for the most part i tow a jeep with my 01 F-250 4x4, sc lb. needless to say it will hit the speed limiter without breathing hard. and get an easy 10mpg doing it. now the most i ever pulled, mainly just to see if it would do it, was a full size back hoe, on a float, that grossed around 45,000 lbs not counting the truck. i just went across town and it did pull fine, it even stopped ok, mostly becouse the trailer had good breaks, but it was SCARY! no 16" srw truck shoud ever tow something that heavy, and i'll never do it again the cool part was the way the truck would torque twist pulling out from a light.

 

I have a 99 F-350 XLT Crew Cab short box, V-10, 4x2, 4.30 rear, auto, Gear Vendors, Hypertech Power Programer, K&N air filter, Amsoil by-pass filter running Amsoil in engine, tranny and rear end. I pull 31 ft 5th wheel with a 12 1/2 ft height. My GCVWR for this truck is 20,000 lbs and am currently running around 17,000 lb total when completly loaded and have 78,000 miles on the truck.
I have read in a number of posts on this question about people reporting 4.10 gears in the rear and do not believe this has been an option with the V-10. It has been either 3.73 or 4.30. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.
My engine was rated at 275 HP and 4.10 torque in 99.
I have been pleased with the performance and curious how it would be with the current V-10 at 362 HP & 457 torque.
I would not part with the Gear Vendors and will put one on my next truck also.
My towing is usually at about 60 mph and my mileage will usually range from 9 to 9.5 mpg at that speed. I am usually towing in fairly flat country between Ontario in Canada and Texas. When I move up to 70, my mpg usually slips down to 8.2 to 8.6. I have pulled some grades in Canada around Lake Superior that are around 7 % and that usually takes me down to 2nd over in Gear Vendors or 2nd to maintain 40 to 45 mph. I try to stay around my best torque at 2750 rpm on hills, but sometimes go up to 3,000 or higher if I have cars behind me that I am holding up.
Usually I tow in 3rd over in gear vendors, but that usually requires shifting down to 3rd direct as I get into rolling grades. While going downhill , or with a tail wind on level stretches, I go up to over/over-drive.
I certainly am not able to maintain my speeds of 60 on what I would estimate as 2-3% grades as some have reported. The frontal area of a 5th wheel is certainly a major factor in reducing ones towing ability.
This past summer we were heading west in MN on I-90 into 35 mph head winds. It slowed us right down to 50-55 in 3rd direct, but the road was so rough, It wasn't worth it to try to push any harder into that wind.
I have a new 5th wheel on order that will most likely push me to around 21,000 GCVWR and over when loaded, but I hedged with my wife that if that is what she wanted, we might have to look at a new truck and I will see how it handles the hills. We ordered it with hydraulic disc brakes to give us a better safety margin for a quicker stop. I always keep a lot of distance between myself and the vehicle ahead and hold things around 60, 90 % of the time when towing.
It's scary seeing these guys fly by with a pickup towing a heavy load at 70 +. I hope they don't someday wind up in a pile, killing somebody.
It sure would be nice to try towing the same wgt with all the different engines etc before deciding what to buy. I have been very curious about the difference in towing between my present setup, the newer V-10, the 6.0 and the new 6.4.

 

you wont be dissapointed if you go with the new 3v v10....keep in mind the full power isnt there until around 7k miles and 150 hrs, the computer holds something back

i would definitly get 4.30's as well

 

A regear and Gear Vender overdrive with driveline mods. Sounds sweet but out of my budget!

 

In 05 the F350 V10 only had two gear choices. 4.10 and 4.30s. My 06 Montana Fiver is 13 feet high and my combined weight 20800 lb on a government weigh scale.

I do 50 MPH up 6 % grades with no sweat and I could even do 55 if I wanted to let her rev all the way up to 5200. The TorqueShift 3 valve V10 is a towing fool and I am very impressed with my truck's capability.

