6.8 3-valve towing FW
Been doing a lot of research on Ford gas HD trucks these past few weeks and here are my observations. I've been poring over towing guides and brochures, and it seems like the 3-valve v-10s were a rea...
Forum Discussion
I think it depends on where your primarily planning on towing.
I tow a 7000lb Travel Trailer and on flat ground I spin around 1800rpm going down the highway, when I pull a grade going 60-65mph it will drop to about 3200rpm which is where it makes it's peak torque.
I live in Alaska so the most I go from is sea level to about 2k', nothing crazy but it does fine. My last travel trailer was around 9,000lb GVWR and it towed pretty much the same.
Now, with that I only put about 5,000 miles on my truck each year. So getting 7.5-9 mpg towing doesn't bug me at all, and 12mpg unloaded. My use it sits and does very short miles when not towing. If your looking to rack up some miles, and will be towing in serious mountains then I would consider a diesel. Just need to figure out your needs.
Concerning the 6.2 gas engine the telephone utility I work for uses them in F350/F450's. From the guys driving them in the 6.2 they say with the 4.30 rear it pulls about the same as the 6.8 w/ 4.10 rear. So if you find a clean 6.2 w/ 4.30 I wouldn't not look at it.
Some day I would like to snag a new 7.3 Gas with a 4.30 rear, but I'm like you I could afford one, but with my V10 being able to pull all the grades up here @ posted speed limit I have no reason to.
I tow a 7000lb Travel Trailer and on flat ground I spin around 1800rpm going down the highway, when I pull a grade going 60-65mph it will drop to about 3200rpm which is where it makes it's peak torque.
I live in Alaska so the most I go from is sea level to about 2k', nothing crazy but it does fine. My last travel trailer was around 9,000lb GVWR and it towed pretty much the same.
Now, with that I only put about 5,000 miles on my truck each year. So getting 7.5-9 mpg towing doesn't bug me at all, and 12mpg unloaded. My use it sits and does very short miles when not towing. If your looking to rack up some miles, and will be towing in serious mountains then I would consider a diesel. Just need to figure out your needs.
Concerning the 6.2 gas engine the telephone utility I work for uses them in F350/F450's. From the guys driving them in the 6.2 they say with the 4.30 rear it pulls about the same as the 6.8 w/ 4.10 rear. So if you find a clean 6.2 w/ 4.30 I wouldn't not look at it.
Some day I would like to snag a new 7.3 Gas with a 4.30 rear, but I'm like you I could afford one, but with my V10 being able to pull all the grades up here @ posted speed limit I have no reason to.
