Towing and hills

[Bertram65]

Last weekend I went on a 800 mile round trip towing my 5th wheel, I would guess the weight of the trailer is around 9K lbs. Tows fine on flat ground and most hills, I run about 66 MPH just over 2000 RPM in OD. On a couple big hills the truck just slows down even with the pedal to the floor, I have gauges so I would watch the boost, it would be at max, about 23lbs, once I got to 59MPH I would manually take it out of OD, it would go out on it's own at about 57-58MPH, but manually I could let off slightly to take a little strain of the driveline. Once in 3rd with the TQ locked I would continue on up the hill at around 55MPH which is around 2600 RPM without issue, although still running 23lbs boost. I assume this is normal, my truck is a 235HP version as it has MA emmsions, I have been thinking about what I can do to fix this, my choices are increase the performance of this truck or trade it for a new '05, Would a '05 or a '03 HO have been able to breeze right up these hills? I see so many posts with people towing way more than 9K and saying they do not even know the trailer is there, could there be something wrong with my truck?

 

[robertyoke]

do want a new truck?



for less $$ you can bomb this one.

add tst box with gauges< $900 keep box on lower settings!

you will like power :-laf

 

[gonzo2]

Bertram, I doubt there is a problem with your truck. It's doing pretty good when you think about what trucks were doing 15 years or so ago. I doubt that anyone towing 9k or so doesn't feel it. I know I do, it's just relative.

I don't have an auto but I find on bigger mountain passes, even with my HO, I still end up downshifting and end up running in around the 2600 - 2700 mark as well. Fortunatley fith gear lets me run about 10mph faster than your third.

I think with a new 600 you would still end up out of OD on the bigger hills just not as soon as presently and wouldn't end up with your foot to the floor quite as often.

Remember just a couple of years ago we were all running around being impressed with the capabilities of these trucks before the 3rd gen HO's.

 

[DPelletier]

My camper/trailer combo is about 10,000 lbs. We have a pass near here that is as steep as it gets (the local tow companies park at the top to wait for burned up trannies, etc. ). With my 235hp auto, I would have to downshift to 2nd and would hold 42-45mph (bone stock). With my '03 HO, I downshift to 5th and can maintain 60mph at about 2700 rpm. Only you can decide which way to go and a box on your SO would definitely help the performance. For me, I wanted to remain stock with less EGT worries and warranty intact, plus my 47RE wouldn't have handled much more power so the decision was easy.



Dave

 

[Bertram65]

Thanks for the feedback, I can not afford to take a $10K hit, depreciation + cost of new truck so I guess I will look into increasing the power, I have the 48RE, so it should be able to handle a moderate increase. I have read quite a bit on here and the volumizer looks like it might be the best thing for me.

 

[klaybus]

Towing

Buy an EZ or similar & you'll be HAPPY! I noticed a huge difference when towing. Exhaust & AFE will also help a tad with EGT's. The BOX will make a HUGE difference while towing.



Clay