Its funny you mention the NO inspection point. Here in UT we have bad inversions during the winter months. The valleys get trapped between the mountain ranges and pollution can get bad without a storm pushing it out. The EPA has been cracking down on the state to do more. We are physically weather dependent at times during the winter. Yet just across the border in Idaho, no inspections at all. They can do whatever they want to their vehicles without issues (lift size, emissions, etc). Now we all know people stay home and never drive their vehicles across state lines (sarcasm), so even as tight as they wanna control emissions (sometimes they act like little CA) we all share the road with others. It seems like wasted efforts and lots of RED TAPE by the govt!

 

Glad to hear you're keepin her

She may not beep when you pet her and lay down digital tire tracks, but she's tough, she's reliable, and when she hurts you can make her better.


When I read the original post all I could think was






I haven't had any car payment in over 10 years. NEVER AGAIN. I'd rather walk than pay a banker 3x what the car cost. I can always pick up another 7.3 for $2k if something goes wrong with Skippy and I can't fix it. That beats a payment any day.

 

Judging by your sig, we pretty much have the same mods. The only difference is I don't do lifts or swampers on a DD. The torque converter is a must if you tow. Mine is an 1100RPM triple clutch Dayco. I wish I had gotten Anthony to build the 900RPM stall, though.

I would agree about the tires. Tall tires hurt everything, especially pulling and stopping. Not to mention, you lose a lot of ability to control the really heavy loads. If the 6.7 had the same size tires, I'm sure your experience would have been quite different.

As far as the lift, if you're pulling a real load fast enough for the lift to become a factor, you'll have other, more serious, issues quick enough. Things like stripped tires... or worse.

 

Ahhh... I've found the forum troll.
Lucky me.

Yes, I had nearly 40K attached to a Class IV hitch. So what?
I can show you a Youtube video of a F-250 pulling an 18-wheeler out of the snow on interstate. I can promise you the 18-wheeler weighed more than 40K, and all that was used was a tow strap... in snow and ice...

FWIW, rolling weight of the X is about 8400#. That's including a tank of fuel, tools, air compressor and tank - and me.
The tow bar is a forged solid bar, rated for 17,000. The ball is a real (not Reese) Class IV 2-5/16 that is actually rated for 40,000.
With the F-350 springs and bags, my suspension can actually support 10,000+ tongue weight, even though the tires (legally) are only good for about 3000 (net). That said, I know I've had at least double that in tongue weight in the past.

And if you want to see it, drive over the West TN anytime at your convenience.

And what's so special about 25MPG?
2 of my 3 duallys would get that. I have a 90 Dodge Cummins that would break 30MPG regularly.
And it's common knowledge that Excursions and Suburbans get better mileage than their pickup counterparts. Further, before Diesel went to crap, the X would get 27-28.

Why don't you tone down the snark.
You're not as smart as you think you are.

 

I know nothing about the 6.2, but the 6.8 V-10 was bullet proof. Anecdotal evidence strongly suggest they last longer, with much lower maintenance expenses than the 7.3.
You just gotta be able to live with 10MPG - which I can't.

The repeated pain at the pump would be too much for me. I like being able to go 900 miles between fill-ups.
So what if it can cost me $200 when I do fill up... LoL.

 

Wait a second, so Reese isn't good? ARRGH! I just put one of those on Skippy!
BTW, my mileage after much work is 18.3MPG. I could see 20 with new injectors, but I'll never see 25 sadly. Even with my 3.73 rear end.

 

Reese is fine for pulling your bass boat or lawmower. But, when you're pulling a real load, you need to rethink the only piece that is connecting your truck to the load.

Whenever you buy a ball, look at the weight stamped (usually on the top) on the ball. Most of what you see at Wal-Mart will say 5 or 6,000lbs.
6,000# on a 2-5/16" ball is ridiculous.
I have (3) 2-5/16 setups (on 3 different height bars). 2 of them are "cheap" CTP 20,000lb chrome ***** on a 1" shank.
The 3rd is a forged black steel 40,000lb on a 1-1/4 shank.



There are a lot of factors in fuel economy. Injection timing, air handling - even the CPS can have great effect. I had 2 duallies (out of 3) that would break 25MPG. I even still have a '90 Dodge Cummins that would break 30... it just won't do it now. Of course those numbers were from back when diesel had some kick. But, back in those days the X would go over 1200 miles on a tank.

