Death Valley in Summer - NOT GOOD! 6-speed troubles...

[Tuesdak]

My I ask why you where @ 5mph coming up some of those hills? Your rpms where probably quite low @ that speed...

The grades he encountered would be from 6% to 10% depending on what route he took combined with 115 degrees taxes all but the best cooling systems. Clearly he ran out of cooling system. Lots of burned spots on the side of the roads where cooling system failures prove that antifreeze among other things will burn leaving you with a burned out shell. Overloaded doesn't help when climbing a steep grade. A deeper gear of 4x4 Low for better cooling becomes an option if you have 4x4.

The G56 failure could be compounded by additional wear from using the exhaust brake. A medium duty truck would be a better choice to stay within the "rated" load ability of the tow vehicle. Sometimes these (International, Freightliner) show up cheaper than diesel pickups used. 19.5" tires would last a lot longer than LT tires for sure.

 

[cerberusiam]

Coming out of Stovepipe Wells up Rt. 190 towards Beatty, NV eastbound, at one point, I dropped down to low gear (1st) and it sure did not like that. I just could not even stay in 2nd for a few hundred feet.

Not sure WHY you were on that road at that time of day but it is definitely one that is much better traveled with many fewer questions than you have about your rig. Part of the process is knowing where and when to travel with a vehicle, there are definitely better ways to get anywhere you could have been going than that road. On the flip side, you now have a much better idea of your rig's limitations.

 

[NIsaacs]

Not sure WHY you were on that road at that time of day but it is definitely one that is much better traveled with many fewer questions than you have about your rig. Part of the process is knowing where and when to travel with a vehicle, there are definitely better ways to get anywhere you could have been going than that road. On the flip side, you now have a much better idea of your rig's limitations.

If he had a drop in Stovepipe Wells and one in Beatty, NV, how else would you get there, it is only 33miles. Out west , sometimes the roads are few and far between. Now...if he was using GPS, anything is possible

Nick

 

[truckmen]

The grades he encountered would be from 6% to 10% depending on what route he took combined with 115 degrees taxes all but the best cooling systems. Clearly he ran out of cooling system. Lots of burned spots on the side of the roads where cooling system failures prove that antifreeze among other things will burn leaving you with a burned out shell. Overloaded doesn't help when climbing a steep grade. A deeper gear of 4x4 Low for better cooling becomes an option if you have 4x4.

The G56 failure could be compounded by additional wear from using the exhaust brake. A medium duty truck would be a better choice to stay within the "rated" load ability of the tow vehicle. Sometimes these (International, Freightliner) show up cheaper than diesel pickups used. 19.5" tires would last a lot longer than LT tires for sure.

Good morning all,

I actually did not lose a single drop of coolant; I know because I very carefully checked my systems before and after that eventful day. I am pretty anal about this truck but still I find myself lacking knowledge about what under the hood.
I have to do the math again but I am sure we can determine the maximum boiling point I had available to me at sea level as long as the cooling system was capable of the pressure the radiator cap states.
Nevertheless, I am very impressed with how this truck handled that day.

I agree with you entirely re: the medium trucks for a better replacement for my application and particularly your mention of the 19.5 tires. My dual drive tire capacity is 11, 360 lbs and yes, I've gone slightly over that with the way I load the cars. My trailer has 2 10,000 lb Dexters and I tend to keep as much of the payload on those axles. I've been at this for 18 months so far backed up by more than 20 years OTR with class 8 trucks. I'm very aware I am pushing the limits here.

 

[truckmen]

Not sure WHY you were on that road at that time of day but it is definitely one that is much better traveled with many fewer questions than you have about your rig. Part of the process is knowing where and when to travel with a vehicle, there are definitely better ways to get anywhere you could have been going than that road. On the flip side, you now have a much better idea of your rig's limitations.

It's just the route I'd decided on after my last pick-up in Bishop, CA. Sure, I should have just headed down to I-40 and then across there but thought I'd take a shortcut. Yeah, I know better but NOW, I know EVEN better!

It's past history now and a lesson learned. The good thing is I didn't actually break down but DID spend several extra hours with that route by taking it extra slow. I am just amazed and impressed by this truck. Yes, I have some symptoms of wear and I am may have warped or cracked an exhaust manifold, shortened the life of the oil.

I'm now home in Maine this weekend doing some maintenance on the truck and will do some very close inspection of all components and will follow up here. I've already been to the dealership for the recalls and have discovered some interesting things already that I've mentioned in another post pertaining to the SCR and DEF systems.

Hope I was of some help in better understanding what our trucks are capable of.

Ralph

 

[Tuesdak]

Last time I was through there was with a LLY Duramax, windows down, 121 degrees out and heater on high. It puked coolant on the grade coming from below sea level as I pulled over all the temp gauges in the red. This was with a unloaded 5th wheel toyhauler. The survival situation made me wish for my modified 1993 6.5TD as it would have been at least moving with the AC on. The Dodge cooling systems are absolutely better than GM Duramax systems and the #1 reason I now own a RAM.

 

[Newsa]

modified 1993 6.5TD as it would have been at least moving with the AC on.

Just curious if this is a Ford or a typo?

 

[BigPapa]

I'd say he's talking about a pre-Duramax GM 6.5L. The engines in the original Hummer's the military still uses. We still have some small van cut-a-way buses running them.

 

[Tuesdak]

Just curious if this is a Ford or a typo?

The Duramax LLY was so prone to overheating that one would want a 1990's era Dodge Cummins that would out run an overheating LLY. The video of the old guy towing an RV with a '90's Dodge Cummins out running a LLY pulling grades was famous for winning a lemon lawsuit against GM. The LLY owner overheated and the engine shut down on grades attempting to keep up with the '90's Dodge! The 6.5 and 6.2's I refer to have to have extensive cooling system mods, that mine have, to not scuff a piston in Death Valley towing. The small GM turbo on the 6.5 is a big part of the cooling load. IMO GM's cooling systems can't cash the power checks the engines write when things go all extreme heat warning outside. The LLY overheating as I found out couldn't be fixed like the IDI 6.5 could. So simply put credit due to Dodge RAM having a cooling system worth a damn out the door. I am critical of all diesels and do remind you a Ford PSD 6.0 attempts to take the hand grenade title away from the Olds 5.7 diesel. If you would like some insight into the 6.2 turbo (because the factory 6.5 scuffed a piston) you can check out an article about it (linky). Since then the 1993 signature has a 2400 RPM Yank stall along with a large turbo that doesn't lite off till 2000 RPM. Ever see a 6.2 automatic do a burnout? It's a fun toy and a "so what" $2000.00 for another surplus used 6.2 if I grenade it's engine. But, I would take it through Death Valley (and have) over any LLY.

 

[SnoKing]

4121 foot climb to Daylight Pass in 12+ miles is a pretty good climb.