Any comments/advise involving the Ford V10?? Before you guys start the :rant: DIESEL ONLY chanting :rant: , please understand that really isn't possible in the immediate future. Due to budget constraints I can only look at trucks with either a big block or a V-10. In this area, a diesel will add $7000-$10,000 to the price of a similar equipped truck with a gas engine. 4 wheel drive usually adds $2000 over the price of a 2 wheel drive truck. How much ~grunt~ does the V10 have?? What is the life span of the V10?? I'm looking at a 2001 Ford V10 with 88,000 on the clock. Is this towards the end of the design life of the engine?? Or does it have another 80,000 to go?? ray: Bear in mind that I only put about 3000 miles a year on my truck. Any thoughts??? :Comp:
Everyone that I know that has one likes them and they all tow with them.If it has been treated well it should last a long time:3gears: .
I had a '99 F-250 Super Cab V-10 until a few months ago and it was great tow vehicle. I also used it as a daily driver and with the 4.30 gears that mine had I only got around 11 mpg, it dropped off about 1 mpg towing my '70 Skylark. I had no problems with the truck at all. The '99's were 275 hp and I think the '01-'05 were 325 hp and the '06 and up are 364hp. A few months ago I traded it with 85,000 miles on it on a 2003 F-250 diesel Crew Cab. I have not pulled the trailer with it yet or been on any trips but the fuel mileage is much better. When I was looking for a newer truck I found several V-10's with over 150,000 miles on them so they must hold up pretty well. Ken
They sound wierd. Also heard they're thirsty, but haven't heard about any durability problems with them. My PSD Ford gets great gas mileage as long as I keep the speed below 65. Tows sweet at about any speed, though.
Frank, when I was looking for a tow vehicle last year I wanted a diesel, too. When I kept seeing them just out of reach, $$$$$$ I decided to go for a gas engine. I thought about the V-10 but decided to go with the 460. There are a lot more 460's out there and no shortage of parts. I think the 460's are just as thirsty as the V-10's and pull just as well. My thoughts are to spend less for a little bit older truck but still have one that you can get parts for and it has been proven that it is a good durable towing engine. I've been pretty happy with my 79 460-4V and I have less than $4000 into it. Yes, it rides comfortable with the A/C and cruise, though I hardly use it.
I had an '03 F250 Quadcab, 4X4 & 8' box, V-10 gas.Towed my 33' travel trailer with no effort, it just purred. Lots of room for wife, three kids, the dog & me. It's still about the only regret I'll ever have in life. I make lots of mistakes, roll with them & make the best of it,but no other regrets. When not towing the trailer it was a work truck. Felt very fortunate to get 7-8 MPG on the highway, empty, using an Imp. gallon!! Let's see.........working on the road back then.......$125-135 in gas TWICE a week. Dealer had a customer who wanted one just like it but could not supply in time. They called 6 months into the lease & asked whether I would be interested in getting out. Hold the phone & the ball point pen as I'll be right there.
I heard the same thing about V10's (gas mileage). I'm a big believer in finding the nicest older model truck you can from down South, pay the price and save mucho $$$. My 97 F250 PSD 4 x 4 was in Alabama all its life and was 1/3 the cost of a new one ($14k 4 years ago). Think a 460 will do just as much as a 5.4 or a V10 in the older models. Older 5.4's were also thirsty dudes.
Are you stuck on a F@rd? GM used the 454 up until 2000 or so, and they're usually dirt cheap, would certainly pull with and get *at least as good as* mileage as a 460...BUT, my advice would be to look for a 6.0L or 8.1L GM. Prices are *very* reasonable on them right now, 'cause most folks are moving to diesels, but the GM gas engines are pretty darn good. The 6.0L (366ci) is an LS engine, which has been used across multiple platforms since '97 ('Vette, Camaro, GTO, trucks, vans...anything with a V8) and is on it's 3rd generation now, but parts (stock & aftermarket) are plentiful and there is a lot of mix/match capability as with the older Chevy small blocks. And if ya have to, they're pretty easy to work on...distributorless ignition, no fluids in the intake (unlike older SBC's), and they fixed the water pump/opti-spark BS from the earlier LT1. Anyway, lots of guys around here have 3/4 ton trucks w/6.0L and they love them...like 325-340hp depending on year, I believe? But I will say, the 8.1L (496ci) is a towing MONSTER. My wife drives a 2500 Suburban with the 8.1L, has put 100k+ miles on it, and we love it...it's rated to tow a 12k pound trailer I believe. I've pulled our loaded 26ft enclosed, travel trailers, pulled our crew cab dually outta the ditch, all kinds of stuff, and it's a brute. I'd bet dollars to doughnuts you'd get better mileage out of a 6.0L/8.1L than a 460 or V10, and they could more than hold their own...
I would ditto what Rob said, I'm very happy with my '04 2500HD with the 6.0 engine and 4L80E trans. It's a crew cab, 6.5' box with 4X4 - it's a do-everything vehicle! Pulls my car in the enclosed trailer like it's not there, mileage is 12 around town and 10-11 with the trailer. M
Rob: Don't you have any good snake stories for the disaster thread? I'm sure you have a few down there. :laugh: :laugh:
Dave, there are no "good" snake stories! I absolutely hate those little rascals...but, pick your flavor of snake, and I'll have a story! I betcha you had your share of cottonmouths over in the swampy Land between the Lakes...
I know when I towed with the Tim Clary 6.0 liter it was a mighty fine pull. 460 or V10 would do very well also.
I sell all three brands used and really believe that the best bang for the buck right now is the Ford V10 in an F250. They're CHEAP!. GM pickup gets the nod if you're driving it every day.Dodge V10???? I don't have enough experience with them to be able to comment on them. Whatever you do .....don't buy a high mile diesel!! BTW...how much weight do you tow?
