I have been looking for a F250/F350 for years. Dreaming of them and searching AutoTrader for the right one. Well with the cost of diesel going up I have kind of resigned myself that I would never get one. Ultimately I want to get a Fiver and hence the need for the larger truck.
Well over the weekend I spotted a truck on the side of the road for sale. Beautiful maroon and gold and tell DW I want it, but did not stop as kids were ready to get home, it was hot and knew it was a pipe dream anyway. Monday, DW is out running some errands, see the truck and calls me with all the details. SRW F350, my dream come true, Lariet, full bench seat in the front, a must with our kids and hauling Scouts, 2005 model, only little over 30K miles, new tires, beautiful wheels (DW is pretty particular about wheels ). 6.0 PSD with 3.73 so should be pretty decent on fuel consumption. Price is good too.
So why am I not calling this person up and telling them sold? I guess it is the cost of diesel scaring me off. Golly gee, DW is excited about this one and I have cold feet. What is wrong with me?
My Excursions with 7.3 PSD gets about 17 combined but mostly city driving while my F150 gets 14 driving back and forth and 16 on the highway. I would think the F350 would be similar to the Excursion, maybe better since it is about 800 - 1000 lighter (no persons, gears etc). So can I justify this purchase for better fuel economy. Naw! I know that won't work with the cost of diesel now being 60 - 70 cents more per gallon.
Man I hate to see this on passed up, I start to drool when I think about it. Funny thing is I have been considering purchasing older Civic or Corolla to drive to get better mpg over F150 and now I am thinking going bigger, much bigger.
David,Wife,4 kids,SIL,1 grandchild
2003 Ford Excursion Eddie Bauer 7.3 PSD w/3.73 rear end
Jayco Kiwi Too 30T bunkhouse w/triple bunks
Prodigy Controller
Reese Dual Cam HP
Michelin LTX M/S
2001 F150 SuperCrew
Tow a 14000 lb fifth wheel with a diesel and then tow the same fifth wheel with a gasser...no comparison as the diesel will get better gas mileage, you will have more power towing, and when you go to resell the diesels' are good at keeping their value...
I was faced with the same dilemna about 2 years ago...had an F250 gasser and came across a Chevy 1-ton dually diesel and more than glad I went with the diesel...
Hey, can you afford it? Can you afford the fuel? If yes, then buy it. If not, give up the dream. Or you can do what I did, buy a Corolla for a daily driver and the big truck for trailer pulling.
Stop by the truck and write down the VIN#(lower corner of windshield, left side). Take that number to a Ford dealer and ask kindly for the person to run an OASIS report for you. It is a FORD recorded history of the truck in regards to repairs, warranty items, recalls. It can give you an idea if the truck has had issues in the past. While many will chime in and warn you to run from a Ford with the 6.0PSD, many hundreds of thousands of the trucks/engine combination are giving great service to their owners, myself included. Also be warned about vehicles sold on the side of the road, around here the name "curbstoners", at least I think that is the name given, are vehicles that are portrayed to be being sold by the original owner when in fact they may be vehicles recently purchased at auctions and set up for sale in front of someone's house. These could be buy backs, flood cars/trucks, no history. Common site around here. A guy has trucks and cars sitting on his lawn all the time with "for sale" signs on them, local law enforcement cracks down on them from time to time.
Capt Skup
AD-1(AW)USN Ret.
Wonderful Wife, 3 beautiful Daughters
"Never get in a battle of wits with an unarmed man"
rhondavid wrote: I have been looking for a F250/F350 for years. Dreaming of them and searching AutoTrader for the right one. Well with the cost of diesel going up I have kind of resigned myself that I would never get one. Ultimately I want to get a Fiver and hence the need for the larger truck.
Well over the weekend I spotted a truck on the side of the road for sale. Beautiful maroon and gold and tell DW I want it, but did not stop as kids were ready to get home, it was hot and knew it was a pipe dream anyway. Monday, DW is out running some errands, see the truck and calls me with all the details. SRW F350, my dream come true, Lariet, full bench seat in the front, a must with our kids and hauling Scouts, 2005 model, only little over 30K miles, new tires, beautiful wheels (DW is pretty particular about wheels ). 6.0 PSD with 3.73 so should be pretty decent on fuel consumption. Price is good too.
So why am I not calling this person up and telling them sold? I guess it is the cost of diesel scaring me off. Golly gee, DW is excited about this one and I have cold feet. What is wrong with me?
My Excursions with 7.3 PSD gets about 17 combined but mostly city driving while my F150 gets 14 driving back and forth and 16 on the highway. I would think the F350 would be similar to the Excursion, maybe better since it is about 800 - 1000 lighter (no persons, gears etc). So can I justify this purchase for better fuel economy. Naw! I know that won't work with the cost of diesel now being 60 - 70 cents more per gallon.
Man I hate to see this on passed up, I start to drool when I think about it. Funny thing is I have been considering purchasing older Civic or Corolla to drive to get better mpg over F150 and now I am thinking going bigger, much bigger.
I could be wrong, but I think you will still get better mileage with your 7.3 PSD which is IMHO the best engine ever put in a Ford for towing. If the F350 you're looking at is a CC LB and with the 6.0 I would bet it might be heavier than your current X. If you're looking at a 5er for the room/etc. I think I would get a bigger bumper pull and match it up to a HA hitch and save your $$$.
I don't use my Van as a daily driver, only for long road trips and towing and with just over 60K miles on it almost 34K of those have been towing with rest freeway except probably for 4 or 5K miles stop and go.
