I need a tow rig bad.

[POSJ]

Yeah I thought it was funny too...The facts that didn't suit him were irrelevant, but his facts were gold. Oh well.

 

[Phil]

"I'm done this argument because obviously you're incapable of having a discussion based on facts."

LOL kids these days :bawl: The fact is, a 3/4 ton truck will tow better than a 1/2 ton truck period!!!! Now move on.

Duh. Of course it will. That doesn't mean a 1/2 ton truck will be unsafe.

 

[POSJ]

Duh. Of course it will. That doesn't mean a 1/2 ton truck will be unsafe.

Yeah I agree to an extent Phil, most people tow outside their means though. So a 3/4 ton and up truck will compensate for their lack of knowledge, I'm not saying the OP is one of them though. So if someone plans on buying a vehicle to be a tow rig I believe they should buy a truck built for it. Not a 1/2 ton truck that was built to have a lot of groceries in the bed. But your comments earlier about they older 3/4t vs newer 1/2t is complete;y accurate and I agree.

 

[collkid]

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

Ha ha, Yeah just go get a F-150. Nice trailer with brakes on it. boom!

 

[booger98XJ]

this topic is almost as bad as "brand loyalty" /rollseyes

i tow a half dozen times or less per year and do it with a 2009 Ram 1500. i'm well under the tow rating of the truck, properly loaded, with trailer brakes... and it does the job well. not just adequately, but WELL.

so why should i spend 10 grand more to get a 3/4 ton truck with a diesel that can also do the job of my current truck while sacrificing ride quality and the PEACE AND QUIET of a gasser? hahaha

discuss...

 

[MoparManiac]

I don't see a problem with a modern 1/2 ton.

They're cheaper to purchase, usually cheaper to maintain, and should do the job just fine.

My father towed an 18' trailer with a '68 Charger on it from NJ to here, and took a '70 Challenger down to PA a few times with an '87 Ramcharger (granted it had a 440 and HD leaf springs out back). Never had a problem with it and he never complained.

That being said, I bought a 3/4 ton '01 Dodge because:
A. I wanted a CTD and a stick
B. Fun to DD IMO
C. Relatively inexpensive ($13.5k with 87k miles on it and one or two tiny spots of rust.)
D. Laramie package - aka every option
E. Towed my XJ like a dream, and should handle my MJ without a problem

 

[GoSlowGetStuck]

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.

 

[POSJ]

My 99' 1/2t Chevy with a 5.3l towed like a pig. It had no balls, the back end sagged due to the lack of payload capacity to the point that the steering felt light, and got horrible gas mileage. And that was just with household goods, but I don't know the weight.

My 01' 3/4t Dodge with a 5.9l Cummins towed like a dream. It had balls(big ones), I loaded 5200# of topsoil in the bed and the steering was light like the Chevy(probably twice the payload), but it averaged 12.5mpg from Fairbanks, Alaska to Minot, ND with a 12,000# trailer. It was an awesome truck.

My 07' 1t Chevy with a 6.6l Duramax towes like a dream. It has bigger balls than the Cummins, pulled an 18,000# trailer with 2,200# of tongue weight and the steering felt fine, the gas mileage was lower than the Cummins but it could be attributed to the wind resistance aswell as more weight. This truck is a combination of both the IFS makes the truck ride smooth(for a 7600# truck), the interior is like a luxury car, and the unloaded MPG is over 22.

This is all of my real world experience with the vehicle I have owned. My buddy has an 05 Chevy 1500 and tried to hook up the trailer I towed down from ND and the foot of the trailer jack went all the way up but was still on the ground because his suspension couldn't hold it. I am not saying that everybody needs a 1ton diesel, or a 3/4 diesel for that matter. But if the OP in a thread says he needs a TOW RIG, I don't see a 1/2 being a tow rig, from my past experience at least. Get a 3/4t or better and be done with it, gas or diesel I could care less...

 

[POSJ]

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.

I never towed the same trailer with any of those trucks so I guess mine is out. I do agree with your second paragraph too.

