Greystone & F250

sherilwh

Member
We have just purchased a 2011 Greystone GS33CK and are looking at trucks to haul with. In your experience, would a 2006 F250 2wd SuperDuty Diesel, 42000 miles be a good choice? Many thanks.
 

lwmcguir

Well-known member
One other note, if you do purchase it have the coolant changed/flushed as the useful life is about 50K on the 6.0. You will save money down the road and if it has the extended warrantly or is available it is a good thing.
 

westxsrt10

Perfict Senior Member
The 06 Ford Diesel will pull it just fine if you can keep it running properly. I love my Ford but you may be better off with a used Ram or Chevy if a diesel is in your future. Good luck which ever path you take.
 

caissiel

Senior Member
The 6.0L will go down as one of the best RV pulling trucks. The cooling system hardware is great and the tranny is also great for towing. Right now its the best deal around as the warranties are over and we can repair them properly. The Ford Gold cooolant is the source of all the engine related problems. It needs to be flushed out and replaced. But the best time to do it is after warranty is over as I did with mine. I flushed a 2005 F250 last week and the truck is perfect condition. My friend has a 2004 and we will be flushing it in the spring and our tests showed it also in perfect condition.

If you buy a used F250 you will have to have a way of testing the Coolant to Oil temperature differential. It should be running around 5 to 10 deg F and not over 15F. I use the ScangaugeII and I would not shop for a 6.0L without a way of checking this. The oil cooler replacement, if the Gold Stuff Ford puts in plugged it, is about a $2000 repair job and its best to catch it at purchase and under warranty. You don't need to do all the addons some will tell you if the coolant is flushed and maintained

I have mine programed to 439HP and towing our unit in the signiture, mine is all stock and I have absolutely no heating problems that other make would certainly have.

I am a member of many Powerstroke Forum and we are advising all the owners about the Ford mistake and suggest to follow the Novistar procedure instead and use ELC Cat-1 Coolant to eliminate all the problems. After all Novistar has millions of MaxForce365 engines out there that hardly have any problems.
 

future3490owner

Active Member
We have just purchased a 2011 Greystone GS33CK and are looking at trucks to haul with. In your experience, would a 2006 F250 2wd SuperDuty Diesel, 42000 miles be a good choice? Many thanks.

I would go with a 350.....remember that you have to consider the GCWR......you do not want to exceed that number nor do you want to exceed the axle weight ratio.....if you take the 250's weights and the camper weights and the numbers work out....buy the 250....
 

BHEWITTJR

Active Member
I pull my BH 3400RL with a 2006 F250 6.0 with no problems at all. That motor was mad to work, like everyone says do the maintance on it regularyand you won't have any trouble.
 

6.7powerstroke

Active Member
When looking at a used 6.0, there is one thing to make sure you check on, whether it has been tuned. If it shows ANY evidence of being tuned, walk away. Things to look for are gauges, aftermarket exhaust, aftermarket intake, anything. Many people throw a big tuner on these things and just trash the trucks and they will be nothing but problems. In order to tune these things and not blow head gaskets, you need to replace the head studs, which is typically an expensive procedure. Tuning with no studs equals big problems 9 times out of 10. Now, if the truck has been kept stock and towed, they can make great tow vehicles. As a rule of thumb, the later the year the better. After 2005, they really started to get them figured out and had worked out a lot of the bugs. Once you get it, first thing you want to do is add an external collant filter which will run you a few hundred and save your motor from problems related to contaminated coolant. Check out thedieselstop.com or some other sites that will outline what you really should do to make your truck bulletproof for years to go. When properly maintained and cared for, you can get 100s of thousands of miles out of these trucks.
 

lwmcguir

Well-known member
The critical thing about the 6.0 engines is changing the antifreeze at 50K. Running a coolant filter is critical as well. The engine needs flushed at around 50-60K and you have to pull the starter to do it right. Otherwise a great engine and as someone noted made to work.
 

ihsolutions

Well-known member
I think the 250 will be fine but if you are buying used you likely won't have to pay anything extra to find a 350. It would be nice to have that safety margin not to mention the ability to upgrade trailers at some point down the road.

I have a 2003 GM 2500HD diesel and bought it brand new in 2002. Not one single problem with it except A/C failure the first year, covered under warranty. Now I'm not a Gm guy, or Ford, or Chrysler guy, but with all the known problems of the Ford 6.0 I would personally avoid it. It seems like finding a good one is not for the faint of heart and, as admitted by owners above, requires a solid bit of knowledge and probably some luck, too. The Cummins are great motors and the Duramax/Allison is proven, so with those very capable alternatives I do not see the reward for taking a risk on a Ford. This is just my opinion and is not intended to incite any amount of brand wars or vehicle bashing.
 
D

Dave Willis

Guest
A 250HD Diesel has plenty of power to tow any of the Sundance or Greystone units. We build this product for the 3/4 ton trucks.

Thanks,
 

GS_33CK

Member
We bought a 2011 F250 PSD 4x4 and a GS33CK and have no issues with towing. The truck blew out the fuel pump at around 8,000 miles, but we've had no problems since having that fixed. We are considering putting bags under the truck just to keep the bounce to a minimum.
 

Geodude

Well-known member
GS_33CK, just curious how much clearance you have between the truck's bed rails and the 5th wheel? We have an F-350 so it will be a tad higher. Our Greystone 33CK is scheduled to be built today, March 31, 2011. From what I've read our clearance should be ok but I'm not 100% convinced yet either.
 
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Dave Willis

Guest
I just measured a unit in the plant and it was 60" from the ground to the bottom of the upper deck. I don't know how tall your truck is but hopefully this will help you. 60" is what I measured but it could go an inch or two either way depending on options and the weight of the trailer.

Thanks,
 

Geodude

Well-known member
Wow, thanks! I have to say I'm really impressed that you on here helping people out in such a timely way.

I measured my truck and the top of the box is 57.5". This is for a 2011 F-350 with 20" wheels. Being new to the 5th wheel game, I presume the 5th wheel pin will push the trailer higher, and I can adjust the 5th wheel hitch as well (or my dealer can, when I pick up the trailer).

At the end of the day I don't know how level the trailer will be. What's involved in an axle flip on a 33CK should it be required?
 
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Dave Willis

Guest
Our axles are already flipped. You will need to get with your dealer to help with the rest of your hitch questions. I'm not a hitch specialist, all I know is how to hook up and hit the road. :)

Thanks,
 

lwmcguir

Well-known member
Wow, thanks! I have to say I'm really impressed that you on here helping people out in such a timely way.

I measured my truck and the top of the box is 57.5". This is for a 2011 F-350 with 20" wheels. Being new to the 5th wheel game, I presume the 5th wheel pin will push the trailer higher, and I can adjust the 5th wheel hitch as well (or my dealer can, when I pick up the trailer).

At the end of the day I don't know how level the trailer will be. What's involved in an axle flip on a 33CK should it be required?

We have a 2011 F350 with 20 inch wheels as well. You shoud see about a two inch drop in height when you put hitch up. You should be able to get 5.5 inches or so clearance and still have a level coach and TV. Let us know.
 

wolfrat1

Well-known member
i have an 05 f250 super duty crew lariat crew cab with the 5.4 liter engine. right now i'm pulling a north trail 30rlss with no problems. i'm looking to upgrade to the greystone 32re. most of the towing manuals i've read says that my truck will handle the greystone just fine. i'd like to get a real persons opinion or experience. i will be new to towing a 5th wheel. any help and or advise will be greatly appreciated.
 
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