RV Towing and Smarty Jr.

[Jack in Alaska]

4300 mile Smarty Jr. towing trip

Bob,



You asked me to keep track of the results of my trip home to Alaska from Az. using my new Smarty Jr. We arrived in Anchorage Sat. and I just filled my truck so I could calculate the last of the trip.



My Truck: 2004. 5 Dodge 3500 CTD; 3. 73 gears; 6 speed; DRW; mileage at start of trip = 41822 miles. at end = 46133 miles

Truck weighed 9740 lbs at Alaska scale at Yukon border near end of trip. GCVW towing = 24,400 lbs.



I installed Smarty Jr. on April 3/17/08... Smarty #2 and used it to run around in Az. , no towing, for several weeks.

4/3/08 358 miles/24. 63 gals. = 14. 53 mpg probably low due to a heavy foot to show it off.

4/11/08 298 miles/16. 8 gals. = 16. 8 mpg

4/15/08 39 miles/ 2. 3 gals = 16. 8 mpg topped off tank prior to leaving Az.



Hitched up my 15k lb. 5th. whl. ; Smarty still on #2; had excellent power increase for towing; went over Deadman Pass in 6th gear. ; EGT's were normally 900F on hills with 1250F max. when hammering it. Flat cruising at 62 mph... EGT = 700F and boost at 8-10 psi; considerable smoke even when going up low hills or light accel. on flat ground; made a mess of my 5th. whl. and back of truck.



4/17/08 726 miles/75. 0 gals = 9. 7 mpg Casa Grande, Az. to Nephi, Utah through Las Vegas; low hills; 30-40 mph head winds; 62 mph speed

4/18/08 384 miles/35. 8 gals = 10. 8 mpg Nephi to Mt. Home, Idaho; no wind, flat road; approx. 64 mph speed

4/19/08 286 miles/29. 7 gals = 9. 6 mpg Mt. Home to Pendleton, Or. ; no wind; hilly terrain; approx. 62-64 mph speed

4/21/08 385 miles/30. 7 gals = 12. 5 mpg Pendleton to Wenatchee, Wash. ; no wind; hilly; approx 60 mph speed; no trailer for 25 miles of this

Avg... ... 1781 miles/171. 8 gals = 10. 36 mpg... ... ..... towing



Parked and stored the 5th. whl. in Wenatchee; put the Smarty on #1 for economy. The 30 extra HP was noticeable, some smoke on acceleration.

(All Canadian liter vol. converted to gals. ; money was par)



4/22/08 303 miles/17. 5 gals = 17. 3 mpg Wenatchee over Snoqualmie Pass to Seattle to Burlington, Wash. ; freeways; no wind; 65-70 mph speed

4/23/08 500 miles/28. 4 gals = 17. 4 mpg Burlington to Prince George, BC Canada; low hills; no wind; approx. 62 mph;

4/23/08 239 miles/13. 5 gals = 17. 7 mpg Pr. George to Smithers, BC; hilly; approx. 62 mph; $4. 93/gal

4/25/08 738 miles/44 gals = 16. 7 mpg; Smithers to Whitehorse, Yukon Terr. ; crooked mountainous roads, some gravel; approx. 55 mph; $5. 57/gal

4/30/08 750 miles/42 gals = 17. 9 mpg Whitehorse to Anchorage, Alaska; crooked hilly roads; approx. 62 mph speed; $4. 19/gal

Avg... . 2530 miles/145. 4 gals = 17. 4 mpg... ... ... no tow



Total trip length = 4311 miles



Summary:



Towing... ... Pro: in #2 it provided good extra power for hills/mountains. ; lower EGT than stock

Con: slightly less mpg than stock (normally get over 11 mpg) ; way too much smoke



No tow... ... Pro: in #1 it had good extra power; EGT remained low

Con: no noticable increase in fuel economy from stock; some smoke but tolerable.





I am glad I bought it and am looking forward to computer downloaded mod's to kill some of the smoke.



I grenaded a driveline bearing and u-jt. so I put Smarty to stock for trip into dealer to repair. It is now back on #1 for general driving around. I have not used #3 yet and probably good considering the u-jt. problem. It will work up my interest soon I am sure. :-laf



I hope this helps you out in some way (candy bars) and I am looking forward to mod's.



Jack Rathert

Anchorage, Alaska

 

[Bob4x4]

Advanced timing produces more particulates,hence the factory software will retard timing on heavy accel. You can see fuel timing real time with the star scan



Bob

 

[AH64ID]

Jack...



