OT. Ford Pickup

I would almost call BS on the 10k miles as you can replace a dash with a new odometer reading of anything you want if you don't have alot of scrupples.

My 02 F350 DRW has 16k miles and I don't work and really don't use it all that much so about 5k miles average per year under light use.

Have you ran the vin thru to see the title and warranty history?

GCWR means nothing now as your out of all warranty thru Ford. Your pushing about maximum load with 12k + 4k trailer + 7500 truck but the commerical guys do 30k GCW all the time. I do 28k on mine but not OTR. Have no idea what there maintance expense is as GCW would effect that.

With 16k GCW running from AZ to the Colorado Rockies, RT. I average 14.1mpg pulling by at 1600rpm, maximum torque.

Empty (as empty as I get), I get 19.2mpg consistanly on every tank. I did have to retrain my driving style tho.

T_Bone

The trailer i use has tandem wheels so i can pull fine with a single rear wheel truck. That was a compromise, as a 4X4 was important, and dually 4X4's are hard to come by. You definately have an advantage if you blow a tire with the dually. With 4:10 gears, i get 17.5 to 18 mpg empty.

I live near an interstate and talk to alot of the light duty commercial haulers when fueling up. They will come off the road with 10 boat trailers stacked on top of one another and three car haulers all the time. The 30,000 lbs is what they say about weight too, with the goose neck trailers. The right trailer is just as important as the truck. I actually saw a 450 dozer for sale on e-bay, and was pictured on a single wheel dual axle trailer pulled with a 1 ton truck with receiver hitch. The dozer weight alone is 14-15K. I asked about how it towed, but only answer i got was trailer is not included. Regards.

The 6.0 came out in Nov 2002 for the 03 moodel. Some are reporting 7.3's as late as Dec 2002 build dates and no reports after Jan 03.

I was commenting that I don't do 28k GCW OTR, just a local water trailer.

My son just bought a 04.5 CTD with 6spd, 4:10 and is getting about the same, 18 to 20mpg.

T_Bone

Na I kept my Dodge for 27yrs so don't hold your breath....lol

The Dodge is for sale tho! $2k 76,cub cab, 400ci, 4spd, 4:10, lwb, 70gal fuel, 250k miles, 1 owner.

Ya I'm real happy with my F350. I had it in deep in the back country last year elk hunting and I sure got some funny looks.

02 F350, CC, 7.3PSD, 6spd, 4wd, lwb, 3:73

T_Bone

Jerry has bought his truck. If its in good shape, he may never want another gas powered truck.

Your right a dual wheel is a little harder to push around. There's no substitue for getting to know how your truck reacts in certain road conditions and adjusting your speed to them. It maybe that a dually would perform better for your setup and road conditions. First, You could try moving the tractor rearward and try to get 60% on the trailer and 40% on the truck and see if its better. Just fine tuning the load for the best ride. There is a point where you can have too much weight on the hitch effecting the ride, just as there can be too much weight on the trailer tail. The sway and fishtail happen when theres too much weight rearward and it's easy to tell when you have reached that point. The alternative to dual wheels is to improve your equipment to reduce the push with the weight distributing hitches with sway bars and also the friction sway controls that mount on a small ball on your receiver block and trailer frame. Either way there are advantages and disadvantages and both approaches have higher costs. Tire, brake and repair costs are higher on duallys. My neighbor complains about poor tread life on his. Plus the wheels are too big for the average tire balancer to have the right adapter. So he ends up looking for places that have the right wheel balancer to buy his tires.

Trailer design comment, i have seen people make trailers with mobile home axles and no springs. They really ride rough and will really push on a truck even when empty.

He needs to know the GCWR of the truck and weigh all the units.

My truck weights more than 7,250 pounds empty. If the one you are looking at is comparable, your gross combined weight will be well over 20K. That will likely be over the rated CGVW weight (note other peoples points about saftey and insurance) and too much for the 7.3L Powerstroke, 3.73 ratio and automatic transmission to pull reliably.

The open bed equipment trailer doesn't have the same air drag. I would agree the 4:10 axle is better for take offs, but after that it loses to fuel economy. 3:73 is enough gear to haul, unless your climbing a mountain on a regular basis, then you'd be better off with the 4.10. I wouldn't pass on the truck if that was the only factor.

