Tow/service rig feature priorities

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Robert Culbertson
It even gets decent milage, about 12mpg at 65-75.

No it doesn't. Maybe in imperial gallons it does. I've never saw a v10 ford get more than 12mpg period, whether loaded or not. And they are godawful motors.

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HiTempguy

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Robert Culbertson
It even gets decent milage, about 12mpg at 65-75.

No it doesn't. Maybe in imperial gallons it does. I've never saw a v10 ford get more than 12mpg period, whether loaded or not. And they are godawful motors.

Unless I can't calculate mpg (which could very well be the case), the last time I used the van to haul a truck 90mi over the coast range and back, we did about 10-12mpg.

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Robert Culbertson

Unless I can't calculate mpg (which could very well be the case), the last time I used the van to haul a truck 90mi over the coast range and back, we did about 10-12mpg.

There is no way you could accurately get a mpg number from a 90mile trip. That would be the first issue.

The second issue is it is just not possible. I've driven a LOT of V10 fords. Maybe I have different expectations of what "pulling power" is, but a V10 ford is not what springs to mind.

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HiTempguy

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Robert Culbertson

Unless I can't calculate mpg (which could very well be the case), the last time I used the van to haul a truck 90mi over the coast range and back, we did about 10-12mpg.

There is no way you could accurately get a mpg number from a 90mile trip. That would be the first issue.

The second issue is it is just not possible. I've driven a LOT of V10 fords. Maybe I have different expectations of what "pulling power" is, but a V10 ford is not what springs to mind.

Agreed 90 miles is useless. 2000 miles yes. 90 mile, no.

But.

Ever think maybe you have a big right foot?
How people use the pedal makes a big difference, like booting it from low speeds.
Which most younger type guys always do.

Just a thought.

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

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TronDD
I was going to say...you've never lived in Massachusetts, have you?

Nope..... Visited once.... That was enough.

One word..... MOVE. There are plenty of places around the country that are not infested with unpleasant people and Government that is forever finding new/exciting ways to violate you.

---

JohnLane

Overkill is consistently more fun

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john vanlandingham

Ever think maybe you have a big right foot?
How people use the pedal makes a big difference, like booting it from low speeds.
Which most younger type guys always do.

Just a thought.

I drive 100km/h on highways. I putt away from lights. I get pretty good mpg out of my vehicles. Hell, I think getting 12usmpg towing through the mountains with my 93 chebby 1/2 ton at max gvw is pretty friekin good!

My company vehicle was a brand new, dually, 6 speed v10 Ford for a while. Yes, it did have an aftermarket work box on the back. Worst. Truck. Ever. It couldn't get out of it's own way, and I put over 10,000kms on it. Never got better.

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HiTempguy

My company vehicle was a brand new, dually, 6 speed v10 Ford for a while. Yes, it did have an aftermarket work box on the back. Worst. Truck. Ever. It couldn't get out of it's own way, and I put over 10,000kms on it. Never got better.

The van is an auto, and turns pretty low revs at speed. I'm sure final drive gearing and trans choice have a lot to do with mileage. The engine has a few go fast parts and a tunable chip. This van will straight up MOVE. Van full-o-people vs Ford Focus w/16V was pretty even. If I nailed the launch in the focus and got the shifts right I would pull away... but just.

The van has about 250K of abuse, and it keeps on going. There's a lot to be said for regular and preventative maintenance to keep a vehicle going.
I also hear that vehicle driven in miles just work better for some reason.

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HiTempguy

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john vanlandingham

Ever think maybe you have a big right foot?
How people use the pedal makes a big difference, like booting it from low speeds.
Which most younger type guys always do.

Just a thought.

I drive 100km/h on highways. I putt away from lights. I get pretty good mpg out of my vehicles. Hell, I think getting 12usmpg towing through the mountains with my 93 chebby 1/2 ton at max gvw is pretty friekin good!

My company vehicle was a brand new, dually, 6 speed v10 Ford for a while. Yes, it did have an aftermarket work box on the back. Worst. Truck. Ever. It couldn't get out of it's own way, and I put over 10,000kms on it. Never got better.

Well alrighty then...

I have always wondered what the fascination with lots of cylinders is here in North America..
back in the 80s/early 90s in Ford 5.0 V8 vans they made like 1 ft/lb torque more than the "4.9" inline 6... Inline 6 made better Em Pee Geees..

Those Doodge things with a big inline 6 make all the power any resonable person not hauling semi-trailers could ever want, and the one I drove to Montana and back with a manual trans got rediculously good milage---around 20 mile/US gallon

Multi-cylinders at a given engine volume (engine builder for 40 years hat on) are about exploiting the lighter components to rev the thing up.: a light 300g piston robs less energy to stop it at the top and start it gain, and stop it at the bottom and start it again that does an 880g-1200g piston.. But in a truck? We ain't towing with 5.5 final drive and revving the things to 9000 rpm +..

Unless they just add 2 or 4 more cylinders just to up the engine volume...

