Now I remember from our previous 7.3 failure discussion......
I was going to stay out of this and let you and RidgwaySD bicker it out. I didn't remember all the lifter issues so went back and searched which brought up 3 threads that mentioned "lifter failures".
Which in final diagnosis was determined to be lifter issues while others an engine failure assumed to be lifter caused. Earlier engine design with bad run of parts or rvs with the 7.3 and bad run of parts??? Other than Pamcakes925 it seems if you get past 5k miles you might be in good shape or don't have an rv with the 7.3 engine.

Munson1578 in a '21' motorhome @2,600 miles....in fairness it wasn't stated as lifter failure but "Two dealers have attempted to fix it and I was just told the engine has no compression and it's termed a "catastrophic failure" of the engine." Could be almost anything, he got a new long block sent out. Has come back so problem solved I guess and under warranty. grumblin '20' 7.3 had a failure at 428 miles " Apparently dropped a couple of lifters. Ford sent a complete engine assembly in 4 days. No tear-down. Basically had to beat any info out of the diesel tech."Strange a diesel tech working on a gas motor. Plus had other issues with truck assembly/ transmission. Just a bad Monday/Friday assembly line truck.

Pamcakes925 had atleast 76,000 miles before complete failure..."Never heard exactly what the cause, other than #2 cylinder lost compression."

Robindombroski with a '21' motorhome at 1,776 miles "the engine blew up while we were driving on the interstate. Really blew up......loud noise, smoke/oil spewing out, collected what appears to be piston parts from the oil that sprayed out, hole in the oil pan." I guess we'll never know the cause since they haven't been back since 8/25/21.

Dig4it with a 2022 RV with a 2021 ford chassis and Godzilla engine failed as well at 6800miles. Catastrophic failure, hole in side engine. No update, hasn't been back since Oct 21.

Springhook..."I have the dubious distinction of becoming a member of the "Godzilla Catastrophic Failure" club. 2021 E450 in a motorhome chassis with 4000 miles. . Original owner purchased it new in Florida and drove it to Arkansas. I purchased it and drove it to Texas. I noticed it idling rough but didn't think much about it. It drove great. When I got it home, I took it in for safety inspection in order to get it registered. In my county, an OBD scan is required. Inspection station said OBD port is dead. So, off to Ford dealer. Ford service scanner worked fine. Technician said safety inspector probably had out of date scanner as '20 and '21 Fords needed updated programs. OK. At the same time, I mentioned rough idle. Since scanner was already attached, technician ran scan and discovered multiple misfires across all 8 cylinders. That was February 2, 2022. Fuel and spark were ruled out. Today, service manager informed me that compression is all over the place. Factory is recommending new heads. Service manager is shooting for a new engine. Not sure if short or long block. Meantime, my Carfax indicated that the MH (built in Indiana) was brought to a Ford dealer in Indiana. So I called dealer and records show MH was brought in for rough idle but ticket shows "no trouble found". So, there you have it." AND "Got my Godzilla RV back yesterday after 3 full months in Ford shop. Turns out it was sticking lifters/valves #2,6,7,& 8.They replaced both heads and all lifters. Runs great now."

Seeing that the OP is looking at the 6.8 he'll have to think about first year engine run of a "new" motor.

 

^^^^ Pretty sure the 6.8 will build from the lessons learned from the 7.3 to date.

 

By them both. It’s only money and you can’t take it with you.

 

Get a 1992-1998 OBS f-250 or Silverado k2500. You'll save 90 grand that could pay off some land or your home. You could fund your kid's trade school tuition. It's better for the environment. It's more reliable if the previous owner kept good maintenance.

Spending 70-110 thousand dollars on a truck is nuts if you're a middle income earner.

 

Yeah, just get into more debt g*y. Work until you're 85. Gotta pay the mortgage and truck payments every month somehow. Retirement and relaxation with no mortgage and grandkids visiting every month? That's old school. Gotta consume more oversized things that we don't need. Think about the stockholders! for cryn out loud! You can't take money with you but I promise you'll be drivin' that $90000 limo up to the big Man in the sky.

 

I dont much care for chevys but i dislike the look of the 23s front end more. I'd go with niether and get a 21 or 22 2/350

 

The 2007 had lots of issues too and I had a 2008 that was like a tank. That 3.5 V6 has been out awhile too and it seems like the issues have been where they changed it for the truck model (some seals in the Turbo failing?).

