towed "the guesthouse" for the first time

[GRU]

got my gooseneck adapter put on the other day so i hooked up and took er for about a 7 mile loop around the back roads here. i was actually a bit shocked at how much the truck had to work. i know its a big 35 footer that weighs at least 9000 lbs, but i wasnt expecting that much work. honestly im now nervous about even maintaining highway speeds. just rolling around about 40-45 mph in 4th my egt was a solid 1000 degrees! boost was only about 4-5 psi though. temp was up near 220. i really need to get that fan shroud on, that will help immensely. i also think airbags are in order. the truck was really bobbing around pretty bad. none of this was on a highway, just back roads. now i got to thinking at work today. the camper is a 93. still had IDIs in the trucks. the only other diesel worth a crap was the dodges but they were not rated much more than our IDI at the time. how did people tow these things comfortably? i really think towing this isnt going to be a nice relaxing time at all. how do your trucks tow your big campers? i asked opinions in a related post before i bought the camper. i dont think mine is towing like alot of yours are. any thoughts??

 

[towcat]

this is where you see a intercooler can really make a difference.

 

[rhkcommander]

4th at 40 sounds too low try downshifting maybe? i know too low of rpm and the boost wil ldrop and egt climb. and you said 4-5psi. just a guess really.

it happened to me climbing the cascades last weekend and i took a guess and verified here - too little air combined with low rpms. she did fine in 3rd but 4th was horrid a mile high

 

[GRU]

i guess i just dont like winding it out. yes an intercooler is definately on the wish list. however im almost thinking about just finding a crewcab dually and starting over. but until that happens i need this truck to pull it.

 

[EMD_DRIVER]

I know it's not an IDI, but my 94 did horrible on it's first real pull of the 5er yesterday. I could hit 65 on flat and level road, but it soon fell off and hit 1250* easily on hills. I was seeing around 10lbs of boost, but EGT's would spike too.

 

[gatorman21218]

Well for one i think the national speed limit was still a double nickel. Second they had the 460. third gas was cheap (which was good cause I cant imagine getting above 4 mpg towing with a 460.)

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

the camper is a 93. still had IDIs in the trucks. the only other diesel worth a crap was the dodges but they were not rated much more than our IDI at the time.

I hauled heavy --- real heavy --- with both way back when they were still shiny-new.

Ratings aside, there is NO comparison between the towing abilities of an IDI and a bone-stock 1st Gen. Cummins.

The IDIs would strain their guts out, getting barely 10-MPG, and have to really work, while the Cummins effortlessly sailed along, getting 16-MPG or better loaded.


To keep EGTs down, drop a gear and wind her up, sucking more cooling air through the engine; lugging will build high EGTs fast.

If you are having cooling issues, honestly, I don't think the fan shroud is going to make a noticable difference.

I would suspect the fan-clutch not totally locking up, nor locking as soon as it should.

As for the "wobbling", that is an awfully big trailer for a SRW truck.

 

[sootman73]

yea you gotta wind these motors up. its how they were designed to run and work. i've heard these motor can sit at 3000+ rpm all day(provided enough cooling) and not have a problem. they were balanced to 4000rpm and have low power ratings for the amount of strength the engine internals were designed with........

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Agreed on running high rpms, on several occasions I flew the Detroit-Columbus route running against the overspeed governor pulling a nicely-loaded enclosed car hauler. Fuel economy sucks, but the speed is up there. One trick tho, you gotta start revving her up in the low gears as well, then when you upshift your engine speed is still high - the moment you drop below 2000 rpms with something that big forget it, you gotta downshift and revv her up again.

