F250 5.4

[Brad Hunt]

I owned a gas vehicle back in 87', F150, straight 6, manual. Since 94 or so nothing but reg. cab diesel 1 tons. Thinking about an F250 gas crew cab. I have a hankering to someday buy a nice used 34'. Hate to buy a gas job if it won't pull the larger trailer I want to own someday. Anybody pulling 31' or 34' with 3/4 ton gas? Thoughts, gas mileage, likes, dislikes. If I'm gonna have 2 trucks can only have 1 diesel, the extra 8K I can't justify.

[SteveH]

I'm in the market for a new truck, something with more power than my Dodge 4.7 liter, so I drove a used Ford with the 5.4 gas engine the other day and was very disapointed. It seemed to me it did not even have the power of my Dodge. It was a 2005 Lariat Supercab, very nice with leather, power seats and all. However, the seats were absolutely the most uncomfortable I had ever been in. As result, I will not buy a Ford.

[whitelight]

We have a Chevy extended cab, long box, with a 7.4 L, Banks power pack, and Aquatune water injection. We've hauled a 31', 22', and the 34' front kitchen.
We keep fairly accurate mileage stats & tow over the mountains in the west a lot.
Without a trailer, best highway mileage around 15 mpg, pulling the 22', pretty consistant average of 10 mpg, 31' = 8.5-9 mpg, 34' = 6.5-7.5 mpg. A lot depends on the weather, conditions, etc. We don't go over 65 MPH.
Mr Grumbly, as we call the truck, handles the 34' quite well - long wheelbase & HAHA hitch. Mr Grumbly doesn't even know that the 22' is behind us!

Mr Grumbly still has a lot of life left in him - however, when it comes time, we're going to seriously look at a diesel truck. Torque is where it's at, especially when pulling the 34'

FYI, We also have towed the 31' with a 350 engine - had a few problems on steep grades - and about the same mileage.

[thecatsandi]

Oh I can so answer this one. I originally had a Gas 5.4L F-250 to tow my 31 Classic. It was ok east of the Mississippi. In the mountains I was in line behind the trucks headed up the hills and the engine was breathing hard.
I upgraded to a 6.0L diesel and it tows great! everywhere. Some use the Triton V10 and seems to be ok.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, I have to agree with Michelle. With a 34' Airstream you should either have the V-10 gas or the 6.0 / 6.4 Diesel in a Ford pick-up. The 5.4 would be OK for a 25' Airstream or smaller.

[Phil/Edee]

We love our '06 250 Ford pulling our 25' 1999 Excella. Have looked at the 34' which is very lovable (:>) but wonder about maneuverability. We get 10 mpg towing in Colorado, North Carolina, etc. But the best part is... this pickup is the most comfortable riding vehicle we've had!!! And I'm very picky with my back. So you're saying we should stay with the 25'?? Moot point for this year anyway....

Edee

[2airishuman]

hi brad

make that 3 for the v10 or diesel...

the f-250 is so massive that the 5.4 doesn't have much power left for towing...

IF you prefer gas the v10 does have impressive power...

some loss will be felt at altitude and mpg will be less with the v10 but otherwise it's a brute.

also there are about 6 rear end options now on the gasser...

cheers
2air'

[henw]

Had the 5.4L. It's a dog. Really struggled to tow with it.

Tom

[Brad Hunt]

I was hoping the gas would be at least OK. Diesels in my opinion have been going downhill ever since Ford dropped the 7.3. I am leery of the fuel economy these new trucks will get with all that extra emissions equip. they carry now. Even the Dodge had to up the 5.9 to 6.7. Guess I will look for a used Dodge 2500 04'-06'. Can't even look at Ford until the 6.4 is proven bullet proof after a couple of years.

My benchmark is service bulletins to mechanics. Ford needed over 66 to fix problems that cropped up with the 6.0 whereas Chevy needed only 8 for the Duramax but Dodge had zero from 01' to 07'.

[Minnie's Mate]

The issues that Ford had with their diesel have been resolved to my knowledge. The '08 has a different engine and, from what I hear on the grapevine, was designed and engineered with those issues from earlier years in mind...meaning they didn't want 66 service bulletins on this one.

I know what you mean about the seats. My '05 has very uncomfortable seats and I plan to replace them before we take any really long trips.

I get about 13.2 MPG's towing our 30' Safari. Bear in mind it is much lighter than a 34' from even five or more years ago. I use the truck as a daily driver and get about 18 MPG's on a 50 mile round trip of combined freeway and surface street driving. Before the switch to ULSD, I was getting over 19 MPG's and there has only been one recall/service bulletin that I have been aware of on my truck and that was to reprogram the computer. Before that reset of the computer, I was getting a little better than 20 MPG's on my daily commute of the same route.

Chevy has a great diesel engine and so does Dodge. Either of the "Big Three" has great trucks and great engines. The Dodge has been noisier in the past but I think that has been resolved in the newer trucks. I don't know much about them or the Chevy's but I know they are good trucks.

I have had good luck with the Fords in the past and I liked the built in factory brake controller and the tow mirrors that Ford installs. However, I understand that Chevy now installs a factory issue built-in brake controller, too. I think their mirrors may also extend in a similar fashion to the F-250's.

If you prefer the gas engine to the diesel, the F-25 V-10 is a great choice from what I hear.

Good luck with your decision and I hope you enjoy your Airstream adventures.

[SteveH]

Originally Posted by henw

Had the 5.4L. It's a dog. Really struggled to tow with it.

Tom

Tom, that's what I experienced when I test drove one with the 5.4. Felt like it wouldn't pull a sick hen off the nest, and the one I drove had the towing package with the 3:73:1 rear end gear ratio.