new truck

[lorenbennett]

Well the saga of our truck merry go round continues. In 2005 we had a 1/2 ton hemi powered quad cab which proved too costly to tow my boat so I traded in back for 06 3/4 2wd mega cab with cummins. Well a couple of weeks ago I got pulled down to the waters edge at lake mead and I told my wife about it. Well she decided to fix this by going back to the dealer and getting a 07 4x4 3/4 mega cab with cummins. Know for the real selling point is the delaer installed a superchips..wow.. what a monster with this upgrade. This truck runs like a dragster and improved my mileage by 3mpg both around the city and towing. The best improvement ever.:smt038

 

[SearayPaul]

How did you get dragged down to the water? Did you have a steep wet ramp? I am very currious as I have towed much bigger loads than a 260 with Mr Cummins and never been dragged or pushed around. Don't let the Chevy or Ford people see this thread.

 

[lorenbennett]

How did you get dragged down to the water? Did you have a steep wet ramp? I am very currious as I have towed much bigger loads than a 260 with Mr Cummins and never been dragged or pushed around. Don't let the Chevy or Ford people see this thread.

Because lake mead is so low the ramps are asphalt with holes and allot of gravel. It stopped pulling me when the boat got to the waters edge and that slowed me down. Kind of a strange feeling going backwards like that.:smt021

 

[Hampton]

Be sure to keep steering! I don't care what kind of motor you have at the ramp - just how many wheels you have driving. I literally pulled my boat (250, then) on a trailer, hooked to a minivan, hooked to a 190 on a trailer in the water out. It was really cool. It was like driving a train. 2001 GMC Sierra C3 w/ standard 6.0L and all wheel drive.

 

[Dave M.]

How did you get dragged down to the water? Did you have a steep wet ramp? I am very currious as I have towed much bigger loads than a 260 with Mr Cummins and never been dragged or pushed around. Don't let the Chevy or Ford people see this thread.

I think that if you want to pull a 260 or larger, 4WD is a requirement. My '01 front axle wt is about 4400 lb, and the rear axle about 2800 lb with only me in the truck. If you hook up a 260 to it, that is a load of maybe 10,000. You might get 1000 lb added to the rear axle. If so, you are trying to move 17200 lb with a single axle with 3800 lb. So the driven axle does not have much of the total weight. It would be much better if you could get at least 1500 lb on the rear axle. Then you would have even weight distribution front to back on the truck.

Still, you will need 4WD on a slick ramp even if you have that. It should have been possible to stop the truck from going backwards by applying the brakes, as that stops all 4 wheels and puts the weight to work.

There is more to be said here though. For the same reason that the trailer can pull the truck backwards down a hill in 2WD, it can also pull it down a hill with the emergency brake on. That works only on the rear wheels, which are lacking enough weight. So if you stop on the ramp while loading or unloading, and get out of the truck, I think you should turn off the engine, put it in gear or park, in 4WD. Anything less and you may get a bad surprise someday when it starts moving down the ramp, rear wheels sliding, without you in it.

Same thing goes when you park the truck only on an incline in snowy weather. Put it in 4WD, in park or in gear. Don't ask me how I know. :smt013

 

[lorenbennett]

I think that if you want to pull a 260 or larger, 4WD is a requirement. My '01 front axle wt is about 4400 lb, and the rear axle about 2800 lb with only me in the truck. If you hook up a 260 to it, that is a load of maybe 10,000. You might get 1000 lb added to the rear axle. If so, you are trying to move 17200 lb with a single axle with 3800 lb. So the driven axle does not have much of the total weight. It would be much better if you could get at least 1500 lb on the rear axle. Then you would have even weight distribution front to back on the truck.

Still, you will need 4WD on a slick ramp even if you have that. It should have been possible to stop the truck from going backwards by applying the brakes, as that stops all 4 wheels and puts the weight to work.

