In shopping at trucks and FW's simultaneously I was deadest on a diesel F250 or 350 (depending on the deal and need). Then I come across a new F250 Xl with the 6.2 V8 and 3.73 ratio. I know very little about the mechanics of trucks and rely on weights etc. I do know that the 3.73 is less favorable than a 4.1 ratio for towing - but how much?The appeal to this truck - link below - is that the price of this new gas is the same price as a 3-5 year old diesel with close to 100k miles. Granted I am sure there is justification for that, but the long walk around the barn to my question is, is this a decent truck to buy for towing an entry level FW (understanding it depend on the FW)? The ad doesn't get into pin weights etc. Or should I just keep shopping for a used 250/350 diesel?link

The 6.2 is a good dependable engine. I have one and pull a 5th wheel with about a 10,000 gvwr but I haven't ever weighed it to see how much it weighs loaded. I have had it in some fairly steep hills in the eastern US but not over the Rockies. I'm sure it would do the job through the Rockies but I'm sure the altitude would pull it down. It will drop down to 3rd gear through the steepest parts and it runs some fairly high rpms but nothing that will hurt it. The only negative I have with it is the fuel mileage unloaded. If you're going to drive it very much unloaded be prepared to spend a lot on fuel. It does not get great mileage loaded but I figure that's to be expected with just about anything.It would really depend on how much you want to tow as to how good it will do. If it were me and I were buying new I'd probably buy a 7.3 F-350 if I wasn't pulling a huge trailer. That's just me and everybody has a somewhat different opinion.Can you get a 10 speed behind a 6.2. If you could that would help.

If you want to tow a 5th wheel skip the F250 and just get an F350 with 4.1 and a 6.2 or 7.3 if you are afraid of diesel. You will top out at about 16k tow capacity. An F350 diesel will tow out at about 30k towing, meaning that towing 16k will be easy.

Seems like a great deal on that F250.

" I know very little about the mechanics of trucks and rely on weights etc. I do know that the 3.73 is less favorable than a 4.1 ratio for towing - but how much?"Just about exactly like the towing numbers show. Chassis - wise, F250s and F350s are very similar, almost the same and save for rear springs, have relatively the same capability across the board.Drivetrains are a different story. The 2 - 6.2 3.73, 6 speed F250s I had got 7-8 mpg towing about anything over about 5000lbs and they were all low profile loads (flatbeds with materials or equipment on them). Empty driving mileage around 13mpg. Bulletproof setups but lacking in power. 2nd and 3rd gear pulls up mountain grades with anything substantial hooked to the back.Most I pulled was 12-14klbs, flatbed with street plates and it would run at normal speeds no probelm, but there was zero wind resistance. Just towing a 5000lb cargo trailer was a similar feat as the heavy trailer sat highway speeds.If you are only towing the 5ver occasionally, then it is ok, IMO. If you're going tp be using it regularly for towing, it'll drink gas like Charlie Sheen and be sucking wind on every grade.There's a reason the price is attractive. It's because the performance is not. It literally has less than half the torque of the diesel.

As you're new to this, do you have any friends or family with large trailers and similar trucks? It would be good to get a feel for how a base model gasser pulls compared to a modern newer diesel.Not something you can discern just with test drives, because the 6.2 will feel very powerful and fast with nothing hooked to it.Or to put it this way, if I was hauling even a small 5ver alot and someone offered to trade me my 13 year old 175k mile diesel pickup that is running about 500hp/1000ft lbs for a 3 year old equivalent 6.2 gasser truck with low miles, it would be a hard pass!

2020 F250XL 6.2 V8 | Good Sam Community

52 Replies

way2roll
Navigator II
Jul 08, 2020
Thanks for the responses. I am going back to my other thread to distill some thoughts on a few more f350's I found and plan to look at this weekend.
ShinerBock
Explorer
Jul 08, 2020
way2roll wrote:
ordually wrote:
RoyJ wrote:
Remember everything is relative - the HDT guys with ISXs and DD15s lugging up grades @ 1250rpm would say the little 1 ton diesels "screaming their heads off" at 2600 rpm is not relaxed enough...

Yep! And the drivers of the big ships would think anything over 102 RPM is screaming. It's all relative.

The OP now looking at a 100kmi+ Ford 6.7, I suggest looking for an extended warranty with the sale (Ford certified or other) on those engines, and price in what an injector replacement runs.

