The TFL guys bought a 7.3L

goducks10 wrote:

ShinerBock wrote:

goducks10 wrote:


How about I put it this way. I tow a 9500# TT. For my lifestyle I don't need a diesel anymore. My truck sits for weeks at a time. I would like about 50 more HP and 75 lbs more of TQ. That would be about perfect for my camping style. What I don't need to do is spend $10,495 for a diesel that's overkill for my situation.
I think you're missing the point of gas owners. Maybe I'm wrong but my guess is that most just want a decent amount of an HP/TQ increase and don't need the massive power output of a diesel at the cost of the option when it's not something thats being used enough to validate.

Why do one have to "need" the power of a diesel in their justification for it, but would turn around and buy a more powerful and expensive gas engine even though the base gas engine will do just fine? You don't need a 7.3L or an addition 50 hp or 754 lb-ft to pull a 9,500 lb trailer. Heck, you don't even need an SD to do that. But I bet you want it just like you want more power. No need to justify things by saying you don't need it if you end up buying something you don't need in the first place. You don't need a 9,500 lb RV, but I bet you spent more than what a diesel upgrade costs because you wanted one.

I just don't get why needs and recouping your money always comes up when talking about a diesel engine upgrade, but never does when talking about a gas engine upgrade.

How do you know what I need or don't need?

So a half ton F150 will not pull your 9,500 trailer? If not, wouldn't a 6.2L SD? If so, then you don't need the power of a 7.3L. However, you would spend the money to get one because you want one just like most diesel engine owners do.

mich800 wrote:

ShinerBock wrote:

goducks10 wrote:


How about I put it this way. I tow a 9500# TT. For my lifestyle I don't need a diesel anymore. My truck sits for weeks at a time. I would like about 50 more HP and 75 lbs more of TQ. That would be about perfect for my camping style. What I don't need to do is spend $10,495 for a diesel that's overkill for my situation.
I think you're missing the point of gas owners. Maybe I'm wrong but my guess is that most just want a decent amount of an HP/TQ increase and don't need the massive power output of a diesel at the cost of the option when it's not something thats being used enough to validate.

Why do one have to "need" the power of a diesel in their justification for it, but would turn around and buy a more powerful and expensive gas engine even though the base gas engine will do just fine? You don't need a 7.3L or an addition 50 hp or 754 lb-ft to pull a 9,500 lb trailer. Heck, you don't even need an SD to do that. But I bet you want it just like you want more power. No need to justify things by saying you don't need it if you end up buying something you don't need in the first place. You don't need a 9,500 lb RV, but I bet you spent more than what a diesel upgrade costs because you wanted one.

I just don't get why needs and recouping your money always comes up when talking about a diesel engine upgrade, but never does when talking about a gas engine upgrade.

The error in your analysis is the assumption wanting a gas engine is somehow mutually exclusive with wanting more power. We are making this far more complicated than it really is. Some people want an gas engine. Of this subset some also want more power.

I know there are many reasons for wanting a diesel or gas just as there are many reasons for not wanting a diesel or gas. I am just talking I about the irony of one (or actually two) of the most common reasons used which is not needing more power and the "recouping" any addition cost, and how it always gets brought up when justifying not getting a diesel yet the same person would turn around and spend more on a more powerful gas engine.

I never here gas half ton owners talk about the need to "recoup" money when they get the more powerful engine options over the base engines. I also never heard it from the Ram guys when they offered both the 5.7L and the 6.4L in the HD even though the 6.4L ended up costing a lot more in the long run due to the added maintenance cost and recommended 89 octane. I didn't here it once in this or any other 7.3L thread. Yet if this thread were about a diesel and has engine option in an HD, I bet all the money in my bank account that it would get brought up multiple times. Why is that especially if one puts pen to paper on total cost of ownership they most would likely come out ahead with a diesel depending on brand and regional prices? I just don't get why it is only a topic when discussing the diesel engine upgrade option and no other option like a a gas engine upgrade, trim upgrade, configuration upgrade, and so on.

Next week, when it snows then the north wind comes in and blows it around, the next morning @-20f I can jump in my plow truck with a V10 stick the key in and it will start. And run, and not jell up.

I have had diesel in the past, am just happy with gas at the moment. Gets within .5 mpg of my prior diesel towing the same trailers. Empty mpg sucks, but that’s not what I use it for.

If I was in the market for a new truck I would consider the 7.3. More likely in 6-7 years I will be looking for a used one.

I think Ford's reasoning for the new 7.3 goes a lot deeper than a bunch of guys arguing about diesel versus gas. Ford wanted to continue to offer a gas engine that could really handle a commercial duty cycle and they are discontinuing the Triton V10. The E series does not have a diesel option, and the 6.2 just doesn't have the "beans" of the V10 (despite more HP) as evidenced by a considerably lower GCWR, and was not offered at all in the F650/750 or class A motorhomes. The 7.3 gas fills that role with better power specs in a more compact package than the V10- any fuel economy advantage remains to be seen. The diesel guys will still buy a diesel.

ShinerBock wrote:

goducks10 wrote:


How about I put it this way. I tow a 9500# TT. For my lifestyle I don't need a diesel anymore. My truck sits for weeks at a time. I would like about 50 more HP and 75 lbs more of TQ. That would be about perfect for my camping style. What I don't need to do is spend $10,495 for a diesel that's overkill for my situation.
I think you're missing the point of gas owners. Maybe I'm wrong but my guess is that most just want a decent amount of an HP/TQ increase and don't need the massive power output of a diesel at the cost of the option when it's not something thats being used enough to validate.

