Towing Comparison: Dodge vs. Ford

[HBarlow]

A couple weeks ago I wrote a post reporting my experience during a day of towing with a fellow RV transporter driving a Chevy/Izuzu Duramax and pulling a similar travel trailer. Now I have a similar experience with a Ford to report.

Last week I delivered a monster (43') fifth wheel from LA to Missoula, MT then was dispatched to Twin Falls, ID to pick up a small 20' trailer to deliver to a dealer in Sandy, UT. Just as I arrived at the plant in ID late in the day another driver for the same company I pull for showed up driving an '06 Ford PSD dually with "Ford-o-matic" (forgive me, it's the name Ford gave it's automatics in the 1950s) transmission. We learned that we were picking up identical small trailers to deliver to the same dealer and decided to run together. The following morning we made our deliveries in UT, called our dispatcher, and were given identical assignments once again to return to Twin Falls and pick up 27' trailers to deliver to Manteca, CA. Again we ran together. We pulled lots of steep grades running south to Wells, NV and then west on I-80 to Sacramento then south to Manteca.

The other transporter was a skilled and fast driver, a former 18 wheel truck jockey, and I was comfortable allowing him to lead. We ran all the way to UT and back and then to Manteca, CA together at 75 mph with cruise controls set.

Here is what I learned about his Ford: On every single grade we pulled his speed would drop off and I would close the distance between us as we climbed the grade. If he tried to maintain speed I would see a puff of black smoke as his Ford downshifted all the way to second gear and revved to 3200 to 3400 rpm all the way to the top of the hill. On all but Donner Pass my Dodge easily maintained speed in overdrive with the cruise control engaged, the tach never dropping below 1600 rpm, and always closed the distance between us. The other driver was a devoted Ford guy, he probably has a blue oval tattooed on his chest and a blue oval tailgate emblem on his toilet at home, but he was aware of the problem Ford 6.0 owners are having with leaking heads so most of the time he turned off the cruise as we climbed the grades and allowed his speed to drop rather than keeping his foot in it to maintain power. I found it annoying because I would have to turn off my cruise control and allow my speed to drop accordingly or I would literally run over him. It was an insult to my mighty Cummins which could easily pull the grades in overdrive at 1600-1800 rpm without backing out of the throttle to punch off the cruise control and allow it to slow down to avoid running over a Ford. A couple of times as I came roaring up behind the Ford guy almost running over his trailer I called him on the CB and asked him if his Ford needed a little push to get over the hill. It was quickly apparent that he didn't appreciate my Cummins-owner's humor so I quietly disengaged my cruise control and politely followed him slowly over the hills.

My informal conclusion based on one comparison test: The Ford/Navistar is simply not a competitor to our Dodge/Cummins trucks in commercial applications. The Ford 6.0 will accelerate briskly, loaded or unloaded, on an interstate highway acceleration ramp. But the Ford/Navistar 6.0 produces VERY LITTLE low rpm torque. It is simply not a truck motor. Pulling an identical load on the same highway in identical weather under identical load and speed conditions the Ford has to downshift to second gear and rev to 3200-3400 rpm to keep up with a Dodge/Cummins running in overdrive at 1600-1800 rpm. In short, the Navistar is not a commercial truck engine.

My fellow transporter buddy is a nice guy and fun to run with so I didn't tell him what I know from talking to numerous transporters who drive or did formerly drive Fords . . . he was bankrupt the day he signed a six year finance agreement with Ford Motor Credit to buy his beautiful new Ford/PSD dually to pull trailers for hire. There is no question whatsoever about whether his 6.0 engine will hold up in commercial duty, it won't. The only question that remains to be answered is whether the first engine failure will occur during or after the warranty period expires. I have talked to a dozen transporter Ford owners and former Ford owners who have experienced catastrophic engine failures. The lucky ones had the experience between 70k and 100k miles and only lost income for a few weeks while a Ford dealer gave them a run around then replaced the entire engine. The unlucky ones had the experience after 100k miles and got a bill for $15k for a new engine.

Harvey