Hey all! Hubby and I are looking at an excursion to tow a 32' TT while he travel nurses, and I road school the kids (ages 9-1). We have 4 kids, plus the two of us, and a dog and a cat. The weight of all of us is approximately 700 pounds. The trailer dry weight is 6500, plus approx 1300 lbs of gear. We will be towing cross country, not on any schedule, not looking to put in more than 4-6 hours in a day, and staying a week or two at different sites and national parks, before moving on. We are touring the US, and plan to be on the road 6-12 months. So not huge tow days, except days where we are going through the mountains. Looking to avoid snow at all costs. The Excursions we have looked at are the following:2003 6.0L V8 TurboDiesel 2WD2004 V8 TurboDiesel, 4x4- unsure which L engine2004 6.8L V10 2005 5.4L V8, RWD 2003 7.3L TurboDiesel 4x4Any input on which engine to go with? It seems like they should all be able to handle our towing needs, but we are from Florida, so I have no idea how they will handle hills, altitude, etc. Diesel vs gas? V10 vs V8? Is 4x4 necessary with a truck and trailer like this? Any experience would be helpful!

Gas motor will pull well but a gas hog. Early 6.0L diesels had lots of problems. Later 6.0 largely had problems fixed but still could get expensive to fix. Have you also looked at Suburban 2500s with the 7.4L?

donn0128 wrote:Gas motor will pull well but a gas hog. Early 6.0L diesels had lots of problems. Later 6.0 largely had problems fixed but still could get expensive to fix. Have you also looked at Suburban 2500s with the 7.4L?Yes, we have, and they are near impossible to find here in FL...also, it's GVWR, depending on the year, is only about 8600 lbs. Isn't that cutting it a little close for us? Are we better off looking at an e350/savanna/express route?

I've seen several new excursions around here, which constitutes grafting an old excursion body onto the current super duty truck. I have no idea how much people paid to get those changes made though. I've seen 3 of them around town (and they are 3 different vehicles since they're all different colors). I guess it's something similar to the Duraburb.

I think you might be better off with a E350 of 3500 van

Of the ones you listed, the 7.3L TD and the 6.8L V-10 are the "only" 2 that you should even think about. The others are ALL early 6.0L and are pure junk or the small 5.4L V-8 is underpowered. My personal choice would be the 7.3L which was probably the best engine Ford ever used in their trucks. Just have the transmission bullet proofed and you will be good to go.

Looking at Excursions... | Good Sam Community

nremtp143
Explorer
Aug 08, 2015
I've owned an '01 7.3L Excursion since I ordered it in "01. Now with 218k miles on her, she is as strong as ever. As has been mentioned, the tranny is the weak link, but they can be built with multi-disc converters and improved valve bodies along with a larger cooler and you are good to go. One other of the most popular mods is to change the springs out to an F25- set of springs. NO, they don't have the same springs originally as the truck. For around $800 you can have all new springs and u-bolts thaat you can put in yourself in the driveway provided a good jack and a good set of jack stands. If these trucks had come this way from the factory, they would have sold millions more as they make a HUGE difference in the truck. All '01 Xs need a Hellwig rear swaybar. About $175 and a coupkle of hours of your time and standard hand tools. These mods make this truck a true pleasure to own and drive. A very reliable truck. As I call it, the most capable SUV on the planet.
MegaCab_PL
Explorer
Aug 06, 2015
2500 Suburban never had Allison with 8.1
Sport45
Explorer II
Aug 06, 2015
What's your budget? If you have $40k or so and a F-250 you can have a new Excursion made.

Customs by Tim
WE3ZS
Explorer II
Aug 05, 2015
Just another guy with another ultra reliable '05 V-10 EX here, our effective gear ratio is 4.39 and it delivers 8 to 9.25 MPG towing our 11k 41' TT all over the East, most trips it has about 1,000lbs of humans inside.
I too recommend visiting ford-trucks.com and it's Excursion king of SUVs forum, best place on the web for these big wagons.
dougger222
Explorer
Aug 02, 2015
Both of our Excursions are running original tranny's. The 00X has 270K miles and the 02X has 307K miles.

