I will soon be getting my first ford truck (hooray!) and am seeking advice. I'm looking at gas F150s or F250s in between the years of '87 - '96. The primary purpose of the truck (besides hauling renovated house parts) will be to haul a family of four, 180 lbs of dog, all the stuff that goes along with that, and pull a 1500 lb pop up trailer. The main questions I have are:

-Power: I obviously don't need a ton of power, but I hate having vehicles that are underpowered. Would the 6 cylinder engines have enough power for this set up? If not, what would?

-Fuel Efficiencey: I'm not looking for the efficiency of the new trucks, but is there a year/engine that has better fuel efficiency than others? I've heard that F250s can actually get better milage than F150s?

-Durability: Are there some years/engines that are known to last longer than others?

Thank you for your advice!

 

with a trailer of that weight, make sure you get a proper trailer hitch. a bumper hitch will work, but a heavier hitch will be safer.

yes, a bare-bones swb f250 would likely get a bit better mileage than a lwb 4x4 fully loaded f150.

i haven't been into fords that long but i own a 300 and a 351 ... they both seem like reasonably dependable engines ... then again, this IS a ford site .

 

Well it all comes down to your:


Needs : You said you you need it for towing a small pop up, are you going to tow it at highway speeds or not?
Wants : Do you want, four doors or just a ex cab?
Budget : ?

The six bangers are great for towing, at low speeds. Great off the line power but lack in the highend. Depending on how they are used they ether get 12-16mpg up to 18.
The 5.0l do okay, but there are better engines. Coming from a 5.0 owner here, they are just kinda lackluster from start to finish. With my truck, I tend to get 14-16 Mpg intown and 18-20 on highways. And, one time with 800lbs in the box and a slight tail wind I manged to get 23mpg's, going 60mph on a 350 mile trip. (Cab height load, trapped down good) But when i tow anythig behind it, i get 8-11 mpg....
5.8l are good for reg and ex cab trucks towing. Okay off line take off great mid power for cruising while towing and have okay high end to pass with. Get 12-16 mpg around town, and 14-18 highway...
While 7.5l are the best for all around gas powered hauling, and guzzling of said fuel.... 10mpg is the best and worst you should expect

Diesels on the other hand get great mileage, just driving around or towing. But cost a lot more to buy, fuel, and own; but last longer and have better resale when taken care of...

To find out if you need ex cab or a crew cab ask yourself, 99% of the time how many are going to be in said truck with me? Are you going to be hauling more than yourself and one other? (Even with an extended cab, three people in this trucks is too many.)

For me, if I only needed a extended cab and tow at highways speeds on occasion, I would chose a 5.8l e4od with 3.73 gears. But if I needed four doors, I would get a 7.3 powerstroke 5 speed manual and 3.55 gears....

 

From what you described your needs as, I'd look for a 4 door f250 with a 5.8. (Nathanl25 gave very good descriptions of each motor.)

A lot of what "enough power" is, is up to the user. Not needing a lot, but not wanting it to be underpowered will probably be two different trucks depending on who's driving. I have the 5.8 in my little 4600 lb f150 and would never dream of going to anything smaller. If you know anyone who owns a similar truck, it might be worth asking them for a test drive.

 

Any of the available engines in the fullsize fords will pull a 1500 lb. trailer just fine. My 302 powered f250 was used to pull my fullsize trail rig on a car trailer during the summers and I could travel at highway speeds, although it took me awhile to get up there.

As for the fuel mileage concern, I have noticed with all of my personal ford pickups that the fuel economy has been directly related to the engine displacement and wheelbase. Best truck on fuel I ever owned was a standard cab short bed 4x4 300, while the worst was a extended cab long bed 4x4 351

 

I have an F150 here, 1995, 300, M5OD, 2.73:1 rear end, single cab long bed. I have towed reasonable loads with it over the years, cross country. Unloaded my best MPG was 20.5 on a highway trip north from SC. Loaded, I recently did over 15 mpg with a car trailer and a light load of tin. F250 components are heavier duty, but with 197,000 miles on my F150 I am still not showing major wear. I just completed a 4x4 swap, and had the front end and rear end apart. After 17 years with reasonable towing, salvage yard scrap metal runs, and commuting mixed in, the trans was ok, front end good with one full wheel bearing change, ball joints still tight, rear end was ok, but axles just starting to have a wear pattern from use as would be expected. I live in the south, so salt corrosion is not an issue. The engine has had a full set of gaskets at this point, but no internal work. It runs fine. For parts availability and all around hardiness, it's tough to beat an F150 with a 300. It's not a "fast" truck, but it has no trouble keeping up with traffic. In this case, the race is not from 0-60, its from 0-300,000 miles!

 

Thanks everyone for the input, it is very helpful. It's great to hear from actual owners. Anyone else with more thoughts please post, I'll take all the info I can get!

 

My truck (see my signature) has done very well for me relative to MPG and power. I've owned two Fords with the 300 I-6 and one with the 302 (I also owned a 1972 with the 360 Cu inch engine, {shudder}) and the 5.8 I currently own is probably the best fit for my use. I simply like the type of power I get from the 5.8 The difference in MPG isn't really enough to worry about. In a comparison of MPG between a 2011 Dodge 4X4 with a smaller engine and my truck during an 850 KM round trip, the difference in MPG was only $50.00. It's also important to acknowledge that everything that's been said in this thread about the other engines is completely true too. Your type of power needs and driving style will be the deciding factor on whether or not you will be satisfied with your engine choice.
Cheers and good luck with your choices

 

just my opinion but for your needs i would think a 300 would work just fine. it may be a six cylidner but it has great low end a was actually an industrial grade motor. used in all kinds of things including ups trucks and combines. it has a better torque curve for towing then the other two but runs out of breath quickly.