Thoughts on my 2002 F350 7.3L Diesel Supercab DRW as a TV for Cyclone

I know that asking this question will likely open up a can of worms as there are a lot of diverse opinions on this topic. That being said, I have a 2002 F350 7.3L SuperCab DRW with 60K soft miles on it.

We are going to but either a Cyclone 4100 or 4000 Elite. I have seen many lesser trucks cruising the interstate with these rigs and seemed to be doing just fine. If I cannot pull one of these toy haulers with this truck, then I guess this life is not in the cards for us as we need a big rig for our large family.

Does anyone have thoughts on this particular TV pulling a cyclone?

Thanks much,
Kevin

Hi Kevin,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners forum. We have a great bunch of folks here and I'm sure you will get many replies.

Enjoy the forum and hopefully you join our family soon.

Jim M

We tow ours with a dodge ram 3500 drw. We did upgrade our leaf springs though. Just a thought.

You will definitely have to watch what you put in it. Our 4100 king's listed dry weight was way under the actual dry. By the time you add second a/c upgraded fridge and genny - you've added a lot. We were over weight with just a full tank of water. We went through and got rid of everything that wasn't completely necessary - and we are back down to the weight where we should be.

I don't know the weight rating for your truck - but you are right. We saw someone towing a very large triple axle weekend warrior fifth wheel with an F250 today. Probably okay. But maybe not the safest. You will get lots of opinions- mine is don't do anything you're not comfortable with. Research your axle ratings on the rear axle for sure, and check your gcwr for the truck. Weigh without the trailer but loaded for travel- then weigh empty to see what you can really put in it.

Then, hopefully welcome to having a Cyclone! And enjoy it. We love ours!!

boyhaulerdad said:

I know that asking this question will likely open up a can of worms as there are a lot of diverse opinions on this topic. That being said, I have a 2002 F350 7.3L SuperCab DRW with 60K soft miles on it.

We are going to but either a Cyclone 4100 or 4000 Elite. I have seen many lesser trucks cruising the interstate with these rigs and seemed to be doing just fine. If I cannot pull one of these toy haulers with this truck, then I guess this life is not in the cards for us as we need a big rig for our large family.

Does anyone have thoughts on this particular TV pulling a cyclone?

Thanks much,
Kevin

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I drove a 2000 F-350 SRW 7.3L for 220K miles. It was a magnificent truck and was never back at the dealer for anything. I sold it to a friend who drove it for many miles before he sold it. Not sure what gears you have, but 4.10's would be a plus. Mine had 3.55 gears and struggled a bit in the hills. With that said, I only pulled heavy a heavy gooseneck a few times. Probably around 16K. I know you said yours is a DRW, but the payloads, torque, and horsepower have came a long ways since the 7.3. The tranny would be the ony thing I would be concerned about. The E4OD didn't have a great reputation although I never had any issues with mine. I am pulling a 4100 with a 2013 DRW, and it does well.

Haven't looked up the specs on the Cyclones you are looking at, but we have a 2002 7.3 that we pull our 15,000 lb. (loaded) Big Country with. I, personally, would not go heavier, but it does fine with our rig. Brakes would be your biggest concern.

If you have a stock transmission, that is the other weak spot. Should handle the load fine if you aren't full-timing or pulling a lot of long hard hills.

We've got a professional rebuilt transmission in our truck (preventive, as the original tranny was still pulling fine) and are running a mild tow tune with shift strategies matched to the rebuilder's specs. If you keep it at or under 65, mileage will be in the 9-11 mpg range (running weights similar to ours).

The best information I can find for your truck is that the towing capacity is only 12,500 pounds. Obviously the Cyclone will be way too much for your truck as is. But I have good news for you. The limiting factor of weak springs and brakes for towing heavy trailers like the Cyclone can be overcome with the Automated Safety Hitch System. Since you have low mileage on the truck, and I can only assume it's in good working condition, it may be less expensive to keep your truck and get the Automated Safety Hitch System. Go to http://safetyhitch.com to learn more. I have personally evaluated this system and I strongly recommend it.

I have been in the Elkhart/Goshen area for over 10 days now. There are a preponderance of Dual Rear Wheel Diesel pickups on the roads with commercial tow stickers on the sides, towing new towable/fifth wheel rigs to the dealers throughout the country. I can't discern any preponderance of Chevy's, Dodges, or Fords.

BTW, I asked one of these drivers if the towing pickups were equipped with exhaust gas temperature gauges, since I have committed $350 to have one installed while I am here. The guy I talked to had never seen one, and didn't think they were installed on any of the fleets of trucks they use to haul new towable RV's.

An EGT gauge is never a bad thing to have. However, if you are running stock, you should generally never have any problems with over-temps. Stock tuning won't push more fuel in than the engine can handle. That all precludes something semi-catastrophic like an injector failing and dumping fuel in, etc.