I have a bone stock 06 with the 5r11ow trans,what modifications should be done to my truck.I will start with an exhaust swap,egr delete?My truck has 22,000 miles on it.I will be purchasing a fifth wheel that could weight fully loaded maybe in the range of 14,000 lbs. Do you guys run 5w40 synthetic or 15w40 synthetic? Can you change back and forth or should I stick with one weight.Down the road I would like to install head studs for peace of mind. thanx for your imput Ed from Ohio but I really want to be from Colorado

 

Your stock truck will pull that fiver just fine. You might want to look at the available reliability mods. Coolant filter, Edge Insight Monitor and a fuel pressure gauge is a good place to start.

 

What ricatic said x2...!

 

Oil is a touchy subject as everyone has an opinion on what brand, weight, and synthetic vs conventional is best. In my truck I run 5W-40 synthetic. Below is the latest oil weight recommendations from Ford.

 

Your truck can handle that weight(or should). Add a couple more thousand lbs and you'll be at about where I'm at hauling.

Exhaust could help you out. EGTs can get pretty high even in a stock truck, so going to a good 4" exhaust could help you out with keeping things a little cooler there(actually HP performance is basically negligible if you see any at all, so don't do it for that).

The EGR system is probably one of the most "misunderstood" components on these trucks and I always hear/read delete or bypass it. You don't have to do either. You might have to make some driving style changes, but that is still far cheaper then going in and doing something like deleting or bypassing equipment(not to mention a big no-no, rather you agree with it or not as being a no-no bottomline it is).

As to oil, I'm more of a Mobil 1 5w40 Synthetic fan myself. Run it year round.

 

5W40 year round pulling a 31' 5er. No problems at all. My sig. says it all plus a ScanGauge ll for eot/ect and tft temps. I also leave the volts function up for ficm peace of mind.

 

I ran my first 6.0 (which was a duallie) for the initial 100k bone stock and I can't remember how many times I cussed that truck because it wouldn't pull(at least how I wanted it to). I haul new campers for a living, and had many different trailers hooked. Please, if you get anything from this it would be to get a hot flush done on that trans every 30k. I had mine flushed faithfully and it had 380k(on a 06, 6.0) when I finally got a srw. It never gave me so much as a hickup. Until I had the exhaust opened up, egr delete, and the studs and the programmer, I was very unimpressed with that truck. Of course me n a couple buddies would constantly hook up to close to identical trailers and drive across the country. I could not keep up with the friends that had the 3.73's in the mountains. That is until I did the 100k mods. As for not doing the egr delete, just wait until you are out loaded and you notice white smoke out of the exhaust every time you let off the throttle, that is your truck telling you to fix it now, or you could fix it on your terms. It will go out, then it will want to overheat from the loss of coolant. Then your oil cooler is in danger. Depending on your tounge weight, a set of airbags will keep your truck from looking battered(by not squatting). Just thought I'd chime in on this.

 

I guess 16K isn't weighted down enough based on your assessment of things. I also did that when I was bone stock. Can it fail? Sure, but the EGR isn't a thing that needs to be deleted in of itself. That's the biggest difference. It's like without thinking people say EGR has to be taken care of and that just isn't the case just based solely on the fact that it's an EGR.

I hate to break it to you, but the oil cooler could be shot before your EGR cooler lets you know about things.

 

I am not a gambler but I would bet on Tex's advice and comments

 

I've pulled my 36' 5th wheel many times, 15 to 16,000 lbs probally more if truth be known..once to Florida and back to OK no problems at all it pulls with authority. I had a 7.3 pulling 8 to 9,000 lb 5th wheel and it pulled awesome but hard to compare to the 6.0. I look forward to pulling Monarch Pass again should give me an indication of it's abilities..The improvement made in 2005 in towing capacities including the brake controller really made the difference.

 

you guys are the best, I am going to do some modifacations to my truck but most of all I am going to enjoy my retirement and go camping. I would like to fly like the wind and at some point stop and enjoy life. Our Ford Trucks are the best,they just need a little help once in a while Thanx ed

 

Not trying to sound all negative, but my manual states that the max trailer weight for my 2006 F350 SRW is 12500, 5th wheel or conventional.

 

Where are you seeing that, because according to my specs it's 18,000 for 5th wheel?

12,500 is where my little 2 horse gooseneck trailer maxs out(the one pictured with the tractor pulling it). That seems a little pathetic to me if that's the max tow rating.

The only thing that 12,500 could be a limit for is that would put me within 500lbs of the 26,000 weight would would be the max before needing a CDL(that would be "sticker" weight of both, not actual, however, "sticker" is what they go by if you don't have cat scale papers to show otherwise). Now there might be other exemptions that trump that weight limition(ag. products hauled within 150 mile radius from "home" etc), but that's if there is no other consideration, but weight.

 

Running synthetic is a good choice. Not only does it extend your service intervals, it also gets rid of heat better than 15/40. I worked for Esso for 3 years and have been to a few trade shows and all the oil geeks say the same thing.

 

Does the ScanGauge II to that? I looked it up and it does not say anything about EOT.