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chrsnl05's avatar
chrsnl05
Explorer
Dec 13, 2013

2011 Ford Super duty 6.2 3.73 tow 10k+?

Hi everyone,

My wife and I bought a toyhauler and are looking to upgrade our truck. We have a 09 f250 crew cab short bed with the 5.4 and 4.10 gears. It pulled our former 27 ft travel trailer well at about 9k fully loaded and even with a 600 lb utility quad in the bed.

The toyhauler (07 Raptor 3110 TT not 5th wheel) we bought is 9200 empty and has a gvwr of 13k. I towed it home from the dealer and the 5.4 did ok at under 60mph but when i turned onto the interstate 65 - 70 what a stuggle but we had a hard headwind (trailer was obviously empty since we were bringing it home from dealer). We bought the trailer assuming we would look for another truck.

I like the 6.2 and we are looking at used but the 4.30 gears seem impossible to find used or even new for that matter. I have test drove a few 6.4 psd but the fuel and maintainence cost concern me especially if it breaks down. I have been reading through post in the 6.2 all week and have found plenty of people that town heavy with 6.2 and 4.30s but not too many with the 3.73. Will the manual shift option make up for the taller gears by not using 6th gear? or will it feel underpowered? I understand that it will likely be in 1 gear lower then the 4.30s on hills but concerned that it will run out of power when pulling heavy since the towing capasity is only a few hundred lbs more then my 5.4 (11700 vs 12000) but the 4.30 are rated for around 15000. We usually camp within 3 hrs of home but have alot of hills in my region (WNY and Northern PA) but would like to go to some of the offroad parks in tn ky and wv 8 to 10 or so hrs away. Im not concerned with empty mpg since i have another vehical that is my dd. towing power is more important to me then 1 or 2 mpg. But if the 3.73 will do the job better fuel economy is never bad.

I have not driven a 6.2. We found 1 we like at a good price but it is 5 hrs away and dont want to waste our time to go look at it if its not up to the task.

Thanks for your help
  • bmanning wrote:
    Sorry, no real world experience with the 6.2L but happy to share my opinion anyhow LOL.

    After changing from 3.73 to 4.30 in my 2008 5.4L F250 and feeling the difference between the two, if I were shopping for a 6.2L, I would absolutely hold out for the 4.30s.

    I've come to the conclusion that deeper gearing is a huge boon to gasoline engines and much less important to diesels, which often make peak torque at about half the RPM of gassers.

    If you weren't towing heavy I'd say the 3.73s would be fine, but for your specific application I'd go 4.30 all the way.

    Unconventional thought? If buying used at a dealership, make a gear swap a condition of the deal *IF* it won't void your warranty, and if you're having it done at a Ford dealer I can't see why it would. It would be, in a sense, no different than asking for a $900 or so discount (on a 2wd, which I assume you're buying since you didn't mention 4x4).

    Nearing the towing cap I'dd also hold out for the 4.30's, It will be easier on the engine, and especially the tranny The tranny will put out power better, running the 4.30's
  • Jack_Diane_Freedom wrote:
    With my 2011 F-250 SRW Crew Cab 3:73 I tow a 35ft TT with an unloaded dry weight of around 8500 lbs. Fully loaded (we have every cupboard and storage area full of stuff, DW takes everything) it would easily reach 10,000lbs. I tows remarkable well and the 6 speed tranny is excellent in tow haul or not and does run in 6th on the flats. Have towed thousands of miles. There is an upshift/downshift button on the shifter but I only use it to down shift as an engine brake. Just ordered the exact same configuration in a 2014.


    I appreciate you sharing your experience. Did you find it pulled better if you locked out 6th and only used 1-5? Is the lockout feature available on all trim levels or only the ones with the fancy lariat screen (that's mostly what they show in the pics online) did running in 5th have any effect on mpg when towing at highway speeds?
  • bmanning wrote:
    Sorry, no real world experience with the 6.2L but happy to share my opinion anyhow LOL.

