Posted 2010-01-27 9:07 AM (#115769) Subject: Looking at 2006 F250 4x4....any opinions?
Member
Posts: 17
Location: western NC
Hi, I'm looking at a used truck to pull my 2 horse trailer....max weight I'd probably ever pull would be 5000 lb; would usually be around 4000 lb. The truck I'm looking at is a 2006 F250 XL 4x4 automatic with 75000 miles. Carfax says 2 prev. owners, no major problems. Dealer is asking $14,900. The truck looks to be in good condition cosmetically, just stripped down (no power windows, no CD player,etc.). It does have new tires. It's a gas engine. Any opinions/advice y'all have would be greatly appreciated! Lisa C.
Posted 2010-01-27 9:37 AM (#115773 - in reply to #115769) Subject: RE: Looking at 2006 F250 4x4....any opinions?
Expert
Posts: 5870 Location: western PA
Which gas motor? V 8 or V 10? The 5.4 in a Super Duty is under powered when pulling trailers. The 10 puts out some decent power, although at high rpms and some serious gas consumption.
you will notice that the truck you are looking at is rated for at least 9100#'s. If you can live without the extras, the truck will be fine. You can change the radio easily enough.
Posted 2010-01-27 11:20 AM (#115780 - in reply to #115769) Subject: RE: Looking at 2006 F250 4x4....any opinions?
Elite Veteran
Posts: 714 Location: Minnesota
People that don't own a V10 keep saying high gas consumption. I have one in my 01' F350 CC SB that gets just as good of mileage when not pulling as any other Ford PU. Usually 14 mpg and up to 18 mpg. Yes, when hooked to a 3H 10'LQ it drops to 9-10 mpg, but for your 2H that you say will only weigh 5k max, it would be way more engine than you need, but still good if you upgrade to a bigger trailer. A long box will be slightly less but still a good truck for you. Also, an XL is the bare bones Ford that you had to buy any optional upgrades that you wanted.
Posted 2010-01-27 1:10 PM (#115787 - in reply to #115769) Subject: RE: Looking at 2006 F250 4x4....any opinions?
Veteran
Posts: 197 Location: MT
The V8 is not under powered don't let anybody tell you that. I had a 99 ford 250 extended cab short box and pulled a 3 horse gn slant load just fine. It had enough power to get the job done and I went 70 every where. Yes it would stuggle going up the mountians but still pulled fine. Couple times I put 4 horses in the my 3 horses and still was fine. I cannot remeber if I had an overdrive off switch or a tow haul button though. Pulled great and never once had a problem with it.
Posted 2010-01-27 2:22 PM (#115791 - in reply to #115769) Subject: RE: Looking at 2006 F250 4x4....any opinions?
Expert
Posts: 2453 Location: Northern Utah
Just took a look at the local clasifieds for 2006 F250. There are about 30 trucks listed under that profile.
There are several XLT's for $14,900 One with a V-10 and 90,000miles and one with the 6.0L diesel and 130,000 miles.
There is a plain jane white XT with the 6.0L diesel and 108,000 miles for $11,900
Most of the nicer trucks with the 6.0L diesel are listed for $19,000 - $25,000
So at $14,900 it looks like the dealer is giving you an avg deal for plain jane XT gas engine truck.
That truck should pull your horse trailer just fine. I had a 97 F250 with the 5.4L gas engine and I was pulling a 3H bumper pull back then. It did the job just fine.
Posted 2010-01-27 2:50 PM (#115792 - in reply to #115769) Subject: RE: Looking at 2006 F250 4x4....any opinions?
Veteran
Posts: 147 Location: santa clara, ca
the prices seems pretty high to me.you probably don't need a diesel, so it's a toss-up between the v10 and v8 (the latter won't be a speed champ, but when hauling horses speed is not really a good thing).I would try to find an XLT trimmed truck at a minimum: eventually you want to ride in comfort yourself (A/C, radio, cloth seats vs vynil), otherwise down the road you'll avoid going on longer trips
Posted 2010-01-27 4:20 PM (#115797 - in reply to #115769) Subject: RE: Looking at 2006 F250 4x4....any opinions?
Expert
Posts: 5870 Location: western PA
"The V8 is not under powered don't let anybody tell you that."
Can't help but wonder...... If the V 8 gas was so capable while towing, why are both of your newer trucks equipped with diesel motors? Could it be because......
Posted 2010-01-27 10:54 PM (#115816 - in reply to #115769) Subject: RE: Looking at 2006 F250 4x4....any opinions?
Expert
Posts: 1351 Location: Decatur, Texas
Just my opinion being a dealer, I think for a truck with no power equipment it is high! No if you are talking a loaded out LARIAT truck with leather and every option Ford offer you might be close to the price......
Posted 2010-01-27 10:55 PM (#115817 - in reply to #115769) Subject: RE: Looking at 2006 F250 4x4....any opinions?
