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Ford F-250 V-10 is this the truck for me?

ron121ron121 Member Posts: 3
edited March 2014 in Ford
Hello everybody. I have been reading all the information I can about Ford F-250's. Also to just about everybody I see driving one with the V-10 in them. This is what I would like to get your opinions on. I will be towing a fifth wheel which weighs around 9,500 to 10,500 depending on where and how long we will be going. Every day driving will be about 50 to 75 miles week. I have friends that tell me you can get 18 to 20 miles per gallon out of the V-10 by adding a power chip , flow master exhaust , and K&N filters. Is this possible? I can believe maybe 16 miles but not 20. So any information you can give me on the V-10, and how well they do for you will be appreciated. Oh ya , a psd is out of the question . My wife wont let me get one. I plan on getting a 2000 F-250 crew cab with the V-10. Thanks

Comments

  • mullins87mullins87 Member Posts: 959
    18 - 20 mpg?!?!?!? I don't think so. From what I have read and been told by other owners, 13 - 15 highway driving and 9 - 11 city is fairly normal. I can't say about a chip and exhaust, they are bound to help, but probably not that much. The V-10 will handle that size of a fiver just fine, expect about 8 mpg.

    You probably won't like this next statement, but here goes anyway. A 10k lb fiver will overload a 250 CC. Most everyone I know with a F-250 PSD CC that has weighed their truck tells me it will come in around 7,500 lbs. That's its loaded weight, without the fiver. That includes you and your spouse, if any, and children, if any, and all your gear that you normally put in the truck for a weekend, and full of gas. The GVWR on a F-250 is 8,800 lbs, that leaves you 1,300 lbs of hitch capacity. A 10k fiver will put about 2,000 lbs on its hitch. You'll be fine with your GCWR as it should be at or near 20k lbs. I see people doing this all the time and they never seem to have any trouble. However, get into a wreck with someone that is suit happy, if they find out your overloaded, look out!!! Step up to a SRW F-350. There's not that much difference in price and you'll get a 9,900 lb GVWR, giving you 1,100 lbs more carrying capacity.
  • ron121ron121 Member Posts: 3
    thanks mullins87 , That is about what I thought the gas mileage would be too. Your opinions are well taken on the GWVR for the F-250. The "fiver" we are currently planning on purchasing has a dry weight of 7,812 and a gvwr of 11,350. So your idea of an F-350 might be the way to go. I am still not to sure on those add ons helping the gas mileage. The cost of these add-ons might out weigh the 2-3 miles of gas I could save . I think the V-10 will have know problems towing this trailer and the added performance increases from the super chips , exhaust , and K&N filters are not needed. What does everybody think????? Thanks again mullins87.
  • kg11kg11 Member Posts: 530
    I don't know anyone with a chip but the people I know with exhaust mods LOST mpg's same goes for K&N filter.
     There's nothing wrong with a stock V10

    kip
  • mullins87mullins87 Member Posts: 959
    You're very welcome. Glad I could help.
  • wpalkowskiwpalkowski Member Posts: 493
    Mullins has got it right with F250 vs. 350, with your 5ver the 250 will be "legally" overloaded. Every body does it, but I'd rather be covered by insurance in the event of an accident.

     As far as chips go, it'll help your power, it'll rev better, and shift faster - but as far as improving mileage don't count on it. One other thing - most of the chips require you to use Premium gas - it's $1.99 here in CT- that's a $77 fill up. K & N filter, I've been told is good for 0.5 to 1 mpg better.
      My truck is basically stock, except for extra gauges, and stereo gear. I tow around 8500 lbs - my V10, auto with 3.73 has no problems (of course it hasn't gone over the Rockies...yet), except I average about 8 mpg.
  • ron121ron121 Member Posts: 3
    It is becoming more and more evident that this guy was crazy with his statement of 18 to 20 miles per gallon. As far as the legal weight load of the ford F-250. I can pull this fiver and still be under the legal limit. The hitch weight of the unit is 1,120. Now all I have to do is be very careful of what I put in the truck and the camper. However with this said , what would be the sense of going if you cant take what you want. My next ? . Does the F-350 ride any different than the F-250. Is there any other advantages of the F-350 besides the extra load . Another option would be to go with a little bit smaller fiver??? From what I have gathered so far on the add-ons there not worth wasting time or money on . Maybe the $50 bucks for the air filters but from what you guys have said the others are not very important or beneficial to the V-10.
  • wpalkowskiwpalkowski Member Posts: 493
    The ride difference between 250 and 350 is neglible. Ride of F350 isn't like a Lincoln Town Car, but it's not bad considering the load these trucks are capable of hauling. Actually, ride comfort depends more on the amount of air in your tires. If you run 80psi and truck is empty you'll kill yourself, but put 3500 lbs in truck and it rides fine. If I'm empty I run 40 psi in the fronts, and ~50 psi in the rear - still have good handling, but don't jar the fillings outta my teeth.
      One gotcha with 4x4 F350 vs. F250. The F350 4x4 has 4" tall lift blocks in the rear suspension, F250 4x4 only has 2" blocks; all 2wd have 2" blocks. The 4 inchers can cause either your Hitch or the bed rails to be too high when you go to hook up your Fiver. Ford does sell a retrofit to lower F350s.
      F350 only really gets you higher legal capacity - almost all drivetrain and suspension components are identical from 2001's on up. There are a small handfull of beefier pins, bushings, etc. that make up the 350, but I think you'd have to get under the truck with a set of calipers to measure things in order to see any differences - they're not obvious to naked eye.
      As I've said before, nobody ever complains about getting too much truck, but you sure hear it when they don't have enough truck to do what they want to.
  • mullins87mullins87 Member Posts: 959
    Walt brought up a good point about the F-350 4x4. With that setup, most likely you'll either have to bring the truck down or flip the axles on the fiver. There's not much difference between the F-250 and the SRW F-350, except for that sticker that will protect you in the event of a wreck.