Simple is almost always better...

Ahhhh (sigh) for a nice 2.5 turbo intercooled Transit van with the 6 speed.

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

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john vanlandingham

Well alrighty then...

I have always wondered what the fascination with lots of cylinders is here in North America..
back in the 80s/early 90s in Ford 5.0 V8 vans they made like 1 ft/lb torque more than the "4.9" inline 6... Inline 6 made better Em Pee Geees..

4.9 straight 6 with a five speed and you could tow anything. For nearly forever...

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Kirk Coughlin
Woodbury, MN and River Falls, WI

Quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est.

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darkknight9

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john vanlandingham

Well alrighty then...

I have always wondered what the fascination with lots of cylinders is here in North America..
back in the 80s/early 90s in Ford 5.0 V8 vans they made like 1 ft/lb torque more than the "4.9" inline 6... Inline 6 made better Em Pee Geees..

4.9 straight 6 with a five speed and you could tow anything. For nearly forever...

But doooooood Veee Haight, man!

isn't it funny how the idea of what is "needed' has escalated?
Where'd people get the idea they needed a truck with an engine the size of a semi tractor motor?

Could it be

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

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heymagic
A heavy 1/2 Chev , 2000 or newer with a 5.3 will pull what you are intending with ease. Get a 4.10 rear axle, G80 LSD if needed or 4x4. Extended cab will seat adults in back ok...not luxury theater but ok none the less. They all have the 4 doors now. Easy to drive and will get around 18-20 empty and 12ish or so towing a decent load. Live a very long time, 300k is not unusual on that engine and chassis with little maintainance. The only sore spot is a few of them had heads that cracked from an outside vendor named Castec. Only a few though. Best of the gas trucks nowadays and can be had in your price range. Great daily driver, decent tow rig.

Depends where you live I think. My dad has an 03 4x4 5.3; friend has something similar, coworker has a 04 yukon. All of them are complete rust buckets. Brakelines, suspension, pretty much everything has rusted out.

I think there is a class-action against the brake lines, but who knows if itll ever get resolved.

I give my dad crap all the time about his, i have an f150 he has a silverado so we just go back and forth. The 5.3 is a great engine though, very similar to the lsx i have in my rx7. So simple to work on.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2013 06:37AM by czwalga.

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czwalga

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heymagic
A heavy 1/2 Chev , 2000 or newer with a 5.3 will pull what you are intending with ease. Get a 4.10 rear axle, G80 LSD if needed or 4x4. Extended cab will seat adults in back ok...not luxury theater but ok none the less. They all have the 4 doors now. Easy to drive and will get around 18-20 empty and 12ish or so towing a decent load. Live a very long time, 300k is not unusual on that engine and chassis with little maintainance. The only sore spot is a few of them had heads that cracked from an outside vendor named Castec. Only a few though. Best of the gas trucks nowadays and can be had in your price range. Great daily driver, decent tow rig.

Depends where you live I think. My dad has an 03 4x4 5.3; friend has something similar, coworker has a 04 yukon. All of them are complete rust buckets. Brakelines, suspension, pretty much everything has rusted out.

I think there is a class-action against the brake lines, but who knows if itll ever get resolved.

I give my dad crap all the time about his, i have an f150 he has a silverado so we just go back and forth. The 5.3 is a great engine though, very similar to the lsx i have in my rx7. So simple to work on.

We don't have the rust issues like that unless it is a car bought at auction from back east. Just had a newer F-150 in the shop, black on black and gorgeous until I got under it. Massive rust on the lines and fasteners. People had just bought it so I shut up and didn't say a word.

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john vanlandingham

But doooooood Veee Haight, man!

isn't it funny how the idea of what is "needed' has escalated?
Where'd people get the idea they needed a truck with an engine the size of a semi tractor motor?

My old 3.8L Hino FB Diesel, with a hiab crane on it, dump box full of wood chips, and a chipper behind it would do 100 k/h all day long and get 20 mpg or better... (imperial gallons).

When the occasional steep grade came along, I had to slow from 100...

My F250 superduty with the 7.3 was lucky to get 20 mpg empty... fun, but rediculous unless I had 7000 lbs or more behind it.

Too bad those 3.8L's are a thing of the past, a more current FB comes with a bigger inline 6.

Me: 5.4l V8 2001 E350 Ford van. I've towed around the country with it. Had to overhaul the transmission once to have heavy-duty stuff put in, and the PS pump has gone out once, but otherwise it's worked great. Bought it off Ebay for $7500 in 2005. I built custom shelving in the back that hold all my parts, tools, fuel, and 7 spare tires. Seems to work fine. Almost 200K miles on it now.

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Self-righteous douche canoe

Some thing else...Did Recce in the Cherokee in a ice storm, had to give some "National" folks in a shinny new focus a tug.

Then retrieved the borked car 4 miles into a crappy stage and 30 mile from town today, not doing either of those in a freight-liner, or even a big dully pickup