'88 F350 DUALLY -- 460ci -- 3.55 gears
 

Hi all! First time poster, short time lurker. I'm picking up the above truck on Monday and, as this will be my first big truck, I'm kind of a n00b.
If I decoded the door sticker right, I should have the 3.55 gearset, which if I understand correctly are the more MPG friendly gears (7.5L with mpg? *giggles*)

Question being, with this powertrain what would my max towing / estimated MPG specs look like? Specifically for regular ball style trailers as that's what I have at home. Also what RPM range should I expect? Already planning to install a big aftermarket transmission cooler in the near future, but recommendations on which work best and where I should mount would be appreciated.

For comparison, one of the heaviest things I've towed so far is a Uhaul rented car hauler with a '98 Impreza WRX on the back, towed with my '94 GMC G2500 5.7TBI hightop conversion van. It didn't have a tach but it didn't sound like it was too high up in the rev range and I was comfortably towing at 70ish around the hills north of Atlanta towards Warner Robbins. I got around 11MPG overall, loaded going to and just the trailer coming back (yay 42 gallon tank) which is only a few off what I usually got on the highway without a load. No idea what gearset I had though..

Secondary question: Does $3k for one of these truck with ~62k miles sound reasonable? It's an old farm truck and definitely has some bumps and bruises..
-both the front power windows are busted (the guy is throwing in a manual crank front driver door and I'm planning to source a manual crank front passenger from a pull-a-part)
-infamous 460 exhaust manifold gasket leak
-brakes are SUPER spongey, like they need to be bled. No braking at all until very end of pedal travel


Thanks for all your help and I look forward to posting more!
_Robert


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Not a bad looking truck. The front bumper is probably $500. If I'm reading it right, your GVWR is only 10K. I don't know the older rigs like I do the 2017+. 10K seems light to me and the original owner may have special ordered it with a GVWR down that low. That's going to affect your cargo capacity. By comparison, my 2017 F-350 has a GVWR of 11,500.

I couldn't find the towing brochure for 1988.

2FT = Ford Motor Company of Canada Ltd. - Ford Truck - Complete Vehicle.

J = Class H - Hydraulic Brakes - 9001-10000 lbs. Gross Vehicle Weight Rating range.

W35 = F350 2WD Crew Cab.

G = 7.5L (460) E.F.I.

7 = Check digit, FoMoCo use only.

J = 1988.

C = Oakville Ontario Canada Truck Assembly Plant.

B38591 = 1988 Numerical Sequence of Assembly, the trucks specific serial number.

1C = Black.

86 = Sold to a Recreational Vehicle Dealer.

168" Wheelbase.

W353 = F350 2WD Crew Cab, 10,000 lbs. Gross Vehicle Wight Rating.

5DD = Scarlet Knit & Vinyl Seat Upholstery.

K = C6 Automatic Transmission.

49 = Sterling 10.25" Rear Axle / 3.55-1 / 7,400 lbs. Rear Axle Capacity.

Do not believe the miles shown on the odometer, as it reads to 99999.9 then returns to ZERO!

Do not believe a single word that private sellers claim, as they lie just like new/used car dealers, lawyers, politicians and TV evangelists.

This truck was all black originally, the red/white stripes were added by the RV dealer. The chrome wheels, front/rear bumpers, 5th wheel were also probably added by the RV dealer.

Vent shades, roof rack, clearance lamps, running boards could have been added by the RV dealer or prior owner.

This looks like far more than just a "farm truck" to me. The original owner purchased it from an RV dealer.

LOL! So it could be 62,000, 162,000, 262,000 or more.

At least here in Colorado the sign over of the title requires the seller to indicate if the odometer is beyond its mechanical limit.

You replaced a Titan with a Leaf? The MPG improved, but to get 5 or 6 people in a Leaf would require them to be Billy Barty sized.

When Howie Long introduced the new 2007 Chevy trucks, he claimed that they were the first to have wide opening rear doors on xtra cabs and a cargo management system in the bed.

Titan had both in 2004. Titan with its 5.6L 32V DOHC V8 ran circles around that Chevy with its anemic 5.3L 'cam in block' V8.

I know, because I've owned 3 Titans.

The Leaf is my daily driver. It is small. The Titan was great, but it wasn't enough truck to tow my toy hauler. My Titan had a fairly extensive list of modifications. The F-350 I have now has almost no modifications and it's going to stay that way. I'm still active on TitanTalk.

I was also on titantalk (user name: BKW) had around 3500 posts, but when I bought a new 2011 F150 Lariat, that was the end of it.

Local group SoCalTitans had a gtg in January at a parking lot in Huntington Beach, not too far from the ocean.

First 3 FTE SoCal Chapter events I attended, was driving this: 2006 Titan SE Crew Cab, Red Brawn. Took a lot of heat from fellow members, being an ex Ford parts guy with a Titan.

The late Steve Bricks was the chapter leader, looked at me and said, it takes all kinds. I said, uh huh and you have an F250 Stupor Duty and a Prius!

The 460 has 7MPG stamped on the block, so that is what I would expect while towing.

My 79 got 6.25 MPG hauling 7500 on the hitch and 900 in the bed. I was going 65 mph. So depending on how fast you like to drive, 7 may be realistic or may be optimistic. Ours has 4.10 gears and runs 3,000 rpm at 65 mph, but that is where the Power is. I don’t drive mine faster than 65.

It will pull the load just fine. Just plan to consume some fuel.

No comment on the price, I have no frame of reference other than I paid $900 for it almost a decade ago. But it’s older and different altogether so it doesn’t compare.

When I pulled the carfax, the last mileage reading was circa 2016 at <3000 miles, that said, it does have the feel of a higher mileage vehicle. Probably around the 162k mark if I had to guess, but one can always hope right? >_>

Is it necessarily bad that it was an RV duty truck? In my mind that means less miles but higher stress useage than just cruising..

Also when looking at the title, under miles it says "exempt" (AL title) That was leading me to believe it was a farm use vehicle, but a buddied '92 MR2 says the same thing (GA title) so no idea

Why would farmer John buy a tricked out F350 Crew Cab from a RV dealer that probably cost him an additional 10 grand over the MSRP just to haul a 5th wheel livestock trailer?

Doesn't make any sense.

All I know is what I saw on the title, the guy I'm buying it from tomorrow is just flipping it.

Maybe the MR2 was used on a farm too. :)

With a C6 you have no overdrive so little hope of "good" fuel economy. The 3.55:1 gears help fuel economy a little. The speed you drive will help more.

Towing I'd guess 7MPG at best, or 6 if you're much over 65MPH.

Empty I'd guess 8, or 7 if you're much over 65MPH. At a steady 55MPH with no headwind you might see 9.

Knock 1MPG off if you're carrying/towing a big box.

I had a 88 crew cab F350 SRW. I cried when I found the tree (250' Sitka Spruce) on it after a storm hit the coast where I live. Right in front of the right rear wheel across the cab and the hood . Bent frame but even after sitting she fired right up and drove, just kinda weird. ANYWAY!

I typically ran about 10 or 11 Mpg with no load at 60 mph and 9 at 60 loaded down. Now she would tow great up to 80 mph but millage dropped to about 6 mpg.

Mine had been used as a horse trailer pulling truck. It also had a US Gear under drive unit which was great for starting out a heavy load.