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Old 12-20-2016, 10:00 AM   #21
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I'm following up my previous post - I kinda did a bit of pricing using some of the advice given. I've got $4,150 in parts to get the 6.0 up to snuff; no 10.5 rear axle, HPOP or brake booster replace (might have left a few other things out as well). And that doesn't get it totally bulletproof either. That's a lot of money for me, especially right now. This is quite disillusioning to my dream of having something close to a Sportsmobile to tow my toyhauler but maybe for the best - to know now before I get way into it and then find its going to be thousands more to get to where I actually need to be. I just did a quick Autotrader search and found a sub 200K mi 08 Ram 3500 dualie (6.7L) in seemingly nice condition for $19K. I've seen several in that ball park - I might be better off using some of the $4,150 as a down payment on something like that and be done with it.

The only other thing I could think of is an 08-10 6.0 E350 and swap my Quigley stuff to that, partout the old van. Let me ask about the V10s towing capabilities - didn't I see someone replying to this post with a V10 van? Would you/could you tow a 10.5K lb toyhauler with the V10?

Just to explain why the budget is so important to me - I turn 60 in Feb, planning on retiring without debt no later than 65.5 yrs and hit the road full time. Gonna think hard about this - my go date on starting on my van was the middle of Jan 2017, I'll keep you updated.

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Old 12-20-2016, 10:29 AM   #22
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Tough decisions for sure. But sounds like you need to do the injectors anyway? Get that done and install a coolant filter and buy a scanguage II or the like to start monitoring your vitals. You don't need an EGR delete to tow. Turbo needs to come out to get to the injectors so have that cleaned. You could do a mild 40 HP tow tune with an SCT X4 tuner. If your ECT-EOT temp delta is bigger than 15 degrees then you definitely need to do the oil cooler as well.

Carringb makes a good point about the axle but lots of folks tow with semi-float D60s. Just keep an eye on it. The axle swap alone is going to break your budget.

The big decision really is whether to re-gear the differentials. That's going to run upwards of $1000 in parts and labor. The rest of the stuff is basic maintenance that should be done at this point anyway.
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Old 12-20-2016, 10:30 AM   #23
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Just my $ .02 after driving, owning and towing 30+ trailers with several cummins and power stroke trucks, and now owning and (loving) an 05 E350 6.0.

My 06 Ram towed a 10k+ toy hauler, and a 11k+ boat with comfort. So did my 2000 Ford. It wasn't fast, but it was stable, reliable, pulled hills reasonably and was clearly built for the job.

My E350 will tow each of these rigs, and I do occasionally--but it is not nearly as comfortable, it is working hard. I've towed a 30+ airstream with a V10 for many many miles for work too--and the combination of the van chassis and power/heat limitations are not ideal for towing more than 7 or 8k. They can do it, but not ideal, not at the speeds we all expect to go these days. I sold my trucks when I was going to tow a lot less, and I'd probably sell the van (very sadly) if I had to tow anywhere close to 10k anywhere close to full time.
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Old 12-20-2016, 10:51 AM   #24
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I did tow my toyhauler with my van stock from Tampa FL to Jacksonville FL earlier year - it labored when I'd hit freeway overpasses. I towed the same toyhauler with an 07 Ram (6.7L) from FL to CA and it was a breeze. As I said earlier I don't expect the van to be the same as the Ram and when I say "hit the road fulltime" I mean living in my camper and at the same place for months at a time. The van is supposed to be the weekend getaway rig - so if I had to get a truck I'd end up with some type of small light weight camper to take the place of the van for weekend getaways - or trade the toyhauler for a motorhome and tow the van. But the bottom line is reliability - I don't want to be breaking down constantly because I pushing the van too hard. Did I mention I love my van?
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Old 12-20-2016, 11:04 AM   #25
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The V10 is the better motor for towing in the vans IMO. There's good reason Ford actually rates it higher with the proper gearing. It makes 65 more HP, and almost the exact same amount of torque, it just has to spin faster to do it. High RPMs don't mean the engine is working harder than a diesel at lower RPMs. It's just working as designed. I can tow my 12,000# trailer all day at WOT and never have to worry about temps getting too high. And power upgrades on the V10 don't adversely affect reliability, and most of the stuff is even CARB-compliant. Even when I hook up a 2nd trailer, and I'm almost 26,000 pounds combined, it still just gets the job done.
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Old 12-20-2016, 11:17 AM   #26
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Thanks carringb that gives me hope. I've seen several low mi E350 V10s near by, even an 03 w/ 92K mi and a Quigley conversion for under $20K.
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Old 12-20-2016, 12:02 PM   #27
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Keep in mind that in order to get the same wonderful transmission you currently have behind your 6.0, you have to go with a 2005 or newer V10. And they are harder to find in the '05-'08 range because Ford limited which configurations could be ordered with one, until '09 when they opened up the option to all configurations again.
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Old 12-22-2016, 05:08 AM   #28
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All,

I agree with previous posts about heavy towing with the 6.0 van. I've towed a 9000lb travel trailer about 20,000 miles, climbing and descending every highway Colorado mountain pass. My van is a 2006 with 4" exhaust (3" down pipe), EGR delete, mild tune, blue spring, tranny cooler and a tune that activates the fan clutch at earlier temps. Oh, 4.56 gears, with 35" mud tires. Ok, for me, on flat highway at reasonable speeds, (under 70) it tows fantastic. Big winds or long grades, heat becomes an issue. I'm very conservative with oil temps and find myself towing with no airconditioning often to keeps temps down. The vans will do the job for sure but you are always monitoring vitals and adjusting driving to compensate for cooling shortcomings.
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Old 12-24-2016, 09:34 AM   #29
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Is it correct that the 3-valve V10 never made it into the van? If so is the 3-valve a better engine and how much better?
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Old 12-24-2016, 10:03 AM   #30
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No 3-valve in the vans. The 3 valve got 57 more hp and 37 extra ft lbs of torque.

Not all is lost however. Banks PowerPack adds 56 hp and 70 torques to the 2-valve. I'm running it. Downside is the left headers conflict with a front driveline so it takes some custom welding to work on a 4x4 or use a shorty header on that side. Since the v10 fires like 2 inline 5-cylinders (and hence why it sounds a Volvo and not a truck) the exhaust don't have to match.
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