Why do one have to "need" the power of a diesel in their justification for it, but would turn around and buy a more powerful and expensive gas engine even though the base gas engine will do just fine? You don't need a 7.3L or an addition 50 hp or 754 lb-ft to pull a 9,500 lb trailer. Heck, you don't even need an SD to do that. But I bet you want it just like you want more power. No need to justify things by saying you don't need it if you end up buying something you don't need in the first place. You don't need a 9,500 lb RV, but I bet you spent more than what a diesel upgrade costs because you wanted one.

I just don't get why needs and recouping your money always comes up when talking about a diesel engine upgrade, but never does when talking about a gas engine upgrade.

How do you know what I need or don't need?

ShinerBock wrote:

goducks10 wrote:


How about I put it this way. I tow a 9500# TT. For my lifestyle I don't need a diesel anymore. My truck sits for weeks at a time. I would like about 50 more HP and 75 lbs more of TQ. That would be about perfect for my camping style. What I don't need to do is spend $10,495 for a diesel that's overkill for my situation.
I think you're missing the point of gas owners. Maybe I'm wrong but my guess is that most just want a decent amount of an HP/TQ increase and don't need the massive power output of a diesel at the cost of the option when it's not something thats being used enough to validate.

Why do one have to "need" the power of a diesel in their justification for it, but would turn around and buy a more powerful and expensive gas engine even though the base gas engine will do just fine? You don't need a 7.3L or an addition 50 hp or 754 lb-ft to pull a 9,500 lb trailer. Heck, you don't even need an SD to do that. But I bet you want it just like you want more power. No need to justify things by saying you don't need it if you end up buying something you don't need in the first place. You don't need a 9,500 lb RV, but I bet you spent more than what a diesel upgrade costs because you wanted one.

I just don't get why needs and recouping your money always comes up when talking about a diesel engine upgrade, but never does when talking about a gas engine upgrade.

The error in your analysis is the assumption wanting a gas engine is somehow mutually exclusive with wanting more power. We are making this far more complicated than it really is. Some people want an gas engine. Of this subset some also want more power.

Since I would have been happy buying an F450 pickup with the V10 gas engine in it, I’m pretty sure I’d be ok with the 7.3L gas engine too. But, they didn’t offer the V10 in the F450 pickup then, and they aren’t offering the 7.3L in it now. I hope that changes in later model years, but we’ll have to wait and see. IMHO, the F450 pickup NEEDS a gas engine option, just like the other SD’s.

:):)

goducks10 wrote:


How about I put it this way. I tow a 9500# TT. For my lifestyle I don't need a diesel anymore. My truck sits for weeks at a time. I would like about 50 more HP and 75 lbs more of TQ. That would be about perfect for my camping style. What I don't need to do is spend $10,495 for a diesel that's overkill for my situation.
I think you're missing the point of gas owners. Maybe I'm wrong but my guess is that most just want a decent amount of an HP/TQ increase and don't need the massive power output of a diesel at the cost of the option when it's not something thats being used enough to validate.

Why do one have to "need" the power of a diesel in their justification for it, but would turn around and buy a more powerful and expensive gas engine even though the base gas engine will do just fine? You don't need a 7.3L or an addition 50 hp or 754 lb-ft to pull a 9,500 lb trailer. Heck, you don't even need an SD to do that. But I bet you want it just like you want more power. No need to justify things by saying you don't need it if you end up buying something you don't need in the first place. You don't need a 9,500 lb RV, but I bet you spent more than what a diesel upgrade costs because you wanted one.

I just don't get why needs and recouping your money always comes up when talking about a diesel engine upgrade, but never does when talking about a gas engine upgrade.

ShinerBock wrote:
Not sure why anyone cares about the 7.3L. According to the HD gas owners here, they don't need more power which is why they bought the gas engine instead of the diesel. So why would an engine with more power that you will have to pay more for matter now?

I had many more reasons than power to choose gas over diesel when I did in 2014 when the 6.4L Hemi was introduced. Initial purchase price, better reliability (no DEF/DPF), less complexity, better winter heat dueing my short commute, and cheaper fuel were among them. If I bought new today, I'd buy another gasser. I was completely satisfied with the performance of the 6.4L Hemi pulling 11.5 to 12k. The 8 speed auto would make that an even better experience.

That said, I don't pull a trailer every day either. If I did, or if I was a full timer, I would choose diesel as they do get better loaded mpg, and the extra torque makes for a better tow vehicle. The purchase price premium and higher fuel cost would be less important as the towing performance and loaded mpg became more important due to the % of time the truck would be towing a trailer.

I have a 6.2 and it tows my 10,000 GVWR 5th wheel just fine. In a normal year I'll put less than 2,000 miles on it so I couldn't justify buying a diesel just for the fuel mileage. I haven't been through the Rocky Mountains with it but I've been up some pretty steep hills. It will sometimes but not often drop down to 3rd gear on some of the big hills but I never lose speed. There's seems to be a big gap between 3rd and 4th gear so I think the 6.2 with a 10 speed would be fantastic for my use.

I'm pretty excited about the 7.3 but I might not ever own one. I'd like to have one but since I have a good truck there's no need to. If I did buy another truck down the road it probably would be a used 7.3 gas if it does get better fuel mileage than the 6.2. It would pull anything I would ever want to pull with ease and no more miles than I'd put on it buying a diesel wouldn't make sense. If I were going to put big miles on one then it would make more sense to buy the diesel.