F-450 - should I get Diesel or Gas???

[Koa Man]

The towing capacity of almost all cabovers is very weak. Lucky to find one that can pull 6K. That is the reason I stick with conventional cab trucks. My 3/4 ton Dodge with a hopped up Cummins can pull 10K up 6% grades at 70 mph.

[GlennG]

It all went in the truck and trailer as firewood. Due to an arbor at the entrance of this property it was not possible to get a large truck on site. I got the job because no other company wanted to bid on it. It was one of the funnest jobs I ever did. I now prune on this property the homeowner request I bring Fred the dog when I visit. Fred rides around with me and seals the deal everytime. Largest removal I have done. Im still heating my house with wood from that tree 3 years later. That 1 tree yielded 14 cords of firewood. Stump measurred 72" x 81" dbh. Probably the biggest tree I will ever cut. The puppy "Fred" is now a fit 120lb dog and he is doing great. Fred is trained to bring firewood from the woodshed to the backporch 1 split at a time. great dog HE IS SO COOL. Fred also hunts and fishes

[GlennG]

I dont need to go fast. 50 mph is enough. but I do need to pull a 4000 pound chipper up hills in western PA. I also need to brake down hills with chipper and 2 ton of chips and/or logs. Braking, in my opinion is the weak link with 1 ton pickup trucks.

[fishercat]

pulls his bobcat and 1230 vermeer no problem.not both at the same time of course.


are they putting a reliable transmission behind that Cummins yet?


i'd rather have reliability than speed.

[Koa Man]

The autos are junk unless you get a new Dodge with the model 68 transmission. My truck has the 6 speed stick with a South Bend clutch.
No problems with the tranny and I have 135,000 miles, most of it towing or carrying a load.

As far as braking, I have a PacBrake exhaust brake and brakes on the trailer.
It stops very quickly with a load, but I don't go fast down hill or when traffic is around. I also don't go 70 mph up hills either as the exhaust gas temp will start to get too high. I know it can do 70 mph for brief periods because I tried it once towing 9780 lbs. I normally travel 50 mph up that 6% grade to keep the egt at just under 1200º.

[capetrees]

I've read through all the posts to this thread and still need some reassurance before purchasing.

My old GMC is on the way out. Fact is, it's off the road. I've been looking for a one ton and have narrowed the search. Both are Ford f350, both 2005, both 30K miles. One has gas V10 motor, all the bells and whistles, maintained/owned by ASE certified mechanic and no plow, used for side jobs, $22000.
The other, 6.0 diesel with a plow, used in landscaping company, claimed to be in perfect condition, $24000

Others trucks in mind like a 1999 f350 and a f550 both with 7.3 but look to be a bit tougher shape. Any direction if anyone were in my shoes? New is out of the question. How do the motors compare? Everything else seems comparable. I've looked at the specs on the motors but I'm looking for reality input. I realize the 6.0 has had its problems but then so did the V10 with sparkplugs siezing. The 7.3 is a nice motor but the ones available are 11 years old. Any insight?

thanks

[grandpatractor]

Originally Posted by capetrees

I've read through all the posts to this thread and still need some reassurance before purchasing.

My old GMC is on the way out. Fact is, it's off the road. I've been looking for a one ton and have narrowed the search. Both are Ford f350, both 2005, both 30K miles. One has gas V10 motor, all the bells and whistles, maintained/owned by ASE certified mechanic and no plow, used for side jobs, $22000.
The other, 6.0 diesel with a plow, used in landscaping company, claimed to be in perfect condition, $24000

Others trucks in mind like a 1999 f350 and a f550 both with 7.3 but look to be a bit tougher shape. Any direction if anyone were in my shoes? New is out of the question. How do the motors compare? Everything else seems comparable. I've looked at the specs on the motors but I'm looking for reality input. I realize the 6.0 has had its problems but then so did the V10 with sparkplugs siezing. The 7.3 is a nice motor but the ones available are 11 years old. Any insight?

thanks

I would definitely take the 7.3 over the 6.0. Then the gasser.

[gr8scott72]

Originally Posted by capetrees

I've read through all the posts to this thread and still need some reassurance before purchasing.

My old GMC is on the way out. Fact is, it's off the road. I've been looking for a one ton and have narrowed the search. Both are Ford f350, both 2005, both 30K miles. One has gas V10 motor, all the bells and whistles, maintained/owned by ASE certified mechanic and no plow, used for side jobs, $22000.
The other, 6.0 diesel with a plow, used in landscaping company, claimed to be in perfect condition, $24000

Others trucks in mind like a 1999 f350 and a f550 both with 7.3 but look to be a bit tougher shape. Any direction if anyone were in my shoes? New is out of the question. How do the motors compare? Everything else seems comparable. I've looked at the specs on the motors but I'm looking for reality input. I realize the 6.0 has had its problems but then so did the V10 with sparkplugs siezing. The 7.3 is a nice motor but the ones available are 11 years old. Any insight?

thanks

05 V10 doesn't have the spark plug issues. That was on the earlier models.

6.0 scares me to death with all the stories I've read about them.

I'd either find a nicer 7.3 or just get the V10.

