Okay guys, the sig. below lists my current truck... I have been kicking around the idea of a new truck, possibly with the V-10. I cannot justify the cash for the diesel with the added main. cost that goes along with it esp. when diesel is the same as 87 gas. I do tow a 24' gooseneck deckover flatbed weighing in at with load around 12000#. I do not do alot of towing around 2500 miles a year.
So guys, tell me the good and the bad including mileage.
I would be looking at V-10 250/350 supercab 4x4 w/373 gears, manual 6 spd tranny.
I get 12.5 all around. My commute to work is some highway, some city, so I don't have a pure "city" number. If I do a complete tank on the highway, it will get 13-13.5. I have never seen the 15-16 some folks claim for highway. But the worst I ever got was around 11.
I have not towed anything near as heavy as you, only about half that, but it was no sweat and the truck has plenty of brakes for such a load with no trailer brakes.
My truck has the 3.73 gears but it is automatic.
If my truck was stolen tomorrow, I would go get another V10 and would not even look at the diesel.
__________________ 1991 F150 SC 4.9L ZF5 1991 SAE Bronco 5.0L E4OD 1993 F250 4x4 7.3L IDI NA E4OD
My neighbor has a plumbing business and regularly pulls a small excavator (~10,000#) and has both 7.3 and V-10 equipped Super Duties. He claims the V-10 pulls it better, but the mileage is only around 9 or 10 with the V-10. The 7.3 is a crew cab short bed, and the V-10 is an extended cab short bed; both are 4x4 and both are autos.
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2003 F250 XLT CC Long Bed 4x4, 6.0 w/Auto
The V-10 can tow some serious weight, however if I were you I would look very closely at getting an F-350 with the 4:30 axle ratio.
I don't tow the weight you do on a regular basis but I do tow quite frequently upwards to 8K lbs. and have not encountered the need for anything else, it does just fine. Mileage claims are anywhere from 7-11 mpg city or 8 to as high as 15 hwy. empty. If you keep your foot out of it (very difficult to do when you got ALL that power) you should be able to get respectable mileage. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
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<font color="purple">2002 F-350 Crew Cab, Lariat, 4 x 4 Off Road, <font color="red">V-10</font>, A/T, 4:30's, Snow Plow Package X-Springs, Lighted Heated TT Mirrors, Reverse Sensor, Alarm-Remote Start, Husky Floor Mats, Silverstars, Garmin GPS V, Jack-It Lift, BFG 35's w/ 16 x 10 wheels, Rancho 9000X Shocks, TruSpeed, Berlin Bed Cover, Fireman LED lite bar..and a partridge in a pear tree</font>
I've got a complete fuel log for my V10 since the truck was new. PM me if you'd like to see it, I can email it in MS Excel format. It includes comments about what type of driving was on each tank, and also compares the Ford computer calculation to actual MPG.
Overall I'm getting a bit better than 12, but my driving is mostly stop and go city with only a 7 mile commute to work. I also have only a few tanks where I don't have the trailer hooked up at all (5000 lb). I take it easy and try to get decent milage, but it's tough with that smooth and powerful engine. I have yet to do an entire tank on the highway, but I'm confident I could be very close to or over 16 mpg with all highway driving. This engine's economy (?!?) seems to be very closely tied to your driving habits.
For the amount of towing you'll be doing, the V10 is the only way to go. The only thing I don't like about it you've got solved already - the automatic. I wish I would've got the 6 speed. The auto works fine, but I miss the driver involvement required of the 6 speed. The V10's I drove with 5 and 6 speeds were a blast, and they just feel like they'll last longer.
Oh yeah - there's one more thing you'll have to figure out if you get the V10. What are you going to do with the $5000 you'll save. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]
go with the 4.30 gears. What is a couple of MPG, when you get the 3.73 you will wish you had the 4.30's anyway. I tow with my "X" weighing in at almost 8000lbs and towing a 7500lb camper. I would get another in a heart beat. Good luck
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Scott
2006 f-250 black Harley Davidson #1909 6.0 CC LB 4" MBRP, AFE 2,08 TT mirrors,
I average about 10 mpg around town,last freeway trip i drove about 80 mph,flat groung for the most part,and the math told me 13.7 believe it or not.I heartily recommend the 4.30 ratio,i pull my bobcat/trailer combo that must weigh in about #8,500 ish and its a walk in the park. Good luck. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif[/img]
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1997 F-250 Supercab shorty 4x4 with 1996 Cummins 5.9 12V,3GSK,#10 plate,5600 sixer with short shift kit,Dana 60 and 80,205 TC,and a few goodies under the hood,lifted/tires etc,etc.2002 Mustang G.T.Mineral gray.
Thanks guys for all of the input... this is what I was looking for some real world comments. Yes, I agree and if I go this route I will select the 4.30:1 rear end. Thanks again guys.
Gas milage depends on your right foot, but most of the time it's 10.9- 11.5 mpg city and 13-14 doing 70-80 hwy... This engine with the 373's is awesome at hwy speeds, it's amazing something this big and heavy can move so effortlessly!
<font color="blue"> 2002 F-350 Lariat CC 4x4 SRW SWB, Auto Trans, V-10, 4.30 LS axle. It is our only vehicle. We see 13-15 MPG non-towing on the highway. The 13 MPG is around 70 MPH, the 15 MPG is around 60 MPH. Towing our 12,500 lb boat/trailer without a headwind we see 7-9 MPG on the highway. The lower end of that is up around 70 MPH, the upper end is down around 60 MPH. It is a great truck, silky smooth, and has 26,000 trouble free miles.
We had a 2000 F-350 PSD in the same basic configuration. The PSD was a bit better towing engine, especially pulling long grades and for mileage (got 11 MPG towing the same boat at 70 MPH), but it sucked as a daily driver. Especially up here in the cold of Minnesota during the winter. </font>
And 2 burned up rear tires. 
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