Towing a 260 EC.

jshagy · August 2013

Well I'm in the market for a new truck. Does anyone know the trailer weight of a 2008 260 EC with gen set? I'm wonder if I need to go with a diesel truck. I tow once or twice a year about 250 miles one way. The last owner said he pulled it with a Ford F150 but I think that might be working the truck a little to much.

Thanks.

212rowboat · August 2013

Some 150's can tow north of 10k#.. with a prudent 15% safety margin, brake controller, weight distribution hitch on a well balanced load and since you only work it twice or so a year, I'd guess the 150 is fine... But it depends on how its equipped.. I once owned a 150 with a gvwr of only 3500lbs.. it was a 2004 six banger I got new for less than $8k.. used it as a daily driver, and kept the powerwagons in the stable for the heavy work..

I absolutely love my 09 f250 powerstroke diesel.. minor tuning and mods done are absolutely for longivity in mind, but really free the ponies.. It turns almost 1200# tq and 617hp at the wheels, dyno verified on an otherwise stingy dyno... I have zero need for all that power, but it doesn't complain when you hook up to....whatever..

I love it, but as any diesel, its a maintenance hound.. servicing a diesel isn't something you skimp on.. it should last me the rest of my life, and I plan on keeping it, so it will pay off... but penny for penny operating a gasser for your purposes is adequate... Otherwise, rent a diesel if it really is a concern..

Black_Diamond · August 2013

Renting is not a bad idea really. I have an F-350 power stroke. Pull a 5th wheel horse trailer and it does not even try hard. Just chipped it and a 4" exhaust.

bat32 · August 2013

Don't forget to include the weight of the trailer. My boat is just over 5000# dry but 70 gallons of fuel, 10 gallons of water, plus all the gear is almost another 1000# plus the 2000# trailer is in reality now an 8000# payload. Also people forget that the weight in the truck (people) count towards the pay load as well. I tow my 246 cuddy with a Ram 1500 but I ordered mine so its towing capacity was 10,500#. I blew up the front ends on a couple other regular GM 1/2 tons that were only rated at 8000#. I wanted the deisel 3/4 ton but couldn't afford one that was in decent shape. Also beware of the payload on the deisels. You can actually spec one that only has a 9000# payoad restriction so make sure you read the fine print. Hope this helps.

TikiHut2 · August 2013

We tow our fully loaded FV270 w/triaxle trailer (actual wet load incl trailer 10,300lbs) pretty regularly during the season ranging from 30-300mi a trip. We use a 2001 3/4ton suburban gas 6ltr Vortec (+6160lbs = 16460 total on scale) and I'd say its fine at 63-65mph on the flat which is 99% of my region. Any hills on a regular basis and I'd be looking at something with a bit more a$$.

It needed a much larger transmission cooler for my summer heat and I really like the Suburbans longer wheel base for tracking and the tri-axle pulls and stops like it's on a rail. Even though it had a towing pkg from the factory the org trans cooler was a hopeless 4x6". Make sure to keep it cool, probably by simply adding a real oil cooler.

My boat mule was in great shape with 200k mi at $3500 and is now only used for pulling the boat around Fl. Hope that helps and that you find what works for you. Mike

212rowboat · August 2013

agree with Mike....

get a plate style cooler, though- it cools much MUCH better:

not a tube and fin style:

and here is a chart that shows what temps do to a trans:

brakes is the most important thing to account for when towing, in my humble opinion... getting it rolling is not near so important as getting it shut down... :-)

mambug · August 2013

drewactual said:

Some 150's can tow north of 10k#.. with a prudent 15% safety margin, brake controller, weight distribution hitch on a well balanced load and since you only work it twice or so a year, I'd guess the 150 is fine... But it depends on how its equipped.. I once owned a 150 with a gvwr of only 3500lbs.. it was a 2004 six banger I got new for less than $8k.. used it as a daily driver, and kept the powerwagons in the stable for the heavy work.. I absolutely love my 09 f250 powerstroke diesel.. minor tuning and mods done are absolutely for longivity in mind, but really free the ponies.. It turns almost 1200# tq and 617hp at the wheels, dyno verified on an otherwise stingy dyno... I have zero need for all that power, but it doesn't complain when you hook up to....whatever.. I love it, but as any diesel, its a maintenance hound.. servicing a diesel isn't something you skimp on.. it should last me the rest of my life, and I plan on keeping it, so it will pay off... but penny for penny operating a gasser for your purposes is adequate... Otherwise, rent a diesel if it really is a concern..

Only the EcoBoost 150s. We were shopping for a truck to tow our 08' 260EC (Which, I believe weighs in at around 8,000LBS.) The V8 5.0s don't have the towing capacity (on paper -- nor would I risk it, if your commute is going to be several hundred miles and not purely flat terrain, and with traffic [like it is here in California.])

