I would look for at least an F550. A 650-750 would be good too but that may be more truck than you need. It all depends how far you are going...if you are just moving it around on a Farm than any 3/4ton truck will pull it...but if you are actullally towing it down the road than you will want a bigger truck. I would steer clear of any Ford diesel with the 6.0. WAAAYYYYY to many problems with that motor. I'd Look for a used rig with a 7.3.
Yep, exactly what Brisk said. I too will stay far away from the Ford 6.0. Also, id opt for a manual tranny as well for that much weight. Over the long run the auto wont last as long, however, there have been some acceptions, as long as you keep that auto tranny cool you wll be fine. Are you talking about highway towing or just around town or farm? my vote is for the F350-F550 7.3. dual rear wheels of course. The F350 will do it fine, but............................. you will need at the minimum a set of rickson or equivilent (heavy duty) wheels and tires. $$$$ Those stock wheels and tires will be overloaded.
I vote for an F550. I have seen advertisements in magazines for them that say "tows 23-25K" on dealership adds. I don't know if this is GCWR or what can actually be towed. Regardless, I would think the 550 could do it fine. I don't have a problem with the 6.0 because I know two guys that have them with good luck, but don't take that to seriously because it sounds like many have had problems. I REALLY like the F450-550's a lot. They are nice rigs for sure, better than anything Dodge or GM makes in that class of truck.
I have an '03 550 w/ the HD option. It is rated for GCVWR of 30,000lb. (gross combined vehichle weight rating) My 550 w/ 125gal of fuel, a few tools and 2 people scales at 10,500lb. That leaves less than 20,000lb of towing capacity. Thats not to say it won't pull it. I pull 24,000lb w/ it but if you get weighed! your screwed.
Is your trailer a 5th wheel or a goose neck? Definately go with a 7.3L. I also wouldn't be too concerned with an auto trans. A shift kit, billet triple disk converter, and big cooler will make the tranny last.
I'd stay safe with a F-550, even if you are just moving it around the farm. I would rather have an overkill truck than break something.
Well we pull bullwagons everyday with class 8 Petes. Those trailers barely weigh that today, so I would say you would crazy to pull something like a cattle pot with anything less than a class 8 truck. Of course pics of this trailer would be helpful. But even most GN and FW cattle trailers in any size made today do not come close to those numbers unless they are loaded. The word "cattle pot" is throwing me because anything less than the 48'-53' double deck alum. trailers are known as cattle trailers, not pots. "Pot" refers to the sunken belly or floor that is not flat. Now if this a FW 20'-36' or even 40'-45' single deck trailer, you could get away with the F550 for awhile. A true 2 ton would be much safer, or I should say a class 5 or 6 truck. Check my pics for cattle pots, or bullracks, or bullwagons, or stinkwagons.
Not whaling on you personally Brisk, but we have several 6.0's and no real serious troble with any of them. My personal daily driver is in my pics, lifted, modded like hell, 55K glorious miles. It will most certainly walk all over any 7.3 we've ever owned. And we've owned 12 throughout the years. Most of the trouble has been in Ford's programming , coked turbos and sticking vanes due to all the grocery-getters running diesels nowdays. They never get them very hot between their home and the grocery store and then kill them. That's hell on any turbo, even those little baby ones on the 6.5. I have a new F550 for working now and have modded my '03 6.0 to the 450HP range for the last 20K miles. No troubles there either. I'm running consistent 14's at the track and pulling the hell out of sleds. I mean pounded the crap out of it. The other problem with the 6.0 has been the intro of hotter boxes and idiots not running pyros. I too had a different opinion of the 6.0 at one time, but not now.
Im not saying that they are all bad...But I have met a couple of people who have had nothing but problems with them. All I am saying is that there have been enough problems with them that I would stay away from them. I feel the same way about the LB7 duramax, but there are also alot of them out there without any problems.
I have another opinion as of last week since I swallowed a lifter and this requires an engine change. New engine should be running next week. Before all the crap hits the fan, it was not my modded truck.
They called me pick it today and before I got there it spun a main bearing. Ordered another new shortblock today.