Ford Super Duty with the 5.4L

[DavesDD2500HD]

Do you have an online source for the GM trailer towing and payload specs for the different models and configurations of the HD trucks from 2001 and up? I've found the info I am looking for on the Fords and Dodges, but have very little specific info on the GM's.

Kevin

Kevin,

I did look to see if I still had one of my old pamphlets from the dealership, but I don't. I did find this for the new GMT-900 platform. That is the 2007.5+ trucks with the 6.0L gas or 6.6L diesel in a 2500HD.

http://www.gmc.com/sierra/2500HD/specsCapabilities.jsp

You may have to hit the plus sign to expand some of the information.

Here is something for the 2004 trucks. This would generally apply to all the GMT-800 trucks (1999-2007). Towing and payload are near the bottom.

http://www.new-cars.com/2004/chevrolet/chevy-silverado-hd-specs.html

 

[injun joe]

I would think gearing would play a big part. I just want my next truck to be the right truck to pull a cord of green Oak minimum (with some in the box) properly.

Kevin

true wow your gunna a hell of a truck but i dont know anything about oak but ill assume its not much heavier wet than cottonwood wet. yeah you'll definitely want something with some good leaf springs and maybe the 1 ton axle.

 

[jerryw66]

I'm assuming you have the F250. What gears? 4x4 or 2wd? Regular cab, sc or cc? What do you pull with it? Sorry for all the questions...I'm an information junky when I'm doing research .

Kevin

sorry, I got interrupted, f250, details, Dark green color, captains seats, sc, 4.10s 4wd, pull lots of different heavy trailers, camper, big vermeer stump cutter, occasionally 13k lb chipper, I run 285 16s, true trac in the rear, 66k miles, never a problem yet. Pulling I usually get 9 ta 10 mpg, 15 empty. The camper is a 25ft travel trailer, it drops the mileage to 8 or slightly less. I wouldn't mind a diesel, love that 6 gear.

 

[jerryw66]

Kevin, I see you asked about truck forums? I look on the Ford truck enthusiasts forum sometimes to answer questions on all ages of ford trucks, it's the forum for me, when it comes to trucks.

 

[davec]

Lot s of info on tow ratings here:
http://www.trailerlife.com/

-Dave

 

[olyman]

2005 was the furst ear for the 3 valve Triton 5.4. They are a liitle more snappy than earlier 5.4's.[/QUOTE]
me thinks from the experience with them--lots!! more snappy--

 

[KMB]

Kevin,

I did look to see if I still had one of my old pamphlets from the dealership, but I don't. I did find this for the new GMT-900 platform. That is the 2007.5+ trucks with the 6.0L gas or 6.6L diesel in a 2500HD.

http://www.gmc.com/sierra/2500HD/specsCapabilities.jsp

You may have to hit the plus sign to expand some of the information.

Here is something for the 2004 trucks. This would generally apply to all the GMT-800 trucks (1999-2007). Towing and payload are near the bottom.

http://www.new-cars.com/2004/chevrolet/chevy-silverado-hd-specs.html

Those will do just fine...thank ya! Got'em bookmarked.

Kevin

 

[KMB]

true wow your gunna a hell of a truck but i dont know anything about oak but ill assume its not much heavier wet than cottonwood wet. yeah you'll definitely want something with some good leaf springs and maybe the 1 ton axle.

Depending on the Oak species, a green cord is between 5000 to 6000 lbs.

The trailer I have access to is rated at 7000 lbs. The trailer weighs 1960 lbs. so that leaves me 5040 lbs. for a load. Depending on what truck I eventually get will determine what trailer I might have to buy in the future...if I loose access to the current trailer.

Kevin

 

[KMB]

sorry, I got interrupted, f250, details, Dark green color, captains seats, sc, 4.10s 4wd, pull lots of different heavy trailers, camper, big vermeer stump cutter, occasionally 13k lb chipper, I run 285 16s, true trac in the rear, 66k miles, never a problem yet. Pulling I usually get 9 ta 10 mpg, 15 empty. The camper is a 25ft travel trailer, it drops the mileage to 8 or slightly less. I wouldn't mind a diesel, love that 6 gear.

