Hi folks,
Just wanted to get some opinions. I currently drive a 2004 F250 2wd Supercab short bed with the 5.4 V8. All stock. I use it to tow my 29 foot camper which has a dry weight of 5000 lbs. I've always been told not to use overdrive when towing so I don't. I get 7-8 MPG on highway trips towing and it's killing my wallet. My commute to work is all city driving so the MPG's aren't much better during the week. I only have 84k miles on the truck and it runs and drives very well but I wonder if a diesel would better suit my situation and maybe get me a little better mileage and have to work less hard to pull my trailer. I'm not looking for 20+ mpg but more than 10 would be a huge improvement for me.

Thanks

 

there is no reason you shouldnt be using overdrive....especially at highway speeds.......i often tow 10k+ with my 5.4 and i never disengage overdrive and i get 11 mpgs + loaded... only disable it if it is constantly downshifting .....5k is NOTHING for a 5.4....my uncle tows that with his 4 banger ranger

 

RAH4X4,

Several people on here tow with the 5.4 and it seems very capable. Depending
on what year diesel you get, they can be expensive to maintain. I would go down to the diesel forums and start reading the 7.3, the 6.0, the 6.4 and the 6.7 posts and get some first hand info.
If you could find a good 7.3, you would love it and it would tow your camper easily and get the best mileage of the diesel engines listed above.

Good luck,

 

How many miles do you typically tow? It would take a LOT of miles for a diesel truck to pay for itself after you consider the added cost of maintaining, fixing, and fueling a diesel engine. As Hotpocket said above, there's absolutely no reason to lock out overdrive unless you are constantly hunting between gears. My Excursion never did even when towing 16,000 lbs, and you could gain 1-2 MPGs by letting it enter 4th gear.

 

Pulled my 10,000 pound camper 400 miles this weekend with my lean mean 5.4 and used overdrive the hole time...

 

If putting gas in the 5.4 is killing your wallet, what's the purchase of a diesel truck going to do to it? Unless you are putting on a LOT of miles while towing, there's no way you'll ever come out ahead by trading your current truck off on a diesel. We're not talking about a huge travel trailer here, that thing could easily be towed by an F-150. Give overdrive a try and see what happens. If it's not constantly shifting in and out of OD, it should be fine. It may or may not give you better mileage though.

 

there is no doubt about it that you will get better MPGs..

 

Thanks guys! I appreciate the input. I will definitely keep the O/D on from now on. I'm new to towing and didn't want to mess up my truck. I know diesels cost a lot more to maintain and fuel I just wondered if the durability outweighed the cost. My next truck will be a diesel because I want my next camper to be a 32+ foot 5th wheel but that will be down the road a ways.

 

That depends on your perspective. One tank of contaminated fuel in an '08+ Powerstroke can cost you $10,000 that warranty won't help you with. You think your fuel economy puts a dent in your wallet...

I've owned a couple of diesel Super Duty trucks as well as a V10-powered Excursion. I wouldn't mind another new diesel in the future, but I'll be the first to admit that it doesn't make financial sense unless I was towing nearly every day.

 

I towed a trailer just about the same as yours for 5 years with my 5.4L (a 2003). It did everything I asked of it, except pass gas stations. I never got over 11 mpg, but on a good day, I could get 10. Average for me was between 9 and 10. The diesel will get better, and you will probably like it more, but as far as "need"...I would say not.

 

I would not bet on saving much with a diesel. I just got back from Myrtle Beach pulling a 29 ft Travel Trailer with a dry weight of 6092 lbs with my 2011 F-150 EcoBoost My uncle ran with me with his 2011 F-350 srw with a 6.7 and 3.31 rear end pulling a 31 ft TT with a dry weight of 7200 lbs. We set the cruise at 75 and left it there. I got 7 mpg and he got 9 mpg on a 355 mile trip. By the time you figure in how much cheaper gas is there is very little difference.

 

just bought a 2008 F250 crew lariat 5.4 and my trailer is 7000 loaded and did great. I to thought about a diesel but also realized that I only tow a couple times a month for about 4 months and it just wasnt worth it. Sure, I would like a diesel, but.. just don't need it.. I guess the question would be do you want it, not need it?

 

When I was younger a good family friend towed a travel trailer weighing 7,000lbs probably more like 10,000lbs loaded in the mountains here of az with a 99 5.4 F250 4x4. I was with him alot and it was slow but not like a 460. He hated it (probably due to the stock higher gear ratio) and the disbelief in that higher revs is where the engine wishes to be and went to diesel. He could afford it, however in all reality the 5.4 truck did great. One lemon law later and lots of downtime on an 04 6.0 he's happy in an 06 6.0 diesel. But, it's expensive. Ford kept telling him to go V10 all along and he now wishes he listened.