    After changing from 3.73 to 4.30 in my 2008 5.4L F250 and feeling the difference between the two, if I were shopping for a 6.2L, I would absolutely hold out for the 4.30s.

    I've come to the conclusion that deeper gearing is a huge boon to gasoline engines and much less important to diesels, which often make peak torque at about half the RPM of gassers.

    If you weren't towing heavy I'd say the 3.73s would be fine, but for your specific application I'd go 4.30 all the way.

    Unconventional thought? If buying used at a dealership, make a gear swap a condition of the deal *IF* it won't void your warranty, and if you're having it done at a Ford dealer I can't see why it would. It would be, in a sense, no different than asking for a $900 or so discount (on a 2wd, which I assume you're buying since you didn't mention 4x4).


    I have thought about a gear swap if it doesn't work. I have 4.10s in my 250 with the 5.4 and wouldn't have got anything higher for that engine. My understanding is the 6.2 and 5.4 are worlds apart.
  • mdamerell wrote:
    I'd be taking the 13,000# that trailer grosses and finding a truck that can tow say 14,000# by the numbers (guide). In the 2009 model year you are looking at a diesel. Why guess at having enough truck. The V10 taps out around 12,000#.

    If you can buy newer 2014 Tow Guide if you found the 4.3 rear you'd b ok (15,000#)but they are probably a special order.

    Tow Guides by year


    The 09 is what I currently own so
    I am not necessary looking for a 09. I found a 2011 f350 ccsb srw but its 5 hours from me. Only asking $23k. The down side is it has 90k miles on it. The miles don't concern me much since its not a daily driver so I won't put many on it
  • Sorry, no real world experience with the 6.2L but happy to share my opinion anyhow LOL.

    After changing from 3.73 to 4.30 in my 2008 5.4L F250 and feeling the difference between the two, if I were shopping for a 6.2L, I would absolutely hold out for the 4.30s.

    I've come to the conclusion that deeper gearing is a huge boon to gasoline engines and much less important to diesels, which often make peak torque at about half the RPM of gassers.

    If you weren't towing heavy I'd say the 3.73s would be fine, but for your specific application I'd go 4.30 all the way.

    Unconventional thought? If buying used at a dealership, make a gear swap a condition of the deal *IF* it won't void your warranty, and if you're having it done at a Ford dealer I can't see why it would. It would be, in a sense, no different than asking for a $900 or so discount (on a 2wd, which I assume you're buying since you didn't mention 4x4).
  • I'd be taking the 13,000# that trailer grosses and finding a truck that can tow say 14,000# by the numbers (guide). In the 2009 model year you are looking at a diesel. Why guess at having enough truck. The V10 taps out around 12,000#.

    If you can buy newer 2014 Tow Guide if you found the 4.3 rear you'd b ok (15,000#)but they are probably a special order.

    Tow Guides by year
  • With my 2011 F-250 SRW Crew Cab 3:73 I tow a 35ft TT with an unloaded dry weight of around 8500 lbs. Fully loaded (we have every cupboard and storage area full of stuff, DW takes everything) it would easily reach 10,000lbs. I tows remarkable well and the 6 speed tranny is excellent in tow haul or not and does run in 6th on the flats. Have towed thousands of miles. There is an upshift/downshift button on the shifter but I only use it to down shift as an engine brake. Just ordered the exact same configuration in a 2014.
  • Whats what i was thinking too just hoping to find some real world experience. RPMs dont scare me. The 5.4 has decent torque for its size but needs to rev on hills so im used to that. I said the day I bought my 5.4 that it has a nice torque curve it just needs to be a little bigger. From my research the 6.2 has a similar torque curve but alot more of it and more top end power too. Plus the 6 spd is suposed to be a nice tranny too (for an auto).
  • My guess is that the 6.2L with the 6 SPD tranny will do a great job pulling that trailer even with the 3.73 ratio.

    It has lots of power and torque so when needed, let it rev a little higher to reach its powerband and let it do its job.