Tripple Pulling - What Modification?

[drhebert]

I'm a new member, Want to know what modicications I should do to my truck to best meet my needs. I will be pulling a 5th wheel, 8000lbs dry and a boat, 3600lbs dry. Total weight should be about 13500lbs when loaded. The truck is still stock. From my research I'm planning to get a edge comp chip, pyrometer, trans temp gauge and 4" exhaust. Local guy says about $1400. 00 . Would these be the right mods or is there a better suggestion? Is the price good? I really looking for someone to point me in the right direction to make the right choice's before making any mods. Can anyone help a rookie?

 

[TBOB]

DOUBLR PULL

DRHEBERT, WELL THE PULL PART SEEMS OK, BUT IF YOU ARE GOING WEST ON I 70 OR OVER MONARCH PASS AND SUCH, AN E BRAKE IS A MUST. I PULL A 15K 5ER AND HAVE DONE BOTH HILLS. I CAN SMELL THE BRAKES AS OTHER PEOPLE PASS GOING THE OTHER WAY, NO E BRAKE. CHECK WITH CENTRAL MOTIVE POWER OR WESTERN RETARDER OR ATS. IF YOU WANT E MAIL ME, CHEVYBOB55@AOL. COM[/email]. I CAN HELP YOU INSTALL THE THINGS YOU ARE LOOKING FOR. TBOB

 

[Underdog]

Something that you will have to take into consideration

is length. You mentioned weight but, I didn't see the lenght

of your 5th. wheel or your boat. almost every state has

different lenght laws. Some states prohibit towing triple

for recreational vehicles.

 

[roadranger]

Welcome to the TDR!

You'll get a wealth of information from here...



Some other things to consider for your tow;

you'll probably need transmission upgrades for your auto,

a fuel pressure gauge would be good,

a better/bigger air filter,

and a good set of towing mirrors.



Your overall Gross Combined Weight with truck and all tows will be in the neighborhood of 18,800, which is within DC's range of what the truck can do stock.



Hauling doubles thru the Rockies will work these Cummins!

 

[drhebert]

Thanks guys, for the replies.



Answers to your question ;

I have tow mirrors, total length will be 69' which is legal in CO. I'm not planning any trips over big passes while dual pulling. I suppose it could happen but most place we go with both boat and 5er aren't over the passes.



New Questions:

E brake ; Is this needed if I don't plan on going over passes? any suggestions, what kind, where to buy, price range?



Fuel Presure Gauge ; what does a presure gauge do for me other than let me watch the pres. What do you do if pres isn't right? Remember, I'm not much of an engine guy.



transmission Upgrade ; This is one of my biggest concerns. Do I really need it? if so, what king, where to buy, price range?



Air Filter ; Seems like I read a lot about K&N filters. Any suggestions, kind, model, price range? I assume this is an easy install.



Again, Thanks for the help !!!



David

 

[BV]

Towing Laws

This Towing Law Site might be helpful to some.

 

[pwr2tow]

I also triple tow with the weight in my signature and with those 3:54 gears and an auto transmission you are not going to be happy towing that kind of weight unless you modify the engine and transmission. In my signature is what I did and I have more power than I need for towing. If you don't like to run the rice boy crowd once in a while then I would replace the comp with the EZ or VA box or just install stage II injectors and modify the transmission.



Do not use an exhaust brake on an automatic transmission unless you modify the transmission, DC even recommends against this.



Fuel pressure gauge is good for monitoring how much fuel is going to the vp44 injector pump. Your injector pump needs an adequate supply of fuel to keep from trashing itself.



If you need more air I would suggest a BHAF (big honking air filter) instead of the oil type filters, some have had bad experiences with oil and grit getting through the oil type filters, me included.



If you tow that weight over mountain passes I would suggest a bigger air filter and a better flowing exhaust system to help keep EGT's (exhaust gas temperatures) under control. That brings me to another gotta have EGT gauge. get one.



Fuel pressure gauge, EGT gauge, transmission temp gauge, Boost gauge, are essential item to have for towing allot of weight, especially over mountains.



Ron

 

[Dbonzi]

Don't go by the charts that are posted on this site or any other site. Ask a highway patrol!!!

The charts for Minnesota are all different. Some say you can tow 2 trailers some say you can't, like the one in the above post.

I ask a trooper and got the real law info which changed in 2002 by the way. Be on the safe side.



Dennis

 

[NVR FNSH]

GET THE EXHAUST BRAKE!!!! I use mine every time I drive my CTD regardless of whether I"m towing or not. I tow a 36ft 5th wheel and the E-brake is indispensible. I gross at 20-21K.



Brian

 

[Underdog]

Something that I forgot to mention,and I don't see where

anyone else did. Some states require more than the basic

drivers license if a person tows double trailers. Some states

require a class 1 ( class A ) drivers license.

