Going too easy on my truck?

[CajunDieselMan]

When I bought my truck, my wife and I were RVing and planning on buying a larger RV. Not knowing what to expect, I ordered my truck with the 6-speed and 4. 10 rear end. Now we've had the RV parked in a river-side vacation spot and we no longer tow anything. I am now driving my truck like a car (a VERY LONG car) and I'm wondering if I'm hurting anything by not flexing its muscles once in a while. I've got almost 40,000 miles with no problems, but, knowing the nature of diesels, I hope I'm not clogging her up or something. Any comments? Thanks!

 

[JVolpe]

I have an idea. Throw 500-600lbs fresh crawfish in the end of the bed. Jump on I-10 headed toward Houston. Go red line in all six gears and hold it there. That should keep up with traffic in the fast lane. By the time you get to Houston you should have cleaned any buildup off the injectors and blown all the soot out. Then we can have a big old crawfish boil.

 

[Nightram]

I wouldn't think so. I don't tow a whole lot myself. As long as you get on it every once in a while and drive it like you stole it , you should have no problems

 

[BHolm]

I seriously doubt you are hurting anything. I bet 50% or more of these trucks get used the same way. Mine is mostly a driver with occaisional towing, most of that is 1000lbs worth of snowmobiles. It just means that Cummins will last a little longer than forever

 

[MamthTorq]

I wouldn't think so. I don't tow a whole lot myself. As long as you get on it every once in a while and drive it like you stole it , you should have no problems

Thats how I drive mine everyday. Its just too fun not to. Be sure you are at full temp before you start fooling around.

 

[nickleinonen]

As long as you get on it every once in a while and drive it like you stole it

Thats how I drive mine everyday. Its just too fun not to. Be sure you are at full temp before you start fooling around.

that is more or less how i drive it daily too... [well, 5 of 7 days a week]

 

[Grayhackle]

You can bring some of that crawfish to Utah and drive the truck like you stole it. lol. Seriously, I drive my truck mostly around town and it developed a very loud knock. The service manager said that was a very common complaint and Dodge's position was, I didn't use it hard enough. An injector or two was fouled. I needed to do some serious towing. etc etc. Then, they recommended a fuel additive. I tried an aftermarket one that the dealer had and it didn't do any good. Then I went to wallyworld and bought some diesel kleen. In about 2 days , the knock was gone. I am afraid to stop using the diesel kleen now. I had been using Stanadyne all along since the truck was new. I plan to stop using the diesel kleen and probably switch to power service and see what happens. I need the anti gel in Power Service for our winters. My truck has 15000 miles now, so it is light service except for the trip to the mountains in the spring with my trailer and the trip back in the fall. I think I should rent a truck!!

 

[opjohnny]

I have the same fear. I have a tandem axel car trailer and a 4,000 lb camper. Neither one is much of a load for this thing. When I drive it I always make sure I bring it up to temp even if it means taking the long way home.

 

[TNowak]

The only problem that Ive noticed with mine is when I pusy foot it around, and try to see some different mpgs. After I shut it off it will take two cycles to start like it was building up or something or it was below zero. So now I give it a good healthy beating before I lay it to rest.

 

[Buffalo]

I had the same experience as Grayhackle but, the dealer never told me about additives. I found out about them from reading here & on the DTR.



I started using Primrose 405. It took quite awhile & a trip to CA. with the trailer & the "knocking" went away. Now, I supplement the Primrose with a bit of Marvel Mystery Oil.



The "knocking" would occur between idle & 1400 rpms. After 1400 rpms, it would go away. It's been gone since about last Nov. , now.



Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[rbattelle]

Mine's a daily driver (never towed anything), never any problems. And I'm a very conservative driver. I occassionally do a full-throttle run - maybe once a week?



I run Stanadyne.



-Ryan

 

[rjohnson916]

I’ve got 30K on my 2005 I’ve got 3:73, 48re hardware and 4x4. I purchased my truck last year with anticipation to buy a 40ft Formula Yacht approximately 200 miles +/- . I ended up purchasing a rental home in Texas instead. Anyhow long & short I drive my truck empty 99% of the time, and like a Corvette 60% of the time. Not one problem year to date. Truck runs beautifully and strong and continues to get decent milage.



-Ryan

 

[CajunDieselMan]

Thanks everyone, I feel better knowing that I'm not the only one not towing 12,000 lbs with every trip. About the crawfish now, looks like those two women (Rita and Katrina) ate more than their fair share out of the market. Don't know what kind of season it will be. I hope the weather people took those names out of the books---we're sick of hearing about them down here. :{