Our loaded test with all the trucks consisted of pulling 8X24’ cargo trailers loaded to 7000#’s. Ford was wise to use Weight Distributing hitches on the bumper pull trailers so we didn’t worry about the any trailer action as we flew up and down the 3 to 7% long desert grades. The up shift going uphill was very smooth with the new Ford Torque-Shift transmission and seemed to be timed right for constant power. Going downhill the Ford took a little more pressure on the brake pedal to downshift than did the Chevy with the Allison Automatic transmission.  I noticed the Ford truck with the 4.10 rear axle ratio shifted with more firmness, were the Ford with the 3.73 rear axle was as smooth as a luxury car.

On one stretch of road into Arizona, I drove each truck brand pulling the 7000# trailers and recorded my top speed and sound level when the trucks started loosing speed before I turned around at the same intersection. The Dodge was at a disadvantage because they allow less horsepower and torque from their diesel when teamed with an automatic transmission than their High Output diesel with a 6-speed manual transmission.

As you can see the Ford had a tremendous speed advantage and was the quietest of the three. The temperature was in the low eighties most of the day. The noise level on the Chevy surprised me. At the 6% grade the fan in the Chevy would stay on, and it was a noisy fan. The Ford fan came on a couple of times and would raise the db noise level to 72, still the lowest noise level. The Dodge had the most vibration and the Chevy had the most ground noise. On the way back from Laughlin to Vegas over the Hoover Dam, I was driving a 2003 Ford F250 King Ranch Crew Cab 4x2, having a hard time keeping the truck under 90, I finally put the cruise on at 80. We set the computer in the overhead console to give a readout of the present fuel mileage. For most of the 100 miles back, the mileage would vary from 22 to 23 MPG! At that mileage why would anyone drive a car? There were 4 of us in the truck having of course, much to talk about and ask about. It was like talking in a well-made sedan, I was loosing my voice and could still be heard with out shouting. It’s hard to shut me up even without a voice!

We drag raced Ford, Chevy and Dodge dually’s in the quarter-mile pulling 12500#”s of trailer. That was fun. I drove all three to the limit. The new Ford was the winner by at least 4 rig lengths. The Dodge with the standard diesel, not the High Output because of the automatic transmission, with the 4.10 axle ratio almost caught the more powerful Chevy Duramax in the quarter! That surprised me.

Back where the adventure began in Henderson Nevada, I was trying to find an older Ford diesel to compare the noise at idle. There was an Ambulance standing by all the times and running all the time. I thought this was a good test for sound difference. But it didn’t help much, it was dramatically louder but it was a 1993 E250 pre-Power Stroke with over 300,000 miles on it! Ford diesels and the Eveready bunny, they keep going and going.

The new power moonroof option available with the Crew Cab Super Duty is exclusive to Ford, according to Tim Stoehr, Super Duty marketing manager for Ford. Other changes for 2003, finally a heated mirror option, mirror turn signals, a new Sport model, FX4 off road option and King Ranch model similar to the popular option on the F150. My favorite wheels are back from the 99 Super Duty Lariat model. They can be found on the new King Ranch model. The nice big outside door handles have been painted. In Ford cars they seem to alternate painting and not painting the door handles every other year.  I like to be able to scratch around the keyhole without scratching the paint.

Good news for the SUV world is the new 6.0L diesel and TorqShift transmission will also be available in the 2003 Excursion. Excursion is the largest SUV in the U.S. and the only one available with a diesel. The extra 600#’s of diesel engine up front is an asset when towing up to 11,000#’s of trailer with the Excursion properly equipped. The Excursion with the optional 6.0L diesel and TorqShift automatic transmission has the weight, wheelbase, width and power to make the best choice of any SUV for pulling trailers. The sad side is the Excursion is flagged for extinction after model year 2004. Start writing those letters to save the Excursion, we need the choices!

I’m very impressed with the overall picture of the new Ford 6.0L Power Stroke and TorqShift transmission. The king of the road with power, control, stopping power, service ease and cleaner burning. We knew Ford would respond to GM Duramax/Allison’s intrusion into Ford’s dominant diesel sales numbers. We are still waiting for Dodge’s commitment of a competing automatic transmission in this market. Diesels have twice the compression of gas engines, which means it’s harder for the average person to shift gears in a manual transmission. The new Ford TorqShift automatic transmission takes all the work and guess work out of driving and hauling the more common heavy loads. This can be a tremendous safety improvement for the new folks buying their first RV or horse trailer. It’s so much easier now! But it’s not just the transmission, Ford has tied it all together with an all new variable turbo diesel engine that partners with the transmission to give you fun acceleration passing cars uphill and very controllable downhill decent. We’ll never know how many accidents Ford’s new truck will prevent, but I share Interstate 70, mountain to mountain with so many pickups pulling trailers and I know which ones to watch in my rearview mirror. Good Job Ford!

For the rest of this story, join my "Insider Club", at my website www.mrtruck.net.  Kent Sundling (MrTruck)

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