 

[ronco]

What DBonzi said. I looked at the site listed above, and it differs from another site I have looked at, at least for my state. Make an informed decision.



Ronco

 

[pwr2tow]

drhebert,



You asked what transmission and where. Since you live in colorado I would suggest looking up www.atsdieselperformance.com for your transmission upgrades. Give them a call they will help you out. Just point on the blue url and click it will take you to their site.



Ron

 

[Dkevdog]

I would not reccomend running the Comp on anything less than level 1 while towing or you'll have EGT's off the scale.



An EZ or VA would be far better for towing that kind of load.



Kev

 

[Texas Diesel]

Originally posted by drhebert

Thanks guys, for the replies.



New Questions:

E brake ; Is this needed if I don't plan on going over passes? any suggestions, what kind, where to buy, price range?



David

David, go take a long look at the parking/emergency brakes on your 4 wheel disc truck. They are toy size drums and shoes INSIDE the rear rotors. IF your main brakes were to fail, would you trust your family's lives to the electric brakes on the trailer? I put a E-brake for safety's sake even though I live is flat Texas. IMO, the E-brake is the first mod you need considering the loads you plan to tow. It doesnt take much a down hill grade to kill you.

Plus, the E-brake will pay for itself in reduced brake wear.

 

[drhebert]

Thanks for all the info guys. It really helps.



Note: There is a updated towing law list in the 2003 Trailer Life yearly book. Not the monthly magazine but in the book they publish once a year. I found it at Campers World. I haven't found an update list on the web anywhere yet.

 

[dvaughan]

Tripple Pulling- What modifications

drhebert, why don't you take a trip to BD's web site (www.bd-power.com) and ask what you would need and how much. You could take a holiday to British Columbia and get BD to install and pay Canadian Money(which is worth half of an American buck) and then drive back down to the States and not declare it. You will find that BD has a very good reputation in the diesel market place, they sell them all over the States and Canada. Check it out, and you would not pay BC sales tax.

 

[pwr2tow]

drhebert,

After rereading your post and thinking a little more on it I have come to one more option, maybe.



If you tow in third direct (overdrive off) then you could get by with what your local guy suggests. $1,400. 00 for every thing he lists is not too bad of a price. You probably could get by without the 4" exhaust if all your going to add is the EZ or VA box. If you don't go over about 60 Hp extra ( VA or EZ or stage I injectors) you do not need the transmission upgrades if you tow in 3rd and probably even if you tow in OD but not in the hills, stay in 3rd. The loud engine is what was one of the decideing factors in getting transmission mods so I could tow in OD and not be driven nuts from the loud noise of the engine all day.



One more suggestion, You could buy the comp box first and run that to see if you need the other stuff. DO NOT I repeat DO NOT run the comp box higher than level 2 or you will smoke your transmission. To insure you do not run more power than the drive tran can handle do not hook up the pump wire, then the comp box will be just like a EZ. This route would probably save you some money in the long haul, as you would not have to sell the VA or EZ and get a comp box. Then if you decide you want more power and money is available then you could get the transmission upgrades and hook up your pump wire.



Ron

 

[speedracer]

Just to elaborate on the fuel pressure issue for you, one of the few weak points on these trucks is the lift pump. It's an electric fuel pump which supplies fuel to the injection pump, and they have a bad habit of failing. The injection pump is designed to have surplus fuel run through it for cooling and lubrication. If the lift pump fails, the injection pump is not getting enough fuel flow for these purposes, and will be damaged. However, it is not always seat-of-the-pants evident when the lift pump fails. So many of us have installed fuel pressure gauges to monitor the health of the lift pump. Do a search on fuel pressure with the search feature and you'll have enough reading to keep you busy for quite a while. You just want to keep the injection pump happy, 'cause if it doesn't fail until you're out of warranty, it's big $.

 

[drhebert]

Ok, Lets see if I understand all this info:



A MUST TO HAVE:

Bigger air filter

Gauges, EGT, fuel, boost, transmission

4' exhaust - I live in high altitude area (Denver)





E brake - no, because I have auto transmission.





Either Comp with transmission upgrade

or

EZ and no transmission upgrade.



Injectors? haven't figured that one out yet. Sounds like a yes if I upgrade the transmission.



I believe I will go with the comp and transmission upgrade. I'm sure that will mean injectors of some kind. I will talked to a couple of local guys (TBOB & BARRYG) who have offered thier help and see what they think.



I really appreciate everyone's replies> But I thought for $35. 00 I would get just one answer and it would be the perfect answer every time. Whats up with all these suggestion and opinions?

 

[pwr2tow]

If your going to upgrade the transmission then I would seriously consider an exhaust brake for towing in the mountains.



If you need any more confussion just ask.



Ron