Buying 4500 and have questions

[Wiredawg]

Hitched up and towed today

I hitched up the 5er and ran about 130 miles to camp over the 4th. No real grades to pull, so I kept both overdrives on. Very nice only down shifted a couple of times... no searching, just smooth 6th to 5th and back. According to the mpg meter, got 8. 9mpg. We'll see when I do manual calculation. Interesting, the fiver didn't set the truck down on the overloads. It is hard to explain the improvement over the '02 3500. It feels like it has more control and is fairly quiet. The Aisen and Cummins combo is nice. 70MPH at 2000 rpm... 70mph at about 2400 rpm in tow/haul. I believe I would drop down to 65mph if I needed to run in tow/haul.



Another observation... this truck didn't come w/ the HD front springs. This is a good thing for ride comfort. Another tidbit: I found a fold flat floor on E-Bay from a dealer up north for $100 and picked it up. Very nice feature. My wife has it on her 2003.



I'll post some pics of the setup in the next couple of days.



Have a happy 4th and be safe.



Wiredawg

 

[Wiredawg]

Truck w/ 5er

Here are some pics Vivian took on Monday:

 

[WMonroe]

Looks great with the 5ver hooked up. Lots of room left on the bed too.

Will

 

[Wiredawg]

Will,



Thanks. We are liking the truck a lot. We dropped off the 5er at Camping World for a new frige... the old one died on the trip. Dometic gave us great service at 10 years old, and 6 years of full time service.



Take care and have a great one.



Ron

 

[HBarlow]

Wiredawg,

The truck and trailer look good together.

How is the loaded ride? It should ride decent with 3k to 4k lbs. of kingpin weight on the hitch.

 

[Wiredawg]

Harvey,



Thanks. The ride is great... I believe the pin weitgh on my 5er is about 3. 6K lbs. What was hard to believe is it did not sit down on the overloads. The ride really isn't too bad empty either. The only thing I've found I don't care for is the way the tires wander... even the rears. I may try airing them down some to see if that helps. If they last as long as they are supposed to, I have a long time ahead. These tires act like you are driving a metal grate w/ knobby mud tires. Just have to saw the wheel a little.



I have a lot to do yet. I have a short somehwere in the new marker LED lights I installed, so I need to troubleshoot them. Then, I was reading the upfitter info for the 220 amp alternator. I think I'm going to install lights in the tool boxes, a twelve volt air compressor, and maybe an inverter. I will plumb the fuel tank after it cools down some here.



Take good care and talk to you later.



Ron

 

[Bhale]

Wiredawg, which compressor are you installing? I just started putting in a 5 gallon 8 port tank and an ExtremeAire Magnum compressor and i'm running 2ga wire from the drivers side battery to a relay and then the compressor. I haven't done the wiring yet but it looks like a nice compressor.

Brian

 

[HBarlow]

Harvey,

... ... ... ... . The only thing I've found I don't care for is the way the tires wander... even the rears. I may try airing them down some to see if that helps. If they last as long as they are supposed to, I have a long time ahead. These tires act like you are driving a metal grate w/ knobby mud tires. Just have to saw the wheel a little... ... ... ... Ron

Do you experience tire squirm loaded also? I wondered when I test drove one in late '07 if it was due to tire overinflation on an empty truck causing only the center of each tire tread to contact the pavement.

I'd like to hear what you figure out on that issue.

 

[Wiredawg]

Harvey,



The tires are only a little better loaded, both front and rear. I feel I have to pay more attention to keep her straight. I believe it is due to the tread pattern, being more like a mud tire than an all weather tire. I had a Toyota 4WD w/ mud tires that I had the same problem with. I will analyze the tire pressure/weight capacity of the tires to see if they can do any better adjusting air pressure. Here are a couple of pictures of the brush guard, steps and tire well I had done:

 

[HBarlow]

Harvey,

The tires are only a little better loaded, both front and rear. I feel I have to pay more attention to keep her straight. I believe it is due to the tread pattern, being more like a mud tire than an all weather tire. I had a Toyota 4WD w/ mud tires that I had the same problem with. I will analyze the tire pressure/weight capacity of the tires to see if they can do any better adjusting air pressure. Here are a couple of pictures of the brush guard, steps and tire well I had done:

Ron,

In late 2007 or early 2008 Rowdy (I think you know him from TDR rallies) and I spent a day wandering around near his home in OK. We visited Chapprell, a Dodge dealer that used to advertise, maybe still does, discount deals on new Rams. We test drove a new 4500, one of the first ones we'd seen. I'm not certain now but think it had highway tread tires. Both of us noticed and commented on the squirrely ride but we thought it was due to high inflation pressures, a light truck (no bed installed) and the ruts in the old blacktop road we drove it on. I could be wrong but I think it is something more than just traction tread tires.

