Engine Horsepower

[6mm]

I have a F350 2013 SRW 4x4 gasser,and love the truck.
The next new tow truck I want more horsepower (more the better)and would not have a problem with a larger truck F450-F550.
I could not buy a diesel this time due to weather conditions and truck setting for weeks on end in sub zero temps and needed to make sure truck would start without fail so I bought a gasser.
Next truck I want to be able to tow with ease under any conditions,my truck now works to hard and shifts to much.
What do you truck guys like the best.
Thanks

[TDI-Minnie]

With modern diesels, they have fuel heater elements to cope with cold and a block heater, you won't have a problem.

But if you want gas, you need to live with the shifting. They go hand in hand and newer trannys all have more gears, so it's even more shifting. Get a manual.

That said, Ram now puts the bigger 6.4L Hemi in the HD Rams. Seems to be a good engine with 410hp.

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by 6mm

The next new tow truck I want more horsepower (more the better)and would not have a problem with a larger truck F450-F550.

Understand that the F-450 and F-550 are not "larger" trucks. They have the same body and cab and engine as the F-350. For the last several years, with the same options, the F-450 pickup was identical to the F-350 DRW pickup. Same tires, brakes, and rear suspension. There were slight differences in the front end suspension, but the same frame, brakes, tires, engine and tranny. The big difference was the rear axle with 4.30 ratio. Therefore, GVWR was very close to the same. GCWR was higher for the F-450 because of the rear axle ratio.

For 2015, the F-450 pickup is once again a real F-450, same as the F-450 chassis cab and not just a badge-engineered F-350 DRW. 19.5" truck tires is one obvious difference, but the frame, suspension, and rear axle are also heavier duty.

The F-550 has never been available as a Ford factory pickup. It's a chassis cab truck with the same engine and tranny as the F-250. The big difference between the F-450 and F-550 chassis cab trucks is the rear axle and rear suspension. The F-550 has a humungous rear axle and very heavy duty rear springs, so it "rides like a truck" when unloaded. There have been some F-550s customized with an F-350 dually bed, so you might see an F-550 pickup, but the bed was added by an aftermarket customizer.

Chassis cabs have the same diesel engine as the pickups, but it is tuned differently to be used as a real truck and not compromised so it can also be used as a grocery getter. That different tuning is intended to add longevity to the chassis cab trucks, but some people poo-poo it because it is tuned for less HP than the pickups.

I could not buy a diesel this time due to weather conditions and truck setting for weeks on end in sub zero temps and needed to make sure truck would start without fail so I bought a gasser.

As others have noted, if you have electricity available so you can plug in the block heater of the truck, you should have no problems with a modern diesel truck in cold country. There are lots of them in Alaska and northern Canada. If juice is not available, then you need a portable generator that can produce about 1,000 watts or more so you can fire up the block heater for a few hours before you try to crank the engine.

The block heater heats and circulates the coolant in the engine. The Ford block heater uses 1,000 watts, and will warm up a frozen engine in a few hours. I suspect other diesel truck brands are similar.

If you don't have electricity available to plug in the block heater, then I would insist on a Honda or Yamaha small portable inverter generator. I have a Honda EU2000i that starts easily in cold weather, and is rated for 1,600 watts continuous usage. It's rated for 2,000 watts for "surge" power to start an electric motor, but 1,600 watts for something like running a block heater.
Honda EU2000i Super Quiet Generator (EU2000iA) 2000 watt | Wise Sales

Honda also makes a EU1000i, but it's rated for 900 watts continuous use - not enough for a 1000-watt block heater.

Next truck I want to be able to tow with ease under any conditions,my truck now works to hard and shifts to much.
What do you truck guys like the best.

Brand bashing is not allowed on IRV2, so I can't tell you why I prefer Ford diesel trucks. But for 2011-up model years, they can't be beat. If you can afford a new truck, look into the F-450 pickup.