I ordered a later 22 model Tundra and was following them. Didn’t take it because I contracted and bought a house that was a good deal. Was just going to be our backup at work.

They are based off the LC300 and they have been pretty flawless. Just need to get past american covid production problems and typical slow to learn QC issues american/south tx style mentality.

Anyways this is a little off topic because the OP is looking Trail Boss or F250 and is worried about reliability. Was just throwing out my 2 cents.

 

GM has had issues with the 5.3L ever since they went to AFM in 2007. My co-worker just had to have lifters replaced in her brand new Tahoe with 11k miles on it. Buddy had a 2015 Silverado 5.3L that would burn oil like crazy. And I'm a chevy guy - first truck was an S-10, then a Sierra 1500, Silverado 1500, another Silverado 1500, and another Silverado 1500. Then a couple of Rams and finally on to the Super Duty. In the 90s and early 2000s, Chevy was #1 by far in quality of the big 3. Post-2007, I think Ram and Ford both build a nice half ton. Once you get to 3/4 ton and up, it's a Ford/Chevy debate.

So I'd skip the Silverado you're considering for sure. I'd also skip the 6.8 new gas motor (I don't buy first year or two of anything - almost always they have issues). Find a used 6.2 gas motor and save a few bucks or go higher trim. The 6.2 is possibly the most reliable powertrain in any HD/SD pickup of any brand.

 

I do have to say on the transmission, both of my 1st year model Super Duties had nagging transmission issues that had them in the shop.

2011 6.2
2020 6.7

A fleet driver probably wouldn’t care about some surging, grinding, and bucking misc and just drive it 100k till work swaps it out. But that kinda stuff is bothersome in a personal vehicle.

 

Did they resolve the issues on your 2020?

 

This is the first thread I've come across that seems to imply the 7.3L Godzilla is not a reliable engine.
Most reported lifter issues seem to be from early build RV chassis trucks.
I've also read comments from RV mechanics that believe the 7.3L is the best gas engine they have seen for RV's....so there is that.
There were issues with the coil wires initially (early 2020)...but a redesign of the coil wires has 100% resolve that issue.

I usually only read praises about the 7.3L reliability to date.
I believe the 7.3L is proving to be a very very reliable engine. Solid, simple, strong. Can't go wrong in my opinion. I believe the 7.3L is the most dependable engine in production today.

 

It's also the engine that Ford has the most transmission issues with...

 

Test drive them both before you purchase. The seating and ride is very different. My current truck is 2019 F250, girlfriend's is 2019 Silverado Z71 Trail Boss 5.3 crew cab 6.5 bed. I have driven her Trail Boss a lot. Trail Boss seating is lower and the front of the truck feels bigger than my F250. The Trail Boss original Rancho shocks had good small bump compliance but terrible floating on large dips and swales and in some turns. At 35,000 I replaced the Trail Boss Ranchos with full Fox 2.0 IFP coilovers and shocks and the handling is awesome now. Trail Boss only comes with 32" tires, so I replaced them with 33" and the look and handling is better now. The Trail Boss goes through brakes fast. My girlfriend's Trail Boss 5.3 has the high flow intake and exhaust, and has more power than her last 2014 5.3. I know two guys with Trail Boss 6.2 engine and they like it and get similar fuel economy to the 5.3. My girlfriend uses her Trail Boss to haul close to max payload a few times a year, and engine power is fine, but the suspension does not do well with that weight. With her Trail Boss hauling less than max payload, the truck does fine. The Silverado 8 speed seems good. Girlfriend's Trail Boss has had a lot of recalls but after 54,000 miles, no problems. Overall I think the Trail Boss is a good and reliable truck. I got the F250 for reasons similar to your thinking and I like everything about my F250 better than the Trail Boss. If a Trail Boss would work for you, I suggest comparing the Trail Boss to the F150 Tremor.

 

Well, since the transmission is adaptive and it learns the owner's driving habits I think we can sum up where most of the transmission issues come from.
I've broken in two 7.3/10spd trucks and both shift great.

 

They both have pro’s & con’s. A big draw back for the Chevy, no painted frame. When the wax peals off or is scratched, bare metal will rust immediately. Ford has quality problems for sure, it’s luck of the draw on assembly quality, and the parts subbing is annoying (my work truck, a 2022 F250, I swear, has seats from a van, new from Ford). My $0.02