I hope you figure it out when you study inflation/load charts and experiment with your inflation.

We also visited CM and the company (name evades my feeble brain) that built your truck bed that same day in OK.

 

[HBarlow]

I like the grille guard and also like the idea of the tire well you cut in your bed. That's a great idea.

The lack of spare tire storage is one of the drawbacks of a flatbed/towing bed. I normally leave the spare tire and wheel at home but strapped it down flat on my truck bed for the recent two week towing journey to MN. As Murphy's Law always determines, I carried the spare so never needed it.

 

[Wiredawg]

Brian,



I'm doing some research on whether to go 12V or 120V w/ inverter. This truck has the 220amp alt, and has an alt PDC for upfitter use. I'm looking at Extreme 12V compressors, but have a 1 HP electric w/ 3 gal tank I use to air up the 5th wheel. I also have a 12V inflator that rated 3rd out of about 20 and cost about $50 that I have in the side storage compartment. I was looking for the comparison, but could not find it.



I have a lot of reading and learning to figure out all the capability I can use out of this truck. I'll share w/ y'all as I learn.



Ron

 

[HBarlow]

Ron,

I discovered tonight that I didn't know what I was talking about earlier re: exhaust brake activation when using cruise control.

When we returned home Friday from our RVing vacation to MN I pulled the HH fiver on into Lubbock so my car/truck/trailer detailer could wash it. It was covered with road grime and bugs. He washed it Saturday while I was out here mowing overgrown weeds at my farmhouse.

This evening I drove to Lubbock, hooked up, and brought the trailer back out to put it inside the barn. I was running along about 60 in Tow/Haul mode with cruise control activated when I hit the west side of Blanco Canyon, just east of Crosbyton. It is a fairly steep downgrade but not very long. I remembered the conversation we were having and watched what happened. Exactly as you commented, the exhaust brake did not activate although the truck gained speed to about 67 mph. I realized that without ever even thinking about it I always punch the button to deactivate cruise control on a downgrade like that. Apparently the ECM/PCM are programmed to allow the truck to gain up to about 10 mph on a downgrade before the exhaust brake function is activated. My guess is it's programmed to allow the truck to gain speed on the downgrade assuming the driver wants the speed gain to assist in going back up the next hill.

I am so accustomed to the way it operates from my experience with this truck and with my previous '06 w/48RE and factory Jacobs Exhaust brake that I just automatically disable cruise w/o ever thinking about it.

Bottom line: your truck did what mine does. I was confused.

 

[Wiredawg]

Harvey,



Looks like we are learning together. Good news to know nothing is wrong w/ mine. Keep 'em cooming. So will I.



Ron

 

[HBarlow]

Hey Ron,

I forgot to consider or ask. Does the spare tire well mod allow sufficient space above the driveshaft? I suppose, since your 4500 doesn't even deflect the rear springs when loaded with your fiver, you probably still have plenty of clearance.

 

[Wiredawg]

Harvey,



It clears the driveshaft by about 8 inches and Id' like ti come down another 4 inches. It rests on the muffler hanger, which I may move later so we can drop the tire level w/ the tool box, which will allow me to see the hitch when hitching up. I'll take some pics, because this fabricator makes good, quality stuff.



Ron

 

[HBarlow]

Please do. I'd like to see photos. I might want to duplicate that tire well.

 

[Wiredawg]

Harvey, I believe I can cut off the muffler hanger, rotate the muffler counter clockwise and weld the hanger to the tire well. Ron

Check these out:

 

[HBarlow]

Ron,

Thanks for the digital photos. If I'm oriented properly when I study the photos I think so also. Rotating the muffler which is now oriented vertically CCW as you suggested so that it is horizontal and extending away from the tire well looks to me like it should give you another 3 or 4 inches to drop the tire well. Dropping it level with or lower than the fuel/tool box would allow you to see the fifth wheel and kingpin from the driver's seat as you back to it.

That spare tire looks like a highway tread but a little more aggressive than some. Are all seven tires the same?

 

[Wiredawg]

Harvey,



The spare was a freebie from the dealer... it is the highway tread. The six on the ground are all traction.



Ron