What truck?
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What truck?
Hello everyone! I am mere months away from achieving a life long goal of traveling the United States for a full year (possibly longer). My current route sees me putting 30k on the truck as I cross the country several times.
Im going to be pulling a 27-30 foot goose neck camp trailer (currently shopping for the right layout that has room for an office space so I can work on the road.)
My vehicle of choice - Ford of course. My question to you all is would I be happier replacing my current truck (94 - F350 4x4, 7.3l Turbo, full towing package,) with something else? Gas mileage is of course a concern on such a long trip, so even a mile or two per a gallon difference is going to be huge over that sort of distance.
I'm not interested in buying new, so is there a year range that you would look at? I would prefer to stay with a 4x4 as I'll be traveling some remote roads as I indulge in my favorite hobby of finding ghost towns.
In short, what is the optimal Ford I should look at for a 30,000 mile road trip pulling a ~30 foot camp trailer?
Im going to be pulling a 27-30 foot goose neck camp trailer (currently shopping for the right layout that has room for an office space so I can work on the road.)
My vehicle of choice - Ford of course. My question to you all is would I be happier replacing my current truck (94 - F350 4x4, 7.3l Turbo, full towing package,) with something else? Gas mileage is of course a concern on such a long trip, so even a mile or two per a gallon difference is going to be huge over that sort of distance.
I'm not interested in buying new, so is there a year range that you would look at? I would prefer to stay with a 4x4 as I'll be traveling some remote roads as I indulge in my favorite hobby of finding ghost towns.
In short, what is the optimal Ford I should look at for a 30,000 mile road trip pulling a ~30 foot camp trailer?
FTE Leadership Emeritus
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 27,352
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From: Lake Hartwell, GA
I think your biggest problem is going to be finding something that is reliable enough and you getting to know the tricks concerning it in time.
The 7.3 is a great motor and can do the job.
My wife and I just finished a 8K mile trip from GA to Seattle and back towing our 30 ft travel trailer. I could not have been happier with our 7.3.
I think in order to get the same peace of mind that you have with your current truck, you are going to have to make a fairly large investment and acquire a warranty that is honored nation wide. Just my thoughts.
The 7.3 is a great motor and can do the job.
My wife and I just finished a 8K mile trip from GA to Seattle and back towing our 30 ft travel trailer. I could not have been happier with our 7.3.
I think in order to get the same peace of mind that you have with your current truck, you are going to have to make a fairly large investment and acquire a warranty that is honored nation wide. Just my thoughts.
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2015
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From: MN
I'd say if you are happy with the way your current truck performs i would keep it for the trip. A trailer of that size should not be an issue for your truck. I know that I would not want to take an unknown used truck on a 30k trip towing a trailer. On the other hand if you are wanting a different truck anyways you do have some time to find a good one and hopefully get all the bugs worked out before your trip.
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Joined: Aug 2008
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From: Frederick, MD
I think if you want to keep your current truck I would look at the age of transmission. Might consider a preemptive rebuilt.
Also a larger cooler and tranny temp gauge.
Otherwise If it were me I would look at a late model 6.7. around the years of 2013-2014. Good years and used enough that you should be able to get a decent deal.
Also a larger cooler and tranny temp gauge.
Otherwise If it were me I would look at a late model 6.7. around the years of 2013-2014. Good years and used enough that you should be able to get a decent deal.
FTE Leadership Emeritus
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 27,352
Likes: 5,946
From: Lake Hartwell, GA
I was thinking about your idea on the way in to work this morning and it reminded me of our trip that I had mentioned earlier. Yes, there will be newer and stronger trucks going by you 10+ MPH faster. Although, if you just keep it slow and steady and in the power band for your truck you will do just fine. I set the cruise control on our trip at 65 MPH which is right about 1900 RPM for my truck and we did just fine. Even through the Rocky Mountains and a couple of other smaller mountain ranges, we did just fine.
Enjoy the ride and the journey because that is what it is all about.
Enjoy the ride and the journey because that is what it is all about.
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