    You mentioned the hitch weight of the fiver being 1,120 lbs. HE,HE,HE, don't count on it. That is the dry weight of the hitch before any options have been added to the fiver with no water, gas, or nothing else onboard. I think rv manufacturers understate the dry and gross weights of their rigs. I have a 31' Prowler TT that has a stated gross weight of 7,960 lbs. According to the info that came with it, it should weigh 5,470 lbs. dry. Now, my camper has several options including the fiberglass siding, which is heavy. I have never weighed it, but I can tell you it pulls much heavier than my flatbed bumper hitch trailer when it weighs a known 8k lbs.

    Like Walt said, nobody complains about getting too much truck. Now if you want the ultimate in stability and not have to worry about how much you put in the truck, get a DRW.
  • fordtuffordtuf Member Posts: 101
    I OWNED the 99 F250 sc 4x4 V10 3.73
    Don't buy one of the 99's. Too many first year problems too mention. FORD wound up giving me $5000 credit to buy a new one and gave me almost retail for taking my 99 back.

    I OWN the 2002 F250 SC 4x4 V10 3.73
    35 more HP right from the beginning, same as the 2000 and 2001.

    I put K&N, Flowmaster, and JBA headers on the 99. Gave me at least 20-25 more HP, didn't see the mileage gain because I kept my foot in the gas too much.

    I put the K&N and the JBA headers on the 2002, no Flowmaster for now. Will probably just put in a straight pipe instead of a muffler at all.

    I pull a 7500lb Terry Resort TT. Loaded for camping, full LP tanks, 15 gal water, food, clothes, everything.

    Both trucks LOADED for camping including Wife and two kids and one dog.....6400lbs.

    Mileage:
    99 empty 11-12 city 15-16 hwy
    99 hauling 9-10 hwy 8-9 mountains

    02 empty 10-11 city 14-15 hwy
    02 hauling 9-10 hwy 8-9 mountains

    Definitly get the K&N helps at any speed.
    Muffler mods highly recommended, helps any speed.
    Headers, maybe, depends on what you are after.
    The way I know it and feel it...it moves your torque and power farther up your RPM scale. I could not tell by feel or by clocking it any improvement from 0-60. The 50-85 mph pulls much harder and quicker.

    For towing, all or most of the time, I would not recommend headers. For hot rodding around town and the occasional truck pulling events I would recommend them. I won first place in July at the street truck, gasoline class in my home town. Beat the Chevy HD by 7 inches, its not much but I won. I can just think of how much better it would have been if I were not running 285/75/16's.

    Now that I'm done it seems more like a buck and a quarter, than 2 cents.
  • leroybkrleroybkr Member Posts: 17
    I have a 99 F350, 4.30 LS axle, auto and V10. I tow a 14,000 fifth with 3000 Lb on the hitch. I am at 105000 with no major problems. The main difference between the 250 and 350 is the tires which have a 3400 LB rating (265x75x16 E rating) and the rear Springs. The rear GAWR is 6800 versus 6000 for the 250. My truck weighs about 6500 loaded. I am within all my GAWR and GVWR limits. I have towed the trailer over the Rockies across I 70 through Wyoming and can keep up with the slowest 18 wheelers going up the hills. I average 8.5 towing at 55mpg, 10 in town and 14 solo on the highway.
  • v10kenv10ken Member Posts: 1
    My truck is a 2001 F-250 CC 4x4 with auto trans and 3.73 rear. I had an F-150 which I was very happy with but just wasn't roomy enough or heavy duty enough for towing long distances. It could tow my 26' TT but with a wife and 4 kids and a little wind it was just workin' too hard. We love the crew cab and considered the F-150 supercrew but felt the box was too short - the short box on the F-250 is 1'-9" longer.

    As for the V-10, it starts and runs very well and tows our trailer easily. My milage is very similar to what Fordtuf reported above - 14 to 15 unloaded highway, 8 to 9 fully loaded and towing.
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