Can you add more detail? Are they prone to needing replacement at a certain mileage? What's the relative cost? Do I need an extended warranty? Been doing a lot of research and can't seem to find a lot of common issues. I have had my F150 5.4 for 14 years and 250k miles. It's had it's share of issues, especially with the plugs and coil packs, but I can sort that out on my own. I don't know much about diesels. Is the 6.7l problematic? I've asked a few fiends who were former ford dealers and they didn't mention anything about it. I don't want to infer but your advice is sort of vague. And I am not looking at 100k + trucks, I am looking under 100k. A few I am looking at this weekend are about 60-70k miles. Not a lot on a 2015 and 2016. From what I can tell, most of the turbo issues were fixed with an upgraded turbo from 2015 on. All things considered they seem to be very reliable engine for hundreds of thousands of miles.

The 2015 and up PSD's do not seem to have nearly as many issues as the 2011-2014's had. We still have a few fuel pump failure here and there on the 2015+ at our nine Ford dealerships nationwide and in our mostly Ford fleet, but it is not nearly as bad as the 2011-2014. The new turbo on the 2015's seem to last longer than the 2011-2014's as well, although they do not spool as quickly off the line but have more top end power. A 2015+ PSD at 100k is a solid buy and you should be able to put another 200k with good fuel and regular maintenance without issue.
Lantley
Nomad
Jul 08, 2020
Don't let the naysayers scare you. The 6.7 PSD has been as problem free as it gets.
No it not perfect, but I don't think there is anything catastrophic to fear.
THere were issues with water in the fuel causing the fuel system to detonate. Ford did a poor job of warrantying those trucks, but I have not read of any fuel issues recently. There were also some early radiator issues that Ford did repair under warranty.
For the most part the 2015 and newer 6.7 PSD trucks have a good reputation.
way2roll
Navigator II
Jul 08, 2020
ordually wrote:
RoyJ wrote:
Remember everything is relative - the HDT guys with ISXs and DD15s lugging up grades @ 1250rpm would say the little 1 ton diesels "screaming their heads off" at 2600 rpm is not relaxed enough...

Yep! And the drivers of the big ships would think anything over 102 RPM is screaming. It's all relative.

The OP now looking at a 100kmi+ Ford 6.7, I suggest looking for an extended warranty with the sale (Ford certified or other) on those engines, and price in what an injector replacement runs.

Can you add more detail? Are they prone to needing replacement at a certain mileage? What's the relative cost? Do I need an extended warranty? Been doing a lot of research and can't seem to find a lot of common issues. I have had my F150 5.4 for 14 years and 250k miles. It's had it's share of issues, especially with the plugs and coil packs, but I can sort that out on my own. I don't know much about diesels. Is the 6.7l problematic? I've asked a few fiends who were former ford dealers and they didn't mention anything about it. I don't want to infer but your advice is sort of vague. And I am not looking at 100k + trucks, I am looking under 100k. A few I am looking at this weekend are about 60-70k miles. Not a lot on a 2015 and 2016. From what I can tell, most of the turbo issues were fixed with an upgraded turbo from 2015 on. All things considered they seem to be very reliable engine for hundreds of thousands of miles.
ordually
Explorer
Jul 08, 2020
RoyJ wrote:
Remember everything is relative - the HDT guys with ISXs and DD15s lugging up grades @ 1250rpm would say the little 1 ton diesels "screaming their heads off" at 2600 rpm is not relaxed enough...

Yep! And the drivers of the big ships would think anything over 102 RPM is screaming. It's all relative.

The OP now looking at a 100kmi+ Ford 6.7, I suggest looking for an extended warranty with the sale (Ford certified or other) on those engines, and price in what an injector replacement runs.
way2roll
Navigator II
Jul 06, 2020
Op here - so this particular truck is sold so it's kind of a moot point. Plus the mileage unloaded is awful. I am focusing my searches on a 2015 or newer F350 6.7 with under 100k Miles. They seem to hover in the $36-40k range. From what I am seeing, the F250 those years and miles are almost the exact same price, so it makes sense to just go with the F350. These trucks in good shape seem pretty hard to find though in a 300 mile radius.
ShinerBock
Explorer
Jul 06, 2020
danrclem wrote:
ShinerBock wrote:
steve-n-vicki wrote:
I have a 2020 F350 ,crew cab ,long wheelbase, 4 x 4 with 373’s, 7.3 engine, 10 speed
I have about 6100 miles on the truck , I have a towed a flatbed trailer with a 1800 pound zero turn mower on it or a John Deere 1025R tractor with loader and backhoe,I was getting 12.8 MPG,I recently towed a 2003 F250 with a 73 diesel, 4 x 4 crew cab and got the same 12.8, All of it has been flatland Towing,I like the 7.3 and 10 speed
For what I’m using it for, I am told the 6.2 performances similar but at a greater gas burn penalty

From the little driving I have done in the new 7.3L, I would say that it has more low end than the 6.2L. It is not a huge amount, but it was noticeable when unloaded and probably even more noticeable when loaded. It is common for a pushrod engine to have more low end torque than a overhead cam due to how they are designed.