Elite Veteran
Posts: 714 Location: Minnesota
Gard- I'll answer why I have a diesel now even though I still have my V10. When I traded trailers in 2008 I bought an eight foot wide trailer and my short box truck did not leave me the turning capacity that I wanted. So I needed a long bed truck. Finding a used long bed in this area was a challenge. When I was looking, I had a choice of 5 trucks within 100 miles. All but one had diesels and that one had 180,000 miles on it. Although I appreciate the power of the diesel the jury is still out. I make to many short trips of two miles or less and in this part of the country the cold weather makes that tough on the engine.
In the case of the OP he is only pulling a two horse trailer of minimal weight, and the gas engine will be be fine for him.
Posted 2010-01-28 6:59 AM (#115823 - in reply to #115769) Subject: RE: Looking at 2006 F250 4x4....any opinions?
Regular
Posts: 92 Location: Harrisburg, PA
Originally written by shorthorse on 2010-01-27 9:07 AM
Hi, I'm looking at a used truck to pull my 2 horse trailer....max weight I'd probably ever pull would be 5000 lb; would usually be around 4000 lb. The truck I'm looking at is a 2006 F250 XL 4x4 automatic with 75000 miles. Carfax says 2 prev. owners, no major problems. Dealer is asking $14,900. The truck looks to be in good condition cosmetically, just stripped down (no power windows, no CD player,etc.). It does have new tires. It's a gas engine. Any opinions/advice y'all have would be greatly appreciated! Lisa C.
That should be a pretty good truck. If you tow a lot of mountains or highways with heavy traffic you'll probably want more than the base V8 engine. I personally would avoid the diesels in that model year (the 6.0L) because they had some reliability problems and when they need repaired the labor cost is nuts.
Shop around. Plenty of good deals to be had on pickups. I think that one is priced pretty high - I'd offer $11k and when they don't accept, head home and let them call you.
Posted 2010-01-28 8:44 AM (#115830 - in reply to #115797) Subject: RE: Looking at 2006 F250 4x4....any opinions?
Veteran
Posts: 197 Location: MT
Originally written by gard on 2010-01-27 4:20 PM
"The V8 is not under powered don't let anybody tell you that."
Can't help but wonder...... If the V 8 gas was so capable while towing, why are both of your newer trucks equipped with diesel motors? Could it be because......
"Yes it would stuggle going up the mountians"
I'll tell you why, because I'm not a broke college kid anymore and I could afford to upgrade to a diesel. And I also got a bigger trailer, I pulled alot of miles with that 5.4 and never once complained I out grew that pickup or else it would be still sitting in the driveway or one close to it.
Posted 2010-01-28 6:38 PM (#115853 - in reply to #115769) Subject: RE: Looking at 2006 F250 4x4....any opinions?
Member
Posts: 17
Location: western NC
Thanks for all your opinions and advice, everyone; I really appreciate it. I DO live in the mountains. My last truck was an 89 F-150 XLT v-8, and while it pulled one horse in my trailer okay on the flat, we'd be down to about 30 mph by the time we got to the top of many mountains. So I definitely want more power than that. I think the engine was a 302, but I'm not sure how that translates into liters (showing my ignorance here!) If the Ford F 250's 5.4 L isn't much more powerful, then I think I'd need to look at the other brands. I know diesels are more powerful, but I can't seem to find any for less than $15,000 in my area. Looking forward to hearing more discussion. Thanks, again!!! Lisa C.
Posted 2010-01-28 7:35 PM (#115854 - in reply to #115769) Subject: RE: Looking at 2006 F250 4x4....any opinions?
Location: centrally located amongst the "NUTS"
This will ring out the Dodge guys! For that budget and if you have the time, I would look for a pre-03 Ford with the 7.3. they are hard to find around here if they are in good shape, but that motor is hard to beat. On one with even 200,000 miles on it would be more dependable in the long run.
Posted 2010-01-28 7:43 PM (#115858 - in reply to #115769) Subject: RE: Looking at 2006 F250 4x4....any opinions?
Expert
Posts: 5870 Location: western PA
Your 302 engine was a five litre motor, or 5.0. In the truck versions it put out about 185 -205 hp. If you could find a Ford pickup with a V-10 gas engine (6.8 litres), it puts out a little over 450 lb/ft of torque and somewhere around 350 hp. This is a very respectable figure, and would easily handle a loaded two horse trailer. It is also less expensive to purchase and maintain than a diesel motor.
Posted 2010-01-29 5:38 AM (#115868 - in reply to #115769) Subject: RE: Looking at 2006 F250 4x4....any opinions?
Elite Veteran
Posts: 662 Location: Vanzant, Missouri
I had a f250SD CC 4x4 with the 5.4L in it and I pulled a 16ft steel stock bp and a 3h Alum.SL w/4ft dr gn. The truck did fine pulling both but on a steep grade in the mountains it would struggle. But for a 2h trailer I think it would be fine. The trailer I have now I needed to upgrade the truck so i got the same truck in a diesel. 6.0 and have never had an issue with it with 62k on it now...
Looking at 2006 F250 4x4....any opinions?
