Tow Vehicle Breakdown Paranoia- 7.3 Diesel

[outdoorcamogirl]

I have been a weekend warrior of sorts for many years....I bought my 2002 F350 7.3 Powerstroke brand new and have had reliable service from it aside from the transmission failing in 2014 with 78,000 miles on it....then the remanufactured transmission that was purchased and installed by Ford started to slip within the first few years while it was still under warranty so they replaced it-it's been fine since(knock on wood) now I am at a point where I am semi retired and have the ability to get away and boondock Solo in remote locations with my 2 dogs....I pull a 22 foot travel trailer and take impeccable care of the maintenance of both truck and trailer as to avoid any issues on the road....what I am noticing is that I find myself having worry about the possibility of a breakdown....whether it is in a remote location.....or on a busy highway during the blazing heat of Arizona summers....I have always been wildly independent and fearless....very responsible, and not one that would entertain any insecure feeling that would hold me back- never had these feelings before....now that I am older I find myself having feelings of worry and paranoia...I know there is no way around it....I know when you are on the road, eventually going to happen....I would never want these feeling to hold me back....was wondering if anybody else has ever had these thoughts and how you got past it and can offer me any advice on how to manage these thoughts. Any input would be most appreciated!

PS I have Good Sam Roadside assistance and a Verizon Iphone

 

[Firtree]

I might give myself some extra protection if you can afford the wild cost. Kind of belt and suspenders Examples of additions
AAA Premium
ATT hotspot for places Verizon doesn’t work
SPOT device with the SOV addition

The SPOT with SOV would be my first choice but expensive IMO. It uses satellites to reach help and you can also use it to tell certain people where you are and if you need help. Bob and Suanne have both mentioned or done videos about.

As long as you have several days of water at all times, you have your house with you, you have ways to contact for help, you’re in pretty great shape.

One thing I do is turn this around. If a good friend of yours came to you with this truck, trailer, dogs and concerns what would you tell her? What would you suggest she do? How might you suggest she think?

 

[outdoorcamogirl]

Wow....great suggestions....especially the SPOT....I never heard of that thing....watched videos on YouTube....wow...thanks for the input!!

 

[Gr8ful]

Spots used to be either gray or orange & being a pilot of 1930 planes I thought they were great. One morning Best Buy closed out the gray ones for $4.95 shipped free so I bought 20 to give away. Great product just remember you have to be in the open to pick up the sattalites as they don't work in deep woods.

 

[Firtree]

Watch for or look for a sale or coupon on the SPOT. They just had an offer [expired) for old customers that seemed pretty good.
One thing to note should you get. They Automatically renew each year and you can not cancel with refund after it has renewed. I put mine on a prepaid debit card with limited, or no money on it.

 

[bullfrog]

Above suggestions are really good but nothing is as good as traveling with someone or a group such as the caravans, I am sure they would welcome someone with your experience to travel with them till you get over your concerns.

 

[highdesertranger]

ding, ding, ding, we have a winner.

you should travel remote boonie areas with at least 2 vehicles. it's much safer.

thanks bullfrog. highdesertranger

 

[MG1912]

It should also reassure you that the '99 to '03 Ford 7.3 Powerstroke diesel is considered one of the best, most reliable engines ever made. The transmission was iffy, but it sounds like you've already corrected that.

There are people out there driving '99 to '03 Ford 7.3 diesel trucks with over 800k miles on them. That engine is nearly indestructible with good maintenance, which it sounds like you are doing. The rest of the truck will fall apart before the powertrain does!

I've been looking at getting one myself for my truck camper when I go full-time. I'm looking at several trucks, but one just like yours is at the top of my list! I'd consider that truck with up to 250k miles on it if the price was right, with a view to spending up to $10k "bulletproofing" it and aiming for 500k mile reliability!

 

[Gypsy Freedom]

yes, the 7.3 powerstroke is a great engine. but there are all sorts of other things that can brake and leave you stranded.

no matter how prepared you are, there is always something that can get you stuck. the more you can do to get yourself going (like having a spare cam sensor and the ability to replace it) the better.

but as mentioned above, a back up means of transportation and or communication is what will save the day when your broken or stuck beyond your means.

cell phones dont work everywhere but depending on how deep into the wild you go, often a cell signal is not that far away, within hiking range. old cell phones that are no longer in service can still make a 911 call.

ths satellite locators like spot are a great back up if you get way back in there

a second means of transportation does not mean only traveling with a group. a motorcycle or bike or even a towed car can give you redundancy.

i have a 20' school bus with an old 7.3 ps in it with pushing 400,000 miles. i take my electric bike with me where ever i go. i can get an easy 15-20 miles out of that even in hill country. it would be rare that i would travel more than that with out getting to a signal or where i could flag down a motorist, even if i had to wait a couple days.

my fear, does not lie in getting stuck or broke down, but more in the cost to get me back on the road. therefore i try to keep my rig maintained and have some of the most common items i might need to replace. the tow bill on a short bus because i didnt have a $30 serpentine belt would kill me. i also always carry 2 spare tires, and fix-a-flat and tire plug kit for emergencies. i dont advocate tire plugs or fix-a-flat as permanent solutions, but to get you back to civalization they can save the day.

i also always have several days if not weeks of supplies with me so getting stuck for a few days is not an issue.