Do you have any seat time pulling with the 7.3 in hilly areas at highway speed. I would think that the 7.3 and the 10 speed would outshine the 6.2 in those conditions since the torque is at a much lower rpm.

No, I only drove both unloaded which is why I said it probably even more noticeable when loaded. The final gear ratios of the 10 speed and 6 speed are very close(.63 on the 10 speed and .69 on the 6 speed) and at highway speed the 7.3L felt like it had more low end to slightly accelerate without needing to downshift. It is not diesel like in any way where you can accelerate rather rapidly with a toe-in of the pedal at highway speeds, but it was noticeable. The 6.2L felt like it needed to downshift for any kind of acceleration in 6th gear even though it has the gear advantage over the 10 speed.
danrclem
Explorer
Jul 05, 2020
ShinerBock wrote:
steve-n-vicki wrote:
I have a 2020 F350 ,crew cab ,long wheelbase, 4 x 4 with 373’s, 7.3 engine, 10 speed
I have about 6100 miles on the truck , I have a towed a flatbed trailer with a 1800 pound zero turn mower on it or a John Deere 1025R tractor with loader and backhoe,I was getting 12.8 MPG,I recently towed a 2003 F250 with a 73 diesel, 4 x 4 crew cab and got the same 12.8, All of it has been flatland Towing,I like the 7.3 and 10 speed
For what I’m using it for, I am told the 6.2 performances similar but at a greater gas burn penalty

From the little driving I have done in the new 7.3L, I would say that it has more low end than the 6.2L. It is not a huge amount, but it was noticeable when unloaded and probably even more noticeable when loaded. It is common for a pushrod engine to have more low end torque than a overhead cam due to how they are designed.

Do you have any seat time pulling with the 7.3 in hilly areas at highway speed. I would think that the 7.3 and the 10 speed would outshine the 6.2 in those conditions since the torque is at a much lower rpm.
ShinerBock
Explorer
Jul 04, 2020
steve-n-vicki wrote:
I have a 2020 F350 ,crew cab ,long wheelbase, 4 x 4 with 373’s, 7.3 engine, 10 speed
I have about 6100 miles on the truck , I have a towed a flatbed trailer with a 1800 pound zero turn mower on it or a John Deere 1025R tractor with loader and backhoe,I was getting 12.8 MPG,I recently towed a 2003 F250 with a 73 diesel, 4 x 4 crew cab and got the same 12.8, All of it has been flatland Towing,I like the 7.3 and 10 speed
For what I’m using it for, I am told the 6.2 performances similar but at a greater gas burn penalty

From the little driving I have done in the new 7.3L, I would say that it has more low end than the 6.2L. It is not a huge amount, but it was noticeable when unloaded and probably even more noticeable when loaded. It is common for a pushrod engine to have more low end torque than a overhead cam due to how they are designed.
Grit_dog
Navigator
Jul 04, 2020
LanceRKeys wrote:
I’m not saying that the torque multiplication makes it better towing, just interesting read that’s all. I do wonder if you were completely isolated from the engine, no tach, no sound; what the opinion of gas engines would be. My car will downshift on hills and turn 4,000 and most of the time I don’t notice it, when I pulled my travel trailer with a Chevy 5.3, I would notice the 4000 rpms, didn’t mind it so much, the shifting of the automatic is what I didn’t like. I much prefer to tow with a standard.

If I was also isolated from the fuel bill and the speed at which I could pull grades, you’re correct, I wouldn’t notice the difference!
Also duty cycle is to be considered.

I pull a fair amount of “heavy” trailers with my company 1/2 ton. Trans shelled out at 60k miles. Brakes at about 70k, they were shot. Rear springs are fine but they’ve taken a set and sit lower/softer than the same truck that doesn’t work hard.
Engine? Good so far at 85k but I wonder if it’s still a 250k motor or if I’ve used up more if it’s life proportionally speaking?
Do I care? Nope. It’s the tool I was provided. In my personal life, I prefer a 1/2” drive impact wrench to a ratchet and breaker bar too. Ratchet will do the same job. But slower and with more effort required.
I have 5 acres to mow. Have 60” zero turn and a 36” walk behind mowers. A $400 22” mower would do the same job, just slower and more effort.
Same thing.