I currently have a 2000 F250 7.3 diesel and am using it to pull a 10K 30 foot 5th wheel.
I want to trade it in or sell it and buy a newer (not brand new) F250 and am considering a gasser.
I have the opportunity to buy a 2012 F250 Lariat gasser at what I think is a reasonable price but I am not sure how well it will pull my 5th wheel.
I understand that it will get worse mileage when I am pulling the trailer but I want to make sure that it will pull it without overloading the engine.
I asked the fellow if it has a "tow package". He said it has a receiver hitch and the wiring to tow a trailer. Hmmmmm.

Anyway, anyone care to chime in on this?

 

I know there's at least three guys on here who tow 5ers with their 6.2s. Some have the 3.73 and some have the 4.30 axle. There are also a few threads about "do you miss your diesel" as there's some folks who also came from the 7.3. I don't think anyone misses their old trucks.

From what I have gathered after thinking / reading about this for a year or so, the short answer is that it will do the job and pull your 5er just fine. You will not have the diesel grunt, but if you can get used to letting the engine rev, you'll be happy that you bought a truck that is cheaper to buy and own. There's even some youtube vids of an FTE guy towing his 5er on the interstate where you can see it downshifting but holding the hills (even passing).

If I had the $$ today I'd be buying an F350 CC 4x4 Lariat with the 4.30 axles and wouldn't think twice about it. I'm a diesel fan but the 6.2 is good enough for me and more economical. Ford says with the 4.30 you can tow a 15k 5er (or 12k with the 3.73). I think our 7.3 tops out around 13k for 5er towing, so depending on the axle ratio you're fairly evenly matched or even better with the new gasser.

Hopefully the other guys will jump in here too!

 

Thanks GoCamping for your input. I guess I should ask the fellow that is selling the truck if he knows if it is a 4.30 or 3.73 axle. Thanks again!

 

You won't be overloading the engine with 10k behind it, that's for sure.

The only thing you could be concerned about is the GVWR of the truck with the 5er behind it. That is, if you care. The truck will do it, you just may exceed the GVWR of the truck depending on the weight of the 5er.

 

I went from a 99 psd (but it was an early 99) to a 2012 F 250 with the 4.30 diffy. I am happier than a pig in slop. But you know, each to his own.

If you are looking at 7.73 gears that would not scare me. I have done a lot of reading that points to 5th gear with the 3.73 just about equates to 6th with the 4.30.

I gotta get back on the scales again this fall, but estimate I am towing 11.5K. Coming up early next month will be my 3rd trip thru the Smokies. This thing pulls the long grades better than the early 99.

The thunder that thing makes on the long grades doing 4500 on the tach impresses me.

 

Thanks everyone for the great input. I think I am going to go ahead and pull the trigger on the 2012. Seems to be a good deal price-wise and also looks like it will pull the 5th wheel just fine. Thanks again all! Good stuff. And yes, it has 3.73 axle.

 

I knew Dave would jump in here eventually

TayzGpa, you know the rules, once you get it you need to post pics (and a tow report too....)

 

I tow a 33.5ft bumper pull toy hauler with my 2012 f250 CC 4x4 3:73 gears. Loaded trailer is 10000lbs (ish) plus what's in the truck box (dirtbike,chainsaw,tools,dogs,extra water,etc). This truck tows great but most of my towing is using 4th and 5th gear. Very rarely it will touch 6th like downhill or with a tailwind. The manual mode becomes your friend due to the tow haul mode liking to downshift to far. I have owned and towed with 3 diesels and I personally find the 6.2 to be a pretty respectable tow vehicle. It is thirsty though but my toy hauler has a fuel station so I literally bring a gas station with me. Lol. Seriously though I don't find the towing mileage any worse than my 05 duramax. Prob in the 8-9 mpg range, I would not want to tow much heavier then what I have now but I am also sneaking up on the max ratings. I think once you get used to a gas truck again you will be very happy with it's performance.

 

Thanks everyone for your GREAT responses. With the price of diesel compared to the price of gas, I have a hard time justifying another diesel. The lions share of our driving is around town with the occasional road trip. Only pull the 5th wheel maybe once a month, 6 months out of the year. When I bought my first diesel 10 years ago (I've only had 2), I had hoped that the price would come down to something below gas prices. Not gonna happen I guess. Shoot, when I was growing up, they were almost giving diesel away. 'Course gas was only 0.32 per gallon too. (wink wink nudge nudge!)