It’s time for the new 2020 Ford F-250 and the 7.3-liter “godzilla” V8 engine to tackle the Ike Gauntlet™ – the world’s toughest towing test. You asked for it, and here it is.
This is part of our 2020 Gold Hitch towing award series where we crown the best towing trucks in the land. More specifically, the F-250 is going up against the 2020 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD and the 2020 Ram 2500 HD truck. All of these are equipped with gas V8 engines, and all are towing the same gooseneck Cimarron Norstar trailer loaded to 16,000 lbs.
You can find this Gooseneck trailer and many more trucks and RV at Transwest Truck, Trailer, and RV.
The 7.3-liter gas V8 in this Ford is rated at 430 horsepower and 475 lb-ft of torque. It’s mated to a new 10-speed automatic transmission, and the truck you see here is equipped with a 4.30 rear axle ratio.
We have already tested the 2020 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD with a 6.6-liter gas V8, 6-speed automatic transmission, and a 3.73 rear axle ratio. This the only way you can configure a gas-powered 2020 Silverado HD.
The 2020 F-250 did 9 brake applications on the way down the 7% grade. This is typical of a gas-powered truck, and it was just better than 10 brakes we had with the Silverado HD. The Ford’s 10-speed grade shifting was working very well. It seemed to predict when we needed the most help to slow down.
The F-250 surprised on the way up the mountain with a quick 8 min 42 sec climb. This is very quick considering most naturally-aspirated gas engines with heavy trailers are way slower than this. It was however the least efficient truck we have tested according to the trip meter at 2.2 mpg for the 8-mile climb.