[taken]

To add to the above, the block heater gets you warm faster, but isn't even necessary. I use my 6.7 in the winter on snowmobiling trips up north. Often the hotel has no plug in for my block heater. My truck has started easily many times at close to 30 below zero. Ford also offers an electric aux heater for the HVAC system which gives you heat faster than a gasser would. Gasser being a requirement for cold climates is a thing of the past...

[jimcumminsw]

Hi; I prefer a medium duty truck diesel engine for my pull vehicle. The engine is used in a Ford F650 and F750 medium duty work truck and also the Ram 2500HD, 3500HD, 4500 C&C and the 5500C&C truck. See link attached: http://www.ford.com/commercial-trucks/f650-f750/It is also used in some motor homes that offer the ISB engine.

Since 2013.5 Ram has offered a medium duty truck transmission in their pick-up truck line along with the standard version of the 68RFE auto; the AISIN 6 sped this is similar to the C&C version truck that has offered a AISIN since 2010.

Is this combination any good? Will one gentleman has reported his C&C truck that he purchased in 07.5 with the 6.7L Cummins engine has reached over 500,000 miles. Here is the link

http://www.turbodieselregister.com/threads/244519-500-000-miles-in-07-cab-chassis

Just my $0.02

Jim W.

[rlwithrow]

Originally Posted by 6mm

I have a F350 2013 SRW 4x4 gasser,and love the truck.
The next new tow truck I want more horsepower (more the better)and would not have a problem with a larger truck F450-F550.
I could not buy a diesel this time due to weather conditions and truck setting for weeks on end in sub zero temps and needed to make sure truck would start without fail so I bought a gasser.
Next truck I want to be able to tow with ease under any conditions,my truck now works to hard and shifts to much.
What do you truck guys like the best.
Thanks

Horsepower is a unit of measurement that tells how fast work can be done. Torque is what you need to consider for pulling power. As an example, the 1984 Mack dump truck I drove a long time ago was rated at 300 horse power with 1250 foot pounds of torque. It pulled the hills very well all the way down to 1200 RPM. Anything below that I'd have to down shift the 6 speed manual tranny it had. Later, I moved up to a Mack Superliner with the 350 horse motor with 1850 ft. lbs. torque and the 12 speed transmission. It pulled better and "did the same amount of work faster" with the same 95,000 pound load as the older '84 with the 300 in it.

Some of the newer gas motors like in the Dodge with the 6.4L have I think 403 horse power and 430 lbs. feet of torque, still only about 1/2 of the torque available with the Cummins diesel. Both trucks are rated to haul heavy loads but the gas truck will be spinning more RPMs in a lower gear than the diesel to utilize the horsepower, "how fast work can be done" in the 6.4 L motor.

[lynnmor]

It always comes down to this silly torque vs. HP stuff. High torque equals high cylinder pressures and bearing loads. High RPM perhaps more wear. There is always a compromise and you just decide how you want to do the damage.

[DieselTech39]

6mm you may want to check this article from Consumers Report on Yahoo out. Higher HP and torque in the F350's with gas engines.

https://autos.yahoo.com/news/tow-rat...NiZjEEdnRpZAM-

[rlwithrow]

I chose to go with an older gas burner for my 5th wheel chores that has the 8100 big block in it. My camper only weighs around 8700 fully loaded so it does very well keeping up with traffic on any road except big long hills. Had my camper been a much heavier unit I would have went with a diesel. The truck I bought only does camping and emergency duty when we need to do repairs on our daily drivers. Still the old 8.1 never sees 3300 rpm while towing and during a downshift for a hill it don't stay there very long.

[6mm]

So if and when I get rid of my 2013 F350 gasser and purchased a F450 diesel just what difference would I feel when towing?? difference in power? Less shifting?
Just wondering if any of you made the jump from gasser to diesel and how you feel about the change.

