I need a tow rig bad.

[mcantar18c]

Also, FWIW, my next truck will be an OBS. While I do like the SD body and overall look a little better, the OBS interiors are WAYYYY more comfortable IMO.

 

[Zebaru]

Well, I'm hearing a lot of 1/2 ton guys say their trucks pull just fine. And I'll buy that, in most cases.

How many people have towed the same rig/trailer with both a 1/2 ton and a 3/4 ton? Everyone I have talked to in person who has done both has sworn they would never tow with a 1/2 ton again.

I'm just curious to get a honest apples-to-apples comparison from guys who have done both.

If anyone is still interested...

I used to drive an 87F250 6.9 Banks, c6 GV - pretty much as good a diesel 3/4ton as you could get in 87. I now have an 09 F150.

Pulling the same fleet of light trailers (1500 - 5000 lbs), the 150 is superior in every way as far as I can tell. It accelerates faster, pulls hills better, stops shorter, gets approximately the same mileage, and is way more comfortable - it might even technically be rated to tow more... (Then again, I cant legally tow a trailer over 10k without a commercial endorsement in this state anyway...)

Now, comparing a new vehicle with one 20 years older might not be really fair, but I have one of my trailers hooked up for about 85% of the miles I put on my truck, and I can say that I have no regrets in getting a half ton for the job.

 

[mcantar18c]

If anyone is still interested...

I used to drive an 87F250 6.9 Banks, c6 GV - pretty much as good a diesel 3/4ton as you could get in 87. I now have an 09 F150.

Pulling the same fleet of light trailers (1500 - 5000 lbs), the 150 is superior in every way as far as I can tell. It accelerates faster, pulls hills better, stops shorter, gets approximately the same mileage, and is way more comfortable - it might even technically be rated to tow more... (Then again, I cant legally tow a trailer over 10k without a commercial endorsement in this state anyway...)

Now, comparing a new vehicle with one 20 years older might not be really fair, but I have one of my trailers hooked up for about 85% of the miles I put on my truck, and I can say that I have no regrets in getting a half ton for the job.

LOL seriously? You're comparing vehicles that are 20 years apart... no shit the newer one's gonna have better acceleration, better brakes, better, mileage, and more comfort :twak:

 

[warwagon98xj]

If you do not get a 3/4 ton diesel to tow a 4,000 lb Jeep, you will die.

ROTFLMAO

 

[WAD357]

I Tow my XJ on an 18ft full steel deck trailer all my tools spare tires welder generator etc with my 97 OBS F-250 7.3 Powerstroke ext cab. She pulls like hell! I can cruise at 75mph loaded and not know the load is there. Best truck Ive ever bought and I only paid 4grand for it with 110k!

 

[hadfield4wd]

This whole thing cracks me up. A bunch of butt hurt people and bad information.

 

[Zebaru]

LOL seriously? You're comparing vehicles that are 20 years apart... no shit the newer one's gonna have better acceleration, better brakes, better, mileage, and more comfort :twak:

I did say it wasnt really fair...

But honestly, I was a bit suprised at how much better the new truck was. I knew it would be more comfortable, and that was the main reason I got it, but I didnt really expect the rest. After all, a turbo IDI is pretty close in performance to a first gen Powerstroke - which has been suggested by many here already.

 

[mcantar18c]

I did say it wasnt really fair...

But honestly, I was a bit suprised at how much better the new truck was. I knew it would be more comfortable, and that was the main reason I got it, but I didnt really expect the rest. After all, a turbo IDI is pretty close in performance to a first gen Powerstroke - which has been suggested by many here already.

Uh... yeah, not so much. IDIs are great workhorses, but they're dogs, even with a turbo. Its an entirely different engine than the PSDs are... another apples to oranges thing. Do a little research, you'll see what I mean.

 

[Zebaru]

Uh... yeah, not so much. IDIs are great workhorses, but they're dogs, even with a turbo. Its an entirely different engine than the PSDs are... another apples to oranges thing. Do a little research, you'll see what I mean.

Perhaps I should have led with this instead...

I have a large boat that I have towed hundreds of miles with:

65 F100 regular cab long bed 390 4 speed manual
87 F250 Regular cab long bed 2wd 6.9 IDI turbo auto with GV
91 E350 club wagon 7.3 IDI N/A auto
97 F250 regular cab long bed 2wd 7.3 PSD 5speed
06 F250 crew cab short bed 4wd 6.0 PSD auto
09 F150 crew cab 6.5' bed 4wd 5.4 auto

In order of best to worst 06 PSD, 09 150, 97 PSD, 87 IDI, 91 E350, 65 F100.

The 06 PSD, despite being hated, tows awesomely, and has no trouble going any speed I want over any terrain I have encountered. If I was towing this boat all the time, this type of rig is what I would have right now.

The 150 notices the load, but handles it. It has to rev hard to pull the hills, but it has yet to run out of power. If I dont use a weight distributing hitch, it gets pushed around a bit.

The 97PSD had marginally better performance than the 87 IDI. Niether could pull the grades outside Bishop at 65. The 97 would hold about 50. The 87 about 45. Both are more solid than the newer 150, squat less, and brake similarly. I didnt use a distributing hitch with either,and had no percieved issues

The 91 IDI non-turbo does okay on the flats. It struggles up any real incline, and smokes like a freight train under load. The large soot trail it left on the boat was annoying. Again, it was more 'solid' than the newer 150, and the chassis had no trouble with the load. IMHO, a turbo would have realy helped.

The 65 F100 hates towing, but that is no suprise. It has decent power, but the tranny is too widely spaced to easily get from one gear to the next. The mileage is horrible (no suprise), and the boat pushes it all over the road. I didnt have a weight distribuing hitch at the time, but it really needed one.

Interestingly, all the diesel rigs get about the same mileage towing the boat - around 12. The new 150 gets about 11, The f100 got about 7...

Running empty, the 97 easily gets the best highway mileage - 23+
The 06, 09, and 87 all get around 18.
the van gets about 17.
The f100 gets about 11.

Believe it, dont believe it, whatever...

 

[mcantar18c]

By the 06 model year, the issues with the 6.0 were mostly ironed out, so you're good there (although I'd still never buy one... ever).

That's interesting that you didn't see significant improvements towing with the 97 PSD over the 87 IDI... IMO, that's a rare scenario. Especially with a 97, IIRC that was the year they switched over to the Super Duty upgrades/reorganization of the engine compartment.
In my experience towing similar loads (with 5th wheels and goosenecks, not receiver/ball hitches) with a 6.9 IDI, a 7.3 OBS, a 7.3 SD, a 6.0 PSD, and a Dodge 1500 with a 360... the 7.3s were way ahead of the game in all aspects. The OBS was modded in every possible way so I'll leave it out of this, but the 7.3 and 6.0 SDs were comparably equipped and completely stock... the 6.0 was a little smoother, partially because it was an auto and partially because of the VGT producing boost virtually from idle, but pulling up hills/passing/etc the 7.3 won hands down. Most of the time, I wouldn't even need to downshift with the 7.3, just let the turbo spool up and carry you away. One pull from Denver to Durango and back last winter, complete with long stretches of flat land and steep mountain passes, I set it to 75 in 5th and had no issues cruising, took the passes in 4th. One pass just outside of Durango is particularly tough (8-9% grade on both sides) and we had a relatively easy time with the handling on the way down... taking it slow and careful of course. Saw about the same mileage with the Super Dutys as you did for the most part.

My IDI saw 12-13 towing, and the 1500 got just a tad better than your F100 towing.