E350: V10 Gas, or 6.0 Diesel?

[MolinuWanderer]

We have a Ford Excursion and a family of 6. It tows well, but with all of us loaded up, gear, and gas, we are really not left with a whole lot of payload, so it limits the amount we can tow. We are looking at bumping up to an E350 to give us some more pay load, take out a couple of seats so we have less weight, and be able to tow a little more trailer. Looking at the V10 gas or a 6.0 turbo diesel. Thoughts on:
Towing mileage?
In town mileage?
Towing issues?
We will be in mountains fairly often, so I want something that can handle the elevation gains, coming off the grades, etc.
Thanks! Any advice appreciated.

[spadoctor]

The hitch on the Excursion was always rated for 12K lbs. The only one that has made a LEGAL replacement hitch is Curt. The hitch is considered part of the frame and acts as protection for the fuel tank.

[brirene]

jerem0621 wrote:


If your buddy had a problem affording the fuel for the trips then a diesel wouldn't solve his problems. Makes perfect sense, lets go spend 8-10 THOUSAND dollars more to save $50-$100 per trip at the pump.

Your buddy bought a diesel because he wanted one. And there is nothing wrong with that!

Thanks!

Jeremiah

Excellent points...If that were the case. :W. Actually, he sat on the sidelines for a few years in between. He now does a lot of mountain towing, so yeah, he wanted a diesel.

[carringb]

E-series 6.0s still have head gasket problems, since the likliehood of lifting the head from hydro locking (fuel or coolant) is the same. FICMs hold up way better though since they aren't over the motor. But instead they tend to cook the main engine wire harness. Turbo, EGR cooler, injectors etx are still the same stuff in the pickups. They aren't all bad, but the risk of trip-ending problems is simply way higher on a 6.0, while the v10 is probably one of the most trouble-free engines on he market. The 20% improvement in fuel economy often doesn't even offset the higher fuel cost in the NW and you don't get the power benefit that you do in the pickups.

There's lots of 6.0 van discussion over at the Sportsmobile Forum.

[Grit_dog]

Seeing a previous post, I bet the de rated 6.0s are considerably more reliable. Biggest issue with them was lifting head gaskets but with the reduced pressure of the de rated engines that should help.
That aside, the 6.0s are, in my experience, the most sensitive to timely and complete maintenance. Hpop's don't like dirty oil and obviously very susceptible to dirty fuel being the only light duty diesel with 2 fuel filter of that era. (Rams needed better filtration too back then. Injector life appears to have suffered a lot with the OE system. Hence my 2 micron added filter that went on with my $2000+ worth of new injectors at just over 100kmi!)

[jerem0621]

brirene wrote:
Some of these comments remind me of a buddy of mine who had a V10 when I got my first diesel. Kept telling me how great his V10 was, how much he loved his truck, how powerful, what great mileage he got, yada, yada. Not saying some of it wasn't true. He moved out west and literally had to cancel trips because that gasser was so expensive to use. Couldn't afford to tow his fiver anywhere. Bought a diesel about a year ago, got the diesel grin now, wonders why he waited so long to get one. Yup, diesel wasn't a big deal for towing, until he towed with one. True story.

If your buddy had a problem affording the fuel for the trips then a diesel wouldn't solve his problems. Makes perfect sense, lets go spend 8-10 THOUSAND dollars more to save $50-$100 per trip at the pump.

Your buddy bought a diesel because he wanted one. And there is nothing wrong with that!

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[blofgren]

nightshift wrote:

MolinuWanderer wrote:
We have a Ford Excursion and a family of 6. It tows well, but with all of us loaded up, gear, and gas, we are really not left with a whole lot of payload, so it limits the amount we can tow. We are looking at bumping up to an E350 to give us some more pay load, take out a couple of seats so we have less weight, and be able to tow a little more trailer. Looking at the V10 gas or a 6.0 turbo diesel. Thoughts on:
Towing mileage?
In town mileage?
Towing issues?
We will be in mountains fairly often, so I want something that can handle the elevation gains, coming off the grades, etc.
Thanks! Any advice appreciated.

Molinu,
I'm coming up on four years with my E450 diesel and no problems so far. As others have said it is a derated engine and all of the fixes that Ford did from early '06 in the trucks were done on the E series as well. I'm averaging around 14 mpg in a 24' Bigfoot. In the rocks it drops to around 10-11. I use synthetic Rotella and Motorcraft filters.