Thanks for the details. Wherever I've read lately, seems like 4.10 gears are the way to go if the 5.4L is in a Super Duty (or with the 6.0L in the GM 2500HD's or with the 5.7L Hemi's in the Dodge 2500's).

Kevin

 

[gr8scott72]

Depending on the Oak species, a green cord is between 5000 to 6000 lbs.

The trailer I have access to is rated at 7000 lbs. The trailer weighs 1960 lbs. so that leaves me 5040 lbs. for a load. Depending on what truck I eventually get will determine what trailer I might have to buy in the future...if I loose access to the current trailer.

Kevin

If that's all you are going to be pulling, you really don't need much truck. Really, any 1/2 ton would get the job done just fine.

 

[KMB]

Kevin, I see you asked about truck forums? I look on the Ford truck enthusiasts forum sometimes to answer questions on all ages of ford trucks, it's the forum for me, when it comes to trucks.

Yep, I've been there, and to f150online,fordf150 and ford-trucks.

Kevin

 

[wood4heat]

If that's all you are going to be pulling, you really don't need much truck. Really, any 1/2 ton would get the job done just fine.

If you plan on towing anywhere near that much with a 1/2 ton I'd recommend air bags in the rear to keep it from pushing you around. They made a huge difference on my Tahoe.

I'd also like to add it managed to pull around 6,000lb's worth of enclosed trailer but at 104,000 miles the tranny was beginning to slip in third. I never pulled in overdrive. If you're looking primarily for a trailer hauler I'd stick with a 3/4 ton at minimum.

 

[gr8scott72]

If you plan on towing anywhere near that much with a 1/2 ton I'd recommend air bags in the rear to keep it from pushing you around. They made a huge difference on my Tahoe.

Another great product is Roadmaster Active Suspension. Don't have to change them for different load weights. I'm very happy with them on my Excursion.

 

[KMB]

If that's all you are going to be pulling, you really don't need much truck. Really, any 1/2 ton would get the job done just fine.

Right now my truck is a 1997 F150, 4.6L, 3.55, SC, shortbox, 4x4. I have upgraded to heavier duty shocks in the rear and Timbren springs. With a cord of dry Oak on the trailer I mentioned, the back end is sitting very firmly on the Timbrens. The truck is rated to 6600 lbs. of trailer weight...maybe with a weight distribution hitch system to keep the hind end up. I get by with the 4.6L, but the 5.4L would be better I know.

I want 'more' truck because in the future, if I have to go a distance to get wood, I want to haul more of it in one trip...which also means getting a higher rated trailer (8K or 10K) or use the trailer I mentioned and put a good load in the bed. If I sell a couple cords of firewood, it would be nice to deliver both at one time.

Then there's trips like I took last Fall where I pulled a trailer with 2 4wheelers, a bed load of camping gear, ice chests, some firewood, and 2 of my buddies and the son of one buddy. We got into some pretty good sized hills in the Quachita Mountains and the 4.6L was struggling a little. And yes, I was out of overdrive. My tires are 2 sizes bigger than stock, so that doesn't help either.

I also would want a crew cab and long box. I haven't looked at 1/2 ton specs. I thought I would have to go at least with a 3/4 ton to get all that I would want.

Kevin

 

[KMB]

Lot s of info on tow ratings here:
http://www.trailerlife.com/

-Dave

Thanks for the link.

Kevin

 

[wood4heat]

My Tahoe and trailer. It's a '99 with the 5.7L, 4" lift with 285/75 16's. I added a B&M tranny cooler, slotted rotors with Bear twin piston calipers and rear airbags. This was taken before the airbags and you can see it squatted a little. It could use more power but actually pulled pretty well in third. I'm sure the tranny could have been made to handle it and I could have got more power out of it but by the time you do all that you've spent more than if you had just bought the right truck to start with. And it's still only a 1/2 ton. It's a great truck for what it is though.

 

[John D]

Depending on the Oak species, a green cord is between 5000 to 6000 lbs.

The trailer I have access to is rated at 7000 lbs. The trailer weighs 1960 lbs. so that leaves me 5040 lbs. for a load. Depending on what truck I eventually get will determine what trailer I might have to buy in the future...if I loose access to the current trailer.

