7.3 owners ever regret not getting the diesel?

Yes I'm in Idaho and we live at 4200' elevation and have plenty of hills and mountain passes to go through when we travel. I mostly use this truck for towing our rv, as I have a commuter car to my day to day driving. Just about anywhere we travel to go camping we are pulling up to or over passes in the 8-10,000' of elevation.
Got it. I'm outside Carson City. 4800ft. To get to the coast or even east bound, I hit 7500 ft at least too. I only use my truck for towing or hauling in the bed. I have plenty of power and the altitude doesn't seem to affect much if at all. I am looking to trade class C RV in for a fifth wheel since I'm already all dialed in for gooseneck/ 5th wheel.
 
I'm in MT and live at 5,000' elevation and mostly drive higher from there. Lowest I've been, with the truck since purchased in Dec '23, has been around 3,200' through Billings on the way to Denver to pick up the slide in pickup camper, but that was interstate so wouldn't notice a performance different while cruising. Did a week long trip to UT with the camper recently but that was all decent elevation, too. Just love the performance of the 7.3L in all situations I've used it on (as mentioned, I don't tow heavy; max of 3,000lb for the trailer I pull, but that is with 2,400lb of payload already in/on the truck).

With my previous naturally aspirated pickups, cars and motorcycle, etc. I've noticed a pronounced performance reduction when going higher (8,000' plus) and noticeable improvement in performance/acceleration when down near sea level compared to my usual 5,000'. With the 7.3L, haven't seems to notice as much of a performance drop when going higher. That is likely because for my use. Since I don't run anywhere near full throttle to accomplish what I need where on the other vehicles I was. When you're asking 90 - 100% from a vehicle and performance dips due to elevation, it's noticeable. When you are asking 50%, the dip is not as noticeable because you have a lot more throttle and performance headroom to play with.
Will be fun to get the truck closer to sea level someday and get a feel for that.
 
I had a '17 6.2 then a '22 7.3 and have a '24 7.3 on order. I went gas simply based on the fact I rarely tow much of anything and the diesel option is a significant expense. To be honest, of the 2 SD's I have owned, I wish I had kept the '17 6.2 truck. The 6.2 was not under-powered and I preferred the old 6 speed transmission over the new 10 speed unit in the '22. It was also ordered at a time when you could get a SD 250 for the same price as a F150, similarly equipped. We'll see if the '24 can win me back over.
 
I had a '17 6.2 then a '22 7.3 and have a '24 7.3 on order. I went gas simply based on the fact I rarely tow much of anything and the diesel option is a significant expense. To be honest, of the 2 SD's I have owned, I wish I had kept the '17 6.2 truck. The 6.2 was not under-powered and I preferred the old 6 speed transmission over the new 10 speed unit in the '22. It was also ordered at a time when you could get a SD 250 for the same price as a F150, similarly equipped. We'll see if the '24 can win me back over.

I have no experience driving a pre-'23 SD 10 speed, but from the description from friends and forum members, the shift pattern of those 10 speeds would drive me nuts. Ha. My '24 shifts through all gears all the time so no skipping and without tricks like putting it in tow-haul mode. Always seems to be in the right gear all the time in all conditions from 80mph interstate, to 55mph twisty highways, mountain passes and trail driving with slide-in pickup camper. Just love it. Hope your '24 transmission does win you back over.
 
I drove a friends Chevy 2500 diesel (‘21 or ‘22) that he special ordered as a 4-door, long-bed with all the bells and whistles. It was a heavy-haul, interstate truck that he used to move equipment between Florida and Wyoming. It was a dream to drive on the highway. Smooth and quiet with tons of power. (I only drove it unloaded). Not as much fun around town. Hard to park and had the turning radius of an aircraft carrier. That’s mostly the long bed, I know.

I was hard over for a diesel when I was truck shopping. My company went perm work from home around that time, which eliminated my hour long commute each way. I swapped out the diesel and swapped in ”Tremor” on my build at Ford.com. It was fun. And ridiculous. I’ll probably never drive it off-road. It may never get the hubs locked in. I’m a poser. Idc. The truck is cool. 14-year old me thought it was the coolest thing ever. 64-year old me could afford it.

Swapped the 7.3 in and out. Couldn’t decide. Never pushed the “order” button.

Trolled my local dealer online looking for a truck. Didn’t need one and wasn’t in a hurry. About a year later, I found a 7.3 Tremor in grey on the dealer lot. Traded in my grey F150 and brought her home. Never looked back. Neighbors don’t even know I got a new truck.

Towed our 6,000 lb boat from Orlando to Lake Lanier in Georgia and back last year. While the F150 always towed the boat fine, the Super Duty barely notices it is back there.

