Poconos, do you guys even have mountains out there? LOL

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See, that's what I was afraid of, 7 mpg even unloaded. I only do about 20 miles each way to work, but that'd be 6 gallons, $12!, a day!

Sorry though, round here "rounding off" is what you do to old bolts... :dunno: I'll take that as a good thing...

And we do have mountains, or at least some really bigazz hills...

Thanks guys,
Robert

I own a 99-350 with the 6.8L. I love it. Yeah it's thirsty, but if ya wanna tow, either get the 10 or spring for the diesel. If you're gonna get the 10 go for a later model, 2002-on model, because it has higher power numbers. Check out the website, ford-trucks.com, it's a great resource when comparing motors and which one to get, good luck. Oh yeah, my 99 1ton is a SC with 4.30 gears, auto, 4wd, 4" lift (came with truck ), 35" AT's, 17" alum. wheels, flowmaster exhaust and had 75,000 miles when I got it, picked it up for 16,500... good luck, Judd

I voted other for the diesel before I read that you said no diesel. But if you could swing the purchase price, I'd definitely recommend it. They get better mileage and run great. A friend owns one and tows an 11,000lb 5th wheel trailer with it. Thing has pretty good pickup for such a big truck. I don't mpg figures for the Ford Powerstroke, but I know that I looked at a 92 Suburban with the 6.2 diesel was surprised to find that it was rated as getting the same mileage that my Cherokee is rated to get.

I know a guy who easily tows a ton of crap over 300 miles round trip all the time with his F-250 5.4 litre. Its mostly highway, but there is a spot on his property that he dirves up that is almost 45 degrees. Always does it all for him no problem. The 5.4 must be a good engine because if he wanted the larger engines he could have them, he works for ford and gets a good deal.

If you must have a gas get the 5.4!
Stay away from the V-10!

Look for an '04 diesel that is still sitting on a lot.
They are out there, I got one for $29,000!
You might have to drive 100 miles, but it is worth the trip if you can find one.

Oh sure, I'd LOVE a PowerStroke, but an 02 4x4 with e 5.4 lists about $18,500. The V-10 is about 19 grand. The diesel is 25. I just won't tow enough to justify spending 35% more...

MUDTRUK said:

I own a 99-350 with the 6.8L. I love it. Yeah it's thirsty... good luck, Judd

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So how thirsty is thirsty? Are you agreeing with jeepthis -- 7 mpg? I mean, that's just ridiculous...

And Sean, why the V10 hatred?

Robert

with gas prices high as they are, you could save a lot of money with the diesel just on gas. If you're near an interstate diesel is usually cheaper than gas and it generally gives you better mileage. Not to mention the generally lower maintenance costs of a diesel. Basically I'm pushing for the diesel so I can live vicariously through you because I want one for all the reasons listed above, plus they just sound so much meaner to all the smaller cars out there...

oh man, thats a tough one...how about ditch a ford and get a Dodge

I have an 04 1500 Hemi and tow the jeep all day long with no issues. Also get 15mpg when not towing...not to bad


-Red

Or if you wanna bring up switching brands, go Chevy. More power than Ford and its not a Dodge Chevy 5.3 or 6.0 both have more power than the Ford 5.4 IIRC, and should get better mileage. The 5.3 definitely has better mileage the 6.0 might be but Its definitely better than the V10

BlackSport96 said:

Or if you wanna bring up switching brands, go Chevy. More power than Ford and its not a Dodge Chevy 5.3 or 6.0 both have more power than the Ford 5.4 IIRC, and should get better mileage. The 5.3 definitely has better mileage the 6.0 might be but Its definitely better than the V10

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Chevy - (2004 model): 5.3-liter Vortec V8 with 295 horsepower at 5200 rpm and 330 lb-ft of torque at 4000 rpm

Dodge - (2004 model): Hemi V8 5.7-liter HEMI with 345 horsepower and 375 lb.-ft of torque

Ford - (2004 model) : 5.4 V8 Horsepower rating of 255@4500 and a torque rating of 350@2500

Redcbr007 said:

Chevy - (2004 model): 5.3-liter Vortec V8 with 295 horsepower at 5200 rpm and 330 lb-ft of torque at 4000 rpm

Dodge - (2004 model): Hemi V8 5.7-liter HEMI with 345 horsepower and 375 lb.-ft of torque

Ford - (2004 model) : 5.4 V8 Horsepower rating of 255@4500 and a torque rating of 350@2500

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So the Chevy has more power than they Ford, less torque than all, and its not a Dodge...I'll take it, I'll just have to do something about the torque, and buy an older one, the new ones are ugly. The Super Duty is really the ony new truck I like the looks of.
PS, good thing you left the Cummins off that list with its 600 lb-ft I think GMC is catching up though with 590 and Ford is sticking with 570, and still winning tow tests against the other 2

I just got back from Moab with my diesel F-250 towing a 18,000 load (trailer and two Jeeps). We averaged 9 mpg and ran at 65 to 75 mph depending on the speed limit. Without a load I got 19 to 21 last spring on a run to Colorado empty. With a full load and 60 mph it averages about 14 mpg. I have to trade time for fuel to go anywhere due to time and work restraints. I also use it as a daily driver.
Sure it cost a bit more to buy but fuel is usually cheaper , it will run to 250000 miles easily and the resale is much, much better. It's well worth it.
Hinkley told me his gas v-10 Dodge got only about 7 mpg towing.