If you are towing often or in mountains I recommend a gear change to 4.10 or more and possible other mods you can find in the modular forum to make life easier. With your mileage you could even go to a v10 3v and be in a similar to better mpg range than you are now (towing it will be similar to a bit better with the gears). But, like others have said, even an f150 5.0 or ecoboost would suit your weight range (if that is fully loaded no greater than 10,000lbs). But, towing mpg is largely trailer dependent. Travel trailers etc. have a large aerodynamic footprint. I would expect a v10 would pull down 10ish mpg and a diesel would do no better than 14 in your situation but it really depends on the conditions.

I own a 6.0 diesel and I wouldn't recommend it in your case. Diesels don't like short trips, even worse is stop and go without being worked out hard and often. I bought a diesel because my commute is 12miles highway and I will be working it out (100+mile towing trips) several times a month. Then and only then does the mileage break even with a gasser. If I have any injector problems, turbo problems, egr/oil problems etc., I will be in the negative compared to a gasser. But, I like diesel and will put the miles on.

As others have said, the newer diesels 6.0L+ put the hurt on the pocket book for the conditions you describe. I wouldn't consider a 6.4 or 6.7 due to the epa stuff and fuel repair if you get bad fuel/murphy's law strikes (the HP fuel pump can cost $10-15k to fix if it goes). Not to mention early 6.7's dropping exhaust valves or turbos and 6.4's fuel in the crankcase issues. Granted its less than the 6.0 number wise, but that was a mis-diagnosis issue and everyone should have gauges. Oh, and 6.4 stock will pull 1-4mpg better than you have now (due to epa stuff)!
Even if you found a 7.3 the age and possible injector replace due to mileage would put you at a disadvantage $ wise. But, if that is what you want go with it, because some people just love diesel.

 

I routinely run around (with no tailgate) with 1/2 a ton to a ton of rocks/dirt and/or roofing materials during the week, overall 70% hwy, 30% city. about 50% percent of that time is LOADED with gear. 2002 F350 5.4L V8 4:10 gears 4x4 manual on the floor - Manual hubs.

I average in this truck around 14-14.5 overall in the situation above, I also would toss in I do a little 4x4 driving in the sand for fishing, less than 5% total mileage. My latest fill up, with about 80% highway and 20% city, with almost all of this Loaded, was 15.45! My best yet with this truck (121k miles). Maybe you are driving it too hard? I baby mine for mileage and SAFETY reasons mostly. I hit the gas once or twice a day when I need to but otherwise I am below 2k rpm loaded and unloaded.

Not understanding why but I am happy with the mileage. I did just get new tires that have about 1500 miles on them now, feeling broken in (Firestone TransForce AT 26/75R16 stock size on stock steel wheels) And I have been doing my own oil changes. at 118K I switched to Mobil 1 synthetic to give it a good cleaning, and after 2.5k miles I switched to pennzoil yellow bottle PYB based on good reviews from BobIsTheOilguy.com forums. 5w20, truck runs really smooth on this oil, the mobil one was a TAD bit noisier, engine runs smooth regardless.

Perhaps check your TIRE PRESSURES? I had the darndest time figuring out what to run my truck at. I use Chevron w/ Techron fuel system cleaner at an interval of a 32 gallon treatment (this is two of the bottles that treat 16 gallons) for my 38 gallon tank, I fill up on top of this with top tier regular gasoline, normally SUNOCO or BP as they are closest and cheaper than other local stations. I avoid off brand gas stations like the plague. I always fill the tank and never run it below 1/4 tank. Perhaps a tank or two of treated gas will open her up?

Fuel Filter? Are you running heavy oil? Are you using the motorcraft filter?

How is the trans temp when you are towing?

What gears does the truck have? The 4:10 gears really feel great to me. I have heard alot of underpowered complaints from others on the internet, but my truck feels really fast and powerful when I need it.

Cool Truck

JC

 

Towing a travel trailer is all about the wind resistance and less about the weight, in terms of fuel mileage. The consensus is that a gas engine will get in the 8 - 10 range and a diesel engine will get in the 11 - 13 range towing the same trailer on the same road at the same speed. That was my experience, to be sure. Weight comes into play on hills or in windy conditions. I was towing with a Dodge 2500 Hemi gasser, large box trailer at around 8K lbs and was foot on the floor in 4th gear a lot of the time, and was getting 7 - 9 mpg. Same trailer same road with my diesel and 11 - 12 mpg. I would save a full tank of fuel every day, that's $125, on a 650 mile day, maybe a bit more since diesel was usually cheaper than gas. The trips I was on were two day trips each way, so a round trip saved me $500. I did 12 trips, saved $6K in fuel cost over one year. Now my big house and shop move is over, so I am left with a great truck that I don't always need, but it's there if I do need it.

I paid $16K for the F250 with 50K miles, saved the $6K in fuel mileage, sold the 2003 Dodge for $3K, so at the end of the day the Ford cost me $7K. Not to mention that I was able to cruise at the speed limit or just under with the diesel in comfort, in fifth gear. That's worth something too. Everyone's situation is different, but a diesel worked out great for me.

Brian