That place was literally crawling with cottonmouth mocassins and copperheads. A big copperhead got our dog (mixed beagle and Jack Russell terrier) in the neck one day when he was scouring the fields where my brothers were playing right by our house. He got the snake, tore it to smithereens and made it back to the front yqrd and collapsed. Vet came out, said just keep him warm, get any kind of fluids in him and he'll either make it or not. He did and lived to be 17. Hair never grew back on his neck where it got him. There's a lake in Western Tennessee called Reelfoot Lake that is loaded with them. Great bass fishing, but no thanks. You have to go in with a guide in special boats that are enclosed on the top like a kayak because the cottonmouths strike at the boats from the hanging trees. Not sure how you fish out of it. My Dad (avid bass fisherman) went down there and was terrified. Said you could hear them striking the boat. We used to see them swimming along beside the boat in the Tennessee River below Kentucky Dam. The actual Land between the Lakes used to be a peninsula full of bootleggers and really swampy. When they put in the Barkley Dam in the early 60's on the Cumberland, the Feds went in and had shootouts with the locals down there to get them to leave. They then had a huge snake hunt contest with weekly winners shown on the Paducah Sun Democrat. I remember one week in 1964, the winner was a 20# rattlesnake that was well over 6 feet long. It's all underwater there now. But I recently saw a picture of a 12 foot, 100# rattler that was killed just North of Owosso, MI recently. They think it came up from Tennessee swamps in a rail car. That thing was really scary.
Well, this year the truck, next year an enclosed trailer. I figure about 6500-7000 with a new enclosed with the GTS and all the stuff (chairs/coolers/tents/grills/tools) we haul to these events. Rob: I'm not stuck on a Ford. There just happpens to be one for sale that meets my criteria. 4 door, with cap, 2500HD/SD or 3500 series, big block or V10, and a price I can afford without taking a loan. I noticed a lot of 5.4's in the Ford 2500/3500 and a number of the GM's are 6.0. What's 6.0?? About a 375cid? I fear that isn't enough oomph to haul. I like to tow at 75+. As for gas mileage............that V10 everyday mileage is rather disappointing. My 360 Ram runs 12-14mpg empty, 7-8mpg towing. I can get from home to either US131 or Alma - that's about 190 miles- and I'm filling up when I pull off the highway. And that's with an open hauler and my GTS weighing about 5000lbs. Thanks for all the feedback!!:TU:
How about a 2nd Gen Cummins Dodge ?? o No: I'd figure about 8000#'s though. Figure your car weighs 3500# + trailer + gear .... A 24' enclosed is gonna be 3500#'s all day long, and then some ..... PS - I wouldn't shy away from a 6.0 Chevy either.
6.0L is 366 (1L = 61ci)...they really are an excellent engine...I think this year or the last is the last of the 8.1L (496ci), and if I remember correctly the 6.0L carried the same HP rating in the latter years...torque was different story, though. The 6.0L could do it, no problem, and could do it at 75+...there are lots of 'em running around here...seems like most of 'em are getting mid-teens running around town? The LS series engine is one of the few bright spots to come from GM lately, and they deserve some props. Anyway, the 6.0L is based on the 5.7L LS1 that debuted in the '97 Corvette, and was the engine of choice on the Camaro/Corvette platform until '03 when they went to the LS2 (essentially the same as LS1) which went into 'Vettes/GTOs/HRSS's...the trucks got the LS series starting in '99, in 4.8L, 5.3L, or 6.0L, I believe. You could get into a 6.0L 3/4 ton *very* reasonably, drop a grand for a set of heads/cam and push 450+ rwhp & 500+ rwtq! Do a quick check on Ebay and see if they're in your price range...if not, no biggie! A F@rd crew cab of any vintage is *more* than respectable! I almost pulled the trigger on a base option, '02 3/4 crew cab Sierra, 6.0L/auto, 4x4, around 100k on the clock...was gonna be around $7500...but it was located across the country, so I passed. Anyway, I have a good friend who has a Ford V10 in a 3/4 ton, and I'm supposed to see him tomorrow...other than the gas mileage, I've nver heard him say anything bad about it, but I'll ask again! I think you're smart for looking at gas rigs, though...seems like more bang for the buck...
I had a line on a 2002 GMC 3500 dually ext. cab with the 8.1 and a Allison trans and 82,000 miles. But the price was out of my reach. They were asking $17,000 for the truck.:shock: Ok, so I can add the 6.0 GM to list of candidates. That's good. that opens the field a bit. I have a couple of months before I have to make a solid decision. So the looking begins in earnest. It's just the spending of the money that's the hard part. I'm becoming so frugle in my old age that I can fit right in with my fellow Studebaker SDC members!!:bglasses:
don't buy a 2001 6.0, they are dogs... the later engine is a workhorse though, especially with 4.10's, gears are EVERYTHING with these engines. I also have a 2004 F250 Xcab XLT shorty for a shop truck, has mid 40 thousand miles on it now, and never been back to the dealer, EXCELLENT truck, my Gen Mgr drives it everyday, and pulls a 30ft boat on the weekends, 5.4, 3.73's and posi, 2wd, GREAT truck.. I did a Magnaflow exhaust and Airaid intake only.. I have my Dmax in the shop today getting a steering shaft replaced and they gave me an '07 6.2 Denali AWD to play with for a couple hours, I think it is 345hp?? maybe 380?? runs like a raped ape, a friend has the new 6.2 403hp Escalade, and it's AMAZING how it runs.. but my Dmax is STILL faster.. If you can find a 3/4 ton 6.0, 4.10's, 2002 or newer, i'd jump on it, you won't break it. Just get the new steering shaft replacement done first.. AND, never pull more than 1 1/2 times what the tow vehicle weighs.
