That's a whole lotta nothin' right there! I can't remember the last time I saw a stretch of road that is that straight for that long, it's begging for a speed test of the components.

 

I also gotta throw it out to my wife and kids. They are such great travelers. They never complain and always enjoy the process, even my toddler. Heck, I complain more than they do LOL. Thanks a bunch again for all the well wishes guys. Means a ton.

I will get more into that how the truck is performing a little later, but let me just say he's doing flawless and better than I expected. I will say on a funny note, every little noise I hear scares the crap out of me.

 

Nowadays every noise, smell, or anything that even remotely seems like it might not be normal has me contemplating pulling over to the side of the road for a full inspection.

Glad to hear everything's off to a good start.

 

Yo Byron...you into country and have pandora, turn on Whitey Morgan station...

 

Glad the weather cleared and Raton Pass is open.

Safe travels again!

 

Im curious to hear how it went climbing Raton Pass. We pulled it this summer but with the SXE it was boring

 

Just a quick update. Raton Pass was uneventful. I don't know, 3rd gear and 55 sound about right? I haven't been pushing my truck all that hard. I'm trying to get back home unscathed I guess. LOL It's been a beautiful clear sunny day mid-range temps and no issues. I'll report more later when we get to our spots evening.

 

Oh man, Raton! Haven't been down there in a while. Raton has a great little Western wear store. If you want some legit custom-fit ****-kickers, that is the place to go!

 

New Mexico and my traveling companion.





Ike and Sally... Appropriately named by my seven-year-old daughter. The Cars movie comes into play here.

 

Ok so how the truck is doing...and the trailer. Everythign so far is good. Numbers are below for those who wanna know:

EOT--220 hard pulls, 203 average
EGTs---1150 is the highest I have seen
IPR--nevr above 65% on the hardest pull
HPOP--2900-3000 on the hardest pulls
MPG (hand calced) best was 10.3, worst was 8.7 (my lie-o-meter is actually pretty accurate here)
Boost is always 22 on hard pulls
Exhaust Brake (SO glad I did not get rid of this like I considered). I never see above 25 EBP. I hear anything around 40 is dangerous for valve/piston contact
Valley clean and dry, no oil leaks, no fuel leaks, not using any oil.

We still have 2-3 days of travel, so anything can happen, but so far all is really good. I am REALLY glad I did the overloads as well. Here is the odd thing. This trailer is heavier than our last by 4k pounds. It tows like a dream. I know guys always say that, but seriously, when cruising, I don't even know it's back there. Here is the other odd thing. I try to keep it at 65, but the truck seems like it wants to sit at 70. Not sure if that makes any sense, but it is just happy there. I don't have a problem doing 70 other than my G rated tires are speed rated at 75 mph, so I get a tad nervous going that fast with that much weight. The slowest I have seen on a hard pull was Raton pass, and I was at 55 in 3rd gear. I could have pushed to 60, but why? It was happy cruising that speed and pulling hard in 3rd. The other nice thing is that my tires on the trailer are staying cool to the touch. That's the nice thing about traveling in winter. We hit some crosswinds for a bit getting into Santa Fe. It caused a little drift, but nothing white knuckle. In other words, this thing is solid. I can see many good trips in our near future. If a teaching gig works out full time, or my own business, we will be traveling in the summers. I am very happy with our set up. If I forgot anything you wanna hear about, ask away.

The only negative is that I have developed a very slow seep on my rear pinion seal. It just noticed it at our last fuel stop. It is more wet with the dust sticking...nothing dripping yet. That's it for now.

 

That sounds good...too good even. I wouldn't talk too much about it LOL. I would love to do some traveling and would like to get me an Airstream when I sell my other house. Hope your luck just keeps on going and it's good to hear your progress.

 

LOL....I actually do the opposite. I say it out loud to scare any trouble away. I figure if I say it rather than try to hide, it won't show it's ugly face. Seriously though, I don't remember a trip that I have taken, towing a trailer, and not had some sort of something happen. Whether it's multiple tire blowouts, a bad clutch, a bad high pressure oil pump, something is always happening. I almost just expect it these days. So, whatever happens, is gonna happen.

We are going to Benson, AZ for this afternoon and gonna pay a visit to Tombstone. For you map geeks like me, check out the town on Google. Looks like fun and a scenic, quiet place to stay. I'm already looking forward to 4 on the road and not 9 or 10 like the last couple of days.

 

Nice numbers, what tune? Tires stock size? Manual transmission right?

 

Great to hear you got things dialed in and the trip is going well.

I know exactly how you feel. I installed the Golden Nugget and the truck no longer drips oil. This is the first time in 4 years that I don't have any oil drops on the ground after I park and I don't know what to do with myself. I keep checking underneath because I just know something else is going to leak but it hasn't.

Enjoy Tombstone!

 

Thanks Brian! It's nice to know someone shares in the sentiments. LOL!

Cody's Light Tow tune. I have also run it in Daily and I like both. Yes, stock tire size and ZF-6 for the win. I love this transmission.