There is more to be said here though. For the same reason that the trailer can pull the truck backwards down a hill in 2WD, it can also pull it down a hill with the emergency brake on. That works only on the rear wheels, which are lacking enough weight. So if you stop on the ramp while loading or unloading, and get out of the truck, I think you should turn off the engine, put it in gear or park, in 4WD. Anything less and you may get a bad surprise someday when it starts moving down the ramp, rear wheels sliding, without you in it.

Same thing goes when you park the truck only on an incline in snowy weather. Put it in 4WD, in park or in gear. Don't ask me how I know. :smt013

MAybe you can share one day, but A good word about snow. We heading for idaho for thanksgiving and I only play in the snow once or twice a year when we go tubbing. I don't get the practice like some of you.:grin:

 

[Sundancer]

MAybe you can share one day, but A good word about snow. We heading for idaho for thanksgiving and I only play in the snow once or twice a year when we go tubbing. I don't get the practice like some of you.:grin:

Tubbing as in hot tubbing in the snow? That's the a clothing optional snow sport too! Tubing is a blast, just watch out for those trees!

The weather forecast is for snow in Northern Idaho in the very near future. I'm sure it will be similar down south. I just hate it when the first snow coincides with Thanksgiving because it brings out the real idiots! They forget or have never driven in it and learn the hard way. After that first day, it gets much better.

I parked a small sedan on my in-laws steep driveway one snowy night. We unloaded it and woke up the next morning to find it had slid out in the middle of the street. It was pretty funny. It moved about 20 feet straight back.

 

[Dave M.]

I parked a small sedan on my in-laws steep driveway one snowy night. We unloaded it and woke up the next morning to find it had slid out in the middle of the street. It was pretty funny. It moved about 20 feet straight back.

That would be pretty funny in a PU too if your wife didn't park the other PU at an angle down behind it!:smt101

Just try and explain to the insurance company how you could have two vehicles that you own involved in a collision in your own driveway, and both were unoccupied. :smt100

 

[Dave M.]

Tubbing as in hot tubbing in the snow? That's the a clothing optional snow sport too!

I thought when I came up and went boating with you in the cold north country a couple of weeks ago that was clothing optional. You had the option of long johns and a regular coat, or a parka, if you brought one!

The weather forecast is for snow in Northern Idaho in the very near future. I'm sure it will be similar down south. I just hate it when the first snow coincides with Thanksgiving because it brings out the real idiots!

Yes, that is a bad combination. I recall being headed home one sunday after thanksgiving. While trying to get into I-90 headed west at the east end of the Vantage bridge, I was behind a car pulling a trailer that was having great difficulty making the 270 degree loop up onto the freeway. You have to know the terrain, but if you can't even get onto the freeway, there is just no way you are going to make it up the Vantage hill headed towards Seattle. And this is on a holiday sunday afternoon with half of the residents of Seattle trying to get home on the same route. Just totally, This is 150 miles of stop and go traffic in a snow storm over the mountains! 100% completely stooopid!

Not expecting snow here soon. This is the banana belt.

 

[lorenbennett]

Just thought I would update with a picture. Height is attributed to oversize tires and a 2" leveling kit on the front.

:thumbsup:

 

[Morpheus]

Nice looking truck, would never fit in our garage though and that's a requirement when we live

 

[SearayPaul]

Good lookin truck sir. How much drop are you going to need for the hitch?

 

[lorenbennett]

Actually I have a really tall trailer so up until know I have been using a 6" rise on my hitch. Now I had to reverse the wd hitch from the highest setting to 1" down.:thumbsup:

 

[Nehalennia]

Sharp looking truck. What type of receiver do you use?

 

[Dave M.]

Know for the real selling point is the delaer installed a superchips..wow.. what a monster with this upgrade. This truck runs like a dragster and improved my mileage by 3mpg both around the city and towing. The best improvement ever.:smt038

Doesn't that void your warranty? Dodge and Cummins are not very tolerant regarding warranty stuff. It sure is a nice looking truck!