 

Wrench traveler

I guess we are both wrong. I did a Google Search on the 2005 specs and it listed 3.73, 4.10.4.30. Thanks for helping me learn something new.
LIKENIT


F250/350 Powertrain/Chassis
POWERTRAIN 5.4L Triton V-8
6.8L Triton V-10
6.0L Power Stroke Diesel V-8
Engine Type V-8, iron block, aluminum heads
V-10, iron block, aluminum heads
V-8, iron block and heads
Bore/Stroke 3.55 x 4.16 in
3.55 x 4.16 in
3.74 x 4.13 in
Displacement 330 cu in, 5400 cc
415 cu in, 6802 cc
363 cu in, 5954 cc
Compression Ratio 9.8:1
9.2:1
18.0:1
Fuel Injection Sequential multi-port electronic
Sequential multi-port electronic
Electro-hydraulic with generation 2 fuel injection
Valvetrain SOHC, 3 valves per cylinder, variable cam timing
SOHC, 3valves per cylinder
OHV, 4 valves per cylinder
Horsepower 300 hp @ 4750 rpm
362 hp @ 4750 rpm
325 hp @ 3300 rpm
Torque 365 lb-ft @ 3750 rpm
457 lb-ft @ 3250 rpm
570 lb-ft @ 2000 rpm
Oil Capacity 7 qt 7 qt 15.0 qt
Coolant Capacity 26.4 qt
27.5 qt
28.5 qt
Transmission Type 6-speed manual overdrive (all)
5-speed TorqShift automatic overdrive
5-speed automatic overdrive (diesel only)
Gear Ratios
I 5.79:1
3.00:1
3.09:1
II 3.30:1
2.22:1
2.20:1
III 2.10:1
1.55:1
1.54:1
IV 1.30:1 1.00:1 1.00:1
V 1.00:1
0.71:1 0.71:1
VI 0.72:1
- -
Available axle ratios 3.73:1, 4.10:1, 4.30:1

 

I did at first. My springs are weakened and when I put the kit in, the timbrens sat down on the bumper stop at least an inch. They are supposed to ride above the stops about an inch. Then I took out the one inch spacer that is supplied with the kit. This helped and the timbrens are now just touching the stops. Still rides a lil rough, but I tow a trailer about 75% of the time and when the trailer is hooked up, it rides good. The timbren kit for the f350's are a 4300 to 9000 capacity rubber. They aslos make a 2800 to 5000 capacity rubber that I think would do well for lighter used F250's. But you might have to get them special ordered direct from timbren as I dont' know which kit they are included in. The timbrens really help in side to side sway or roll and they give confidence if/when the truck is fully loaded to capacity that I won't be breaking more springs.

Tony

 

LIKENIT, there were definitly no 3.73s avalible on the V10s in 05' and newere trucks, only 4.10s and 4.30s. The 3.73s you are seeing are the only option for the diesel though, that is unless you bought a dually in which I think you could get 4.10s with the diesel. From 99-04, 3.73s seem to be the most commen rear gear ratio for the V10s and I'm not sure if 4.30s were offered in anything but duallys. can't remember if 4.10s were offered or not during those years??? Someone esle will have to help clarify that part!

 

Thanks TonyG.

 

2005 v-10 f-250 4x4 supercab 410s tq. Wet weight 8000lbs with travel trailer.

 

I should also say thay besides being very quiet even going up steep passes the tow command brake system is something you have to experience to believe. It is simply a system anyone towing should have. I'd never tow without it now. It doesn't matter when you have to brake whether your going down a steep mtn or what, braking is a non effort! No more effort with or without a trailer.

 

its amazing it took so long for a truck manufacterer to decide to put a nice brake controller in a hd truck

i love how smooth it is when your trying to barely roll in traffic or something, no more of that on/off switch braking

 

Anything has to be better than the Drawtite Activator I have is. I want the thing to break so I have a reason to switch it out.

 

hit it with a 3 lb sledge.....or better yet take it out of the truck, find a 225 stick welder and hook the ground to the positive wire and the electrode to another wire...it shoudl do neat things when you flip the welder on and its sset to 225 amps

 

Haha... that would do it for sure. I tow atleast once a week and it is time for it to go. I just need to get some cash for another one! There are just some higher priorities right now.