Glad to hear you're happy with your 6.0L motorhome. What year is it and what is the mileage on it?

[brirene]

Some of these comments remind me of a buddy of mine who had a V10 when I got my first diesel. Kept telling me how great his V10 was, how much he loved his truck, how powerful, what great mileage he got, yada, yada. Not saying some of it wasn't true. He moved out west and literally had to cancel trips because that gasser was so expensive to use. Couldn't afford to tow his fiver anywhere. Bought a diesel about a year ago, got the diesel grin now, wonders why he waited so long to get one. Yup, diesel wasn't a big deal for towing, until he towed with one. True story.

[carringb]

I don't think Pullrite makes travel trailer hitches anymore. Most of the info disappeared from their website, and when I emailed them a couple years ago, I never received a response.

[dodge_guy]

shadows4 wrote:
I had a 2000 Excursion V10, 4.30 gears. Now have a F350 7.3 diesel 3.73 gears. If I hadn't decided I had to have a fifth wheel we would probably still have the Excursion. Out present fifth wheel is about the same size as our previous TT. The Excusion pulled just as well as the F350 does but it does it at a higher rpm.

We changed the front leaf springs and added a Road Master Active suspension to the rear on the Excursion. Made alot of difference on how the Ex handled the heavy tongue weight of the TT. Loved that Ex.

Since the OP'er already has an Ex. I would say just look into changing all the springs to the same ones as an F350 add a nice heavy duty shock and roll on!!!

Just remembered. To me the real limitation with the Ex is the reciever hitch. There are several options as I remember. A company in California makes a replacement but I believe you have to go to them and have them do the actual install. I think Pullrite makes a heavier hitch also. Good luck, OP'er.

In 02 the X went to a hitch with a 12,500lb/1250lb tongue weight. and yes Pullight made (don`t know if they still do) a hitch for the X, the downside was that it hangs very low!

[shadows4]

I had a 2000 Excursion V10, 4.30 gears. Now have a F350 7.3 diesel 3.73 gears. If I hadn't decided I had to have a fifth wheel we would probably still have the Excursion. Out present fifth wheel is about the same size as our previous TT. The Excusion pulled just as well as the F350 does but it does it at a higher rpm.

We changed the front leaf springs and added a Road Master Active suspension to the rear on the Excursion. Made alot of difference on how the Ex handled the heavy tongue weight of the TT. Loved that Ex.

Since the OP'er already has an Ex. I would say just look into changing all the springs to the same ones as an F350 add a nice heavy duty shock and roll on!!!

Just remembered. To me the real limitation with the Ex is the reciever hitch. There are several options as I remember. A company in California makes a replacement but I believe you have to go to them and have them do the actual install. I think Pullrite makes a heavier hitch also. Good luck, OP'er.

[nightshift]

MolinuWanderer wrote:
We have a Ford Excursion and a family of 6. It tows well, but with all of us loaded up, gear, and gas, we are really not left with a whole lot of payload, so it limits the amount we can tow. We are looking at bumping up to an E350 to give us some more pay load, take out a couple of seats so we have less weight, and be able to tow a little more trailer. Looking at the V10 gas or a 6.0 turbo diesel. Thoughts on:
Towing mileage?
In town mileage?
Towing issues?
We will be in mountains fairly often, so I want something that can handle the elevation gains, coming off the grades, etc.
Thanks! Any advice appreciated.

Molinu,
I'm coming up on four years with my E450 diesel and no problems so far. As others have said it is a derated engine and all of the fixes that Ford did from early '06 in the trucks were done on the E series as well. I'm averaging around 14 mpg in a 24' Bigfoot. In the rocks it drops to around 10-11. I use synthetic Rotella and Motorcraft filters.

[Hybridhunter]

carringb wrote:

Hybridhunter wrote:
A newer Ecoboost XP would likely be a better rig in all regards.

Except for payload, which is his concern now. And interior space. And GCWR.

Fair enough, I meant nicer, and better performing. If the OP is truly above the capabilities by more than a little, I'd steer them to one of the HD GM's, IMO

[Lantley]

That's Easy V-10 avoid the 6.0 at all cost or it will cost all....you have

[45Ricochet]

Dang where did fish boy go anyway :W