Larry
2001 standard box 7.3L E-350 PSD Van with 4.10 rear and 2007 Holiday Rambler Aluma-Lite 8306S Been RV'ing since 1974. TRAILER MODS
If I were in your shoes, I would go for it. You have a growing family and you'll need a bigger truck to grow with them. Don't keep second guessing yourself about getting a bigger truck. It's the best thing you can do as long as you plan to USE it. If you're just buying it for the fact of "I always wanted and dreamed of a bigger truck", then in this economy, it really doesn't pay.
I got rid of my Duramax and bought a gasser because I didn't use it much since we got the motorhome. It was a GREAT truck to pull as that's where a diesel shines. You will LOVE it.
You only live once. You only have a 1st family once. You work hard, you pay your bills, you enjoy being with them and going camping.
GO FOR IT. If you can afford to have a trailer and go camping, then get a bigger truck. We bought our motorhome because it's what we both wanted. We could have kept the trailer and truck.
I don't know your age, but we don't have any regrets at our age since we always did what we wanted to. I have friends who lost a leg in a motorcycle crash. People I know who are laying in a hospital bed waiting to die. I'm alive and if I want something in life and can afford it, then I DO IT. You can always get a little 4 banger beater to drive to work.
Good Luck,
Joe
2008 Chevy Silverado 4x4 3500 RC/LB 6.0
2007 Chevy GS Conquest Super C 6349
2007 Chevy HHR Toad 2LT 2.4
1990 Chevy G20 Cargo Van 305
1967 Chevy Camaro Pro Street 468/650hp BBC
My 70's Show - Tom Kent Radio Network - K•Hits 106.7
The truck is a Crew Cab with the 6.5 foot bed, not a long bed. According to Ford site I was looking at it looks like weight will be around 6500#'s while the BRB is currently around 7300#'s if memory serves me correctly.
I haul a lot of Boy Scouts and our Troop has an old double horse trailer that has been fully enclosed and retrofitted to serve as a troop trailer. That sucker is heavy as lead unloaded and once we get six chuck boxes in there, dining flys, tents and other troop and scout gear in, well lets just say it is REAL heavy. No one else will pull it so I tow it behind the F150. Does okay but notice it back there a lot. Looking to get another trailer which from what I have been told is huge and needs at least a 3/4 ton to haul it. Again not one person has that size truck and everyone with a truck has said they will not tow it either. But Scouts is not a reason to justify the purchase of this truck, just something else I could use it for besides towing a camper.
We love our Jayco bumper pull but have said for a couple of years we would love a fifth wheel. Several floor plans suit our needs and wife loves the additional storage you get in the kitchen area etc... along with upgrading from three bunk to quad bunks, super slide (ours is sofa only and only goes out about 15 - 18 inches so not a lot of space added...
I am well aware of some of the issue with the 6.0 engine but understand that if the engine has had all the re-flashed performed etc it should not have issues. Also given the fact this is a 2005 model Ford had over a year to get the kinks worked out since the 6.0 was first installed in 2003 models.
Not familiar with the term curbstoners. This is not in a front yard of a home but rather in front of business so believe to be the owner of the business. Not the type business that it would be using it for their work, but rather the owners personal vehicle. Business has been around for a long time and is very reputable. I will get more details on the owner etc if and when I call about it. Also this is in a small town about 50 miles east of B'ham which is next to a large power company impoundment lake that is used for recreational purpose. It is not big city. We have our lake home there and know of this business from being there for many years on the weekend.
Think I will at least call on it and get more particulars and arrange a test drive over the weekend if not sold by then. Thanks for your input.
No offense, but you're asking for trouble. Just my opinion.
Keep the excursion 7.3. Drive it into the ground, get a bigger trailer. When the engine gets tired, rebuild it. It will still be more reliable than the 6.0, and get better mileage than the 6.4 l.
You may be able to sell that diesel Excursion for a similar amount as the F350 will cost, and both will get similar fuel mileage and have similar registration and insurance costs. If it were me, I would buy the F350 and sell the Excursion and the F150 and get a small gas mizer car for driving around town. Only thing different I would do though, is I would buy a longbed dually instead of a shortbed srw, for pulling a fifth wheeler.
SoCalDesertRider wrote: You may be able to sell that diesel Excursion for a similar amount as the F350 will cost, and both will get similar fuel mileage and have similar registration and insurance costs. If it were me, I would buy the F350 and sell the Excursion and the F150 and get a small gas mizer car for driving around town. Only thing different I would do though, is I would buy a longbed dually instead of a shortbed srw, for pulling a fifth wheeler.
I pull a fair sized 5er @ 33 ft with a srw cc just fine and wouldn't trade it for a hard riding hard to park dually on a bet unless my trailer required it but many many fivers don't necessitate a dually at all in a f350! This unit goes down the road so sweet that unfortunately you forget what you are towing and that I don't like as I never wish to forget I have that much behind me!!IMHO Ps Remember you will need a slider hitch!
2001 F 350 CC PSD 373 rear,auto
RBW X16 slider,Bedsaver,Prodigy,Fold A Cover,Pressure Pro!
2004 Crossroads Paradise Point PF33Rl 5th wheel Fibreglass and all the goodies necessary,Dish,comfy loungers,and a nickel to spend,
Mr & Mrs and the PUP.
Offline
). 6.0 PSD with 3.73 so should be pretty decent on fuel consumption. Price is good too. 
 (2).jpg)
