Bought a 5th wheel.. now I need a truck
My wife and I have been thinking about upgrading to a 5th wheel and stopped by the local Campers Inn to see what they had for used units.. They had just taken in a 2007 Jayco Eagle 325BHS in trade....
Forum Discussion
I realize I am late to the party but thought I'd still chime in since about two years ago I was in your shoes.
We bought a 2006 Eagle 325BHS and I had to find a truck to pull it with. Same deal - only wanted to spend about $8000 due to financing the Eagle, etc. I picked up a 2000 F250 V10 CC 4x4 - full maintenance history since new. Ran great... but we live where there are hills and mountains and although flat freeway pulling was fine, once we hit any hills it slowed way down unless I really put my foot in it (and even then there were grades it couldn't handle). What I realized was that even though the torque rating was within 75ftlbs of the PSD it made it at around 3200 rpm which for a truck is screaming (IMO) - "Is it supposed to sound like that" my wife would ask me as we crested a hill. Further, the pre 2003 Fords have the 4R100 which has a huge gap between 1st and 2nd.
Anyway, long story short - I could only handle the V10 for one season and ended up selling it and buying a 2002 Duramax CC 4x4 (for about $7000 more - hello financing!) and couldn't be happier. The Allison trans is night and day better than the 4R100. I get 12 mpg towing instead of 6 mpg with the V10 (10-12 mpg not towing). Plus I have yet to feel like it is under powered for a hill.
But I really do hope the V10 you got works for you in the long run - spending $8000 more than planned is not easy or fun.
BTW - we LOVE the 325BHS (came from a 2003 18DT Hybrid)
We bought a 2006 Eagle 325BHS and I had to find a truck to pull it with. Same deal - only wanted to spend about $8000 due to financing the Eagle, etc. I picked up a 2000 F250 V10 CC 4x4 - full maintenance history since new. Ran great... but we live where there are hills and mountains and although flat freeway pulling was fine, once we hit any hills it slowed way down unless I really put my foot in it (and even then there were grades it couldn't handle). What I realized was that even though the torque rating was within 75ftlbs of the PSD it made it at around 3200 rpm which for a truck is screaming (IMO) - "Is it supposed to sound like that" my wife would ask me as we crested a hill. Further, the pre 2003 Fords have the 4R100 which has a huge gap between 1st and 2nd.
Anyway, long story short - I could only handle the V10 for one season and ended up selling it and buying a 2002 Duramax CC 4x4 (for about $7000 more - hello financing!) and couldn't be happier. The Allison trans is night and day better than the 4R100. I get 12 mpg towing instead of 6 mpg with the V10 (10-12 mpg not towing). Plus I have yet to feel like it is under powered for a hill.
But I really do hope the V10 you got works for you in the long run - spending $8000 more than planned is not easy or fun.
BTW - we LOVE the 325BHS (came from a 2003 18DT Hybrid)