 

[timothyr1014]

X2....all of my trucks are normally aspirated, and when I am pulling anything over about 7k she is much happier when I keep her at 2500RPM and above...from all of the turbo maps I have seen from all of the kits out there it looks like you would still need to keep it that high to stay on full boil....this is part of my interest in Russ cam...I would be nice to have a little more grunt a little lower

 

[Diesel JD]

I'm thinking the SRW might be your fishtailing problem, that thing looks like a house, now one thing that might help the EGTs some is the Hypermax cowl induction snorkel, it's less than 100 bucks and easy to install provided you have an efficient way to cut the hole in the cowling area. This won't help nearly as much as an intercooler or H20 injection but it might get you a hundred degrees or so cooler, maybe more, my pyro has been broken for awhile so I can't say if mine has helped much or not. As far as your water temps, they are going to be on the ragged edge until you wind the rpms up from what I can gather here. The biggest thing I ever towed was back in the pre turbo and still automatic days, my boat which is probably 4000-5000 lbs with everything trailer, boat, gas etc. I only ever ran into trouble with water temps a couple times the only time it was really scary was sitting in traffic in town with the AC on and it was pushing close to 230*F by the mechanical gauge. Other folks here have the MS-Tech fan clutch and I know Midnight Rider "pinned" his fan clutch so that it's on all the time. Another thing to give you more wiggle room with the water temps is the Evans waterless coolant, but that is an expensive option and getting all the water/coolant out isn't too easy but is a must. I think I'd be kinda scared pulling that thing with your rig but I've never had to haul or tow real heavy. Other folks here have done a lot even with a SRW truck and N/A engine, it should be possible, I don't know how enjoyable or safe it would be. Probably not too bad as long as you didn't run into heavy cross winds or have to make an instant panic stop. Also driving no more than 55-60 mph would help.

 

[Fozz]

I'd run that thing over a scale. You might be heavier than you think. My 5r grosses out just over 10k and it's only 28.5ft. That's a big older camper, it's probably heavier than some of the newer ones. Where is your gooseneck hitch in the truck, a 5r hitch should be just forward of the rear axle (about 3 inches or so) to ride right. To help with the ride, I put Rancho adjustable shocks on my truck and put them on the stiffest setting when towing. You shouldn't have any sway issues with a 5r. Set your brake controller to brake equal to the truck, or maybe even a little more (that's what I do), that way the trailer is helping stop the truck, will keep the rig straight in the event of a rapid/panic stop. I don't have any cooling issues, but my entire cooling system is new. I can pull the the speed limit easily, even caught myself doing 70 a couple of times, but hills and/or a headwind really slow these trucks down. I'm going to build a homemade propane system for that once I get the time. I can't even find the time to install the new stuff sitting in my garage now (IP, injectors and 4in exhaust).

 

[Shadetreemechanic]

Take it out again today, but try to keep the rpms around or above 2k. I think you will be more pleased with it. I have the same truck, but with 3.55s and it doesn't appreciate at all to be lugged with a heavy load. I have towed more than 10k several times on the interstate. With 3.55s I just stay in 4th unless I am above 65.

 

[argve]

89blue7.3

She performing just like I expected - I didn't tow one as big as yours with The E and that is who she acted... I could do the upper speed limits if the wind was at my back and we were headed down hill a bit - but on flat ground with even the slightest head wind I was a 55mph dude and lord forbid an uphill climb at that point.

So your truck is doing just as it should. I used to say all the time "when I had no turbo I could pull anything at 45mph, with the turbo I can 55"

Now you know why I saddled up a goat....

Don't get me wrong you can pull that camper all day long - you just won't be in a hurry at all. You will be driving by the gauges, if you want to run highway speeds - if you just accept the fact that you can't run those on sustained basis you will run between 50-55 and enjoy the ride. If you are running slower than everyone else - fork 'em - they can pass.... I know it's hard to actually follow that mentallity - trust me I know - but it can be done...

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

Or take it through Shadetreemechanic's neighborhood; I see he resides at Monteagle --- the grand-daddy of all grades anywhere around here.


Another probable cause of the "wobbling" you are feeling is most likely due to the axles being so far forward, leaving the trailer tail-heavy.

That is a common fault with camper-trailers.

My idea for why they put the axles so far forward is on account of the many non-truck-driver touristy types that end up pulling the things; they don't have to make nearly so wide of turns and are less apt to drag the trailer across someone's car.

I also believe that is why you see so many flopped over on their side.

If the axles were way on back there where they should be, driving control would really benefit.


Another issue I have against camper-trailers is the use of much too light axles and way too low rated tires; one wouldn't even imagine running a gooseneck that big with anything less than 8K axles and ten-ply 16" tires.