New member

[RNey]

Well Richard... welcome to the Diesel Head Club. These guys are great. Long time members like Harvey are a wealth of knowledge to be mined. I bought mine new in 2008 and didnt get the deal you got for sure. We have closely identical trucks it sounds like.

The guys have covered it pretty well and I can agree with what has been tossed your way. I can't add much except for one thing. About driving with EB on all the time. That's fine for sure... in dry weather. HOWEVER... use caution in inclement weather, rain, snow, ice, etc etc. When that EB kicks in... it may cause your rear end to lose traction and you will be in for the ride of your life. I know. It happened to me on a smooth road with wet leaves... on a downhill curve. I had skid marks in my shorts that day and it was only dumb luck nobody was coming the other way cause I needed every inch of that road to keep that spinning 21 foot 7300 lbs silver missle from hitting anything. Dumb luck saved me. Not sure if that caveat is included in the Owners Manual or not. Can't remember really.



Other than that. . I have nothing else to add to the list. Enjoy your truck and make sure you put a good load on her once in awhile, keep your idling down to nothing, keep trips long if possible. They love to work hard... heavier the better. !!

Thanks for the welcome, SNGLESHOT. On the exhaust brake: I do keep it on all the time, but will be mindful when driving in slippery conditions. It's effectively like having rear-only brakes, and I can see that in frosty / snowy conditions the truck will go into a tailspin. I have lived in the west since 2003 and my snow driving is a little rusty, so during our wet winters out here I will have to be especially vigilant.



On loading the engine: most of my driving is on the freeway at 1800-2000 RPM in 6th gear. In town, I gear down to 4th and keep the RPMs in the 1500 - 2000 range. Occasionally, I use WOT, especially up an on-ramp or steep hill, to work the engine hard and exercise the VGT.



(On a final note: Mr. Barlow posted here at TDR that the fuel filter can be changed without removing the wheel and splash guard. I will use this tip next time as it seems to be a simpler solution to the problem)