# New Tow Vehicle, Finally!



## SaveFerris (Sep 19, 2009)

After struggling up each and every hill last year with our tired old 1/2 ton Suburban, and 2 rebuilt transmissions later...

We finally found exactly what we were looking for: A gently used 2002 Excursion with (relatively) low mileage, and best of all a 7.3L Powerstroke under the hood.

Here she is:


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At St. Mary c.g. (Glacier N.P.) 4th of July weekend, 2011


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Choteau, MT on the maiden voyage to Glacier


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Pretending to take a picture of the family, while actually focusing on the new Excursion in the background.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Very nice. That should get you up over the passes!


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## Traveling Tek (Oct 15, 2010)

Nothing like a big diesel grocery getter. We loved ours, plum wore it out. Oh wait, we do that to all vehicles. 

That trailer seems almost tiny behind it.


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## Sweathog62 (Jul 28, 2005)

SaveFerris said:


> After struggling up each and every hill last year with our tired old 1/2 ton Suburban, and 2 rebuilt transmissions later...
> 
> We finally found exactly what we were looking for: A gently used 2002 Excursion with (relatively) low mileage, and best of all a 7.3L Powerstroke under the hood.
> 
> ...


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## SaveFerris (Sep 19, 2009)

Nathan said:


> Nothing like a big diesel grocery getter. We loved ours, plum wore it out. Oh wait, we do that to all vehicles.
> 
> That trailer seems almost tiny behind it.


Hmmm, maybe it's time to start thinking about a bigger trailer.









Nathan, does this topic sound familiar?


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

SaveFerris said:


> Nothing like a big diesel grocery getter. We loved ours, plum wore it out. Oh wait, we do that to all vehicles.
> 
> That trailer seems almost tiny behind it.


Hmmm, maybe it's time to start thinking about a bigger trailer.









Nathan, does this topic sound familiar?
[/quote]
HeHeHe, it sure does.

Go for it, what's the worst that could happen???









BTW, we pulled up over 9500 ft twice this summer. Here's the last major pass of the trip in the Bighorns:

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## SaveFerris (Sep 19, 2009)

Nathan said:


> Go for it, what's the worst that could happen???



I don't think I ever really stop looking for a new TT. Not that I'm unhappy with ours, I just enjoy looking at all the different models out there.

Even if we did need more beds someday, I really don't want a longer trailer. As much as I love the bunkhouse models, I am convinced I could add another bed or two to the 21RS with some creative mods. Maybe a fold-down bunk above the sofa? Those used to be more common on older models. Convert the bunks up front to a triple?

If one had unlimited time and a fully-equipped shop, it would be a fun exercise to build a TT from scratch. Hmmm, maybe I'm in the wrong business&#8230;

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## SaveFerris (Sep 19, 2009)

Nathan said:


> BTW, we pulled up over 9500 ft twice this summer. Here's the last major pass of the trip in the Bighorns:


I'm glad the Flex is still working out for you. How did it do going up those big passes?


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## Tangooutback (Apr 16, 2010)

What fuel mileage did you get towing over those passes? My 7.3 usually makes 12.5 miles/gal with the 25RSS trailing behind on level terrain at 60 miles/hr. It makes best fuel mileage as long as I keep it going no higher than 2K RPM.


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## SaveFerris (Sep 19, 2009)

Tangooutback said:


> What fuel mileage did you get towing over those passes? My 7.3 usually makes 12.5 miles/gal with the 25RSS trailing behind on level terrain at 60 miles/hr. It makes best fuel mileage as long as I keep it going no higher than 2K RPM.


If you are asking me, I haven't towed over any major passes with the Excursion yet. There were some good hills on the way to Glacier - I got about 10 mpg on the way up there, and more like 12 mpg on the way back.

That is based on actual calculations after filling up. The Lie-o-meter in the Exc was reading much higher than reality.

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Nathan


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## Tangooutback (Apr 16, 2010)

I get 12.5 mpg towing thanks to having only my DW and I. We pack very lightly and I always tow with the water tank empty. My truck does not come with that lie-o-meter...







 I fill the tank up to the top at every fill up. It takes quite a bit of time to get the last 4 gals down the tube. I really love the 7.3 Stroker. Best truck I ever own.


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## SaveFerris (Sep 19, 2009)

Tangooutback said:


> I get 12.5 mpg towing thanks to having only my DW and I. We pack very lightly and I always tow with the water tank empty. My truck does not come with that lie-o-meter...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


We always roll with a full water tank, but I might try it empty sometime to see if it makes a difference. The speed and hills probably have more of an effect than a few hundred pounds of weight, but you never know. I was definitely not taking it easy on the speed on that trip!









I was also using #2 diesel with no additives on that trip. I have come to the conclusion that diesels are much more sentitive to fuel quality than are gas engines. I picked up some Diesel Kleen to add to the next tank - we'll see if that does anything for the mileage.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

SaveFerris said:


> BTW, we pulled up over 9500 ft twice this summer. Here's the last major pass of the trip in the Bighorns:


I'm glad the Flex is still working out for you. How did it do going up those big passes?
[/quote]
The Flex pulled the passes just fine but it was mainly 6% grades which it will pull all day. 8% is it's limit in my experience.... Mind you, it's no diesel, but it does fine. The hard part was bucking a headwind across South Dakota. Now that REALLY made it work.


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## SaveFerris (Sep 19, 2009)

SaveFerris said:


> That is based on actual calculations after filling up. The Lie-o-meter in the Exc was reading much higher than reality.
> 
> __
> Image uploading. Refresh page to view


A small update to this post concerning the "Lie-o-meter":

It turns out the performance chip that was plugged into the PCM on the Excursion was the cause of the inflated MPG readouts. The original owner had installed a Hypermax chip. I unplugged it out of curiosity and the MPG display has been pretty accurate since then. I honestly couldn't tell any difference in performance either, so it will probably stay out permanently.

The fuel efficiency has actually improved since I took the chip out, too. I am getting 16-18 mpg unloaded, and it was more like 15 before. Towing the 21RS, it has ranged from 10 to 13.5 mpg, with 12 being typical if I keep it under 70 mph.

I also added some Diesel Kleen to a few tanks of fuel, which may have helped.

Nathan

P.S. I am loving the 44 gallon fuel tank. We went 720 miles on a single tank a couple weeks ago!


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