Looking for new tow vehicle

FordMastertech wrote:

I have a 2000 Ford Excursion Limited 4x4 7.3 diesel with around 103k on it and plan on taking this to my grave, best vehicle I have ever owned but I will say she is a garage queen and only comes out for towing and traveling,

Because it is a garage queen is the only reason it has not turned into a pile of rust !

We are definitely looking into the nissan and chevy vans still. I have come across a few 2500 and 3500 chevy express uplifter vans. They are definitely nicer than regular express but they look like the same tow ratings as the regular express vans. Can anyone confirm that or if they use this type of van?

afidel wrote:
Are you going down the wrong road? Not at all, the Express van and Nissan are very popular tow vehicles for larger families. The Express van in passenger form with the V8 diesel are super rare though zero listed on cars.com anywhere in the US currently), the 6.0 is a little more available. The Nissan is a great choice all around and actually available used with the 5.6.

The last year for the Duramax diesel in the Express/Savannah was 2016. Basically he would need to find a church bus in 3500. The 6.0L engine would be more than enough. Be aware that the max weight is the same, be it short or long WB and the long WB is heavier thus a lower cargo carrying capacity in the van. Long wheelbase is best for towing stability. The Youtube channel Less Junk, More Journey used one for a couple of years pulling a 30 ft Airstream.

Charles

Pretty strong opinion without having seen the van. Anyways, what would you recommend?

No offense intended, but I just looked on A_totrader. I found no reasonably-priced diesel passenger vans nationwide that could seat 4 people in real seats, store four days worth of camping equipment in the back, and easily pull a loaded enclosed car trailer to Pittsburgh.

The 6.0 Flowerjokes were significantly detuned to a very milquetoast unimpressive power level in the van applications. 240/440 or something like that. They also lived longer healthier lives with respect to some of the common 6.0 issues like headgaskets and egr, due to the reduced power. They were/are still just a finicky on maintenance, alot due to the maligned (without pristine maintenance) oil fired injection pump (HPOP) and some issues like FICM and waterpump, which are easy fixes compared to head studs.

I too would expect better service out of the detuned versions of these engines.

SloeJoe wrote:
Every truck owner will have different results. I'm only saying that my 6.0 has been great.

I made the same decision when I bought the van in 2012. I researched it on-line, read the horror stories, talked to local diesel shops, and talked to people who actually owned them. Like I said, the contractor who owned four said that all of his were fine.

In the end, I bought the van and drove it for nine years. The only non-consumable it ever required was a vacuum pump for the brake system. I would not hesitate to drive the van cross-country as it sits.

No sales pitch. Just facts.

Take care, Diesel Dudes.

The Ford 6 OHH was a first gen in smog compliancy, it definitely had issues, some in fact were perfectly fine stock from factory and those owners were the lucky ones. However, those were the minority, the majority however had a lot of issues which stemmed mainly back to what was done to get them emissions compliant.

That is where "bullet proofing" came to be..

But bullet proofing is not a cheap process and requires a lot of parts upgrades..

From HERE

"The idea of bulletproof mods took off in the 6.0 world and it became a common term. However, Bulletproof is really a company that makes tons of great upgrades for the Ford Power Stroke engines. A few popular upgrades to build a bulletproof Ford 6.0 include the oil cooler, EGR cooler, water pump, FICM, and head studs."


Those are the top 5 parts that must be replaced and all insanely priced, your looking at dumping as much as $8K plus labor in parts and there are other parts that should be replaced to make it more reliable. You skip upgrading any one of the top 5 parts and it will fail again..

There were reasons why Ford handed out "silent" extended warranties to some owners of 6.0s and many owners bought extended warranties to 100K and then dumped them just before the warranties ran out.

Sure for $10K or more you can make a 6.0 run good and perhaps last, but in reality anything with a 6.0 in it isn't worth taking this kind of costly risk when you can buy a newer vehicle with the newer Diesel engines that have far better reliability records and not to mention more power and TQ plus improved transmissions.

A 06 van from PA is going to have moderate to severe rust damage, repairing a old technology 6.0 in a 2006 van worth maybe on its best day $2K in pristine condition would be a devastating loss.. For the records, no one buying used vehicles cares about "upgrades" and will not be willing to pay for them with the exception of perhaps a properly bullet proofed 6.0 engine all other upgrades are a loss of your money.

Every truck owner will have different results. I'm only saying that my 6.0 has been great.

I made the same decision when I bought the van in 2012. I researched it on-line, read the horror stories, talked to local diesel shops, and talked to people who actually owned them. Like I said, the contractor who owned four said that all of his were fine.

In the end, I bought the van and drove it for nine years. The only non-consumable it ever required was a vacuum pump for the brake system. I would not hesitate to drive the van cross-country as it sits.

No sales pitch. Just facts.

Take care, Diesel Dudes.

I saw one of those Nissan Vans at a local gas station and it looked like a beast. I asked the owner as he and three kids piled into it and he was pulling like a 7 to 8K TT. I don't remember what he had in it but it was gas and he said it had plenty of power but they were very hard to find.

A very carefully chosen half ton pick up can do it, but research capabilities and don't settle for less. Any 3/4 ton can tow that all day long without a thought. Good luck finding one at a price that doesn't take your breath away new or used.

SloeJoe wrote:

Quoted material removed by moderator for advertising

SloeJoe, your post looks like a pretty cunning "for sale" ad minus the price..

But for the record, you can't pay me enough to take any Ford 6.0 Diesel engine off your hands. Even if the non Ford fixes to make it bullet proof have been done, if it wasn't done properly that engine is a expensive time bomb waiting to eat up a boat load of cash in repairs..

That is not including the PA/rust belt rusting issues which are a real buzz kill.. I had a 06 F250 with gas engine, engine ran fine, when I sold it, but I could not keep up with all the rust repairs, silly things like hose clamps simply rusted off, the entire bed frame members needed replaced ($800 in materials alone not including labor)..

OP has a 2013 and moving back to 2006 is like going back to the stone age in engine and transmissions, there has been major improvements in HP, TQ and longevity since 2006..

falconbrother wrote:

Grit dog wrote:

falconbrother wrote:
I'm towing 5800 dry with a Suburban. The chassis handles the weight fine. The power is not great. A 2500 would be better. You'll pay a premium for one, especially now. The 6.0s with 4x4 bring a premium. The 8.0s are cheaper but, not as popular. I love my Suburban. The 5.3 makes it's horsepower at higher RPMs. Pulling mountains is where you have to pull the gearing down and let the RPMs up. Then it does fine. I would get the longer Expedition with tow package in a second.

I drive or have driven/towed with most every model and configuration of 1500 and HD LS powered truck in the last 20 years, and apples to apples, the 6.0 pulls marginally better in some scenarios and the result is the opposite in other scenarios. A comparable 2500 to whatever year 5.3 Burb you have is not a huge step up in towing power and potentially a bit more of a slug.

I'm surprised and not surprised, all at the same time, to hear this. I assumed the 6.0 would do better. But, I have seen comparisons where the difference doesn't really exist when it comes to towing. The good news is I'm getting old so, I'm never in a hurry. Actually, for our lifestyle, the 5.3, 1500 Suburban does just fine. There are times when people pulling travel trailers blow me off of the road running 70-80 MPH. More power to em. I say a little prayer that they don't have a blow out.

I tow with the 6.0, and it does the job, but does now wow you. I think the biggest draw to it, is that it is basically bullet proof. I've got an 02 with 253k miles that has been rock solid, and still runs great.