I’m sure the diesel is also a great truck. I’m sure I would have been happy with it as well. But to my eye and to my ear and to my wallet….the 7.3 is a better choice. It’s my favorite vehicle of my entire life by a good margin.
 
I drove a friends Chevy 2500 diesel (‘21 or ‘22) that he special ordered as a 4-door, long-bed with all the bells and whistles. It was a heavy-haul, interstate truck that he used to move equipment between Florida and Wyoming. It was a dream to drive on the highway. Smooth and quiet with tons of power. (I only drove it unloaded). Not as much fun around town. Hard to park and had the turning radius of an aircraft carrier. That’s mostly the long bed, I know.

I was hard over for a diesel when I was truck shopping. My company went perm work from home around that time, which eliminated my hour long commute each way. I swapped out the diesel and swapped in ”Tremor” on my build at Ford.com. It was fun. And ridiculous. I’ll probably never drive it off-road. It may never get the hubs locked in. I’m a poser. Idc. The truck is cool. 14-year old me thought it was the coolest thing ever. 64-year old me could afford it.

Swapped the 7.3 in and out. Couldn’t decide. Never pushed the “order” button.

Trolled my local dealer online looking for a truck. Didn’t need one and wasn’t in a hurry. About a year later, I found a 7.3 Tremor in grey on the dealer lot. Traded in my grey F150 and brought her home. Never looked back. Neighbors don’t even know I got a new truck.

Towed our 6,000 lb boat from Orlando to Lake Lanier in Georgia and back last year. While the F150 always towed the boat fine, the Super Duty barely notices it is back there.

I’m sure the diesel is also a great truck. I’m sure I would have been happy with it as well. But to my eye and to my ear and to my wallet….the 7.3 is a better choice. It’s my favorite vehicle of my entire life by a good margin.
Completely agree! The only issue I have pulling my boat, and I drove diesel trucks for 20 years, is filling up on the road with a trailer. It was SO much easier in those wide diesel fill up lanes.
 
I got the diesel so nothing to regret but this thread has done two things;

  • Made me more interested and curious about the 'Zilla.

  • Rekindled my disappointment at the complete and total lack of love for standard cab short beds in even half ton let alone heavier duty trucks for so many years now.
I'm sure demographic and market studies have spoken, but try to imagine the improvements in performance, milage and maneuverability of say, an F-150 standard cab with 6.x foot bed, equipped with an eco-boost motor and optioned up to XLT or even Lariat levels instead of being a vinyl penalty box with nothing but the base engine. Better yet, imagine a standard cab Super Duty with 6.x bed similarly equipped with the 7.3 and a "reasonable" 3.xx or so axle ratio. I believe it's spelled F-U-N.

For a certain demographic segment, like semi-retired empty nesters with no boomerang kids who want a well balanced fun but versatile truck it could be really nice. Think off road potential with a package like the Tremor or aftermarket gear. How many times has the day's mission required little more than you, briefcase/laptop/courier bag and maybe a couple tool boxes/bags plopped on the floor of the backseat, or several bags of groceries because the truck was still warm and/or blocking the garage so you ran to the store in it? Just make the space behind the flip-forward seat back seats big enough for those tools/groceries or a smallish dog and everything's golden. Think '84-88 Toyota Xtra Cab level of behind the seat space.

Some of us would like to see a little 70's/80's style retro love but with modern horsepower and tech up in here, just sayin'.
 
I trade up often. Just got my third truck with the 7.3. First one had 3.55 axle, and was the only truck on the lot, or available anywhere nearby when I traded up two trucks and ordered a Bronco. Wasn't impressed with that 250, so I ordered the Tremor, Was a beast, and loved it. Traded after two years on a diesel 450. Traded that in on a long bed 7.3 order. Didn't really have it long enough to like it or not like it. The new 7.3 truck I have is a beast all over again. I think the 4.30 axles make it.
 
I got the diesel so nothing to regret but this thread has done two things;

  • Made me more interested and curious about the 'Zilla.

  • Rekindled my disappointment at the complete and total lack of love for standard cab short beds in even half ton let alone heavier duty trucks for so many years now.
I'm sure demographic and market studies have spoken, but try to imagine the improvements in performance, milage and maneuverability of say, an F-150 standard cab with 6.x foot bed, equipped with an eco-boost motor and optioned up to XLT or even Lariat levels instead of being a vinyl penalty box with nothing but the base engine. Better yet, imagine a standard cab Super Duty with 6.x bed similarly equipped with the 7.3 and a "reasonable" 3.xx or so axle ratio. I believe it's spelled F-U-N.

