Question from a new mwmber.On impulse, I just bought a 24 ft TT that weighs in at 5,000 lbs empty. My current tow vehicle ( 2001 F-150 Super Crew w/ the little Triton 4.6, no towing package ) doesn't like to pull heavy loads,,,, at all. So I am out looking to buy a new truck,,, like a nice F-250,,, with only a $4000.00 budget to work with. I'm actually surpized how many capable trucks there are out there that fall within my budget, but I'm getting snagged on a few "wants",,,, like 4 doors.So I've notice a few potential F-250's out there,,,, but ( more than a few ) mid to late 90's dually's can be had within my budget. They meet the hauling capacity, 4 doors, a/c and such,,,,, but that brings up fuel mileage. Just how bad is the fuel mileage in a mid to late 90's F-350 dually ( 460 or diesel )? Thanks in advance,,,,, Jason

IF you can find a mid-late 90s Ford with the 7.3L, you'll definitely see better MPG than with the gas 460. Without knowing the numbers, I'd think significantly better...maybe 15-16mpg in mixed driving with the diesel, and 10-11mpg with the 460? Now that the gap between diesel and gasoline prices has closed somewhat, that could equal a not-so-insignificant yearly savings in fuel costs.Your biggest obstacle with an older truck like that may prove not to be powertrain but rather accessories; things like power window motors, windshield wiper motors, AC compressors, fan clutches, etc. sometimes wave the white flag after 15+ years of use and countless heat up/cool down cycles. My thoughts on older vehicles has always been: if you're the type that's inclined to keep it in tip-top shape, don't mind spending a Saturday here-or-there replacing this or that, and have a little bit of a repair budget socked away, older, high-mileage vehicles can be an incredible bargain.If you're in the camp that wants to just hop in and go and will need to take it to a shop for every little issue, keeping an older vehicle on the road can cost every bit what a monthly payment on something newer would.Anyhow, good luck in your search and of course keep us posted as to what you come across...

7.3L huh? I'll keep that in mind.BTW- I'm in the camp that can't bring themselves to pay $75 or more an hour to do anything,,,,, atleast not as long as my hands still work.

We had a '95 F-350 7.3L diesel, auto, 4.10 gears, 2wd, crew cab dually. Bought new and put about 250k on it before the trans started to slip. We had a Banks Get-Kit (chip and turbo down pipe) to boost the torque from 425 to ~500ft-lb.14-16mpg was the norm running empty. Don't remember loaded... We grossed 14-18k combined for a majority of its life pulling a horse trailer. OD on the flats and 3rd on the big hills. Was a comfortable ride, easy to work on. Only downside was glowplugs, damn that truck ate glowplugs; was about as fun getting that thing started in the real cold as stubbing your toe. Plugging in the block heater was a must, but then only about half of the glow plugs worked on ours at any given time. I actually looked at a couple of 7.3Ls before we bought the Dodge (my trailer isn't that big, lower purchase cost, the wife wanted a 3rd Gen Dodge). The crew cab Ford from that era has more interior room than my Dodge!Had a '90 F-350 460/auto/4.10/4wd, reg cab single wheel on 35x12.50 tires. 10-12mpg empty. Bought used from original owner that carried a 9.5? cab-over. Was a good truck, just drank fuel. Luckily I drove this back when it was rare to spend more than $50 to fill the ~18+19gal tanks. Had to lock it in 3rd for the same trailer as the diesel, and it saw 2nd on the hills. The 35" tires did hinder it, we did put stock sized on it just to see the difference it made, still had no chance at running with the 7.3L.

If you're looking for a 4WD truck you will find that in most, if not all, of the '90s Ford didn't make a dually in 4WD. For me, the way I use a truck, that would be a deal breaker.MPG on a 20 year old 460? Yikes, single digits I would imagine for sure. In that year range of trucks I would be looking for a Dodge with a manual for sure, and I'm a Chevy guy. I hate 90's Chevy trucks. In that span I bought a '96 Dodge and it was great except for the auto trans.

All valid points I believe.The 4WD is optional for me. In fact, it could even be a negative1- "I" don't really need it in a tow vehichle,,, others might though. In an average year, I might "need" it once for ice on the roads. Beyond that, it's likely never to get engaged unless I start spinning on wet grass or something. Mudding is a thing of the past with my drivers. ( Got a 4 wheeler for that.2- 4WD will surely affect MPG3- Buying a mid/late 90's 4WD is a scary thought for me. It's hard to really measure wear on the transfer case and axles and such. But I guess it's hard to measure wear on most any other piece of the puzzle too.

Mid 90's Dually?? | Good Sam Community

challeno
Explorer
Sep 05, 2013
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http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd137/challeno/challeno001/scan0002.jpg

Not a mid 90's but my 84 had a 460 / 4 on the floor with a holley 4 barrel .

She was a beast for her day , got 8-10 mpg. , Idling , towin' , load ,no load . There was a reason she came with two fuel tanks from the factory ,,,, AKA : Got to feed a MONSTER ! :B

Loved the truck , wish I had Brown Eyed New 84 just like her today .
jerem0621
Explorer II
Sep 05, 2013
Jet A-1 wrote:
My initial reaction would be to go with DRW "just 'cause" but in all seriousness it'd probably be a wise move. Better have the capacity and not need it than the other way around. I've recently been coming to terms with the fact that my truck is not up to par with respect to my combination. Apparently I've been slightly over the rear axle GAWR according to a recent trip to the scales. While the trailer weight is under the rated towing capacity by a decent amount (so I am led to believe) the whole issue loaded is too heavy on the tongue (the 450lb of water way up front isn't helping!) and I'm thinking the whole combination might be slightly over the GCWR... odd I know but that's what the numbers are telling me.....