[schrederman]

I've only towed my 6,200# TT once with the new truck, but the hill I towed up would have had the gasser in 3rd gear and spinning 4400 rpm. The diesel maintained 64 mph without downshifting. The gasser had 3.55 rear gears and the diesel is close at 3.42. It did grunt some but it was almost like the TT wasn't there. So far, I have found the stuff everyone told me about towing with the diesel to be true... and I'm pretty sure I'll never go back to gas for towing a TT.

[jimcumminsw]

Originally Posted by 6mm

So if and when I get rid of my 2013 F350 gasser and purchased a F450 diesel just what difference would I feel when towing?? difference in power? Less shifting?
Just wondering if any of you made the jump from gasser to diesel and how you feel about the change.

I did do the jump from a Chevy 6.0L extend cab SB 2001 Silverado with an auto and 3:73 gears; to a 2008 Ram Mega Cab SB 6.7L Cummins with the 68RFE auto and 3:73 gears. I pulled a 270RKS Summit Ridge Ameri-Camp; 5er with both of these trucks. The Chevy would only get between 6 and 7 MPG and spent its entire time in the 3,000 to 4,000 RPM range until the auto reached OD and then would drop to the 2,800 or so RPM. I would need to reach 2,000 RPM before I could even start the truck moving and start to pull the 5er along from a dead stop.

We only tow the 270RKS twice with the Chevy before selling the truck and buying the diesel Ram truck. I told my DW it is either we buy a new tow vehicle or sell the 5er; I would never pull again with that Chevy. The gas engine is great for a grocery getter but worthless as a tow vehicle when pulling a 13 FT tall sail behind you.

When towing with my Ram truck the diesel never gets above 2,000 RPM’s the truck stays around 1,600 RPM all day long when towing. I see between 11 and 12 MPG which is fine by me when towing my 2010 318 SAB Cougar which is a heavier camper than the AMERI-CAMP was.

BTW we own two diesel vehicles and will never have another gas engine vehicle in the garage. Mind is a Ram 2008 MEGA Cab and the DW has a 2011 VW Jetta TDI.

Jim W.

[gggplaya]

I wouldn't worry about starting a diesel in the winter with any of the modern trucks.

We are replacing our fleet of service trucks with new Ram diesels, BTW, diesel engines are the same between the 2500-5500. The suspension and therefore payload ratings are different. The new trucks had absolutely no trouble starting in the winter even with the sub zero cold snaps we had this past winter. Our service trucks generally sit for several weeks-months during the winter, and occasionally someone will need to run an errand, but they've all started as well as my car does.

Now, i can understand your hesitation for starting diesel in the winter. We still have some left over early 2000's ford 7.3's in our fleet, those things are really hard to start in the winter, they usually require a battery charger to be hooked up and some prayers. Then after cranking for a while and it doesn't start, swear words are in order while you let the batteries recharge and try again.

[jamesrxx951]

Originally Posted by jimcumminsw

Hi; I prefer a medium duty truck diesel engine for my pull vehicle. The engine is used in a Ford F650 and F750 medium duty work truck and also the Ram 2500HD, 3500HD, 4500 C&C and the 5500C&C truck. See link attached: http://www.ford.com/commercial-trucks/f650-f750/It is also used in some motor homes that offer the ISB engine.

Since 2013.5 Ram has offered a medium duty truck transmission in their pick-up truck line along with the standard version of the 68RFE auto; the AISIN 6 sped this is similar to the C&C version truck that has offered a AISIN since 2010.

Is this combination any good? Will one gentleman has reported his C&C truck that he purchased in 07.5 with the 6.7L Cummins engine has reached over 500,000 miles. Here is the link

http://www.turbodieselregister.com/threads/244519-500-000-miles-in-07-cab-chassis

Just my $0.02

Jim W.

There is also this medium duty engine/transmission lineup as well. 2016 Ford F-650-750 Work Trucks | Ford.com

If there is a low profile option on these they will be on the bid list for the 25 new ambulances we will be purchasing in the next few years.