HI
I am looking for a used F250 or F350 - crew cab, not dually, not diesel (no offense to any diesel users) to haul my horses to shows/trail rides. I have a 4 horse stock trailer bumper pull and usually haul 2 (sometimes 3) horses on weekends. I have about $5000.00 to spend, therefore looking at 1990 - 2000 models in CA (Where I live) in my price range. If anybody can give me advice good or bad I would appreciate it. I used a friends Dodge (sorry) last year and was stuck on the road about 4 times - not fun with horses and a child at night.. Ford has come highly recommended to me and I would like to get the best possible gas mileage combined with reliability -doesn't everyone =) - Which engines/trannys are best/give problems etc... I usually go 200-300 miles round trip to a show. Thanks in advance for any advice good or bad to watch out for for me before I buy. Stacey

 

Get a V10 with 4.10 gears. Much stronger tower than the Triton V8 and 4.10s ensure the mpg is bearable. To make clear though, the 5.4 V8 is a reliable engine and will do fine so long as you don't live in the hills where it may get tiresome.


As regards F250 or F350, I wouldn't sweat as they're re the same truck except the F250 is missing a leaf spring. Buy whichever version is the cleanest, if you're lucky enough to find two that are equally nice may as well get the 350.

 

I have heard the mileage for the V8's is somewhere between 10 and 15 towing and the V10's is 5 to 10 max... truth or fiction? Thanks so much for your reply - I really appreciate any information to add to my search.

 

I don't know if you're going to be able to find a F250 or F350 Super Duty with a budget of $5,000. You'll probably be looking at the old body style F250 Heavy Duty or F350, not that this is a bad thing at all. Those are proven, solid trucks with either a 351 V8 or a 460 V8 gas engine. I haven't shopped for a used heavy duty truck lately, so I'm not sure what you'll turn up. Either way, I'd suspect 100k+ miles to stay within budget. Again, not necessarily a bad thing just expect more maintenance and little things to pop up and then budget accordingly.

The Super Duty lineup began in '99 and those are the trucks that have the 5.4L V8 or 6.8L V10. You're mileage numbers while towing are off by my standards. I might say the V8 would get 10mpg towing and the V10 would get about the same towing your horse trailer. Empty you might expect the V8 to get 13-14mpg with the V10 a tick or two less.

 

Thanks so much for the info... yes, I figured 1990 to 2000 year somewhere with 100 to 160K miles in my price range...older model true, but hopefully made "ford tough" but I may get lucky still and find a newer one!! I only know of one person who had a V10 and they said it got horrible mileage towing for them - they switched to a diesel thereafter. I am open to V8 or V10 but need to get at least 10 mpg towing - I am hauling horses, so I don't floor it...

 

your gas milage wont be any better or worse than dodge or chevy but as you said and as why i got a ford superduty and love it. it will do what you want with very minimal problems, built like a tank. get the 4:10 gears and the V10 you'll be happy as can be.My best friend has a 2000 250 5.4 4:10 he hauls a 5,000 LBS camper. He does pretty good up in the adirondack mountains climbing hills but he loves my 3 valve 5.4 and the torqueshift tranny. but he has no regrets on his truck. good luck let us know what you get.and yes very minimal differences between 250 350 just get the 4:10 dont settle for 3:73

 

Thanks for the great information - I am compiling a "want list" - I really appreciate everybody's replies!!
Stacey

 

I 2nd the 4.10 axle ratio.
It's what I have behind my 5.4 and it helps a lot with very minimal fuel economy loss.

 

thank you very much!!

 

There are a lot of guys o. This site who are very knowledgable about these trucks. It's good to see someone doing there homework before making a big purchase like a pickup. Even though you're shopping used, $5000 is a lot of cash!

How much do you think your trailer weighs fully loaded?
I'm willing to bet that it'll be no problem for a 5.8L or a 5.4L. The larger gas engines such as the 7.4L or the 6.8L will pull it better, no doubt. But I'm betting the smaller engines will do the job you need and likely get you close to that 10mpg mark you're shooting for.

All bets are off if you say that trailer weighs more than 8,000lbs.

What are you currently using as a tow rig

 

Hi,
My bumper pull 4 horse Circle J trailer is 3500 lbs empty - each horse weighs about 1000 lbs... mostly just 2 horses, sometimes 3... max load would be 7000 lbs with tack, extras etc.

I would like to get the BEST gas mileage possible of course.

I was using a friend's Dodge half ton - that pulled it ok - but got about 6-7 miles to the gallon max - and over the hill I have to go - it used a half a tank (22 gallon tank) of gas - the hill is 30 miles end to end - and I dont floor it - take it easy... My old truck was a 1970 Chevy that got about 10 miles/gallon pulling and almost 13 without...

I dont need overkill - not for looks/muscle power extra - just to do the job without straining to much on the truck... Diesel and my stomach dont agree at all - I know people keep saying its the best, but not for me if I want to not be sick all day - and the maintenance costs are more than worth with the limited miles I put on it...
Mostly its flat travel with just the one hill - and I can go alternate route with 10 mile hill that is much easier a grade...

 

Do you live in or drive through the mountains? The parts of CA I've been in were on the hilly side. If that's the case, you'll want the V-10. You can overwork a V-8 and get worse mileage than the V-10 (or 460 if you go older). The rear end is important too. The 250 will likely have a smaller number rear end, while the 350 will have a higher number. I wouldn't go over 4.10 rear end, but the smaller the number, the harder it will be to climb the hills with horses in tow, but the higher the number, the worse your mileage will be.

 

thanks for the great info - I live in the Bay Area - I dont particularly think of it as hilly - not like driving to Colorado over the hills from CA... I go from Silicon Valley to the Central Valley for shows often - over Pacheco Pass or Altamont Pass - my choice... if you are familiar with this part of the Bay Area...

 

It's all about perspective I guess. Come to my part of Texas and anything you can't see over by standing up is a hill

I was stationed in CA back in the 80's and my opinion of CA is it's full of hills unless you get out into the desert or maybe a few Northern parts. For our discussion while hauling horses, let's consider a hill anything that would cause the transmission to downshift while climbing and would take longer than 60 seconds to get over.

A slight uphill grade that does not cause the transmission to down shift won't factor into your motor consideration, but a 2 - 3 minute uphill climb is where you will start to notice the difference between the V-8 & V-10.

Whatever motor you choose, unless you end up with a stick shift, a shift kit and auxiliary transmission cooler is something I would recommend. If you're not afraid to get a little transmission fluid on you, we can walk you how to install that stuff yourself. (OK, maybe a lot of transmission fluid on you, but you get the idea).

 

HI Chris
I LOVE your description of perspective.. I drove through Texas once and was amazed at how far you can see - flat forever... like looking at the ocean out here on the coast... The large hill I was talking about takes about 20 minutes to get over, the smaller one is about 10 minutes - so either would be a "hill" by Texas standards - ... I guess I should re-consider those big hills even for CA...
I dont mind getting dirty to learn how to work on something that will make my life easier at all - I used to do all of the regular maintenance work on my old Chevy 1970 C10 - but it was simple - lots of room under the hood to sig, and no computers and all the stuff on new trucks now.
still - I am a willing student...