Hey Guys,

First off sorry fo the long post but its been a while since I have posted. As some of you remeber we sold the boat and bought a 5er to do some traveling. So the wife siad lets go to Wildwood for the 4th. I say great we book a site in Cape May and head out. Needless to say I didnt get the new injectors and tubo installed as I had hoped so I was alittle nervous.

Despite my fears the truck did great hauling the 12k 5er. I manged to squeak out 11.5 mpg, and it was about 400 miles 1 way for us. Its been a long time since I hauled something this heavy so I set the cruise at 60, put it in Tow/Haul and let the 6.0/TS do its thing, and it did great.

Some temps for ya, on the way down the ambient air temps were around 85-90, the ECT stayed aound 200-205, and the EOT was around 208* and at its highest around 217* when pulling hills. Otherwise it was within 6-8*. On the way home the ambient air temps were anywhere from 95-106* at its highest ECT stayed aound 206* and EOT stayed around 210*, once we got into NY and the sun went down and the ambient temps dropped into the 80's the ECT went down to 189-195 and the EOT dropped down to 195-200*. The truck seemed to be happy and averaged a 8* spread, peak EGT's were about 1100* pulling steep grades, and seemed to hover betweem 600 - 800*.

Also I was runn GearHeads Tow Tune, and I was impressed with the power the truck had. I never felt under powered and it seemed to like the 58-62 mph range. That kept me in the 1600-1800 rpm range.

I will say that I dont remeber the fan being that loud, but the boat only weighd aound 5k so I never really worked the truck that hard with the boat on it.

I'm looking forward to installing the 155's and Power Max, Updated tuning before the next trip. I will make the time. I will say this, after this trip I am thinking about a regear either a 4.10 or maybe 4.30, I dont like the feel of the Coopers, they feel squishy to me so I think before we go that far agin I will be switching back to the BFG's I had which felt rock solid towing.

As far as the GooseBox goes, it made the tow enjoyable, and Im glad I went for it. I have no regrets what so ever. There was no chunking, and the air bag and shock combo did a great job, I kept the bag at about 35 psi.

The air compressor on the truck needs to be replaced it kept blowing the fuse so I finally got about 45-50 psi in the bags and left it there. I will be looking into a Viar Pump and a 5 gallon or so storage tank that will help me in the event of a flat on the road.

All in all I am completely happy with my 6.0 and the way it performed and I cant wait to see how it does with the Power Max and the new Injectors.

Sarge

 

Hey sarge, long time no see. Glad you had a great trip. My 05 is all stock power wise and yes, it loves the cruise set at 60 pulling my 31' 5th wheel. I'm probably between 13 and 14 k loaded and she seems to average between 11 and 13 mpg on cruise depending on terrain. That of course is an average over a full tank at hiway speeds. All bets off in town starting and stopping that load. Glad to have you back. Mike

 

Welcome back Andy - glad the trip went well!

 

If you dont mind me asking, why the rear gear?

 

Reason I ask is if you are confident in your trailer and it's condition, these trucks with 3.73s pull like freight trains at 70-75mph. That puts them right at 2k rpm's where they make their torque. My 6.0 did and 6.4 does hate pulling between 50-70 mph. They lug and constantly downshift. I understand people are comfortable at different speeds towing than others. I have just found that they pull great at 2k rpm's and I have gotten my best mileage towing there because the truck doesn't have to downshift. Obviously speed limits dictate this to. Just thought I would ask. If I towed alot at 55-70, I would consider a re gear to a 4.10.

 

I have no reservations abouyt towing at higher speeds, for me its just I feel safer at 58-65 mph, its not me its all the people around me that has me nervous. With 13k and 37' behind me its nice to know if I have to make a move I have time.

The only reason I would consider a regear is because I would like to go up to a 305 or 315 tire eventually. I have 285's right now. It pulled great even at 1800 rpm where I spent most of my time. That was right about 62mph, the trans didnt down shift much either, not I dont know if that was luck or the tow tune combined with Tow/haul mode on the tranny.

If I were to regear, it may come along the same time I do a Dually conversion...if nd when that happens.

Like I said I was comfortabe towing, and could have gone faster but for the traffic conditions it was the sweet spot for me I guess.

Sarge

 

In Ca. 3 axles or more towing is limited to 55 mph. The cops have never bothered me set at 60 and the truck gets it's best mileage there while towing. Empty she likes 65 to 70. I can really up the mpg by driving 45 but I'd go crazy doing that on a long haul.

 

Sorry for the multi-qoute I've been getting between 10 and 12 mpg the last 8 months we've had this bunkhouse that's 8500# light. Haven't scaled it since we've put anything in it. I tow on the interstate at 70 mph and generally there's no issue for the truck to maintain that speed. There is a place about 30 miles north of here were the interstate is about a 7% climb to a tunnel/pass. The truck would keep the speed up but the EGT were climbing above 1400F and I didn't want to push my luck.Where is your pryometer probe? I'll see those temps running down the road empty with my stock tuned truck. But the probe for my truck is in the exhaust manifold right outside #8...so it's allot hotter there than anywhere else in the exhaust.I almost never hear the fan on my truck except will pulling or if I've got the a/c going with the high idle on. The amount of air that thing will move is straight out impressive.I really like the Michlin X-Radials under my truck. I keep them at 60psi on all four corners...except when pulling the 5th wheel. Then I take the rear axle to 80 psi and there's no squirm back there. The 3.73LS does fine with my truck; yeah 4.10 or even 4.30 would give me all kinds of low end power. But the trade off in the fuel burn rate at higher speeds (60mph and up) isn't worth it for me since I do use the truck as a daily driver when the weather is crappy.I've been doing some thinking about those "helper air springs" for my truck and wondered how well they helped the OEM suspension when there's that much weight in the box. Granted I'm only putting 900-1000 pounds of downward force on the 5th wheel...it's enough the rear end squats a little and points the headlight up a little higher than I like.

 

Sarge,
Good report...

Now it's time to step up to a '12 dually!

Just kiddin...

 

I can't speak to the combo that you are going to try, but my Stage Is and 64mm tows great with the CC at 60 mph.

I haul live cargo though, so I don't go higher then that for their comfort. Also, like you, I'm more concerned about the other drivers. You would think that traveling mainly in an agriculture region, you would think more people would be smarter about how to drive around vehicles hauling trailers, but nnnnnnnoooooooooo.

Glad that the trip went well for you. Nothing like towing with a 6.0. I see a lot of 6.4 and 6.7s on the road now, but I'm still happy with my 6.0 and usually I get tired of vehicles after 3 yrs and get something new. I've had this one almost twice as long (end of summer it will be).

 

I have the air lift bags in my truck, which I keep at about 40 psi when towing the 5er, the goose box adapter on the trailer has its own bag and 2 shocks, I keep that one at 35 psi. Thats where its seems to make the most comfortable ride.

With that combo of air pressures the truck sits totally level and the whole combination feels good, well except for the tire squirm.

Troy, I would love a 2012 Dually for sure but with being a business owner, taking on a payment like that in this economy wouldnt be a good buisness decision. Also I only drive the truck about 12k a year if that. It sits in the garage mostly all winter and I use the old 85 K20, so thats what really makes me stop and think. But if we begin to tow more, and farther its not out of the question.

I am excited to see how it does with the 155's and Power Max, should be a little better but it didnt do bad to begin with. And yes my EGT is in the exhasut manifold as well. I may put one in the down pipe at some point tho.

Sarge