 

[-96JeepSpeed-]

Im set on a 1-ton diesel now, I live on a extremly steep hill thats about 1.5miles long, my 1/2 ton chevy with out trailor cant get up it in the rain. I also need somthing that will handle weather.

 

[POSJ]

Any brand and year range you are interested in?

 

[-96JeepSpeed-]

Now im looking for a powerstroke, I hear 97-03? Are the good years for older ones. Would also prefer a stick shift.

 

[POSJ]

Yeah, the 7.3l is an awesome motor. They have their small issues but nothing that can't be fixed. I love the OBS fords the boxy ones. Let us know what you find.

 

[-96JeepSpeed-]

Yea i would love the 99+ styles, but a older boxy ones are cool to. BTW Im looking to spend around 10K$ Thinking of a upgraded turbo kit as well.

 

[GoSlowGetStuck]

Yea i would love the 99+ styles, but a older boxy ones are cool to. BTW Im looking to spend around 10K$ Thinking of a upgraded turbo kit as well.

10k should get you a 99-03, if you take your time and shop around. I was set on a 4x4 crew cab and 10k was my goal. I found a few around the state. They're out there, just keep looking. If you can stand a no-frills regular cab it shouldn't be hard to do. I ended up spending a couple grand more, but I swear the prices around here have gone UP since I bought mine.

Of course you're on the other side of the country, so who knows out there.

Watch out for rusted/leaking oil pans. That's my biggest worry at the moment. I can't recall the other common 7.3 Powerstroke issues but I'm sure others can.

 

[booger98XJ]

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.

i think you also have to weigh how much towing you do.

if you do 90% commuting and 10% towing, i'd lean toward a late model half ton. if you do 50/50 commuting/towing, i'd go with a 3/4 ton... and if you do mostly towing with little commuting, then i'd go with a 1 ton.

not necessarily exactly on those numbers, just somewhere in that ball park.

 

[-96JeepSpeed-]

On avarge i drive about 10 miles a day and avoid any traffic when possible. My rig is just under 4K and the trailor i have been using is about 1500, its a pretty big flatbed. So i leaning towards a 1-ton

 

[POSJ]

i think you also have to weigh how much towing you do.

if you do 90% commuting and 10% towing, i'd lean toward a late model half ton. if you do 50/50 commuting/towing, i'd go with a 3/4 ton... and if you do mostly towing with little commuting, then i'd go with a 1 ton.

not necessarily exactly on those numbers, just somewhere in that ball park.

I agree, with the idea and I know your numbers were a ball park but 1 in 10 times driving is a lot of towing IMO. So I would change it to 90% non and 10% towing would be a 3/4t and if you are going to be towing 33% and not 66% I would then go with a 1t. These are just my opinions though.

 

[booger98XJ]

yeah after thinking about it a bit, i'd lean more towards your numbers than the ones i originally threw out. :thumbup:

 

[mcantar18c]

Now im looking for a powerstroke, I hear 97-03? Are the good years for older ones. Would also prefer a stick shift.

7.3 PSDs (Powerstroke Diesel) were introduced in 1994 in the boxy OBS (Old Body Style Powerstroke) chassis, and were used as Ford's diesel powerplant until 2002 (03 was the crossover year but I've only seen two 03 7.3s ever... and I've seen a lot).
Terms you're gonna find online when searching around are PSD, OBS, SD (Super Duty), and 444E. The 7.3 is made by International (the tractor company) and they call their original version the 444E. Used em in school busses and a few other large trucks.... biggest differences in the 7.3 and 444E are electronics and computer crap.
Also, you're gonna be hard pressed to find a manual. Most came with the E40D automatic, all the way from 94-03. The OBS trucks had a ZF5 5 speed manual option, IMO its a great trans. The SDs replaced that with a ZF6, same thing but it was a "6 speed" (5 speed with slightly different gear ratios and a granny gear added to the low end)... manual OBS trucks can be found with a little digging, but manual SDs are very few and far between, I've only ever seen 1 and I bought it lol.
Honestly though, after having a few trucks with the ZF trannies in em, my next PSD is gonna be an auto. I hate driving auto, but an auto trans will carry boost all the way up through the gears while a manual will drop the boost every time you shift, and my next one is gonna be a go-fast truck, so it only makes sense. The E40Ds are pretty rugged transmissions and I wouldn't hesitate to tow with one, so if you find a great truck with an auto in it go for it.