Good info. I think there may be 2 reasons you saw worse MPG's when towing. 30 of the 70 hp come from longer duration, so it stands to reason that you will use more fuel if you use that hp... . Also my Dad saw a drop in mpgs when towing on #1, but what we figured was he used to have to drive the pryo, now he drives how he wants, so he goes faster up grades, thus more fuel... If he hadn't driven the pyro before the Smarty we are confident he would have seen an increase... .

 

[MrFixit]

Advanced timing produces more particulates,hence the factory software will retard timing on heavy accel. You can see fuel timing real time with the star scan



Bob

More particulates for the freeway on ramp smog cameras to notice you :-laf

 

[pwr2tow]

Using more fuel is..... using more fuel no matter how you slice it. Most power upgrades use less fuel while allowing better performance. I bought the Smarty Jr. because it was developed for towing in mind. Well it does tow better than stock, just was not made aware of the down sides like poorer fuel mileage and soot covered trailers.

Hey Bob Wagner, can I send my Smarty Jr. back for a refund?

 

[MrFixit]

Advanced timing produces more particulates,hence the factory software will retard timing on heavy accel. You can see fuel timing real time with the star scan



Bob

Maybe this is what Marco is doing. Marco, do we have any updates on the update?

 

[pwr2tow]

Maybe this is what Marco is doing. Marco, do we have any updates on the update?

From what I've read on different threads and different websites about the Jr. issues is the new beta programs are not any better than the standard program. Could this be another start of a fiascal like the 98. 5-2002 trucks with the Smarty. :-{}. Where's that stirring the pot smily. :-laf

 

[AH64ID]

From what I've read on different threads and different websites about the Jr. issues is the new beta programs are not any better than the standard program. Could this be another start of a fiascal like the 98. 5-2002 trucks with the Smarty. :-{}. Where's that stirring the pot smily. :-laf

Actually the beta is much better than the standard software, I would say only 30% of the smoke remains... .

 

[MA2LA]

I finally got the beta loaded on JR so i will load it on the truck tomorrow. I finally got my filters clean and good to go so I can give a better assessment. Its just kinda wierd that I am seeing so much smoke now, When I first got Jr I had very little smoke, so either the temp difference is making the smoke worse or I have other problems, I also wonder if my moded CPS is doing anything to make it worse.

 

[MrFixit]

I think temp plays into it a little as I drove mine to work the other day andit was low 60' for the morning commute. Not much smoke on level 1 when I got on it to pass etc. When I left work and it was mid 80's it smoke quite a bit when I got on it to pass some one on the freeway.

 

[AH64ID]

Yes the outside temp seems to be causing more smoke. Which is why there was very little smoke around Christmas when it was released. The other commonality is 04. 5+ trucks with hand shakers.

 

[Jack in Alaska]

More on cause of smoke.

More on my smoke problem after the long trip... ... ... ... I had rough idle on start in the mornings several days during my trip but it cleared up in 30 secs. After getting home it took several minutes to clear. When driving it w/Smarty in stock it smoked a more than it had previously in stock. I changed out the fuel filter (7 micron) with only 11k miles on it and vola... ... ... . all was back to normal. Smooth idle immediately and no smoke in stock.

I am thinking that some of the smoke on my long trp was attributed to that as well as my truck being an 04. 5 six speed.



I really like the S Jr. and I am glad i purchased it. Also looking forward to Bob & Marco doing their improvement on it.

 

[MA2LA]

Well i did some running around today with the new software and on constant grades and normal cruising it seems to have gotten better but it seems like the initial tip in on the throttle is as bad if not worse. I may be having other problms so tomarrow I am retuning to stock to see what happens.

 

[Jack in Alaska]

more Smarty

Did a 200 mile trip today at 55 mph max. over mountainous, windy roads. Truck bed loaded, 3 people, no tow and Smarty on #1.

I got 19 mpg. That is the best mileage I ever got. I also tried to keep the rpm's up and the smoke problem was way less. Maybe it takes the driver to become educated in how to drive with the Smarty.

 

[MA2LA]

Running around town yesterday with it on #2 I did notice less smoke than the other day. the only thing that was different was tha fact that i got fuel at a diffrent place than before. It goes back to stock this morning to see what it does. I may have a turbo on the way outsince I'm seeing some white smoke.

 

[MrFixit]

Bob, anymore word from Marco on this?

 

[DZLROKET]

Bob, anymore word from Marco on this?

I second the ?

 

[AH64ID]

Yeah... my emails and phone calls have gone unanswered...

 

[MA2LA]

well I'm back to stock for now and I do see some light haze around the bottom end but it clears up , I do still have a haze that seems to only be noticed at night.

 

[DZLROKET]

Yeah... my emails and phone calls have gone unanswered...

Yeah hopefully Marco is too busy working on beta #3 to respond! (smile)