I did tow, my compact tractor with cement and fence posts the other day. It was about 6,500 lbs all together. My truck towed it just fine. Up the biggest hill I maintained 50mph at about 3200 RPMs. So maybe it would be ok towing my 8,700lbs travel trailer....I can't imagine trying to tow 30,000lbs though! Was that on flat hwy? I would think I would start going backward if I tried towing that much up a hill!

 

just curious why ya did that? for the tranny?

Right....... considering its the most efficient gasser ford ever made.....

 

Fordsd250
My truck(see sig) w/tools weighs 7600#. I'll pull a trailer with skid steer that weighs 9540#.Now if I had to pull this all the time, I would think about a little more power. But a dozen times a year more than happy with this engine and gears. And the fuel mileage was 9.5 Hand figure 3 tanks. And if you want the truck weight with out tools 6340#.Hope this helps.

 

I have the 03 with the 3.73 and pull a 26' travel trailer. It pulled that trailer from Houston to Tennessee great, but I sure would have like to have more power for it. Make it easier pulling. So, I finally found a rear end with 4.30's in it. I just have to get it swapped out now. I can't wait.

 

I just towed 5500 lbs. from SW Indiana to central Wisconsin with my '07 5.4L with 3.73 gears. I had no problems doing well over the posted speed limits. I even buried some idiot in an Explorer, towing a small trailer with a garden tractor, who thought it was his duty to get in front of me and slow down to 15 under the speed limit, then try to stay with me when I would try to pass him. After doing this twice, the third time I just planted my foot and held it. He dropped back at about 90 MPH and I never saw him again!

 

I have a 2004 5.4 F250 and have had honda 650 ATV in the bed and all of our clothes, tools etc, and hooked up to the back was a john deere tractor. The tractor and trailer together weighs about 8,000. The cab was filled with people. This truck pulled this load with no problem.

 

Going from a 3.73 to a 4.10 or a 4.30 is not going to matter at all from a safety standpoint. The towing numbers provided by Ford are performance based.
If you feel you need to be able to drive up a 25% grade at the speed limit WITHOUT ever increasing the amount of fuel you give your engine, then you need bigger gears.
If loosing 2 - 5 mph going up a hill doesn't matter to you on a 3000 mile trip, the truck you have now will be just fine.
As to the gas v diesel.... My 97 Expedition with a 5.4 usually gets at least 14mpg. (usually more)( 6qt oil change @ 6000 miles)
My 97 F250 7.3 diesel gets around 18 mpg on it's better days.
At $2.12/gal for gas thats about $.15 per mile. At $2.89/gal for diesel, thats about $.16 per mile BEFORE maint. like the 14qt. oil change every 5000 miles.
My F250 has been parked since summer when I got the Expedition set up for work.

 

You gotta keep in mind also Redford, the new SD's have more HP and Torque to begin with than the older ones. They're rated to pull either 9,000 or 9,200 (can't remember which), whereas my 03 is only rated at 7,200. I wouldn't dream of pulling my TT over posted speed limits. Heck, I usually keep it at 65 anyway. Much safer, and helps on the gas mileage. Besides, it just pulls better at 65.

 

I'm not sure where safety came into play there Leader, but those are some great numbers. Really makes you look at things in a different light. I don't look at bigger gears neccessarily for the keeping of a constant speed, but more for making it easier on the engine pulling my TT. I can't wait until I get around to swapping out the axles and testing everything. I got a good deal on the 4.30 axle, so even if it doesn't work as expected, it wasn't a super expensive lesson. But we'll just have to wait and see.

 

I would have to disagree. Please do not judge the 5.4L engine based on the past 2V and non PI engine performance. The 3v engines mated with the Torqueshift transmissions are different animals.

 

I traded in the 05 mainly because I wanted a stick, and to gain some mileage with the 5.4 I have not looked back with my discision, and am very happy with the towing with the 5.4 I think the stick and the 4.10's makes it a very good tow vehicle and can hold it's own against the V10.

 

I'm not I had a 5.4 3 valve in 04 in a F150 screw and was very happy with the power in the 150. I also test drove a 5.4 F250 crew cab before I bought my 05 with the V10. I was unhappy with the power in the bigger truck. It had 3.73's. They didn't have any with the 4.10's and I wasn't going to take a chance and order one and be unhappy with it. I went with the V10 and loved it, pulls like a horse. In the end it come down to preference. I just happy that we have the choices we do. It would be boring to only have one engine in the truck and not have any choice to make at all. Variety is the spice of life.

 

Hi. I'm not ripping on anyone, just thought of something funny. It'll probably be deleted by the forum referee.

I want to put in a 4.9L Straight six gasser for great mileage. Mated to a 4 speed stick shift with 3.08 rear end for even better mileage. Does anyone think I can pull tree stumps out with that combo? How about if I use 1st gear. It's really low. (2 wheel Drive)

 

In high school the autoshop teacher had a early 60's 3/4 ton International with a service body on it. He installed a tiny 4 cyinder engine out of an Opel Kadet. Behind it he had 2 transmissions, as I recall a 3 speed and a 4 speed.

In low/low that truck would crawl at well below walking speed and could "pull stumps" yet in high/high it would easily cruise at freeway speed.

 

Depends on the stump I guess.