New 7.3 vs old V-10

[jonmacpolo]

I had a 2007 Ford 350 short-bed gas V-10 with a large Lance camper on it, and it would struggle going up the Sierras while pulling a small boat. Do you think the new 7.3 would do better than the old V10?
Thanks,
JM

[jonmacpolo]

Thank you for all of your replies. Sorry it took me so long to respond my son was in the hospital for a week. The F-350 struggled to maintain speed going up highway 80. It did it when it was new. The boat was a bass tracker 175 combo about 3500 lbs. I don't remember the name of the Lance camper but it was the larger size non-slide out for short bed trucks. I don't need to do 70 mph going up but would like to hold 55-60.

[Grit_dog]

7.3 has way more hp and only a little more torque than the V10. 10 speed will help a little more compared to 4 or 5 speed if the med duty apps get a 10 speed. Do they? I’m not well read on it.
The new 7.3s appear to be a great engine, but not going to be night and day difference imo if comparing apples to apples.
It’ll still downshift a bunch of gears and rev like any gasser to make power.
If you can maintain desired speed on your “test” grade then the new drivetrain is of zero use as it will just do it at a lower rpm (not a lot lower ). If you can almost maintain desired speed, the new unit may do that for you.
Buddy has an older class A moho V10 with 4.88s I think. It hauls a 30’+ A and a Jeep up WA passes 4-6% as fast as you can take the curves.

As the OP, not knowing what to expect, don’t expect diesel power out of it.

[FishOnOne]

Here's a video of two Motorhomes with a V10 vs a 7.3 both with 6 speed transmissions.

Link

[blofgren]

colliehauler wrote:
Should be better But time is the only true indication. My old 6.8 is still problem free after 20 years and a over 200k miles. I hope the new 7.3 has the same stamina.

I totally agree. That said, the design of the 7.3L is very simple, much like the GM LS engines which are bulletproof. I think they will be a very good engine.

[colliehauler]

Should be better But time is the only true indication. My old 6.8 is still problem free after 20 years and a over 200k miles. I hope the new 7.3 has the same stamina.

[Greene728]

FishOnOne wrote:

blofgren wrote:

FishOnOne wrote:
Absolutely...

I completely agree with Fish on this one! :B

:B

Me too. Other than the only comparison being they are both gas fed engines, it's otherwise apples to oranges overall. Better trans, hp and torque numbers, suspension, gearing, technology are all much improved.

[FishOnOne]

blofgren wrote:

FishOnOne wrote:
Absolutely...

I completely agree with Fish on this one! :B

:B

[blofgren]

FishOnOne wrote:
Absolutely...

I completely agree with Fish on this one! :B

[twodownzero]

The new truck has over 20% more power, so I would hope so.

I bet it's going to drink gas when doing it, but if having extra power on tap is appealing, a newer truck is going to have more power than an older one.

[BenK]

Need more info....

Did it struggle when it had less miles on it ?

What area of the Sierras ? Some are not that steep, nor in altitude

'Small boat'...how much did it weight or how long or what type of boat?

Which Lance inbed camper ? Both my neighbors have BIG Lance campers. One has a F350SD V10 (both the Lance and small utility V-nose trailer with his ATV inside) and goes to The Rubicon many times a years and has NO problems from SF Bayarea up to Tahoe. Other has a CTD with a Lance and has no problems from SF Bayarea up to Tahoe.

Both of theirs single wheel & crew. The F350SD switched to 19.5" and likes it much better than the LT's he took off

The CTD had transmission issues (electrical and told me a common thing) and left him stranded 2 times. Took him about 1.5 years to figure it out....but....it did not struggle going from sea level up to about 8,000 feet

When I go with them and still had my boat, no problem with my 28ft boat and 1996 GMT400 gas 7.4L/4.1 K3500 Suburban and usually lead them...most of the time... :B

Does your V10 have the spitting out spark plug problem fixed ?

[LanceRKeys]

Define struggle. High RPMs, but holding speed, high RPMs and losing speed or something else?

[dodge_guy]

Sounds like the 07 had the wrong gearing. With the right gearing the V-10 would run right up the mountain. Same goes for the new 7.3. If you gear it wrong it too will struggle, but not nearly as bad with a 10speed auto!

[mkirsch]

vjstangelo wrote:
I guess define struggle. If you mean slows down on grades, you probably are going to do the same with the 7.3 so I wouldn’t necessarily blow $30-40 large on a new truck just to get the 7.3.

It's been a while since you've shopped for a new truck, I take it?

You're not getting any sort of Super Duty for $30-40,000 cash layout unless you've got about a $20,000 trade in.

[Lantley]

kellem wrote:
If your in the market for a truck and loyal to Ford then 7.3 would be a good choice and upgrade over V10. Imo

If you are loyal to a gas engine a 7.3 gasser would be a good choice. If you want more power and performance go diesel.