New Super Duty on order

[troy_t]

So I have a new F350 with the 7.3 liter on order. Its probably going to be 6-8 months for delivery and once we get that we are going to look for a 5th wheel. While I initially saw a lot of comments on here regarding that engine I'm wondering for those of you that have had it for a couple years are you still happy with it as a tow vehicle? We are probably going to look for something in the 10-12000 lb category. TIA

[wowens79]

mosseater wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
^Yup just click er down to your preferred top gear and let the truck do the rest.

Yes, in manual. I was wondering if there was a way to lock out OD while still in tow mode. I admit I haven't tried it but I think clicking the shift switch in Tow Mode doesn't lock out OD gears.

You can leave it in drive, and click the minus on the shifter, and for every - click it lowers the max gear it will shift to. Other than the max gear, it will shift the same.

[troy_t]

So we finally found a 5th wheel we liked and I actually got a chance to pull it. Wow, this thing makes it easy. Pulling approx 10,000 lbs at 70 on the freeway is smooth. Put it in 8th gear and it runs along at about 2100 rpm. So much nicer than pulling a much lighter trailer with my 1/2 ton. First big trip is next weekend!

[mosseater]

Grit dog wrote:
^Yup just click er down to your preferred top gear and let the truck do the rest.

Yes, in manual. I was wondering if there was a way to lock out OD while still in tow mode. I admit I haven't tried it but I think clicking the shift switch in Tow Mode doesn't lock out OD gears.

[Grit_dog]

^Yup just click er down to your preferred top gear and let the truck do the rest.

[mosseater]

kellem wrote:
Late to the party.
Have a 2021 F250 7.3 with 22k on the odometer, mostly towing.
It's been a trouble free truck since I bought it new in 2020.
My only complaint is tow mode in the mountains.
Touch the brakes and LOOK OUT.
Easily mitigated by towing in manual mode while in the hills which I much prefer anyway.
I also lockout 9th and tenth on the highway for shift free towing at 2100 RPMS.

Yes I would buy this exact truck again.

How do you lock it out? Stay in manual 8th? Or is there another way? I frequently tow in 10th on mostly flat roads in tow mode. I'm in love with the truck other than a few minor annoyances.

[kellem]

Late to the party.
Have a 2021 F250 7.3 with 22k on the odometer, mostly towing.
It's been a trouble free truck since I bought it new in 2020.
My only complaint is tow mode in the mountains.
Touch the brakes and LOOK OUT.
Easily mitigated by towing in manual mode while in the hills which I much prefer anyway.
I also lockout 9th and tenth on the highway for shift free towing at 2100 RPMS.

Yes I would buy this exact truck again.

[Grit_dog]

mosseater wrote:

Groover wrote:

mosseater wrote:
My only real complaint with 7.3 is, in tow mode the minute you touch the brakes going down even a moderate slope, it downshifts too low for the speed I'm carrying, so Im going down slopes in 2nd gear screaming at 5000 rpm until I ease into the gas again. I find sometimes its easier to use manual and pick the gear I want. Towing about 8200 lbs with my 3.55 I get about 9-10 on rolling hills. 11 on flats at 65. Otherwise, I have few complaints about the truck. (except that gas cap lanyard.....argh!)

With my Ford I also do a lot of manual control of the gears. It seems to be too eager to down shift when the brakes are applied in tow haul mode and not eager enough to downshift when climbing hills. I would like to have the option of customizing some of the tow/haul settings, including different settings for different trailers. I don't see how that would be hard for Ford to do with everything already computerized.

I would think reprogramming is possible. Question is, will my dealer do it? I don't mind the downshift on a hills coming up. I can pedal it and get it into a lower gear on approach. But when it's screaming in 2nd and the road flattens out after descent, it takes forever to upshift again for no apparent reason. It sure pulls well, though!

Umm there’s zero chance that the dealer or OE is writing or installing custom trans tunes.
If you can’t handle the downshifting (I agree sometimes the downshift algorithms on newer trucks get a little carried away with the engine braking in some scenarios, but largely they are sooo much better than their predecessors it’s tough to pick nits….unless you’re a nit picker…lol.

I suppose you could try some of the tuner outfits but you never read about how they change the grade braking shift profiles. Worth a call though since that’s the only even remote option to “re-program” your trans

[troy_t]

Got the camera issue fixed. There was a short in the coax cable in the harness.

[mosseater]

Groover wrote:

mosseater wrote:
My only real complaint with 7.3 is, in tow mode the minute you touch the brakes going down even a moderate slope, it downshifts too low for the speed I'm carrying, so Im going down slopes in 2nd gear screaming at 5000 rpm until I ease into the gas again. I find sometimes its easier to use manual and pick the gear I want. Towing about 8200 lbs with my 3.55 I get about 9-10 on rolling hills. 11 on flats at 65. Otherwise, I have few complaints about the truck. (except that gas cap lanyard.....argh!)

With my Ford I also do a lot of manual control of the gears. It seems to be too eager to down shift when the brakes are applied in tow haul mode and not eager enough to downshift when climbing hills. I would like to have the option of customizing some of the tow/haul settings, including different settings for different trailers. I don't see how that would be hard for Ford to do with everything already computerized.

I would think reprogramming is possible. Question is, will my dealer do it? I don't mind the downshift on a hills coming up. I can pedal it and get it into a lower gear on approach. But when it's screaming in 2nd and the road flattens out after descent, it takes forever to upshift again for no apparent reason. It sure pulls well, though!

[Groover]

mosseater wrote:
My only real complaint with 7.3 is, in tow mode the minute you touch the brakes going down even a moderate slope, it downshifts too low for the speed I'm carrying, so Im going down slopes in 2nd gear screaming at 5000 rpm until I ease into the gas again. I find sometimes its easier to use manual and pick the gear I want. Towing about 8200 lbs with my 3.55 I get about 9-10 on rolling hills. 11 on flats at 65. Otherwise, I have few complaints about the truck. (except that gas cap lanyard.....argh!)

With my Ford I also do a lot of manual control of the gears. It seems to be too eager to down shift when the brakes are applied in tow haul mode and not eager enough to downshift when climbing hills. I would like to have the option of customizing some of the tow/haul settings, including different settings for different trailers. I don't see how that would be hard for Ford to do with everything already computerized.

[mosseater]

My only real complaint with 7.3 is, in tow mode the minute you touch the brakes going down even a moderate slope, it downshifts too low for the speed I'm carrying, so Im going down slopes in 2nd gear screaming at 5000 rpm until I ease into the gas again. I find sometimes its easier to use manual and pick the gear I want. Towing about 8200 lbs with my 3.55 I get about 9-10 on rolling hills. 11 on flats at 65. Otherwise, I have few complaints about the truck. (except that gas cap lanyard.....argh!)

[Quadcab]

In tow mode at highway speed (with our 4.30 axle) it almost always is in 10th gear. Towing our fully loaded 5th wheel, we are getting about 9 miles per gallon if it is not too hilly. Hope this helps!

[theoldwizard1]

Quadcab wrote:
We just finished our 1st year towing with a F350 Lariat SWR with the 7.3 gasser. Our 5th wheel has a dry weight of 12,175 lbs. & is almost 35' long. The truck does not struggle towing our rig at all - the 10 speed automatic transmission will downshift when pulling uphill, but that is normal for this truck.

I assume the transmission is in tow mode. What gear does it hold on a flat level highway ?

What kind of fuel economy are you getting ?

[Grit_dog]

^Life is much easier and less frustrating when one doesn’t ever have to talk to or deal with a car dealer for sure!