myredracer wrote:
MFL wrote:
Unless you need the 4x4 for winter use, the 2wd 8.1 will make a much better tow vehicle.
Jerry
I was going to post the same thing until I got to this. ^^
We tow a 29 footer weighing about 7K lbs and upgraded to an F250 at the same time. Truck has 4.10 gears that I love - excellent on all the steeper/longer climbs in the mountains up and down the west coast and also for the better acceleration.
The F250 with the specs we wanted happened happened to be a lease return sitting on a used car lot and had to take the 4WD it had. We just never use 4WD. Unless you really want or need 4WD, I'd say get 2WD - less to go wrong, reduced maintenance cost, lower to the ground and more payload cap. With 4WD being something like 5" higher from the ground, climbing in & out of the bed is annoying.
If you have a choice, get a truck with a longer wheelbase, either long box or extended cab or both. I'd get a mechanical inspection done by a reputable shop. I'd esp. want to know that nothing in the front end is worn with excessive play and causing handling & tracking issues.
I would recommend installing a set of new HD shocks, like Bilstein. (FWIW, installing shocks on the TT will also help significantly.)
I knew would be different but I hadn't considered the differences in ride height and the additional maintenance. I am looking at a crew cab either way so the wheel base should be ok. The shocks and suspension is also something that would be good to upgrade, another thing I hadn't thought about. Thank you for the insight, its good to get this stuff from the experienced towers.
totaldla wrote:
If you don't mind, could you give me an idea of what it was like pulling that trailer with the Expedition? I'm wondering what it was lacking as a tow vehicle for a 6000lb trailer.
I had a 2004 5.4L Eddie Bauer Expedition with the HD tow package(3,73 gears, double radiator, external transmission cooler) and it towed our trailer ok on smooth roads but when I hit a head wind or steady inclines, it was a dog. We took it out to Bellevue Iowa and there was a stretch where there was barely an incline and it was just stuck in 2nd. Now I dont mind hitting higher RPMs but if its for nothing, I have a problem with that. It seemed like it just struggled on anything but flat smooth conditions. The trailer tracked well though, we have a equalizer hitch that keeps everything in line. The suspension did sink quite a bit in the rear but it rode ok. I will admit though, when it gets windy, there was some white knuckle driving because it would blow the trailer around a little bit. longer wheel base would have helped that a lot. So while it wasn't a bad tow truck, it just couldn't handle as much as it said on paper. I wouldn't go over 6000lb with that truck. If i had a smaller TT, it probably would have been fine.