Kevin

The 7K trailer is a good start,but you'll want a beefier trailer down the road.I have a 9900GVWR 18ft flatbed trailer,and a 7x14 14K dump,I easily load both to the limit with oak,and could fit more,esp log length loads.1 5000load is 2 logs 18ft long oak rounds for me when hauling loads.I haul as many as i can safely get on until the tires start to mushroom with 90psi in them.Im sure you know wood is very heavy,and if you have an f250/350 you can easily carry way more.
im looking myself for a 14k flatbed trailer,about 20-24' long to replace my 9900.

 

[KMB]

And it's still only a 1/2 ton. It's a great truck for what it is though.

My point also for my 1/2 ton. I forgot to add that I added a tranny cooler about 7 years ago before I made the 2200+ mile trip from 'home' to where I am now in the south. I pulled a loaded 16' tandem axle U-Haul trailer (4400 lbs. if I remember correctly) from Edmonton, AB, Canada to Tuscon, AZ (to be part of a good friends wedding). From there it was across to Arkansas. Of course I stayed out of OD, and kept the RPM's to about 2200, resulting in speeds of 50-55 mph...I know, it was a long trip. But it was the only vehicle I owned, and didn't want to kill it, and money was (and still is ) tight.

BTW, nice looking Tahoe.

Kevin

 

[KMB]

The 7K trailer is a good start,but you'll want a beefier trailer down the road.I have a 9900GVWR 18ft flatbed trailer,and a 7x14 14K dump,I easily load both to the limit with oak,and could fit more,esp log length loads.1 5000load is 2 logs 18ft long oak rounds for me when hauling loads.I haul as many as i can safely get on until the tires start to mushroom with 90psi in them.Im sure you know wood is very heavy,and if you have an f250/350 you can easily carry way more.
im looking myself for a 14k flatbed trailer,about 20-24' long to replace my 9900.

Thanks for another good reason why I at least want a 3/4 ton. When I can get into 'more' truck, I think a 10K trailer would be realistic for me and what I plan to use it for in regards to my firewood duties. I wouldn't need the 10K rating all the time, but when the need arrived, I would have the capability. I'm sure that after I get my 'ideal' truck and trailer combo, there will be something to haul that I would want even 'more' truck and trailer...and on it goes .

Kevin

 

[headleyj]

This question gets kicked around a TON on a SuperDuty forum I watch. I have an '05 5.4 automatic, Supercab Long box 4wd w /3.73. A lot of people who have the 5.4 are fine with them, as am I. You won't win races up mountains towing or anything, but you'll get there just fine as long as you aren't afraid to rev the engine. The SD gas engines are fairly high revvers for truck engines.

The year makes a big difference. Starting in '05 they went to the 3V gas engines and the newer front end that uses coil springs instead of leafs. This helps turning radius a lot, I'm told, but I haven't experienced the leaf version. The 3V engine was a big power boost over the earlier 2V version. The new 3V is almost as powerful as the old V10 was (2V). '05 also gets you the much raved about Torqshift 5spd automatic tranny. Head and shoulders better than the previous 4spd is the consensus there too. Early '05's had a design flaw in the tranny that caused cracked cases from a snap ring shifting around, but they fixed it and most of them were repaired under warranty. You'll want to check that if you get an 05 but don't worry 06+.

If I were you I would look for either a V10 or a V8 in the '05+ lines. People who tow or haul a lot say the V10 doesn't seem to be much worse on gas as it gets worked a bit less hard. Everyone who has the V10 raves about it bigtime. The V8 will work fine, but I wouldn't turn away a good truck with the V10. The other reason is that some 70%+ of SD's came with the diesel, so finding gas engines can be tough - take it when you find a good one. The higher gears 4.10 will help the 5.4 a lot, but probably aren't as important with the V10 .

If you are going to tow a lot, get one with the integrated trailer brake controller (another reason to go '05+)

One final point - there is almost ZERO difference between a 250 and 350. Everything on the trucks are the same with the exception that they put a 4" spacer block under the rear leafs on the 350 and a 2" on the 250, so the 350 can use a bit more of the springs. Other than that there is supposedly a different spline count on a drive shaft and then the all important door sticker GVWR as the only other differences. This is also a frequent topic on that forum...

And yes they ride like hay wagons. Especially empty.

HTH
-Dave

nailed it.