Ford 7.3 owners towing 12,000 lb 5th

Kevin O. wrote:

up2nogood wrote:

rhagfo wrote:

Hannibal wrote:
Noisy, loud, slow, stinky, whatever, that's a good looking truck and a good find! Wishing you many years and miles of happy travels with it. :B

Well noisy and loud yes, stinky is personal choice not likely slow even with 12,000# in tow.

Define slow :h 35-40 MPH is slow in my book towing 13K up a mountain grade compared to 60 MPH plus towing with the new generation truck.

Was your old 7.3 bone stock or modified? At the moment I'm towing 8,000lbs and can maintain the speed limit at 1800rpms. Not sure I can do that with 13,000? But then again I don't think my truck is rated to tow that much weight? Even if it did climb big hills at 40mph, I would still take that over a $700 monthly payment! I not afraid to admit that the 7.3L is not even close to being on the same playing field as today's diesels. But with some minor modifications(gauges,exhaust,intake,tune)at about $1450 it certainly is no slouch!!! :B

IMO anything much over 10K is overloaded for 7.3. Yes at 13K plus it was overloaded.

I did a few mods to it . DP tuner, 4" exhaust, AIS intake, 6.0 intercooler, and 6.0 transmission cooler 31 row. The truck ran great it just did not have the power.

If I was towing just 8K I would have no concerns either. I towed several trailers over the 16 year period that I owned the 7.3, and it was okay UNTIL I went up over 10K ,then not so good. It just didn't have the torque and power it needed for that weight. Sure it towed it, and when not in the mountains it did okay.

Most are fooling themselves thinking the 7.3 is going to tow heavy trailers, they tow them, but they struggle, and the 4R100 transmission is always a concern unless they have been to BTS , john Woods or someone that builds a good transmission. Now you are talking nearly 5K for a decent transmission, and the list goes on for the other mods.

It gets to the point where you are throwing money at something thats just never going to get the job done the way its supposed to. Granted I drove that 7.3 Superduty for 14 years with no payment, but it was time to get something that would get the job done. No regrets having the power ,and truck to handle a 13K fifth wheel.

up2nogood wrote:

rhagfo wrote:

Hannibal wrote:
Noisy, loud, slow, stinky, whatever, that's a good looking truck and a good find! Wishing you many years and miles of happy travels with it. :B

Well noisy and loud yes, stinky is personal choice not likely slow even with 12,000# in tow.

Define slow :h 35-40 MPH is slow in my book towing 13K up a mountain grade compared to 60 MPH plus towing with the new generation truck.

Was your old 7.3 bone stock or modified? At the moment I'm towing 8,000lbs and can maintain the speed limit at 1800rpms. Not sure I can do that with 13,000? But then again I don't think my truck is rated to tow that much weight? Even if it did climb big hills at 40mph, I would still take that over a $700 monthly payment! I not afraid to admit that the 7.3L is not even close to being on the same playing field as today's diesels. But with some minor modifications(gauges,exhaust,intake,tune)at about $1450 it certainly is no slouch!!! :B

rhagfo wrote:

Hannibal wrote:
Noisy, loud, slow, stinky, whatever, that's a good looking truck and a good find! Wishing you many years and miles of happy travels with it. :B

Well noisy and loud yes, stinky is personal choice not likely slow even with 12,000# in tow.

Define slow :h 35-40 MPH is slow in my book towing 13K up a mountain grade compared to 60 MPH plus towing with the new generation truck.

Hannibal wrote:
Noisy, loud, slow, stinky, whatever, that's a good looking truck and a good find! Wishing you many years and miles of happy travels with it. :B

Well noisy and loud yes, stinky is personal choice not likely slow even with 12,000# in tow.

Noisy, loud, slow, stinky, whatever, that's a good looking truck and a good find! Wishing you many years and miles of happy travels with it. :B

up2nogood wrote:

Kevin O. wrote:

Grit dog wrote:

shadows4 wrote:

Kevin O. wrote:

Lantley wrote:
I have owned 2- 7.3 PSD's That I used to tow an 11K loaded TT. They did a great job.
However I would not likely buy one in this era simply because the 7.3's while capable are old technology. They will get the job done but there are now better reasonably priced options now available.

