Alright gang! I'm new at this 5th wheel business.
My questions are:
Is my 2000 F250 v10 4x4 Super Crew 4dr 60,000mi truck strong enough to pull my 25' 5th wheel (approx. 8000-10,000 lbs loaded) around the country during the summer months (June July August)?

Will the v10 hold up to many more years of this type of towing?

While towing do I leave overdrive on except during the hills and mountains or do I keep it off all the time?

What kind of oil do I use knowing that I am towing bascially 1-3 months a year? Suggestions?

Are there any other things I need to be on the look out for? besides standard maintenance?

 

It'll tow it, but at 6-7 mpg. V-10 will last a long time. Run in o/d if the truck can hold it. If it starts gear hunting, lock it out. Run whatever oil Ford recommends.

 

if you're worried about power add e-fans, do the "gotts intake" mod and chip it

mine pulled like a champ and yours should pull strong



what gears do you have???

 

Your truck will tow it just fine, but like Zaaiman said it will suck down with gas. With the tranny, if the truck starts to shift alot and hunt for gears then turn the OD off. Most likely on flat ground with out much wind the truck should be able to hold OD, but once in the hills or a head wind it will not.

There is no special service required, just change the oil every 3000 miles, and make sure that all the other fluids are topped off and that all the joints that require grease are greased.

Does your truck have the towing package? What gears do you have?

 

Thanks for the info.

What are your thoughts on using a synthetic oil?

 

I believe its 3.73

 

Honestly, I'm not sure about the towing package. I believe the gear ratio is 3.73???

What are your thougths on using a synthetic oil?

 

You don't need synthetic oil. Any modern dino oil will go 5,000 miles easily.

 

Tarajerame

can you give me more details on the e-fans, gotts intake mod and chip

 

I don't know why i didn't think of this before, but here is an example of how strong and the usable power of the V10. The lumber yard that we do all our work with has a couple of pickups that they deliver materials with a 24K roll off gooseneck and equipment on a 20K gooseneck. One of them is a F350 reg cab, long box, srw, 4x4 with a V10/auto that they use for the towing the trailers, the last I knew the truck had somewhere around 70,000 very hard miles. The driver told me that he would rather tow with the F350 V10 than the 3500 Duramax that they also have.

So if our lumber yard's V10 is moving 16K+ multiple times a day 5-6 days a week, yours will do just find with your 5th wheel a few times each year.

 

my dad tows 11,000 lbs worth of tractor and trailer with a f-250 with the 5.4.... sure wish we had the v-10, but it will pull it and stop it no problem.... just goes slow...

just curious, whats a v-10 get mpg wise not towing?

 

That V-10, although the last generation (non-3V) has plenty of grunt for that small of a fiver. The numbers are very respectable. As long as you are okay in the payload department (king pin weight adds up FAST), you will be fine. Only you know your maintenance history, but for three months a year, that V-10 won't break a sweat for another ten years towing 8-10k.

 

https://www.f150online.com/forums/ar...ml#post3624529

electric fans you can either piece a kit together or buy a prefabbed one, for a chip research the Xcal3, Xcal2 and Gryphon then whichever one has the features you want/are happy with for the price then contact either Troyer, VMP or PHP and get some custom tunes.

I'd also add a valve body since it's an automatic (but the custom tunes will help without the valve body)

 

Last guy I talked to with a V-10 had a F-250, he says it gets about 14 mpg empty.

 

Dad occasionally borrows his work's 2003 F-350 CC SB Dually 2wd V-10 with 4.30 gears. It gets 11-13 mpg unloaded on the highway.