As far as throwing money at a 7.3 diesel? Any vehicle/motor 15 years old will take a little money here and there to keep on the road. I had an injector fail the 02X this year so decided to replace all 8 with 175cc injectors as they were less than half the cost of Ford injectors. The 00 X has all the original injectors as does the 340K mile F250.

A friend of mine just bought a 06 F350 with the 6.0 with 185K miles. The previous owner let a lot of stuff go on it so he just dumped $5,500 into it and only a few hundred of that was for the motor.
K-9_HANDLER
Explorer
Aug 02, 2015
Have had an 01 Excursion for the last 12 years. v-10 with 3.73 gears. Overall average 13 mpg empty, 9-10 towing 32 foot tt on flat ground. Also use it to deliver hay with a flat bed trailer, tow livestock trailer and utility trailer. Exhaust manifold bolts are prone to snapping. Replaced them last winter and it was a pain. Use the manual hubs for 4wd. The dash switch stopped engaging hubs awhile back. Has 91k on it now.
jerem0621
Explorer II
Aug 01, 2015
The Texan wrote:
This is a person that is trying to use what ifs and maybes to scare someone. The 7.3L is the MOST bullet proof PSD ever built. ALL vehicles have "common" issues so trying to say it would cost a person $2000 - $3000 in engine repairs, to own a used 7.3PSD is PURE speculation, nothing more.
jerem0621 wrote:
7.3 common issues

* CPS sensor leading to a crank/ no start issue
Part is less than $50 and 10 minutes to change out with a 10mm wrench
* wire harness under the valve covers can go bad
Drove our last 7.3L for 200K and never had a problem with the wiring harness
* occasional Injector...And misc. Diesel parts that wear out.
What used vehicle of ANY type would NOT fit in this realm of "might happen" ???

Thanks!

Jeremiah

7.3 is amazing....no reason to scare someone from it...just provinding info.

Your personal experience with a 7.3 illustrates this...

And...having an older truck means you will pay for repairs eventually...having some money squirreled away for possible repairs is prudent...

Not sure how I came across as trying to scare someone...that was 100% not my intent...and everything I mentioned is indeed an issue with these trucks...minor...sure...but as an owner of a 13 year old minimum truck it's best to know what these issues are.

I stand by my position...I would expect to spend 1-2k on any 7.3 I would acquire and 3-5k on a 6.0....if I get away with less...that's great.

Tone...something that is totally lost in type.

Thanks!

Jeremiah
K_Charles
Explorer
Aug 01, 2015
Our '04 X has the V10 and 182,000 miles, the last 50,000 almost all towing an 8500 lb TT. I have replaced the brakes a couple times and the alt want at about 140,000. I think I will have to replace the ball joints before we take off this fall. The only thing I did to the running gear is tighten the steering box. I changed the trans filter once and I changed the plugs at about 130.000. It has 3.73 gears and works just fine. I like to run about 70 on the highway, if I go 60 it doesn't stay in overdrive quit as well. In the mou gains it will do 70 in 2nd gear at about 4700 RPM as I remember so even with the high geared rear end it will stay with traffic.
SCcampers
Explorer
Aug 01, 2015
I had a 2004 Ex with the 6.0. The motor blew lost oil pressure and then things fell apart while towing our camper back in April (about 8500 lbs) less than 60,000 miles had the truck since new and always cared for it. If I were to get another Ex it would be a 7.3 or the V10 but I will never look at one again. ( I bought a '15 Ram with the Cummins that tows much better than the Ex ever did)

Good luck with your search I agree the E350 van idea is a good one.
dodge_guy
Explorer II
Aug 01, 2015
I have an 02 V-10 X. I originally had 3.73's. I knew I was swapping to 4.30's when I bought it. The 3.73's with a 9200lb TT will not be enjoyable. The 4.30's are what you want with a V-10.

Either of the 2 diesels will be good. If you can find a 6.0 that was "bulletproofed" early on it would be a good buy.

Keep in mind whatever X you buy you will have to do some suspension mods to help it tow well. I went with a Hellwig rear sway bar and air bags. Many people install F250/350 springs under the X, this fixes all the X's suspension shortcomings! Maybe go to Ford Truck Enthusiats and go to the Excursion forum and read all about the X's there. There are a lot of members that will give you plenty of advice!

Good luck!