 

[kaBLOOnie Boonster]

You mentioned that you had a Roadside Assistance plan, so that is good. It can save you a lot of money, but you still have to wait for the tow truck to arrive, which can take hours.

1. You haven't mentioned if you have adapted your travel habits to reduce anxiety. When my tow vehicle got older, I started using the same migration loop every year. (That doesn't mean that I am camping in LITERALLY the spot on the same road, every year.) But it does mean that I am familiar with the service towns and repair shops. Suggest the local towing service to your roadside assistance company, before they wastefully send somebody from the metropolis, hours away. Coach-Net has done that for me once. Don't know about Good Sam.

2. Become more familiar with local repair shops. Lean a little in the direction of preventing a problem that COULD happen, if the shop has proven itself.

3. Buy a good tow strap and learn where it should be hooked to your vehicle without bending something. Then when you have a roadside problem, get the bright yellow strap out, install it, and make it easy for someone to help you. There are plenty of old-fashioned guys out there who would love to help a damsel in distress.

 

[Seeker/Wanderer]

I had to reply just because I too have an 02 7.3 I've owned since then and have traveled extensively pulling a Fifth Wheel. It has about 275k on it now and I can tell you that various things can and will go wrong so its best to keep a repair account on hand for when it does. It's simply an old vehicle that sees a lot of rough use so its really been rebuilt, modified and such from one end to the other. A woman carefully maintaining it might be a different story altogether though. I have a 6-speed manual transmission in mine which seems to be relatively bulletproof with the clutch having to be replaced every 150k. I spoke to a guy while boondocking up in the Snowies who owned a shop in Greeley specializing in 7.3s who gave up on the automatic trans entirely and installed a 6 speed but he is obviously an expert. This summer while traveling I had a wiring issue in W TX, a U joint in Trinidad and the entire cooling system replaced in Montrose along with the E brake which is a must for the manual trans. There are a number of online discussion clubs concerning the 7.3 which can really help. These vehicles are entering the antique realm now and you almost have to go to a shop that knows and loves them. All told, mine is a bit of a monster with an 8" lift and running 37" Toyos. I had to lift my Fifth Wheel to match it which is why I still own it. All the bouncing on the Alcan Hwy really necessitated new suspensions on both vehicles. In retrospect, it wasn't the money or repair woes that took me off the road but loneliness. Kai, the Belgian Tervuren is great company but just for hiking and an occasional hug. Perhaps I will return to it someday. Oh, another thing I didn't like was having to hide from Winter or I and my pipes would freeze. I didn't like AZ and am not big on the desert in general. I went back over to NM which can be a little colder though with the elevation. In summary, there are a lot of 7.3s out there and many more online resources for the vehicle so I think you are in relatively good shape. The only other one I would consider is a Cummins which is another good engine but no so much for rest of the vehicle. Avoid Duramax.

 

[Cajunwolf]

A 22-foot trailer? You're not pulling enough weight to hurt that truck, my 2cents. As mentioned, it's an older truck, but you've kept in excellent shape from what I'm reading. I ran the Ford diesel 1-ton pickups from 1988 until 2000 when I was an industrial mechanic in the oilfields; they are outstanding tow vehicles. I have to agree with Seeker/Wanderer on the manual transmissions, you can't break them. The first thing I did with a new truck is drop 3000 lbs of tools and equipment in the bed, and often pulled my "war wagon," a 15,000 lb tandem work trailer and never looked back. The 7.3 PS will pull a brick wall uphill all day long and smile.

 

[Gr8ful]

Spots work great. I'm a pilot of 1930s planes & one morning a few years ago Best Buy sent me a closeout on green Spots for $4.95 so I bought 20 & gave them to friends. You need to be in the open as they work on sattilites. They run several sales on the service per year. I run a 7.3 IDI 1993 diesel which was the last full year for the IDI. I like them better than Powerstrokes & also have the last month they made the 5.9 12 valve Cummins. The cost of a set of injectors for the Power Stroke is over $3000. For my 7.3 IDI & the 5.9 Cummins diesels are under $300 per set so I know where the Stroke part of the name came from.

 

[LowTech]

I also was going to say that the only thing better than the post '94 , 7.3's is the pre '94's. [emoji6]

I'm right there w/ you running a '93, 7.3 IDI in our shuttle turned camper.

 

[NctryBen]

Newbie here, but one of my passions over the years was remote canoe tripping. In fact the last few included a situation where a friend was able to contact me via email from his personal locator where I was able to put on my first responder hat, load up what I needed and knowing the area he was in paddled to his campsite arriving about two AM with some additional supplies. The SPOT was good for a lot of people, but the one called inreach by garmin has been the better option as it allows you to send real life messages. SPOT is a year round subscription and inreach can be that or just while your in need of its use. I’d look into both... SPOT has not always been the reliable one. But it’s made tremendous improvements also. And I know they had a deal where you could pay a few bucks for like an insurance that would pay for any outrageous rescue ordeal.
I’m another 7.3 driver... mine is finally breaking in at 520,000 miles.