7.3 towing monster?

[kofire]

hey guys I always see this written when comparing different kinds of trucks and their engines, what makes this engine such a "monster" when towing and why do people say that so much? Are they really that good at towing? I thought most people think they are turds? thanks

[Ryan Rønning]

The 7.3L is a legend because it is built tuff and reliable. Left is stock form they will run forever and are still very reliable modded. They tow great in my opinion as I have a 50 foot goose neck. Its a lil slow off the line but does the job great I think.

[AaronATX]

no replacement for displacement. and like he said.. they run forever. anyone who regularly tows can appreciate that fact. engine trouble=downtime for repairs=no towing=no $$$. the 7.3's pull great and go forever.

[cndrm]

^^^ Very good point. There's no substitute for cubic inches. Yes, the Cummins in an inline, which makes it torquey, but the Powerstrokes have 2 more cylinders than the Cummins too. The 7.3 has an excellent reputation for being extremely reliable. Stock or modded. It may not take the trophy home for being the most powerful, but what's more important, a little more power, or way more reliability? I've got a 31' Terry travel trailer, and it's almost as heavy as my truck (9100 lbs empty). My '95 tows it great. I just moved, and I drove my truck and trailer across county. The only "issue" I had, was catching a rock in my windshield 40 min. from my ending destination, not a single problem. Like it was said before, it might be a little slow off the line, or a little lower on power, but it will get you there, and back.

mike

[Big Rig Guy]

My 95 E350 custom dually with 220 k on it pulls my Jayco Desinger 40 footer with four slides just fine. Some hills she has to work abit on, but I still average 12 mpg, all stock and I roll around 24 k loaded.

Yea its a 95 but it would be a waste of money to replace it. I see no reason to replace it.

the great thing about the powerstoke is how it does going down the road. i have had all the diesels and pulled with them WAY overloaded. the cummins was the best at gettin the load movin as the peak torque is at a lower RPM, but it lost its power on the highway and in the hills as cruising speed had the motor running above its useful torque curve. the PSD will be slower at gettin the load movin but does better on the highway and doesnt loose as much in the hills as cruising speed is still in its designed torque curve. the duramaxs are inbetween the cummins and the PSD, got the load movin faster than the PSD but not as fast as the cummins, lost pulling power on the highway more than the PSD but not as bad as the cummins. now dont get me wrong the PSD will not pull 50k lbs up a mountin at 100mph... but on the highway pulling the psd cant be beat for pulling power and fuel effeciently. some may disagree but these are my expericnces from pulling with different trucks all over the country. and this is also comparing stock trucks

[nccatfan]

Well. i've not had any experience with a Cummins or Duramax, but my 7.3L PSD has done everything i've needed it to and hasn't given me much headache while doing it. And with no "modern" emissions equipment on it, it's that much more simple and reliable.

[cndrm]

Originally Posted by wriott

the great thing about the powerstoke is how it does going down the road. i have had all the diesels and pulled with them WAY overloaded. the cummins was the best at gettin the load movin as the peak torque is at a lower RPM, but it lost its power on the highway and in the hills as cruising speed had the motor running above its useful torque curve. the PSD will be slower at gettin the load movin but does better on the highway and doesnt loose as much in the hills as cruising speed is still in its designed torque curve. the duramaxs are inbetween the cummins and the PSD, got the load movin faster than the PSD but not as fast as the cummins, lost pulling power on the highway more than the PSD but not as bad as the cummins. now dont get me wrong the PSD will not pull 50k lbs up a mountin at 100mph... but on the highway pulling the psd cant be beat for pulling power and fuel effeciently. some may disagree but these are my expericnces from pulling with different trucks all over the country. and this is also comparing stock trucks

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Read this. This is an absolutely EXCELLENT bit of information. Great stuff.

If you do some research on the PSD's, primarily the 6.9 IDI, 7.3 IDI, and 7.3 PSD, you'll find that when International designed these motors, they were almost exclusively making tractor motors, and "IN LINE" motors at that. And EVERYBODY questioned International as to WHY, they designed the motor the way they did. Why they used an opposed cylincer motor, and not an in line motor? Well, WRIOTT's description, explains perfectly, "WHY" International designed the motor the way they did.

The idea was to try and blend capabilities. Yes, the in line motors are torquier, and they get the load moving easier, but they fall off on the top end. Opposed motors take a little more to get a load moving, but will perform much better at cruising speeds. Well, the folks at International recognized the fact that people were towing longer and longer distances, and they were towing at greater and greater speeds. This little bit of insight, led them to design the PSD.

Great info, and great insight and comparison Wriott, thanks.

mike