212rowboat · August 2013

there are a couple 6.2's that provision for it w/ the towing package... check it here..

the thing about half ton gassers is that they ~can~ tow, but not near so sustainably as a diesel.. the half ton or even the 3/4, 1, and 1 1/4 ton trucks in gasser form are a compromise from the sustainable torque of a diesel... once a person enjoys that diesel power with a load behind them, they usually don't go back to gasoline, it's been my observation... but that doesn't mean it qualifies for the expense to get into one, if a person only tows once or twice a year..

the old adage about towing safely, I was told years ago, is 15% safety margin east of the Rockies, and 25% west... it makes sense, too.. the most dangerous pass in the east I know of is Sam's Gap on the NC/TN border- I've driven it many many times.. it's a blast on a motorcycle (HELLO Deals Gap, better known as Tail of the Dragon!!)... three of the east's highest peaks are within 50 or so miles of each other in that region.. it can be tricky, but not near so tricky as the western passes in Colorado, Utah, ect, which have 'mole hills' that surpass the elevation of the east's highest (8500' or so)...

nhsd · August 2013

You should check out the F-150 Eco boost. Some have a tow rating in excess of 11,000 lbs if I am not mistaken. They also have half way decent non-towing gas mileage and a decent ride for the other 361 to 363 days per year that you won't be towing. Personally I would really consider renting if once or twice was all the towing I was going to do, but if you want to own the truck then the EcoBoost seems to be a good option. As I understand it the twin turbos in the EcoBoost drive out some really impressive torque numbers in the low RPM ranges like a diesel but keep some good gas consumption numbers when those turbos are not kicking in.

212rowboat · August 2013

twin sequential turbos... they are tiny, but they get the job done.. one is super small that spools up right off of idle, and then becomes 'transparent' using variable pitch of the blades when there is enough exhaust pressure to operate the second one in line, which is bigger...

I run a similar piece of technology on the 6.4powerstroke..

the gasser version allows for boost levels off idle of 5#'s or so, and full boost at or near an atmosphere (14.7#'s)... it is said that every pound of boost is valued at 10% the engines naturally aspirated power- so if the engine is producing 50 pounds of torque off idle (650rpm), the same under 5 pounds of boost would be in the realm of 80#'s, or a total of +60%... off idle, that is huge..

anything boosted, whether bottled, super charged, or turbo charged is the ticket in my humble opinion.. call it "true variable displacement".. along the highway my 6.4, if operating at perfect volumetric efficiency moves 6.4L of air every full cycle of all 8 cylinders.. when I need the power, I mash the throttle and the turbo crams air in the cylinders.. once I hit 15# or so of boost, I've added a full atmosphere, and that engine is operating the same as a 12.8L naturally aspirated engine would... 45psi, is equiv to 3x the displacement of a n/a engine, or 19.2L engine... it burns fuel just like a bigger engine would, but once I've accelerated or tugged something over the hill, it can reduce back down to 6.4L in the flash of an eye..

A L L of that said, there is no replacement for diesel power over the long haul... the diesels are made not only to produce the power, but everything else there is to d with towing such as huge heat exchanges for every fluid under the hood and the turbos themselves.. heavier axles.. bigger and better brakes... the jake brake can't be underestimated, either...

pepmyster · August 2013

We tow our 280ec with a Navigator 2004 with the tow-pack. Not even a problem, just please take time to stop when on the highway!!!!!!

MIKES342 · August 2013

I pulled my 2013 260 with my 2010 Tahoe LTZ. When we made connection to the hitch the back of my Tahoe sunk and so did my heart then the the air bags kick in and leveled the rig out. I pulled it 120 miles without any problems. I towed it in the Tow mode and the trailer had electric brakes on all four wheels. It was all flat land for the majority of the trip

pepmyster · August 2013

We have the air leveling system on our truck also, great feature!!!!!!!!!!!!!

frodo13056 · August 2013

I use a 2003 F-250 4x4 with the 7.3 liter diesel to pull my 08 320. I only tow twice a year and about 90 miles each way and I'm guessing that total weight is about 15000 #. That 7.3 International Harvester diesel is basically bullet proof whereas the newer Ford Diesel engines can be a handful ( both the 6.0 liter and the newer 6.3 Liter Ford engines) when it comes to reliability. If you go diesel, you seriously need to consider cost - initial cost, routine maintenance costs and repair costs. If you aren't a "do-it-yourself" kind of guy, owning a diesel can be expensive. An oil change for the 7.3 is around $80 doing it myself and around $110 at a dealer. Compare that to a gas engine - around $20. There are pluses and minuses either way - just make sure you do a little research and pick what option works best for you.

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