Gus' Home Page
My 1996 Ford F-350 dually with 7.3 liter Powerstroke Turbocharged Diesel Engine
I bought Gus on Valentines Day 1997, when I knew I'd be moving to
Texas. I have made 4 PA to Texas round trips so far, all with a trailer
with at least one vehicle on it, as well as renting an enclosed trailer
to haul my Harley up to Sturgis SD this year. The enclosed trailer made
a great tent.
I put both the heaviest bumper hitch and the fold-flush gooseneck
hitch on the truck within one week of buying it. I finally purchased an
18" gooseneck trailer, which I have named Tanya. The last 2 of my 4
PA-TX trips was with the gooseneck, and boy do they pull great.
On my way back from Sturgis I noticed that my front end had come out of alignment.
When I arrived back in TX, the dealer told me that while I'd only
had the truck 4 months, the warranty had already run out because of the
mileage. Actually I put about 15,000 miles on the truck in 4 months,
and that only represented driving it about 25 times. Anyway, I had to
pay $115 to have different eccentrics put in the front end to get it
back in line. A man on my Antique Tractor discussion group who used to
haul huge loads all over the country with F-350's said that the best
investment you can make is to put the best front shocks you can find on
it about every 15,000 miles (like each time you add the radiator
additive)
Though I love Ford cars and trucks made before 1940 (and the 1956
truck), I'd always been a Chevy man for the stuff made after 1955. I
even had a vette engined '73 Chevy half ton... But, despite my
CyberName, when it came time to look for this first truck (the first
non-motorcycle I ever bought new) my Dad and I only considered the
diesels. The PowerStroke ultimately seemed like a better engine to me
than the Cummins, so I went with the Ford.
My only slight disappointment so far has been fuel mileage. If you
can believe the Cummins guys, they get much better mileage than my
PowerStroke. Of course I do have to admit that pulling a loaded trailer
at speeds from 75 to 85 with a 4.11 rear isn't the fairest test of
mileage. I am starting to investigate the overdrive option. Even though
5th gear in my manual trans is an overdrive, it still seems fairly low
for all that torque with the 4.11 gears. So far I have found Gear
Vendors website. Do you know of any other overdrive options. I would
appreciate your helping with research on this, as I think it would be
much more useful than an exhaust brake.
What kind of mileage are you getting with your truck? Mine varies
from a low of the high 8's going too fast with a heavy trailer to
around 15 at best.
1/4/99 Just turned 28,000 miles.
Email me.