I_1BADXJ_I said:

And Sean, why the V10 hatred?
Robert

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JEEPTHIS said:

Either should do the trick. However, my buddy gets 7 miles to the gallon with his V-10 when he's towing, dirving on the highway or tearin it up.

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DANNO said:

Hinkley told me his gas v-10 Dodge got only about 7 mpg towing

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MUDTRUK said:

I own a 99-350 with the 6.8L. I love it. Yeah it's thirsty

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I think they have said it all!

I used a v-10 for work and I would not recomend it if your evev thinking about gas mileage. I used to tow w/ a 1 ton and a 460 gas motor that did pretty good. it would usually 10-12 mpg loaded or not. the past 2 rides and current are powerstrokes I will NEVER go back to a gas truck. Look around for a used diesel, you will be much happier in the long run.

I know you aren't realy looking at them, but my vote would be for a diesel. We took this 2500HD with 27' goosneck trailer from New England to Daytona, FL this year. There were 6 bikes plus tools and beer in the back. Can't remember the total weight pulled, but it was a great rig pulling through the hills. We averaged 16mpg over the entire trip. this is also a friends daily driver netting about 20mpg.



the downside to diesel is their initial cost, and you realy need to run them, as they hate on/off short trips. Grocery getters they aint. you have a 20 mile commute, so that should be plenty of time to run it.

I have a friend who has a truck with the Ford Triton motor, and hates taking trips with it because of the low gas mileage.

-Copperhead

I_1BADXJ_I said:

My 90 F150 with 185k is just about wore out, and I'm lookin SuperDuty.

I only tow two-three times a year for now, and never see it becoming more than 5-6 a year, so the diesel is way more than I need (or can afford!)

So, can I get by on the 5.4 V8, or should I move on up to the 6.8 V10?

I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I think I remember that...

The 5.4 is rated at 260 hp, 350 ftlb, to tow about 7400#
The 6.8 is rated at 310 hp, 425 ftlb, and tows like 10800#

I know my XJ and trailer total around 6000# even loaded with junk, so technically the 5.4 should do it. Plus, the truck will share daily-driver-duties with the Jeep, so I guess I'd rather not feed that 6.8 beast if I don't have to.

But I don't want to buy a $20,000 truck and still drag ass up hills, either.

I know the 5.4 will do it, and the 6.8 will do it better. I'm looking for any real-world experiences on how much a difference it'll be. And "My brother knew a guy that towed with one" is fine by me...

Anybody?

Thanks in advance,
Robert

Click to expand...

Get the 5.4, it will do the job you want it to do very nicely. I work at a Ford dealership, and we had an F250 with the 5.4 in service as a tow vehicle to trailer dealer trades all over CA. It got the job done and was in service towing nearly every day for a couple of years. If you just tow your rig on a trailer you don't need any more power. If you decided later to get an overhead camper, or tow a toy house trailer or something, then you'd likely wish you had more power. An Expedition with a 4.6, or a Durango with a 5.2 will pull a Jeep on a trailer, so an F250 with a 5.4 will get the job done nicely.

It's so easy to say "buy a diesel", but it's just not worth it unless you really pull a lot of weight. I always crack up when I see guys with tricked out dually pickups towing boats that you could tow with an S-10 or Ranger. It makes no sense to waste money on way more truck than you need, but it also doesn't make sense to buy a truck that isn't rated to do what you need it to do.

Buy a couple year old truck and don't finance it forever, then you won't take such a huge depreciation hit if a few years down the road you change your plans and end up wanting or needing a bigger truck. Of course, the new 3 valve 5.4 in the 2004's is nice, and the front coil springs on the 2005's is also nice.

I say go diesel. The diesel will get over 20 mpg and diesel fuel is cheaper.
But back to the real world, definetly stay with the Ford, and I hate fords, but when my dakota hits 200K, I will buy a superduty. No other truck is over built as the ford is. And its the only one with a straight axle in the front (4x4, and i know dodge has some). The truck is a beast, the 05's are even better. I have heard lots of bad things about the 6.8L, bad MPG, poor running, etc. With that said, you will probably get decent MPG with the 5.4L around town, but towing, it will drop like a rock. The 5.4L is a solid motor and should last, just keep an eye out for the recalls, I know they had a battery cable issue/ possible fire hazard. Fords are known for their recalls, but with some knowledge they turn out to be fairly minimal things. Good luck, I am holding out for a F-550 CC 4x4 w/ 6.0L diesel, I just want the Over Kill factor.....
and look at that ford-trucks.com site, very good info on fords (I research them for a living)...