(Btw, I have a 2000 Excursion with a V10 and it has almost 180k completely trouble free miles on it. I tow 8k - 14k lbs with it daily and did so for the last 30k miles in the last year.)

[fishercat]

Originally Posted by capetrees

I've read through all the posts to this thread and still need some reassurance before purchasing.

My old GMC is on the way out. Fact is, it's off the road. I've been looking for a one ton and have narrowed the search. Both are Ford f350, both 2005, both 30K miles. One has gas V10 motor, all the bells and whistles, maintained/owned by ASE certified mechanic and no plow, used for side jobs, $22000.
The other, 6.0 diesel with a plow, used in landscaping company, claimed to be in perfect condition, $24000

Others trucks in mind like a 1999 f350 and a f550 both with 7.3 but look to be a bit tougher shape. Any direction if anyone were in my shoes? New is out of the question. How do the motors compare? Everything else seems comparable. I've looked at the specs on the motors but I'm looking for reality input. I realize the 6.0 has had its problems but then so did the V10 with sparkplugs siezing. The 7.3 is a nice motor but the ones available are 11 years old. Any insight?

thanks

my buddies 2004 F550 with a V10 has been damn reliable,even with the automatic transmission.

[2FatGuys]

2005 6.0L should be fine. There are more maintenance costs with a 6.0L than a 7.3L. If you are looking for power and reliability, the 99-03 7.3L is the most sought after Ford (actually International T-444E) diesel engine. Despite what was posted in an earlier post, the 99-03 7.3L is easy to work on, parts are easy to find, and they can be easily and reliably modified for increased HP, torque and MPG.

We have 3 1-ton Fords... (1) an "early" 99 F-350 crew cab dually 7.3L with about 200k miles (original injectors, glow plugs, turbo, etc.) that still drives almost lie new. (2) 2000 F-350 crew cab SRW 7.3L with only 60k miles (yeah... it's the "Sunday go to meeting" truck... ) (3) 2005 Excessive... I mean Excursion... with 6.0L and almost 175K miles. The 6.0L has had to have more maintenance than the other two combined, but still hasn't had the problems we had with the 2003 Excessive (6.0L).

I would caution you about diesels if you want to plow. Most of the plow websites won't configure one to a 1 ton with diesel. It places too much weight on the front axle.

My vote for a "work truck" is 99-03 7.3L....

[talltreeclimber]

get the 7.3L

[capetrees]

Wanted something with the 7.3 but nothing decent was out there so I went with the gas V10. 2005, 31,000 miles, plow frame, 4x4, used for plowing one parking lot and used rarely in the summer months. No scratches, dings, dents or rust(some on the frame). Even has a backup camera! $22,500.

Thanks for all the input.

[John D]

IMO,a clean newer V10 is a much better choice than an older whipped 7.3PSD.The V10 is cheap and easy to keep running should it need repair work(unlikely).

[indiansprings]

Go with a diesel, we've used them for years on the farm and as daily drivers.
I've owned the Ford,Dodge and Chevy. The 7.3 was an outstanding motor, I run one to almost 300k before selling it with no issues. I was given a 2005 crew cab 3/4 ton Ford lariat 4x4 for a sales bonus, it had the 6.0 diesel, what a piece of crap, got rid of it with 40k miles, the only thing good about it was it didn't cost me a penny, great truck horrible motor. My favorite out of the bunch is the Chevy Duramax with the Allison behind it, fantastic mileage great tranny, quiet no issues. Our wood truck is a Dodge 2500 4x4 with the Cummins, gave 1500.00 for it as it was a bank repo, interior was ROUGH, it had around 180k on it when we got it, the Cummins has been flawless, the only problem is that it is a Cummins with a Dodge wrapped around it.
Don't be afraid of a diesel, the key is like anything else preventive maint., clean fuel, change fuel filters every 15 to 20k miles, we change our oil in ours every 10k miles, using Rotella 15-40. My BIL has over 375k on a 7.3, an uncle has run a Cummins up over 350k in an old 94 Dodge 3/4 ton truck, after you use them as farm for a while as a feed truck they usually get so beat up and broke down from hauling two big round bales at a time that after a few years they won't give nothing for trade, it's just cheaper to run them until they die.
Stay away from the Dodge diesel auto trannies.....weak. Also stay away from the 6.5 chevy diesel, anything after I believe 2001 had the Duramax. The Duramax was/is an isuzu design, the Ford 7.3 was an International design.
Don't be afraid to go with a diesel, see if they will let you take it to a shop and have a scan run on it, the scan will tell if it has any issues/injector/pump etc. around here a scan only runs 40.00 bucks, cheap when your dropping that kind of coin.

[John D]

The problem with an older 7.3 isnt the miles,its the wear and tear,and age...my friends have the 7.3s and they are not fun once they get about 8-10 yrs old....Oil pans rotting,IDM modules corroding,injector harnesses going bad,constant cam sensors,starter motors, oil leaks,fuel transfer pumps,fuel tanks flaking and clogging the fuel pickup,exhaust leaks from the manifolds to the turbo,its just a never ending problem running one.2 of the trucks are one of my best friends both have under 80K on them,but they have both had all of the above issues...one is an 01,one an 02.The actual engine is fine,its the electronics,and hardware around it.....