Insurance companies will look for outs if they have to pay. If the truck is properly licensed for the weight it carries, they would have to pay in the end. You can license a truck over it's GVWR and it's best to figure heavy. Even if the total load is over the truck GVWR the trailer is carrying the bulk of the weight and only the weight at the hitch counts toward the trucks gvwr. Thats a difficult calculation to make and prove in a dispute. That all depends on how the tractors are loaded and if it's a long trailer it's possible to put their weight mostly on the axles. The downside is that makes for sway, more fish bite and bucking on rough roads. The only true way to know if your exceeding GVWR would be to weight the load at the hitch, the truck and the cargo. The gvw is an estimate. If Jerry lives in a no fault insurance state or got in an accident in one, their paying--period.

If you could be by pulling less weight, it would be a nice truck to have.

Regards,
Tim B

This is my experience: A single rear wheel 3/4 ton superduty Powerstroke diesel will pull that weight with a gooseneck trailer. There are goosenecks rated up to 10 ton-20,000lb GVWR (thats trailer and cargo weight). (funny how they make trailers and hitches that will exceed the vehicles GVWR when loaded.) The highest rated receiver hitch is 14000lb with weight distribution bars for the truck, i know of. Reese makes a rail mounted goose that's rated for 26,000lbs, there's no hole to cut in the truck bed and the rails also accept the fifth wheel RV hitch. When you add the trailer weight and tractors to the truck weight you should be over the gross weight rating. If memory serves with a goose or fifth wheel hitch the GVWR is 22,000lbs for the Superduty. You will need skill to handle the load just like an OTR 18 wheeler needs to handle his rig. The engine will handle the weight no problem. Problems you will encounter are with braking and over heating the transmission in summer unless your in a cold climate. You can overcome them by adding an exhaust brake and extra cooling for the transmission-a bigger cooler and deeper pan. If you do it, Consider the exhaust brake as essential, whether you choose a low cost electronic unit that uses the existing engine cold start exhaust valve or the more expensive add on unit. The trucks factory brakes will be fine for normal traffic, but not for panic stops if someone fails to yield or for mountain driving. You need an exhaust brake for those situations.

All the triple axle 3 car haulers pulled by 3/4 and 1 ton trucks you see on the road are exceeding the GVWR. They can do it by modifying the truck, Having an extra cab and longer frame, distributing the weight with the extra or heavier duty axles and goose/fifth wheel hitching. The larger 32' and up fifth wheel RV's are right at or slightly over the GVWR of 3/4 and 1 ton trucks.

You can pull the weight with the right trailer with that truck. Whether you should is up to you, but for the sake of everyone on the road you shouldn't unless you up grade the brake system and have working trailer brakes.

There maybe a license issue, depending on the gross weight and if you exceed 26000lbs you may need a class B. It depends on your local DMV. I have never gotten a clear answer from mine. You can't pull for hire and exceed 26000lbs, then you need a CDL but you can move your own equipment and exceed 26000lbs. How much hassle you get, if any, from transport police depends on where you live. In my area they leave Farm and car haulers alone and focus on 18 wheelers as long as your load is properly binded. You need chain binders for that weight. Try to find out about licensing before you buy.

Guessing from the size trailer your going to need to haul 12,000 lbs and the truck's weight you should be under 26000lbs. A 10 ton goose is about 5500lb, the truck with cargo about 7500-8000lbs plus your 12000 in tractors. Over the stock GVWR but legal for private use, same as an RV.

The word is the newer 6.0 powerstroke diesels aren't performing as well as the big block 7.3's do.

LOL! Glad you caught that one; I was biting my tongue on the engine thing. :>)

Seems a little on the spendy side, but some would say that under 10K miles, same as a new one. I assume it is a 4x4 @ that kind of money?

If you take it somewhere and put it up on a lift, you should be able to see if it's been smacked.

I've got a low-mileage GMC Yukon that took a kiss in one front corner before I bought it; but it is still one of the nicest rides I've ever owned even if it has been hit.

Oh, and I dunno 'bout that "two tractor" thing either. :>)

Good luck on your decision,

Allan

• New IH pickup truck