First tow with 5.0- yeah its a long winded story
04-10-2013, 12:48 AM
#31
Senior Member
The following 2 users liked this post by jcain:
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04-10-2013, 05:04 AM
#33
Senior Member
The heavy part of the load when possible, should be over axles to Balance the trailer too......Just saying....
When ever I tow a vehicle on my 18' trailer I always try and balance the trailer, a small level even helps but normally you can see when its level......
04-10-2013, 07:24 AM
#36
your Pic, you should have centered your load over your tandems on your trailer and balanced your load out better , so its not so toung heavy, and it would pull better.
The heavy part of the load when possible, should be over axles to Balance the trailer too......Just saying....
When ever I tow a vehicle on my 18' trailer I always try and balance the trailer, a small level even helps but normally you can see when its level......
The heavy part of the load when possible, should be over axles to Balance the trailer too......Just saying....
When ever I tow a vehicle on my 18' trailer I always try and balance the trailer, a small level even helps but normally you can see when its level......
My method is to pull all the way to the front of the trailer, then start backing off until you feel the weight shift from the tongue to the rear of the trailer. Stop then drive back forward towards the front of the trailer 5-12 inches to give yourself some tongue weight. Should be close to perfect.
But, if you are going to have an unbalanced trailer, make sure the weight is on the front not the back of the trailer. They get dangerous with too much weight on the back of a trailer.
The following 2 users liked this post by packplantpath:
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04-10-2013, 09:09 AM
#37
On more meds than ymeski
04-22-2013, 08:28 AM
#38
I just made a 800 mile round trip to the Pocono Mountain area to pick up a travel trailer. I have a 2012 5.0 super crew with 4x4 and the 3.55 gears. I got 18.8 MPG's on the way there going 75-80 MPH.
Now the way home.... Another story. The camper weighs about 4,500 pounds. Through the mountain area with pretty heavy winds I was getting 9.5 MPG's going about 65 MPH. The engine was working hard.
Once I got to flatter ground and learned how to manipulate the hills and throttle better I got 11.3 the rest of the trip going 55-60 mph.
I didn't notice an improvement using the tow/haul mode other than tranny braking going down a hill. I have the factory trailer brake, so I don't think it's needed.
The truck and braking handled awesome! And the engine sounded real good working that hard.
Overall, I was a little disapointed in the performace and mileage when towing.... More likely just nieve... Thinking it would be better. I think a big part of it was the gears. The 3.55's are good for everyday mileage, but rough on the towing. I assume the 3.73 gears would be better on the towing.
I am curious how A/C and another 1,000 pounds of gear will be on the power and mileage...
Now the way home.... Another story. The camper weighs about 4,500 pounds. Through the mountain area with pretty heavy winds I was getting 9.5 MPG's going about 65 MPH. The engine was working hard.
Once I got to flatter ground and learned how to manipulate the hills and throttle better I got 11.3 the rest of the trip going 55-60 mph.
I didn't notice an improvement using the tow/haul mode other than tranny braking going down a hill. I have the factory trailer brake, so I don't think it's needed.
The truck and braking handled awesome! And the engine sounded real good working that hard.
Overall, I was a little disapointed in the performace and mileage when towing.... More likely just nieve... Thinking it would be better. I think a big part of it was the gears. The 3.55's are good for everyday mileage, but rough on the towing. I assume the 3.73 gears would be better on the towing.
I am curious how A/C and another 1,000 pounds of gear will be on the power and mileage...
04-22-2013, 10:29 AM
#39
Senior Member
I just made a 800 mile round trip to the Pocono Mountain area to pick up a travel trailer. I have a 2012 5.0 super crew with 4x4 and the 3.55 gears. I got 18.8 MPG's on the way there going 75-80 MPH.
Now the way home.... Another story. The camper weighs about 4,500 pounds. Through the mountain area with pretty heavy winds I was getting 9.5 MPG's going about 65 MPH. The engine was working hard.
Once I got to flatter ground and learned how to manipulate the hills and throttle better I got 11.3 the rest of the trip going 55-60 mph.
I didn't notice an improvement using the tow/haul mode other than tranny braking going down a hill. I have the factory trailer brake, so I don't think it's needed.
The truck and braking handled awesome! And the engine sounded real good working that hard.
Overall, I was a little disapointed in the performace and mileage when towing.... More likely just nieve... Thinking it would be better. I think a big part of it was the gears. The 3.55's are good for everyday mileage, but rough on the towing. I assume the 3.73 gears would be better on the towing.
I am curious how A/C and another 1,000 pounds of gear will be on the power and mileage...
Now the way home.... Another story. The camper weighs about 4,500 pounds. Through the mountain area with pretty heavy winds I was getting 9.5 MPG's going about 65 MPH. The engine was working hard.
Once I got to flatter ground and learned how to manipulate the hills and throttle better I got 11.3 the rest of the trip going 55-60 mph.
I didn't notice an improvement using the tow/haul mode other than tranny braking going down a hill. I have the factory trailer brake, so I don't think it's needed.
The truck and braking handled awesome! And the engine sounded real good working that hard.
Overall, I was a little disapointed in the performace and mileage when towing.... More likely just nieve... Thinking it would be better. I think a big part of it was the gears. The 3.55's are good for everyday mileage, but rough on the towing. I assume the 3.73 gears would be better on the towing.
I am curious how A/C and another 1,000 pounds of gear will be on the power and mileage...
04-22-2013, 11:29 AM
#40
I brought home a new 4,000lb travel trailer for the first time a couple weeks ago. I also have the same gearing and engine you have. While not quite mountainous, I did have several large hills to climb. The truck did a great job overall but it was working on those hills, and as you said the trailer will only get heavier once we load it up. I've never really worked a truck before, so it did sound like it was working hard and revving high, but I never felt it didn't have enough power, nothing that more throttle and dropping a gear wouldn't have solved. I think we are rather spoiled nowadays. A similar truck from 15 years ago would only have around 200hp. Oh yeah, and the 5.0 does make wonderful rumbly noises when working.
Nice. How bad was your mileage?