I'm curious what you consider better, and reasonably priced? Also what years are you talking about???
I would be so scared to have a newer 6.7 Ford that is out of warranty..I couldn't imagine what the sophisticated exhaust system would cost to replace never mind the fuel system, turbo, and any of the DPF system?? I'll stick with the OLD technology thank you very much.. :B

X2

How about 3rd gen CR Cummins and Lb7/LLy Dmax? Those fit the bill and are as good or better than the venerable 7.3.
Used diesels are overpriced, IMO, at least the good ones, but the Fordaholics holding onto their gold plated 7.3s are at the top of the list!
When people are asking $10k for complete beaters and $17-20k for good condition, yet high mile 15 year old pickups, they're out of their mind!
Must be enough folks out there with blue oval tattoos though cause the prices sure are hiiiigh maaaaaaaan!

I just can't afford to spend $65,000+ for a new diesel pickup. Then once it's FINALLY paid for the darn warranty is up and now have to worry about what it will cost to fix when things start breaking? These new trucks are way to sophisticated for me! This is the main reason why the older diesels are so desirable, not because of us blue oval tattoo wearing Fordaholics..:B Yes $15-$20,000 seems like a lot for these older trucks but it is just a 1/4 of the price of a new one!
I paid over book value for my truck because it had everything I was looking for. Yes it is loud, yes it rides a like a truck, and no it doesn't have 800 lb/ft+ of torque. But it does make plenty of power for what I need, it's easy to work on, there is no emissions **** to worry about, and best of all it's paid for!;)

You are right on all accounts that apply to you, but I drove ,and towed for nearly 16years with a 7.3 Superduty . Two of the happiest moments owning the 7.3 was buying it ,and selling it.

There is just no way to even put a 7.3 in a conversation with these new trucks. It did its job for what it was, but again no comparison .The 7.3 is yesterdays truck, just like so many others. Great truck in its day. Not knocking it ,its just what it is.

I was in know way comparing my trucks capabilities against one of these new trucks. I have driven the new Fords and a new dodge Cummins and if I had deep enough pockets I would probably own one. But until then this old girl is doing just fine.;)

Rare find! Enjoy that truck for a long time, that's one of the nicest I have come across. Funny though u could keep it for a few years and sell it for more then u paid for it...

kw/00 wrote:
Kevin O, man I agree keep that truck! Man that's really nice and those years are head to find that have not been abused. I really like the 7.3 in that body style. One of the best F250 trucks they ever built. I looked at one a few years ago, 02 model platinum edition, it was a nice truck but the price was way over what I was able to pay. Regardless, no emissions, no warranty issues, very reliable and easy to work on, paid for, yep u got a winner there.

Thank you! I was looking for almost a year before I found this one owner truck. It was 650 miles away but worth it.

Kevin O, man I agree keep that truck! Man that's really nice and those years are head to find that have not been abused. I really like the 7.3 in that body style. One of the best F250 trucks they ever built. I looked at one a few years ago, 02 model platinum edition, it was a nice truck but the price was way over what I was able to pay. Regardless, no emissions, no warranty issues, very reliable and easy to work on, paid for, yep u got a winner there.

Grit dog wrote:

shadows4 wrote:

Kevin O. wrote:

Lantley wrote:
I have owned 2- 7.3 PSD's That I used to tow an 11K loaded TT. They did a great job.
However I would not likely buy one in this era simply because the 7.3's while capable are old technology. They will get the job done but there are now better reasonably priced options now available.

I'm curious what you consider better, and reasonably priced? Also what years are you talking about???
I would be so scared to have a newer 6.7 Ford that is out of warranty..I couldn't imagine what the sophisticated exhaust system would cost to replace never mind the fuel system, turbo, and any of the DPF system?? I'll stick with the OLD technology thank you very much.. :B

X2

How about 3rd gen CR Cummins and Lb7/LLy Dmax? Those fit the bill and are as good or better than the venerable 7.3.
Used diesels are overpriced, IMO, at least the good ones, but the Fordaholics holding onto their gold plated 7.3s are at the top of the list!
When people are asking $10k for complete beaters and $17-20k for good condition, yet high mile 15 year old pickups, they're out of their mind!
Must be enough folks out there with blue oval tattoos though cause the prices sure are hiiiigh maaaaaaaan!

I'm not knocking 7.3's as I said I have owned 2 that were great trucks.
However the 4 speed transmissions are now very antiquated. They are loud by today's standards. The newest years are now 12 years old.
An 06/07 Duramax have 6 speed grade braking transmissions and are quiet.