Anyone haul a fifth wheel or gooseneck with an IDI Turbo Diesel?

I'm looking for a IDI CC Dually to eventually haul an 7-8k lb fiver. Before I proceed I just wanted to check with you all and see if this idea is crazy or not?

I'm not afraid of restoration work and I turn my own wrenches... been doing a lot of research on this forum and others and finally just wanted to ask that.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

 

You don't even need a dually for that, depending on tongue weight.
I recently hauled a 23' 5th wheel with my 88 f-250 5-speed extended cab 4x4(single rear wheel); it rode quite well.
I certainly 'felt' the weight in the acceleration, but it didn't try to move me around the road or anything. I was able to maintain 60 MPH without too much trouble.

I've also hauled 6 tons of hay on a 2-ton trailer(16,000 lbs); that was a bumper-pull trailer and I didn't go over 50 with it. Not due to lack of power, but just because it didn't ride really well with the tongue weight behind the rear axle.

I've also hauled my truck with another just like it on a 2,000 lb or so trailer, so a good 8K total... not too hard, you just feel it in the acceleration.


That all being said, I *do* have a turbo on mine. You /really/ want a turbo when you are hauling heavy, if you expect to go more than about 40-50.

I once hauled with my truck 'NA'(turbo boot wouldn't stay on); probably a good 3K on my 2K trailer(5K total). That was hard. I had trouble maintaining 60 on flat ground, really maxing out the engine at that point.



My conclusion is:
1. Just about any IDI powered rig will do the job just fine.
2. Get a turbo.
3. I really like my 5-speed manuals for towing.

 

I agree, you would have no issue if you avoid the freeway. Especially if you find a truck with 4.10 gears, you won't feel the weight near as much. I've pulled 11k bumper pull and with 4.10s under the truck I was way happier with performance. I pull a stock trailer regularly and it doesn't mind much. This is all naturally aspirated, I'm sure with a turbo I'd be completely satisfied.

 

For future reference, 87-93 trucks /generally/ have 4.10 gears in them, at least when pared with the 5-speed manual.
I mean, it's not 100%, every one I've seen has had them.

86 and earlier with the 4-speed will generally have 3.55 gearing.

 

Thanks for the feedback! That's good to know about the ability of the SRW trucks.

My preference would be a F250/F350 SRWCrew Cab 4x4 but finding them seems to be very difficult and they seem to command a premium price. I could get by with an extended cab and those are much more plentiful...seems a CC Dually is just more common and easier to find. I got teenage boys and my DW...Crew Cab just fits the family better. Hauling all those people the dually gives me an edge with cargo capacity too.

I agree that a turbo is the way to go. Are all the aftermarket kits pretty much the same? Say I get a truck with an ATS or a Banks kit...are the Turbos hard to rebuild? Is that even a concern on an older rig?

I hadn't thought about the rear axle ratio too much but I think I would prefer the 4:10... I live in Tennessee and the 4:10 Would help with the hills.

Thanks,

Jeremiah

 

Yeah, crew cabs are hard to find cheap. I'm still looking for a good one myself.

I haven't had to rebuild a turbo myself.
I've heard that the Banks Sidewinder wastegated turbo, a TE06H, is hard to rebuild in that Banks won't sell you parts, just a new center section.
Others depend. I know that the ATS & Ford stock(same basic kit) turbos are rebuildable; Justin at idiperformance.com offers rebuild options and upgraded turbos for that.

Whatever kit you get, though, you can always get an off-the-shelf turbo for it and use that instead; as long as you size it right for the application.

Just remember that a 6.9 isn't good for much boost without headstuds, and can't handle more than about 20 PSI /with/ them before blowing a headgasket.
A 7.3 is good up to around 20 PSI without headstuds, with them the limit is the connecting rods - Justin managed to blow the connecting rods in one when pushing 400+ HP at the wheels(1,000 torque) and like 45 PSI of boost.

For reference, a NA engine makes about 100-120 HP at the wheels; and the turbo kits will generally give you 6-12 PSI of boost and up to about 220 HP at the wheels.

Above that, you need a better turbo(the Banks Sidewinder is really restrictive above that 12 PSI), and bigger than stock injection pump to handle it. 300+ HP isn't out of the question if you invest in good parts.

Also, if you manage to find a factory turbo 7.3 block(in 93-94 trucks, SN on block will be 7.3TU2U...), they were beefed up a bit, and have stronger rods and a few other improvements.

 

From what I've seen that's not the case. I typically see 250s with 3.55 and 350s yes nearly always have 4.10s.

 

My experience... 86 F-250 351w and F-350 6.9 4x4 came with 3.55:1, an 83 F-150 302 4x4 came with 3.55:1. Had an 86 F-250 4x4 351w came with with 4.10:1.

 

Were the F-250s diesel? I'm only speaking about diesel(6.9/7.3) trucks here.
Admittedly, my sample size is small, but I have so far not personally run across any 4-speed manual diesels with 4.10 gearing or 5-speed manuals with 3.55 gearing.
I've /heard/ it was an option, but I'm guessing they are pretty elusive out in the wild.

 

My `88 F250 and `93 F250 are both 5 speed manuals with 3.55 gearing...
They also both came 2WD (both are 7.3's as well).

 

Thanks for the feedback everyone...I am more convinced than ever that the IDI is the way I want to go. Now the Shopping can begin

thanks!

Jeremiah

 

Yes, identical trucks other than running gear. RCLB, 4x4, diesel, zf5.