I apologize if this has been beaten to death already. Assuming both were 3/4 ton trucks with 4*4 and 3.73 gears. Which one would pull a trailer with a bobcat better? Which would have more power unloaded and not pulling anything? I realize what the horsepower and torque numbers say but was hoping for real world experience.

 

There's a difference between how a truck feels empty compared to with a loaded trailer hooked up. Sometimes this belies the on paper specs. For example, I was suprized at how well my one brothers F150, with only the 2 valve 5.4, pulled a large trailer through mountains. Really it felt stronger than a GM Vortec 6000 2500 HD doing the same did, and it used less fuel. I was pleasantly surprized. I don't know how the hemi feels pulling a loaded trailer, but the 5.4 is surprizing considering it's comparitive on paper specs. The hemi has more power on paper, but it looks like it's up there on the rpm scale too. The 345 hemi and the bigger vortec are ofton compared as similar.

 

The fleet I work for has a lot of 2 valve 5.4L's, and they are pretty gutless, nowhere near as powerful as a 6.0L Chevy or Dodge Hemi. We don't use 5.4L's for towing anything. The 3 valve 5.4's are a lot better. A Bobcat with attachments can get pretty heavy, and if I was going to tow one on a regular basis with a pickup, I think you would be a lot better off with a 6.8L V-10, 8.1L Big Block, or a diesel.

 

Thanks for the posts guys, I already have a 5.4 as well as a couple of 6.0 diesels. We do most of the towing with the diesels and only tow occasionally with the 5.4. I figure the v10 or the diesel was comparing apples to oranges. I was just sorta wondering how the 5.4 would stack up against the dodge hemi. Didnt know if the hemi was all hype.

 

The Hemi makes good power, but it's heavy on fuel and needs to turn pretty fast. They seem to hold up pretty good so far.

 

Having owned a Hemi ('03 1500 4x4) and now a '06 F-150 and towed comparable 4000 lb. loads with both, I can offer this- all things being equal the Hemi will spank the 5.4L when the trucks are empty. For that matter- a 5.3L Vortec will spank the 5.4L when empty as well. (Owned a '04 Silverado 4x4.)
However, when towing, the F-150 seems more powerful. The Hemi has to constantly run at a higher RPM to move the load, whereas the 5.4L seems to make much better torque down low so it seems to move the load easier.
The 5.4L also gets much better mileage than the Hemi (15+ mpg avg. Ford, 9 mpg avg. Dodge) and the build quality of the Dodge truck was so low that couldn't drive past a dealership without veering in to have something fixed. No bash intended on any Dodge-lovers out there; I've owned dozens of Dodges over the years and the Hemi, along with an '03 Dakota and an '03 Tacoma, were the worst vehicles I've ever owned.
So, IMO if you're looking for a go-fast truck for light-to-light excursions there are faster trucks you can buy than the Ford. But if you want a better-built vehicle that handles towed loads with more authority then go with the Ford (or the GM.)

Just my .02

 

Catdave, Thats exactly what I needed someone who has owned both. Honestly I bought my F250 because I needed it for work, plowing etc.. and it was the only thing I could get with manual locking hubs. My company has had fords dodges and gm's but all in all the only thing that seems to hold up is the fords. I have just been a little dissapointed with the power of the 5.4. I didnt want the v10( I was afraid of the mpg) and couldnt justify the diesel on my personal truck at 8000 miles per year.

 

You can always try using a tuner on it, as well as a cold air intake and maybe a cat-back exhaust to bump up the performance. Even though the F-150 is a bit slower than the others in light-to-light jaunts, I notice it only rarely as I spend very little time at WOT...

After 30 years of driving and owning 34 different cars & trucks, my primary requirement in a motor vehicle is reliability as opposed to having the most hp.

 

The Ford 5.4 does seem to handle towed loads much better than expected. That was my experiance.

My brother's wife had the use of her family's company 05 Vortec 6000 powered 2500. I drove it. It would spank my brother's 5.4 Ford empty or with a light load in the bed, but hook em up to a trailer and the Vortec was rather dissapointing, considering it's displacement. It didn't seem to have any more grunt at all with a loaded trailer. We all didn't think that much of the gas Chevy 2500, with it's relatively cheap interior, uncomfortable seats, and 11mpg empty average. Plus it's exaust note sounds like a tractor.

Just my experiance.

I drove a another guy's F250 powered by the 2V 5.4 for a 700 mile round trip a few years ago. I didn't think it was that bad at all. However, it was a rare model with a manual tranny. That really helps both peppy feel, and MPG. I got 20mpg empty in straight highway driving. This leaves me to believe that most of the complaints about 5.4 power, may be the typical auto tranny, rather than the engines. I wish they made sticks available in greater numbers for the gas powered trucks.

The three valve is a major upgrade though.