iloveporsches

Ford's giving our SAE/FSAE clubs a pretty large equipment grant, and #1 on our "wish list" is a new tow vehicle to replace our worn out van. Just wondering if anyone has some recommendations on Ford's current lineup. Towing capacity needs to be decent (2 500lb cars + enclosed trailer), but nothing too much. Good fuel economy is a plus.

Thanks.

Pearceman3

F350

Robert Henriksen

Depends on your budget (and how fast you want to tow your rig! ;-)

My dream tow vehicle is a Ford Super Duty (f250/350) with the new 6.0 liter diesel & automatic. I towed a HEAVY 28' trailer with a 3000# car inside plus plenty of spares, for about 3,500 miles over a long weekend. Used a borrowed 2003 F250 crew cab Lariat diesel. It was freakin' wonderful.

And that truck gets the same mileage around town as my V6 Ranger! (16-17 mpg). And diesel tends to be the same price, or cheaper, than regular gas, at least around here. My take on the new F150 is that it's very plush, but will never have the guts of a diesel, and doesn't get any better mileage. Your trailer weight isn't a big deal, the F150 with the 5.4L V-8 would tow it fine, but the mileage won't be any better w. the F150 over the 6.0L diesel.

iloveporsches

Yeah, that would help to know! I shot off an email to our team leader to figure out how much we're looking at here. Also, faster=better

I figured our trailer weight didn't matter much, we're using a van now and it's been fine for 100,000 miles.

tod84944

If you are thinking of buying a new one, send me a email. I work for Ford motor co, and I can sponser 3 people per year on the Z-plan. Simply put, friends and family deal.
toddandcharity@peoplepc.com

EZRider

I'd recommend F250 with standard engine.

iloveporsches

Thanks for the offer Tod. Ford Motor Company is actually giving us the grant, so I think they'd cut us a deal, but I don't know. There's a lot of Ford engineers that are U of I alumni. I'll talk to my team captain some more and get some more details.

MichelleJD

Are you going to be hauling people as well as machinery? I've got an Exploder Limited (read towing package standard) with 5.0L V8 and 240K+ on the odometer. If you're gonna carry the cars and team in one vehicle, I'd look at an Exploder or Expedition.

Predator

I purschased an 03 F350 Lariet Crew Cab Dually Diesel last year. My only gripe is the fuel mileage. Its got the 4:10 gear ratio and 4wd and I get 12.2 mpg in town and 10.5 on the road. The dealer says this is normal, but the published figures are better than this. In town, I try to drive like I have an egg unger my foot. On the road, I cruise at 80. Other that the mileage, its a great truck, my 4th Ford. All were 2wd Gas F-250's. My last gas truck went 356K w zero trouble. Only reason I trades was that I always wanted a BIG truck.

http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/ch...s_2003_004.jpg

iloveporsches

Team Captain got back to me today with more details:

"We will not be able to "buy" a new truck. It will most likely be a Ford
fleet vehicle that they will be giving us. We will primarily use it as a
tow vehicle. In my opinion it should have a manual transmission. The
engine size/type should be sufficient to pull the 32' trailer (about 6000lbs
fully loaded). I would prefer the turbo diesel, but I wouldn't count on
being able to secure one. I think we want a full 8' bed or flat bed even so
we can put the car on the back easily. I think that restricts us to 1
bench seat, but I don't know. If not, 4-5 seats would be prefered."

So what truck fits the bill?

jc22

My F350 crew cab seats 6 with bucket seats and has an 8 foot bed. Turbo diesel and auto tranny. Payload capacity ~4,000 lbs. Tow capacity over 12,000 lbs. Not a whole lot of fleets spend the $5000 more for the diesel option so they may be hard to find especially up north. Down here every HD truck on the road is diesel powered.

It's difficult to find an 8 ft. bed on F250s that have a crew cab, and impossible depending on the year you are looking for. You might fit 5 in an extended cab but they would have to be pretty small people. So your search will probably be for a F350, F450, F550. The latter 2 are WAY more than you need.

porschefig

i recommend a chevrolet :P

Matt Romanowski

Watch what you get with the new 6 lt. diesels. The early ones have had a lot of problems. Ask how I know......

Matt