For a certain demographic segment, like semi-retired empty nesters with no boomerang kids who want a well balanced fun but versatile truck it could be really nice. Think off road potential with a package like the Tremor or aftermarket gear. How many times has the day's mission required little more than you, briefcase/laptop/courier bag and maybe a couple tool boxes/bags plopped on the floor of the backseat, or several bags of groceries because the truck was still warm and/or blocking the garage so you ran to the store in it? Just make the space behind the flip-forward seat back seats big enough for those tools/groceries or a smallish dog and everything's golden. Think '84-88 Toyota Xtra Cab level of behind the seat space.

Some of us would like to see a little 70's/80's style retro love but with modern horsepower and tech up in here, just sayin'.
An F-250/350 Regular Cab Tremor with 7.3 and 4.30 might not have universal appeal, but sure would be delightful for those who would appreciate such a beast.

I fall in the camp of those who appreciate the timeless classic look and turning radius of the standard or regular cab you mentioned above (shorter bed options would be icing on the cake), but am also disappointed Ford limits such an option to just XL or XLT trim levels.

Ford has always been special (some might argue infuriating) with their truck build configurations. For example, XL STX looks good with the black accoutrement, but forces cloth seats and carpet. Some people still like vinyl seats and floors. I must have power fold mirrors to easily fit in my garage, but that option only exists with the XLT trim regular cab. The problem there is that chrome grille and bumpers are the only option as STX, vinyl seats, black wheels and bumpers are not available. Tremor options continue remain out of reach for the regular cab build options.

Getting back on track with the topic of this thread… I had a late 90’s diesel F350 that made it over 150k miles while only requiring regular maintenance. I also had a 2017 Ford diesel that caused me much cost, heartache and disappointment. I recently sold my 2022 F350 7.3 gasser, so my opinion about any possible regrets is limited to experience with older diesels and only owning the 7.3 gas for a couple years. That said, (while never towing greater than 10-12k pounds) the 7.3 zilla made any fondness I had for past diesels a distant memory.

My experience with diesel was much like having a really attractive girlfriend but was high maintenance and had a personality disorder. When things were good, they were really good, but when things went bad, you know, they went really bad…

Anyway, I’ve enjoyed reading all 16 pages of this particular thread including both points of view. One would be hard pressed to find an online gas-diesel thread without saltiness, drama, peacemaking attempts, diesel bros, gasser-lighters (not sure if I just coined a phrase about gasser bros attempting to gaslight the diesel bros), and many solid, well thought real life examples supporting either engine choice. The entertainment value alone of such threads is worth the price of admission.
 
I’ll try and mollify the diesel bros.

Yes, here I sit broken hearted. A razor blade in one hand, a loaded pistol in the other, alternating lamenting my decision to buy a 7.3 and guzzling Pappy Van Winkle. If only I had checked the 6.7 powerstroke box on my order it could have been so different. I could have been banging super models and replacing my cp4 versus the pit of despair I find myself in now.
 
I’ll try and mollify the diesel bros.

Yes, here I sit broken hearted. A razor blade in one hand, a loaded pistol in the other, alternating lamenting my decision to buy a 7.3 and guzzling Pappy Van Winkle. If only I had checked the 6.7 powerstroke box on my order it could have been so different. I could have been banging super models and replacing my cp4 versus the pit of despair I find myself in now.
Is guzzling Pappy an option???
 
I’ll try and mollify the diesel bros.

Yes, here I sit broken hearted. A razor blade in one hand, a loaded pistol in the other, alternating lamenting my decision to buy a 7.3 and guzzling Pappy Van Winkle. If only I had checked the 6.7 powerstroke box on my order it could have been so different. I could have been banging super models and replacing my cp4 versus the pit of despair I find myself in now.
If you could afford pappy, you could have afforded the diesel. I gotta call BS on this fanciful scenario.
 
If you could afford pappy, you could have afforded the diesel. I gotta call BS on this fanciful scenario.
You're associating "affording" and "wanting" as the same. If anything this proves just how much he DIDN'T want the diesel since he has the means. :cool:
 
Rekindled my disappointment at the complete and total lack of love for standard cab short beds in even half ton let alone heavier duty trucks for so many years now.
Saw this in the wild yesterday. It looks so wrong yet so right at the same time. I bet it turns on a dime!

IMG_4853.jpeg
 
If you could afford pappy, you could have afforded the diesel. I gotta call BS on this fanciful scenario.

Had to sacrifice the diesel to afford the Pappy…the shame.
Probably better find a 12 step program for 7.3 owners. The shame I feel is oppressive
 
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Does anyone know how long it take for these to show up when the dealer pulls up your VIN? I just called and they said mine is clean, but I know this applies.
It’s possible there are multiple calibrations for the 7.3 that do not require the update. There are 36000 vehicles in the recall, Ford produced more than 36000 vehicles with 7.3s in that time period.
 
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