IM going to check out a dually 7.3 tomorrow with 80K on it and the 7.3 pulled my 26 velocity fine. Then i moved to a 32 Hustler no prob there at all. And last yanked around the Cafe with easy and no questions asked at all. Its got the snot i just think Ford makes the best all around truck. Ive had them all and just enjoy the ford style looks and reliablity. They all have problems just pick what best suits you. Hey Apex what year are you looking at for a 353?>
-Mike

I have an 08 bone stock 6.4 F350 dually.. I get 13.4 average around town and 15.6 on hwy at 70-73 mph which is approx 2000 rpms...with 3.73's.. Been a great truck..no major problems..

What's your gear ratio?

3.73's....at least that's what his post says....

btw, my 08' F-350 srw is about to turn 100k miles and I can now get 23.4 mpg hwy @ 65 mph; towing @ that speed is 13.5.

Yes but he inserted that after my post. I figured it was either 3.73 or 4.10...

I wish I had kept my 2003 Dodge 3500srw. It got just about the same numbers yours does except towing 6000lbs was 16-17mpg. This 2006 dually can really tow heavy but I liked that I could get the srw in the garage...

Will ford offer a 6 speed auto with the new motor?

Yes the 6R140 with PTO but not a manual.

lets get real here, anyone who has a 30-40k rig to tow a 100k+ boat could care less how much mpg it gets and is probably gonna trade it next year anyways so how long it lasts is not a concern. they are more worried about how many tuners they can stack to
get it to pull 1000ftlbs on the dyno before it blows up in ablaze of warranty covered glory.
Its the rest of us po-boys who have to hang on to our truck for 10+ years that care about long term implications. My 20 year old 7.3 powerstroke E350 with 250k+ miles can still pull a house and not sweat it. And I dont have to morgate my left nut to own it..