 

It's against federal law to be in possession of marijuana - including Washington, Colorado, and Oregon. It's also against federal law to pull the mattress tag off. I'll abide by the laws that the government deems important enough to enforce - and the ones that are just plain common decency.

 

It is not illegal for a person to remove the tag from their own mattress.

 

I stand corrected.

"...so you had close to 40,000 behind and excursion out of a tag pull hitch hunh... 25mpg... thats amazing too."

Show of hands - which quote sounds more "snarky" or troll-ish?

 

I heard something about this being illegal a little while back, then again it could just be my imagination. Lol

I know where my hand is waving!!

 

Have you been by the local dealership and personally ask the diesel mechanic his thought on this?

 

While an excellent question, one has to remember that on his shirt. He's likely to censor himself.

 

LurkerX: Welcome to the forum! nossliw is not a troll and a bunch of people are ready to pile on you because you are new (nossliw is respected here) and mostly because of your mpg claims. But no doubt you have valuable information to contribute to the forum. I learned something about trailer hitch ball ratings from you. Thank you for that.

Again, I don't want to pile on you about mpg. I personally got 21.96 mpg during the break in period driving 45-55 mph on I-5 Sacto. to L.A.* So, I personally know that good mileage is possible. But, I want information from you. If you don't mind, I am interested in when and how you have gotten your best mileage? What differential gearing and what transmission, etc. are you running when you are getting that kind of mileage? Was your best mileage recently with current diesel fuels? How did you calculate it?

Dave Whitmer is the mileage guru. Here is a statement from a recent post:

"I was seeing 26 MPG before my tonneau self-destructed. That's 26 on a regular basis, not a one-shot max on the lie-o-meter. 1500 mile minimum – mixed road driving. Truth in posting: Because I drive so much 1500 miles is quick and easy to rack up.

I hope to get my aero package cleaned back up by summer. With clean aero I think 30 is possible."

Re-gearing for better MPG?? - Page 2 - PowerStrokeNation : Ford Powerstroke Diesel Forum

Dave Whitmer is No b.s. But his 7.3 is heavily modded to reduce air resistance. And he runs a 3.08 differential with a manual transmission with an added Gear Vendors overdrive which allows him to reduce engine rpm to 1100 which will overheat and explode an auto transmission. Unfortunately, we don't have an mpg moderator over here. I asked Dave to be an mpg moderator over here but apparently he is too busy. But he is an authentic Ford 7.3 PSD enthusiast and his posts in the mpg subforum over there are valuable to us over here too.

This is an interesting link which he recently posted:

Beating the EPA - The Why’s and How to Hypermile - CleanMPG Forums


* 7.3 PSD E-Series didn't come with lie-o-meters.

 

Good morning FTE,

For me, I get a sick feeling when I look at the sticker on a new Ford truck at the dealership. $65,000 to replace what I bought for $15,000 five years ago. Not going to happen. The sticker just reminds me that our Dollar is worth less and everyone is being convinced that we need more gadgets in our life.
The business that I am a partner in has two 7.3s, one SRW 2001 CC and one DRW 2000 CC. I have my 2001 7.3 X that we use as well. I could not replace our vehicles with even newish diesel CC 4x4 trucks. Our trucks do what a truck is supposed to do......haul trailers, tools, guys and good thoughts from one point to another. Do we break them....YEP. But IMO, we have normal wear and tear for guys that don't just drive to the root beer stand to show off the new 30 inch rims. The amount of money that is required to replace our older vehicles is insane. Would I like a moonroof in the trucks...YES...Am I willing to have a $900 a month payment...NO WAY.
We drive and repair the trucks that we have. When one of the guys put their foot through the rear corner of the DRW bed, we replaced the bed with a nice take off bed for $1000. Now we have to replace cab corners and rockers, but damn...the rear end of the old girl looks GOOD! We spend what we need to when we can. I will take that action any day of the week vs having to be under the yoke of the bank.
Does this mean that my wife buys into my " Fix it and not buy a new one " mantra? Some days. Is she talking about a new car that is NOT as she puts it " A Hillbilly Rusty Turd".....yes she is. That is just because she wants the newish car smell and wow factor. Reality sets in and we move on. I still see the AutoTrader web site pulled up with Ford Fusion Energi models up. Bottom line, IF it makes financial sense, get a three to four year old truck. If it does not, continue rocking the 7.3 and make it so in a year or two, it DOES make financial sense for a 3-4 year old truck.
Party On FTE!