Break in without a trailer to tow.

[SStandley]

Guys/Gals:



I got me a 2500 CTD QC 4X4 and have started putting miles on it. The original plan was to get a trailer shortly afterwards. Well life steps in and money had to be put elsewhere for the moment. :{



I saw a thread at one point where somebody asked about carrying a load of "road tailiings" to load the truck and make it work. I have searched but can't seem to find that thread again so I will ask anyway.



The truck has ~3000 miles on it now and is getting 16 city and 18-19 highway. Oo. IF I drop a few thousand pounds in the back via a load of gravel/wet sand/ pallet of quickcrete/ etc. will this suffice to load it up for breakin?



Thanks for any helpful advice.



Steven

 

[Whiskey]

Stanley,

What year is your truck?
I have a 2006 that I bought in NY while I was there last fall, hooked up to TT heade souyh then west to AZ and did not baby it. So far so good with 13500 miles on it and runs strong.

Just my expereance

whiskey

 

[Mundgyver]

Just drive it like you normally would. You will do fine.

 

[SDunkle600]

Steven,



When I bought mine, I went to Home Depot and bought 1K # of top soil and drove around with it in the bed all winter. I travel over a mountain on the way to work and with the load on, I tried to run it hard up and down the mountain. This not only helped break-in the engine IMHO, but put some weight on that light rear end for better traction in the snow.

 

[SStandley]

Sorry about the tardy reply but while I can read the forum at work filters will not let me post :{





The truck is a 2006 model. Sorry for not including that in the original post.



I didn't figure I was hurting anything by not loading it out for a bit but did think that if I did I would get to that magic 20MPG sooner



I have some concrete work to do around the house (extending a walkway) so I can always go get a pallet of quick-crete and haul it around for a couple of tanks of diesel.



My other problem is I live in FL so not alot of hills around here. Highest point in florida is about an hour away and it is something like 345 feet above sea level :--)

 

[DZink24]

Road millings . Its ground up blacktop that highway crews grind up from the road surface, and either mix with fresh oil/gravel, or lay down new material. Stuff is VERY dense, dosen't take much to get a ton or so.

 

[SDunkle600]

I really don't tow much either. I have found that when I load it down and just drive a tankful or more that is seems to clean it out pretty good. You should be fine loading a pallet of quickcrete up and driving around town.

 

[jcarey]

I don't tow much or carry weight in the back very often. As a result I was having a problem with carbon buildup. I started using Redline, and problems cleared up.



I started using Power Service about a year ago, when I couldn't find any Redline, and truck continues to run fine.

 

[SDunkle600]

I occasionally run a can of Sea Foam through. When I get down to about a 1/4 tank, I pour a can in and run the snot out of the truck, usually ends up being empty, and that seems to clean up the carbon. It sure runs better for a little while. I only do this maybe every 5K miles or so. I use powerservice (grey bottle) and MMO mixture with every fillup too.

 

[BNH4221]

Steven -



Same as the other guys. No trailer here so I put about 1k woth of bagged lime in the rear. I drive through tolls every day and just hopped on the go pedal leaving the booth each time. Gave the engine a good workout and I got to use the lime on the lawn later.



I'll let you know when I hit the "magic 20 MPG". Don't hold your breath... . :{



Good luck and HAVE FUN.



Steve

 

[tdinut]

I don't tow either.

I would take the truck to a parking lot and run up the rpm's in first and second. I could see the temp guage going up and down. I have almost 7,000 miles on it now. I easily get 20-22 (empty with Undercover tonneau) on highway going 55-60. My mpg's really drop around town. It's a '06 3500 QC SWB auto 4x4. I used to have a '02 VW tdi that I did the same thing with the rpm's and I easily got 53 mpg on highway. Good luck!





Joe

 

[SStandley]

Thanks alot folks.



I guess I will go get a pallet of quick crete to haul around some. Thats the easy part then I have to actually use the stuff to pour a driveway extention.



sigh





Thanks, Steven