Westbound in August
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Westbound in August
My family is heading West at the end of August for three weeks. I have never pulled at elevation. We are driving from Indiana to Yellowstone area and back through South Dakota. So know you know my simple potential routes. I am not sure what to expect for power or mpg pulling 7000# with a V10 in my Excursion. Any insight on the prior mentioned things would be great.
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Joined: Oct 2015
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From: Wyoming
There are a multiple routes to Yellowstone in Wyoming. Some are easier than others. I think the route that goes through Buffalo (16) is easier than the route that goes through Dayton (14). I did 14 once pulling a UTV on a trailer and I had to stop and let things cool down. That was in my old truck. Still, it was steep. 16 has a few climbs also but I haven't done it with a trailer. Bypassing the Bighorn National Forest altogether may be your best best for flat traveling but there are some great camping spots in the Bighorns. Casper to Shoshoni should be flatter but it's been over 30 years since I drove that route.
If you're coming back through South Dakota I would have no problem taking 14 on the way back.
If you're coming back through South Dakota I would have no problem taking 14 on the way back.
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Scenic Route
I would rather take a bit of extra time getting there and have a more scenic oportunnistic drive out. Access to good cheap boondocking campsites is a plus. I will need one or two of those on our way out.
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Joined: Jul 2010
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From: Media PA
Either the 4.10 or factory optional 4.30 gears with stock (or 285/75R16) tires is a much better starting point than the more common 3.73 gears, the 6.8 likes to rev and the deeper gears take it up where the power lives.
I use custom tunes from 5Star, the power really doesn't increase much at all but the improved trans shift strategy makes them a great towing performance improvement. I have both the Tow and Performance tunes in both 87 and 89 Octane as well as a 87 Economy tune, I didn't care for how aggressive the Tow tunes were in respect to downshifting out of OD while climbing, for me the Perf tunes allow holding OD longer on grades and that has helped with better MPGs.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jun 2011
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From: TN
I would suggest a larger trans cooler if you do not have one and have your coolant system serviced.. Also, have some kind of live time monitoring for fluid temps to keep you ahead of a potential problem. I have a Scanguage 2 but the Torque app has more ability to monitor multiple sensors in real time.
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