I agree with so much of what has been said - especially that's it's important what you need or want your truck to do for you, not necessarily what it might possibly be capable of.

I used to tow heavy all over the country - a couple of heavy tows to Alaska - and I used a diesel pick up.

That being said we are talking about the Ford 6.2 here. My current truck was a leftover 6.2 with 3.73. I have only used it along the East coast, up and down I-95 several times, but the trailer weighed in between 10,000 & 11,000 pounds every trip. The 6.2 - 3.73 did the job just fine. Dropped down to 5th and occasionally 4th but got the job done. Keep in mind no mountains over here, a few inclines and hills, but really no mountains between south Florida and New Jersey.

If the OP is going to tow 11 - 12 K on a regular basis he needs the 4.3 minimum. If towing 12k, or a little more, on a regular basis, like every week, then he might want/need to consider an oil burner. Better to have and not need than need and not have the power !

My 6.2 3.73 handles this at 11K no problem - but no mountains and not every week


20 x 8 x 7ft tall scales = 11,192 k<br/>



6.2 3.73 <br/>

 

OP
Some of this is about quantifiable numbers, and other topics are about qualitative perceptions.

If you're considering an RV at 12,000 pounds, just know that the 3.73 gears will handle that load. It will do it all day long. But ... 4.30 gears will give you about 3,000 more pounds of tow rating capacity, and that will result in a perceived difference in performance and acceleration. And if you buy an RV that's at 12,000 pounds, and then try to stuff it full of gear, water, etc, you'll be near or at the 3.73 gear rated limits. Whereas the 4.30 gears would give you a "buffer" of capacity to spare.

For ANY given load (pulled and incline), the 4.30 gearing is going to seem "peppier", "snappier", "more lively", etc. It will hold a gear "better" (easier) on assent up a hill with a large load. It will downshift less often under those same conditions.

And, feelings are emotions. We don't know how you perceive "fast", "quick", "strong", "lively", etc. YOU have to decide that for yourself. Every person is different.

 

If you have 3.73s you can lighten your weight by packing dehydrated water.

 

The 3.73 vs 4.30 gear debate on this site is worse than the gas vs. diesel debate. Time to have a separate 3.73 section and 4.30 section on this 6.2 forum!

 

Truck City Ford in Buda, Texas had 8 trucks on the lot with 4.30 gears as of a couple of weeks ago!

 

I think one of the things that perpetuates this topic is simply there is so little to post about on the 6.2s. They don't break, they seldom have problems, there isn't much you can change on them, so if it was not for this never ending repetitive thread, what the crap would we expound about?

You get in, you turn the key, you drive down the road, you drive back home. Just no place to go with that. Why doesn't something happen with these trucks? It's driving me crazy.

Steve

 

Excellent point!
When nothing goes wrong, you gotta find something to post about. So gears be it!

 

This thread has been helpful. I have owned a 2012 f150 with the 5.0, a 2014 F150 with a 3.5EB, and now a 2016 F150 with a 2.7. I am going to make the leap to F250 to pull a travel trailer up the mountains and definitely want the 4.30.

 

lcgeek,
I too had a 2012 5.0/3.55 CCSB F150 and I would put the stock performance of that setup on par with a 2017 6.2/4.30 CCSB as far as daily driving (not towing.) It won't be comparably fast as the 2.7 or 3.5 EB though. You'll be happy you've joined the fold

GF

 

thanks GF. Your towing thread has been helpful. My current 2016 F150 2.7EB is a blast to drive but it only has 1500 payload. I've been on the fence about ordering a new F150 HDPP and getting up to 2200ish or going to F250 with 3400ish. Now it's final decision time and whether to pluck one of the few 4.30's off the lot or be patient and order what I want

 

I'll have to start up a thread later today, but after much, much, and more waffling, I'm settling on a lightly used F250 with the 3.73 gears this afternoon. More in my future thread, but the F250's transmission looked to me and to my understanding was better suited for 3.73 gears than the F350 in the same configuration. I concluded, this truck cost so dang much, that I probably wont be buying a huge trailer anytime soon so this truck will cover my needs for the foreseeable future. The test drive was very nice and while the lure of a special order was strong, the lure of a lightly used truck with discounts was stronger.

So to summarize my ramble. Everything has a value. Its up to the purchaser to put a value on each component. Time will tell if my valuation was correct.

 

What ratio is between the two? Seems like I remember from my hot rod daze the intervals are about 0.31....

 

I assume when you say lightly used, your getting a '17? Otherwise your assumption of the transmission is wrong. 11-16 used the same 6r140 in both the 250 and 350. Just wanted to make sure you understood that before you bought a >16 thinking your getting a 6r100.

 

Factory, only 3.73 and 4.30.

Aftermarket you can get
3.31
3.55
3.73
4.11
4.30
4.56
4.88

This is for our rear end, there are more options for the front end, but those are useless for us.

 

Some other things we can argue about:
crew cab vs super cab
bench seat vs buckets
long bed vs short bed
2wd vs 4wd
One color vs two tone
XL vs king ranch
clearance lights vs not
full replacement bumpers vs stock
chrome bumpers vs black
11-16 vs 17+
Raptor vs Super duty
F250 vs F350
SRW vs dually
standard vs auto transmission....oh wait....