I want to purchase an 05 f-250 cc swb 4x4. I dont know if I need diesel power or not, and need some advice on what would suit me better...I currently have my 04 diesel up for sale-f-350 cc lwb 4x4 with a 4" lift. I want to get something stock, and a little smaller..hence the swb! ( I know, its not that much of a difference!)
Anyway, the only time I will be towing anything is during the summer. A 22' boat, around the 6k lb range. Ill be towing during the summer months once, maybe twice a month, no more than 150 miles round trip to lakes. It wouldnt be a daily driver as I have a 07 F-550 for work which I take home. Mostly to run some errends( sp?)inthe evening, and the weekends....
What set up would give me best overall satisfaction? Enough power to get me and my boat to where I need to go, but also good on fuel when empty and just running around??
TIA

 

Well you already know how the diesel will perform. Unless you're driving in the mountains then the 5.4 gasser will pull 6000# without any problems. I have heard that gas will take a pretty good jump when they start doing the summer blends soon. If diesel stays this much higher than gas then I'd go with the 5.4. If the prices get closer then it's your call.

With the way prices are jumping, you might find a good deal on a truck. I'd be watching for both and see what you stumble across.

 

Im curious to hear how the 5.4 compared to the 6.0 is on fuel consumption when empty, just cruising aroung???

 

Sounds like the 5.4 would do you just fine, plus 05's are the year they bumped up the horsepower on them!

 

just pulling once in a while a gas is fine unless you like the added costs of operating a diesel !

 

Mileage varies so much it's difficult to give guidance. But anyway, my city mileage is really pretty bad. If I baby it I get 10 mpg on my commute. My commute is only 2.5 miles, and I drive two round trips a day for 10 miles total. Truck barely gets warmed up and I'm shutting it down. My F150 with the 5.4 got about 13 on the same commute. But, lighter truck, less economical transmission, maybe a wash on that. An F250 with 5.4 would probably get about the same mileage as my old truck. So, how far do you drive around town empty?

Towing is where my diesel shines. Pulling the same route to the eastern Sierras my old truck with 5.4 would get 7 mpg. The diesel pulls the same route, same trailer, same destination, and I get 10 mpg. And it's a pleasurable experience, instead of a standing-on-the-throttle chore. That's a big difference and since I put more miles into towing that commuting, the diesel is a winner even at todays diesel price of $4.09.

So, you said you pull a boat to lakes. What lakes? It sounds to me like you are doing a good amount of towing, and a good percentage of your overall miles are towing. To me, that means, get the diesel. If you have to climb mountains to get to those lakes you won't be happy with the 5.4 motor. In CA the best lakes are on top of mountains, as you know.

My prediction is you would not like the 5.4 for what you do. You would find the 6.8 more enjoyable to drive, but still would not get the economy of the diesel. You've already owned a diesel, and I cannot believe anyone would really want to go back to a gasser.

 

I pull my boat which weighs 8200lbs with an 02 F250 5.4 motor. It pulls it fine but you really feel it going up hills. I have a 3.73 rear axel but I would suggest that you look for one the 4.10 rear.

 

An empty 5.4L isn't going to get great mileage. I get up to 16.5 straight highway driving (but usually around 15) , 12-14 mixed, 10-12 city.

Towing the pictured trailer, about 10 MPG empty (3500#) and 8.5-9.5 with a load (+8000#) on the highway. Throw city in there, you'll get depressed.

I'd keep the Power Stroke and get yourself some other $2000 beater for driving around town. You'd probably be money ahead.

 

I agree with this but if you want a new truck I would get a V10. Running errands is a bit of a PITA with letting it warmup and shutdown or idle. The V10 get about the same mileage as the 5.4 but willl have a lot more power when you go to tow the couple times a year though.

That said, If I'm going to own a truck, it will be a diesel. I just love the power. This is a tough call but my vote is for a little commuter car and keep the truck.

 

well, my whole reason for this is because I want to get an updated truck, hence the '05 with the new suspension and a little different int/ext...I also thought the red color would grow on me after I bought my current truck...but I cant say that it has!! Dont get me wrong, the diesel is great....This time I want to go off of good judgement,and not just 'wow I got a diesel' effect!

 

[QUOTE=. So, how far do you drive around town empty?


So, you said you pull a boat to lakes. What lakes? It sounds to me like you are doing a good amount of towing, and a good percentage of your overall miles are towing. To me, that means, get the diesel. If you have to climb mountains to get to those lakes you won't be happy with the 5.4 motor. In CA the best lakes are on top of mountains, as you know.

My prediction is you would not like the 5.4 for what you do. You would find the 6.8 more enjoyable to drive, but still would not get the economy of the diesel. You've already owned a diesel, and I cannot believe anyone would really want to go back to a gasser.[/QUOTE]

Most of the time I would be empty, except for people....thats why I want a crew cab...

I would be only towing to lakes maybe 8 times a year.....that does not seem like alot of towing to me. If it makes more economical sense in fuel mileage to go from a diesel to gasser, why not?? This is basically what im trying to figure out....All the response is appreciate...thanx

 

If you sold an '04 diesel, private party, you could probably get into an '05 gasser for very little out of pocket. And as you know there are a lot of things to like about the model change of '05.

For me, 8 trips towing would be a big percentage. As I said before, my commute is 10 miles a day, so a tank of fuel lasts me over a month if all I do is commute and short trips around town. But a towing trip is at least a full tank for just a weekend to the mountains. Of course it all comes down to how you use it, and only you can do the math.

I would only add that right now, at the worst we've ever seen it, diesel is only about 13-14% higher than gas. That's using $3.59/$4.09. The 6.0 motor will get more than 14% better mileage in all situations, except for short trips around town. Put in that perspective, diesel doesn't seem so outrageous.

Good luck

 

I hear ya bpounds....my first hurdle right now is selling the 04...3 weeks and not even 1 person, sucks...

anyway, thanx for the help...

 

diesels have not been selling like they used to in the past 6 months. the skyrocketing price of diesel is killing resale ability.

I agree with your thoughts about getting the upgraded truck, but it would still seem more financially feasible to keep the truck and buy a little rice burner or a bike for the short trips to work.

Bill is right as well. If you can sell the 04 6.0 and get a 05+ V10 for next to nothing out of pocket, it would be your best bet. It's another obstacle as most people stay away from the 03-04 6ohs.