towed for the first time - going to pick up my ranger with 4000lb 20 ft double axel tilt trailer milage was 12 going 60-65 highway. coming back with an extra 1700 lbs including polaris ranger with windshield 8.5 - shows what wind resistance does! tires 60 front 55 rear.

thoughts so far
1) my 20 inch rims do likely stiffen the ride but the tires are best i have ever had in snow - it snowed last night and everybody at work today was saying how bad the roads were - i thought they were fine - i was out before the plows. i have been nothing but impressed with the traction - my driveway always needed 4x4 with my tundra due to steep icy incline - i can make it without difficulty in 2wd now. stopping much better also with the new tires. i have been driving in snow my whole life and these tires are really good, at least when they are new!
2) why in the world would anyone buy a dz unless they tow really heavy, or really often? for the occasional towing the v10 is almost overkill. the v10 and tq trany are so well calibrated - i realize i was not towing heavy yet but the wind resistance from my ranger is significant - i went up some pretty steep hills and once the v10 hits around 3000rpm it is really shows its torqe. it is such a smooth drivetrain. why deal with all the hastles of a new dz??? i have heat in less than 2 miles from my house - starts in really cold weather without a hickup, it is very quiet at almost all times. it will very likely be very reliable. the only issue i can see is with the poor gas milage. but so far i am really impressed, and that is coming from a toyota v8 dohc with vvi known to be very smooth. the tq tranny is sooo much better than the tranny in my tundra. very intellegent - no gear searching - very good towing in tow hall. the quality just seems better in the new ford.

so far happy with everything other than the gas milage (which is what i expected) and the rougher ride (2500, big rims, prior 1500 for reference).
my partners at work asked me to leave my tailgait down so we would have another parking place!

one last thing - the rear camera really works well for hooking up a trailer - no more in, out, in, out, etc. back right up in 1 try. slick.

ts

 

The v10 and the torq shift are the best combination that FORD has ever produced. And I would agree with you on the quietness of the '08's. It is like a Lincoln with a bed.

 

I recall awhile back you were asking about the V10?
Glad you like your new ride!
I took mine out of storage just to drive into work today and had a grin side to side all the way into work.
My daily is a ford Sporttrac (mini crew)

 

no one drives the v10 around here. dealers dont even mention it.

ts

 

What tires do you have?

Interesting, the comparison between 'yota, and what I took to mean Dodge (2500/1500?)...

Gotta love a real truck

 

That's the way it's been around here for the last couple years. But the trend is changing. The 5.4 is gutless in the Super Duty and because the motor works so hard it might have a 1 mpg advantage over the V10. And the 6.4 @ $6,000 more with $0.40-$0.70 per gal higher fuel costs just hardly makes sense anymore. Not to mention the reliability of Ford diesels has been an industry joke. If I had to have a turbo diesel again it would have to be a Duramax.

With that said, I love my 08' 3-valve v10.

 

20" goodyear rangler 275

no i mean prior 1500 tundra and 2500 ford.

ts

 

TS,


Have you noticed any improvement in the unloaded ride with the new reduced tire pressures?

Do you have the four captain's chair set up, or the bench in the back?

Beef

 

gd wranglers

ride better with lower pressure but still can be a bit rough on the highway.

bench in back

 

Yeah...I remember you really going through the paces with your decision. Glad to see it's working out for you. I don't miss my diesel one bit.

 

Arent the V10s the best Ford gas engines ever made.
~Gage~

 

According to Toyo's load rating charts-

Running those tires at 55 psi brings the load rating down to 2800 lbs per tire and 60 psi brings the other two down to 3000lbs. Just an FYI. Check my C rated tire post for other interesting recent discussion.

Also, FYI, I test drove a V10 with the 18 inch rims and tires yesterday. I noticed absolutely no difference in ride quality between the 18's and the 20's I test drove one week ago.

The V10 was much quieter than the diesel and had better throttle response off the line.

This dealer had no V10's for 3 months. Now they have three just in, and 2 are already sold. The diesels have been sitting on the lot, looking forlornly at the pump prices, wondering if they will ever get a happy home; )

 

i did not add any air because i was going only 20 miles with a double axle trailer and 1700lbs of cargo - i put the ranger over the 2 trailer axles and not much tongue wt is seen by the truck. any long distance or my bobcat toolcat and i will put more air in first.

i think the biggest difference in ride quality betweeen my older 3500 cheby and the new sd is the front suspension - the ford is more stiff and more comes through the steering wheel. the cost of a more durable front end i supose.

ts