@brokestroke , you run the ceramic beads or another compound? Do you run these in your 5th wheel trailer tires as well? What about Centramatic balancers on the hubs of the trailers, ever tried or considered those?

I used to run ceramic beads in my sport bike motorcycle (2008 Hayabusa & 2003 GSX-R 600) tires, but that was years ago and I have been out of touch with the balancing beads for the most part. Researching these things can be as bad as looking at motor oil brands...

 

My dually has 460k miles on it now. I bought it in 2003 with 100k miles because I needed to pull a 14k lb GN with all the things required to paint water towers. It was ‘stock’ for about 3 weeks....

Currently running 175/0 injectors and Irate T4 kit with S366 (installed in 2012?). 238/100’s are on the shelf waiting for install. I have a SB dual disc street clutch and old skool DiPricol Optix gauges (fuel pressure, EGT, boost and ICP) on the a-pillar. Right now I have Torque Pro running on my partially installed Atoto A6 Pro Head unit, but will be switching to ForScan Lite soon.

In this pic, I was experimenting with 19.5” tires on the front of the truck. I didn’t like them.... I’ve been running 255/85/16’s (biggest tire you can run without spacers in the rear) since 2008 and currently have Cooper ST MAXX tires.

This load is very near the legal limit of 26k lbs gross.

This cab chassis truck is a beast. I’ve been over the scales with 8,800lbs on the rear axle and drove over 1000 miles like that. When towing campers, I’ve never bothered with WD hitches or sway control. No need. This thing is a stable as bedrock and will safely drive at speeds that exceed my desires.

The truck was converted to burn vegetable oil in 2006 at 190k miles. The (2) tanks on the sides of the bed are 100gals each and are for the WVO. I get about 15mpg ‘unloaded’ - so that gives me a 3000mi range without burning dead dinosaurs. My last camper was a 34ft Toy Hauler with separate garage that was set up for collecting, filtering and storing WVO I was collecting while traveling. I was towing this camper up to 30k miles/year!!

 

FS2300..06
..nothing special to towpig yet but got the KC center cartridge in box along with the hydra for added fun. 4.10s going back under the L99/zf6 shortly
Montana last July...WAY OFF the beaten path of a fireroad but, only way to camp!
thinking though, may need a new/bigger home on wheels now that I've grown to 4 and the boy, Diesel...Like Wes said, 3 girls in the picture, they need their own bathroom..lol

 

Thanks I fixed it!

 

@Colorado Horseman , that is my target RPM range when towing heavy. Plenty of power and low EGT's in that range based on my experience of towing heavy long distance.

 

They may be ceramic, the ones that have an aluminum metallic color. I also run Airsoft BBs which do a good job. Never tried the Centramatics due to price per wheel. May end up switching everything to Airsoft as they are easier to extract and reuse.

 

How much (by weight I'm assuming?) airsoft pellets do you put in each tire?

 

@Sous we goto Hartwell a lot, also clark hill has some very nice state parks.

 

@canoechris , nice setup you have there! I had to look up Clarks Hill and saw that it was part of the Savannah river basin and just SE of lake Thurmond. We usually don't camp that far SE unless we are going to the beach or Savannah or Charleston. I will have to put it on our campground listing though, thanks for the heads up.

If you don't mind, I would like to add you to the North GA Meet & Greet notification list. No obligations to attend or even return a PM, just an invite to come and put a face to the name and hang out a bit if you like. Everyone is invited and we have had 3 so far this year. We are shooting for President's Day 2021 at Vogel state park in GA or at the SkySkiJason ranch.

Thanks again for the camping location tip and stay in touch. Just another great reason for this thread, connecting people that we have not been in contact with before.

 

Ineresting, I had not thought of airsoft BBs, but I guess it makes sense.

Same question as Leonard, is there a formula or weight calculator you use and can recommend to us? I did some basic research and found some advice and weights, but I would like to hear what you have to say on the subject.

I will have the tires off the 5th wheel this winter to install a wet bolt/shackle kit for the spring and hangers and this would be an ideal time to insert some BBs.

 

The hitch in the front has come in to help plenty of times! My truck came with one but it seems to be a pretty easy install for anyone looking to add one.

 

WD hitch is not needed in my experience either with any normal sized RV camper (Even the big park models) with cab and chassis rear suspension. It compresses maybe an inch with a small camper and maybe 2” with a big park model. Not enough to worry about. With soft F-250 pickup suspension, sure it’s a good idea.

I get a noticable drop in power and MPG running Loves fuel which has a high bio content in my area...up to 20% I believe and very yellow in appearance, compared to the normal petroleum stuff. Is that pretty typical?

 

I wouldn’t pull my Toy Hauler TT across the yard without WD hitch using my Excursion (V&B code springs). But the dually could care less.

Biodiesel has less energy per gallon. Definitely reduces MPG some over diesel.

Similar to winter blend fuel. Less energy = less MPG.

That said, I don’t see much difference in straight vegetable oil in MPG or HP. (I’ve had several veggie trucks on the dyno and had opportunities to compare VO to D2.)

 

I don't have anything to give for this thread,i dont tow...
..But someday i will hook this up,just for chit and giggles!
Might need those airbags first...🤔...🤣


Trailer estimated weight is 14000lbs..

 

I bought them in packs, 190 grams (6.7oz) each. Rated to balance up to 37" tires. They came from Total Metal Innovations.