Pretty much decided I am going to buy a Excursion but can't seem to decide on what engine. Could you all give me some opinions and thoughts on this. Would be appreciated. Thank.

 

It really depends on your intended use. Mine sits a lot and I don't tow extra heavy so I opted for the V10. Less babysitting than modern diesels.

 

Intended use.
Pulling a 30' camper a few times a year.
Hunting trips.
Hauling stuff.
Won't be putting too many miles on it because I have a work truck. Our family has grown so I want something I can fit everybody in.

 

Does this sound right.
Diesels, more power, better mileage. More money off the bat, more complex, more expensive breakdowns.
V10. More reliable, cheaper to buy,easier for me to fix. Less power, worse mileage.

 

Long term the diesel will return more ROI than the v10 if you plan to resell in the future.

Relative fuel costs are about equal from the reports of people getting such poor mileage on their stock diesels compared to the V10. With tweaking (ie tuner setups) you can get better performance but you'll spend $$ to get it.

Towing... if relatively light towing duties, shorter haul distances the V10 will be just fine. Long hauls or hilly terrain the diesel wins out.

Maintenance cost on the diesel if you have it done are 3 to 4 times the cost of gas.

On the used market if you buy the diesel from a regular dealer get the extra driveline coverage since replacement costs are so high, cheap compared to having to redo any diesel.

I love my v10, but I'm towing a 10ft cargo trailer 2-3 times a week rather than a 30ft camper. If I had to tow that then the diesel just really makes more sense.

 

Sounds like a V-10 wil meet your needs. Like you said, cheaper to buy and maintain and very reliable. Yes, they are thirsty but it doesn't sound like are planning to daily drive it so that's less of an issue.
I disagree with the idea that a Deezle is needed to pull any serious load like your camper, sure the oil burners are more powerful and will win a towing race up the mountain but I'm not racing anyone when I tow and my V-10 has gotten me to top of every mountain so far and still at a reasonable speed. For bigger loads the 6.8 likes deeper rear gears, the V-10 likes to rev and the gears really wake them up!
Our travel trailer is 41' long and weighs 12k lbs, with a few mods and a good hitch setup it tows very well.

 

I hate the 6.0. no personal experience, just a lot of friends who have had EXPENSIVE work done.

I'd go with the 7.3 if I couldn't afford the Cummins upgrade... :P

Price ($6k) put me in a v10 for towing a 34' TT full time and it pulls at 10gpm after some free (perhaps questionable) changes/upgrades.

 

Any truck can be made to do certain things with "upgrades". The question is whether the OP wants out of the box performance or wants to go down the road of upgrades.

 

Sounds right for a v10. Look for a late 02 on to avoid the short plug threads, and get it with 4:30's in the rear. A little less mileage but will pull that camper better. I only have a 22' tt so my 3:73's fit the bill. Take the extra money you save over the diesel and get a tuner from 5star and a set of headers, y-pipe and exhaust studs set to the side for when they pop. You'll be quite happy. I am.

 

I have both a 6.0 and a v10 excursion. The 6.0 wins hands down. The power and feel of hte engine. Currently my 6.0 is in my garage waiting on EGR and oil cooler gasket fixing. And my v10 is in hte driveway while I'm taking apart the transfer case to find the leak there, as well as the front passenger wheel hub rebuild.

My 6.0 has 235k on it, my v10 has 130k on it. Everything has issues that can go wrong, there's no argueing that. The 6.0 could have a bad injector, or the v10 could blow a plug out. Both major fixes, but I've encountered neither.

Neither are bad trucks. If you can afford hte diesel, get the diesel. Otherwise, get the v10. Just don't get the v8.

 

Wow that's pretty impressive. Did you get a lift for a excursion or was it for a F250? From what I understand they are the same just stiffer springs for the F250. Thanks for your input.

 

I looked for a 7.3 when I purchased my V10 - just couldn't find one in good shape that wasn't significantly more than the V10. My boat is right at 11,000 on the trailer and I also regularly tow a 24ft enclosed trailer loaded with used tires from my shop. Both loads are handled nicely by the gasser. Could I use more power? Absolutely - but don't really need it. My main challenge was the initial purchase cost being higer, higher maintenance cost and the possibility of fairly expensive repairs on the diesel. My V10 only has 104k miles on it but if I ever had to do major engine work a reman'd long block is less than $3,000 - so for about the price of 6.0 head gasket work you could get a reman'd v10 swapped in. I also typically only drive 3 miles each way from home to the shop so the diesel would not have been happy with that driving style.

Either way you go it's a good choice - great vehicle that will last you a long time! I just bought one for my son - a re-do thread will be started soon on that one!

 

Very true. I've only been stranded once in my life in a Ford and it was a 6.0l F350. Guess that should tell me something right there. What do you mean by " questionable upgrades"? Thanks for your help.

 

Good question. I'm not against doing upgrades but would have to wait awhile because of my budget. Thanks.

 

Were the 4:30s a common gear I wonder? Thanks