That there's cheatin', TJ!
So you didn't take it out on the road then? I thought that seemed like a pretty stout load for a SWB 1/2 ton. I got up to 65MPH with the Merc+trailer behind mine, take that! lol
x2 on the SM420 for hauling/towing. The deep first/reverse is very nice to have, and second is still deeper than the three speed's first (3.58:1 vs 2.94). Also, there's no question about somehow blowing up the SM420!
Also, a note; why does this lame little 250 seem to run as good as the 5.4 ford in the borrowed late model F-150 I previously used? Besides that lame 1/2 ton being thrown around like a rag doll by this very C-30 on the trailer behind it, it also barely pulled it. On similar (actually lesser IIRC) hills it struggled to maintain 40-45MPH running 2,800RPM+ (IIRC). The Mercury isn't much more than 500lbs lighter than the old C-30 (there's technology for you), and I was pulling hills in high gear with this little six! On only one or two of the steepest did it slow down to 40MPH at the top (1,800RPM!), and if I wanted to downshift into third I could have maintained speed just fine.
So... WTF? I know the F-150 is slightly heavier, and the manual SM420 is much more efficient than the auto, but damn! According to the specs the 5.4 should be making roughly twice the power of the 250! Oh well, I guess I'm not complaining.