Replacement for 2002 Excursion 7.3L

[Vol_Bengal]

Hello all - here is my situation...
I've been towing campers since I was 18 years old. I towed the family camper back then. I pulled with an older Ford Econoline e350 w/ the 460 motor in it, I've driven the old (I mean my grandpa's old) F250 from years ago with the 460. I've pulled with a Suburban and I'm currently towing with a 2002 Ford Excursion 7.3. I've had it 14 years and it has been a fantastic vehicle for us. I've done the F250 spring upgrade to it, tuner, 4" turbo back exhaust, big cold air intake, etc., etc., etc. Two years ago I purchased a 2017 Mesa Ridge 310BHS that I fell in love with. It is 9265... dry. Loaded down, full complement of family in, etc. and all the different stuff I believe I'm pushing closer to 12,000... tongue weight is about 1265. The Excursion with the upgrades has been up to the task. However, the braking and such isn't on par with the F-series super duty's and I've been leery of it since I made the purchase quite honestly. I pulled the camper with my father's F350 7.3 dually Friday to the campground and fell in love...

Long and short of it - I don't need all the seating space of the Excursion any longer so I'm going to make a change to a 250/2500 or 350/3500 of some nature. I'm not married to gas or diesel simply because we tow the camper a grand total of maybe 1500 miles a year... maybe. This would be an extra vehicle not driven everyday.

Thoughts on 3/4 or 1 ton at 12,000 pounds? I intend in the 3-4 year window upgrade into a 5th wheel... likely 15-16,000 point 5th wheel. Ford 6.2L vs. 6.0 vs older 7.3 vs. 6.7 vs. Chevy Duramax vs. Dodge Cummins vs. Dodge 5.7L Hemi... I'm on the fence as to brand and fuel type... looking for help!!!

[patperry2766]

If it's gonna be a few years till you upgrade to a 5th wheel and your current set up will suffice until then, Ford has a new 7.0L engine that is in the works. Suppose to be going into the 2019 Raptors, and then into the SD trucks to replace the 6.2L.
Some of the rumor mill sites say that it should be somewhere around 575 HP and 625 FT/LB torque with a 10 sp transmission.

[sgfrye]

As much as I love my 2017 f250 6.2 gasser I would not tow a fiver that size with less than a duality

[DiskDoctr]

bartlettj wrote:
An electric hybrid HD truck with good tow ratings would be really interesting to me.

$50k or more difference buys a LOT of fuel 😉

[bartlettj]

Camper G wrote:

bartlettj wrote:
If you aren't driving the new truck much I would be careful about getting a new diesel. Def goes bad after several months of sitting. I just had to have my DEF injector replaced on my Duramax because it sat for a while and clogged up with urea crystals.

I was not aware that was an issue with def. Thanks for letting us know. I don't need a diesel at the weights I'm pulling thankfully.

A diesel will definitely drive nicer and use less fuel when towing, but if you are under weight and not using it much it's not probably that cost effective for you. I'm under weight too but I probably put 7-10k miles a year on my trailer and I love the way my Duramax handles the load. Even with B20 being $3.09 compared to unleaded being $3.56 at my local pump I would still have to drive a lot to cover the higher cost of maintenance like oil changes, def, etc, and higher shop labor rates for diesels. I jumped in because I found a really nice used diesel at a price I wanted to pay. If I was going new I suspect I would have chosen gas. We'll see what happens in a few years. An electric hybrid HD truck with good tow ratings would be really interesting to me.

[Lantley]

I have made your exact move. I once towed a 11K loaded TT with a 2001 7.3 PSD X.
I now have a fiver. For a 16K fiver get the dually. Buy your last truck 1st. Avoid playing the upgrade game later.
If a 16K 5th wheel is ultimately your goal. Get the dually now and don't look back.
In the meantime, tow your current TT with the dually, the 5'er will come soon enough.

[burningman]

Why would you not get a dually, since the truck isn’t a daily driver (although I daily-drive my dually just fine) and it’s gonna be doing such heavy work?
And yeah, I love diesels but they don’t really “math out” and the new ones have all sorts of emission system issues.

[Camper_G]

bartlettj wrote:
If you aren't driving the new truck much I would be careful about getting a new diesel. Def goes bad after several months of sitting. I just had to have my DEF injector replaced on my Duramax because it sat for a while and clogged up with urea crystals.

I was not aware that was an issue with def. Thanks for letting us know. I don't need a diesel at the weights I'm pulling thankfully.

[bartlettj]

If you aren't driving the new truck much I would be careful about getting a new diesel. Def goes bad after several months of sitting. I just had to have my DEF injector replaced on my Duramax because it sat for a while and clogged up with urea crystals.

[ScottG]

I would absolutely go dually with that much weight.
With 3500# pin, a couple of hundred for the hitch a a few hundred more for you and the Mrs, you would be at or over the capacity of a 1T SRW.

[Grit_dog]

^ Trucks been coming with 18 and /or 20” wheels for the better part of 10 years now and if one gets stuck with some 17s, a takeoff set of bigger wheels is likely just a click away on Craigslist and pretty economical.
To the OP, 2500 gasser is fine for now. 3500srw diesel would be ideal for your future 5ver.
15k is a lot of any new gasser. Especially a high profile load unless maybe you’re in the flats, local trips and not many big hills AND low altitude.
Fwiw, I use to pull 14-16klb flat bed, no wind resistance, occasionally with my 6.2 3.73 geared F250s with the little 17” tires and it was all that truck wanted. Gearing wouldn’t have made up for it either.
I wouldn’t have wanted the same load up a pass or at altitude. That truck was 2nd gear wound up at 50mph with just a 4000lb snowmachine enclosed trailer and 1000lbs in the bed once grades and altitude came into play.

May as well suck it up now, find ya a diesel for your next camper or you’ll be looking for a new truck if the 5ver comes to fruition.

And btw we are all spoiled now by the big numbers newer trucks put out. Gas and diesel. So this is all relative.

[jerem0621]

They will all do it. Go for the one you like and roll on. gas vs Diesel is a personal preference at the weights you are talking.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[APT]

Since you are used to the diesel - get a newer one. Any of the 2011+ HD gas trucks will tow your TT with the 4.xx axle ratio. The 6-spd transmissions really help keep the engines in their powerband, but that will be much higher than you are used to. Expect a lot of time in the 3000-4000rpm range. Again, a 2011+ diesel will tow great. Lots of power, better gearing, etc.

Since you are planning a 5th wheel, get the dually. SRW diesel crew cab has about 3500 pounds of payload. Dually is closer to 5000.

You said you do not pack light.

[donn0128]

Sorry, I disagree with meagain. 16K pound fiver translates to 3500 pound pin weight. Add 3500 to an already 3000 to 3500 empty rear axle weight comes out to around 7000 pounds. Unless you get a brand new truck with 18 or 20 inch wheels you will be way overloaded on most factory LT tires. Just not a smart idea oven if you do find a truck with tires capable of handling that much weight your likely not going to be real happy doing it. Get a dually or look for less fiver with a 3500 SRW.

[Me_Again]

"likely 15-16,000 point 5th wheel"

That is SRW 350/3500 territory! Some will argue dually, however the 2013+ RAM, 2016+ GM or 2017+ Ford with their new frames will handle that weight fine with a SRW. Diesel for sure.

Click link in my sig line to see the 16K 5th wheel I tow with a 2015 RAM 3500 4x4 CC SB with Aisin tranny an 3.42 gears.

Chris