....sooo I too am looking at 2wd duallies in both gas and diesel as a viable alternative. Maybe even dispense with the load distribution bars completely.... LOL. I also am working with a low budget as I just need a TV not a daily driver in a truck. I've even been looking at a diy HDT project for next year. I'm always envious when I surf Craigslist for Sarasota etc. and see all those decently priced duallies on there. Up here they tend to command more than they are worth IMO.

Honestly, it's worth it to travel for a good truck. Mine was 4 hrs away.
GA1dad
Explorer
Sep 05, 2013
Thanks for the replies folks,,,,, good stuff!
Jet_A-1
Explorer
Sep 04, 2013
My initial reaction would be to go with DRW "just 'cause" but in all seriousness it'd probably be a wise move. Better have the capacity and not need it than the other way around. I've recently been coming to terms with the fact that my truck is not up to par with respect to my combination. Apparently I've been slightly over the rear axle GAWR according to a recent trip to the scales. While the trailer weight is under the rated towing capacity by a decent amount (so I am led to believe) the whole issue loaded is too heavy on the tongue (the 450lb of water way up front isn't helping!) and I'm thinking the whole combination might be slightly over the GCWR... odd I know but that's what the numbers are telling me.....

....sooo I too am looking at 2wd duallies in both gas and diesel as a viable alternative. Maybe even dispense with the load distribution bars completely.... LOL. I also am working with a low budget as I just need a TV not a daily driver in a truck. I've even been looking at a diy HDT project for next year. I'm always envious when I surf Craigslist for Sarasota etc. and see all those decently priced duallies on there. Up here they tend to command more than they are worth IMO.
shakazulu12
Explorer
Sep 04, 2013
Somewhere over 250,000 miles on my 1997 F350 DRW. One thing about the dually's in that bodystyle is that they were never a factory option, which makes it tougher to find one. Most were converted by Centurion and a few other smaller companies.

I had to fly 1200 miles to find one with a 7.3 and a manual transmission, but it was definitely worth the 5800 bucks the truck cost me.
jerem0621
Explorer II
Sep 04, 2013
GA1dad wrote:
jerem0621 wrote:
For a 5000 lb trailer I would not buy a dually... unless you are planning to upgrade the truck. Jeremiah

Thanks for the reply Jerimiah. Can you expand on the "upgrading" that would justify the purchase of a dually? Just wanting to insure I fully understand what you are meaning.

Thanks, I should not reply when I am sleepy. I absolutly meant upgrade the trailer. But in reflection, I bought my dually for a few reasons. I had a $5500.00 budget. I needed a crew cab for my family.
I could not find a SRW Crew Cab in my budget that was not beat to death and had what seemed to be less than 300k miles on it.

I bought my dually for my target budget, it is a great tow vehicle, Has AC and heat and room for everyone. It has the monster early V10 (most did NOT spit plugs out BTW.. even if they do, its a relatively cheap and easy fix)

I need an alignment and tires blanced right now. Even with these issues I suppose the 10 mpg is not too bad for what it is.

The really good news is that if I keep it, in the future, I don't have to worry about TT size and can pull most all but the hugest fivers with my V10.

MPG while towing is not a concern for me.. gas or diesel.

Thanks!

Jeremiah
mkirsch
Nomad II
Sep 04, 2013
You won't get nearly as nice of a truck in an SRW for $4000. You'll either have to settle for an older, higher-mileage, rattier truck, or blow your budget.

I don't think you'll save enough on gas and tires over the life of the truck, considering it's a low-usage tow vehicle, to justify blowing an extra $1000-$2000 on an SRW in the same condition as the DRW.
Its4mykids
Explorer
Sep 04, 2013
I have a 1994 F350 CC Dually 460 4.10 gears full Banks. Pretty much 75% tow vehicle with heavy fiver. (only use it for trailer towing, but once at the campground it is used to sightsee - hence the 75% and not 95%) I have a spreadsheet that I track mileage "hand" calculated from mile/day one. The average over it's entire life (50k miles), per the spreadsheet, is 7.64. I drive it easy, taking my time getting up to speed and then topping out at 60'ish with OD locked out. MT my highest was 11.1 driving 55mph. Average MT is 10.12. Average for actual towing miles is 6.68. Lowest reading is 3.72. LOL My truck is still pretty much showroom new. Over its 20-year life, it has NEVER let me down.
eluwak
Explorer
Sep 04, 2013
My folks had a ~2000 F350 2WD CC LB Dually w/7.3 pulling a 28' HR that was in the 5-6k lbs neighborhood. I actually loved that truck, but the size of it bordered on the ridiculous for a DD... So I passed on it when they sold it. The one thing they really liked about it was that it was massive overkill for towing the trailer, as in completely rock solid.

I know the '99+ is Different than the mid '90s, but if it was a solid 7.3 CC dually truck for $4k I'd definitely think about it so long as it wasn't going to be my daily.
mudfuel07
Explorer
Sep 04, 2013
I think he meant planning to upgrade the trailer in the near future. I would like to get ahold of a mid to late 90's F350 CC fleetside with the 7.3, there's just something about that body style that I like.