Yea i would love the 99+ styles, but a older boxy ones are cool to. BTW Im looking to spend around 10K$ Thinking of a upgraded turbo kit as well.

1994-1997 are OBS
1998 (99 model year)-mid 03 are Super Duty
Early 99s will have a "V8" emblem on the front of the fenders and are less desirable than late-99s. There's some overlap of 7.3s and 6.0s, don't remember if they started the 6.0s in 02 or 03 but I think it was 02... either way you don't want one. Easy way to tell the difference between a 7.3 and a 6.0 of the same year is the 6.sl0ws have marker lights on the mirrors.


If you want to spend $10k, your best bet is to go with an OBS. If you want to spend $10k AND upgrade anything on it, you're gonna need to go with an OBS. At least around here, $10k is the very bottom end on the SDs.
A decent OBS can be had from $5-8k (at least around here), and that'll leave you a little to upgrade with. Most OBSs you'll find are gonna be 3/4 not 1 ton, which means they'll come with a D50TTB front end... basically a D60 cut in half. Those things suck.... can't lift em well, and they eat through joints and bushings like crazy. So unless you happen to find an F350, you'll want to leave room in your budget to pick up/set up/install a 60 in front. Good news is you can pull one out of another Ford and it'll be an almost completely bolt in ordeal. I used an 89 F350 HP60 in my 95OBS (pictured below) and it was pretty easy.

As for upgraded turbo kits, don't get too far ahead of yourself just yet. DO NOT, for any reason, do ANY mods to your engine, until you can see what's going on with it first. A pillar gauge set (gauge pod, pyro gauge, and boost gauge) will run you $180-$300 depending on where you get it and if you can install it yourself. If you get an automatic, you'll want a triple gauge set with a trans temp gauge in it. I dunno how much you know about diesels/turbos, so... a boost gauge tells you how much pressure your turbo is creating. This is important because you need to be sure you're not building too much, too little, or getting any turbo surge. Keep in mind that high-ish numbers like 15PSI boost you see in gas-world, is nothing in diesel-world... I ran 40PSI in my OBS on the street. A pyro gauge tells you how hot your exhaust is getting, and this is something you'll want to keep an eye on... too hot, and you're eating your turbo and toasting your exhaust.

After gauges, the next thing you want is a tuner. Tony Wildman over at Total Diesel Performance is the best for the 7.3s, IMO... he can do some incredible stuff.
If you have anything left over, you'll want to do your exhaust. If you can't do a whole exhaust system at the moment, get yourself a good downpipe, around 4" is good. Between the chip and a 4" DP you'll probably have more than enough truck to be happy with. The tuner should be around $600, and a MBRP 4" downpipe will be around $100

If you want more, be prepared to spend some big bucks. Shit in diesel world gets expensive, fast. An upgraded turbo is great, but its kinda pointless if you can't get enough fuel in there to match the increased amount of air you're dumping into your engine, so pick up some Stage 2 injectors (stage 1 is good but if you're upgrading the turbo enough to be worth while you'll want/need stage 2). But those high-volume sticks won't do you any good if you can't power them, so you'll need to do something with your HPOP to make sure they're operating at their full potential. I've heard of people running dual HPOPs, but if you're only at Stage 2 an Adrenaline HPOP probably be more what you need. So now you've got the air, the fuel, and the oil to make it work... now you need exhaust if you didn't do that already. Figure around $2k for an upgraded turbo, $3k for injectors, $600 for an Adrenaline HPOP...



For reference, here's what an OBS looks like, and a SD right under it. Both were mine...

Feel free to PM me with any questions or anything.

And sorry for the long post lol.