firedoger

I towed for the 1st time with my 06 2500 4x4 quadcab and I'm not real happy. I tow a 30' toyhauler that weighs in at 11-12k. I went to the dunes and was going up that little hill into Yuma ,AZ and the best the truck would do was 50mph. I'm completely stock. Is this normal? My 06 has 23k miles on it. It got 8.2 mpg hand calc. I'll need a programer but which one ? My concern is that there might be something wrong with the truck?

davidj54

Have you actually weighed it? I'd bet with a 30' TH loaded with toys you'd weigh more than 12k. I don't know what the grade is on that section but if it's very steep and you had a head wind you'd probably feel it.

wmonroe

I would also suggest taking it to the scale and get an accurate weight. Is it a fifth wheel with a large frontal area? (lots of wind resistance) I know that I "feel" my 7k pound fifth wheel camper more than my gooseneck loaded at about 10k.

When was the last time you changed your fuel filter? Are you getting good fuel pressure? Is the truck an auto or stick? What gear and rpms were you running?
Will

firedoger

The trailer is a bumper pull and it does have a high profile in front. I actually haven't had it on a scale yet, it's on the list to do. I don't know when the fuel filter was changed last. I just bought the truck a couple of weeks ago. I will call the seller and find out. (good call on the filter I had not thought of that ). I don't recall the actual RPM's but I do know they were over 2k. And I was in the tow haul mode.
I compare my truck to my brother-n-laws 04.5. He runs the edge EZ on level 3 and is able to run that hill at 80mph with out a problem. His truck is stock except the Edge and our trailers are about the same. Can a programer make that big of a difference?

Jeff in TD

I towed my 30' toyhauler with an 03 35000 SRW. With 3.73 rear end I would drop into 5th for a grade of any significance (say 6% for a decent length). The toyhauler would normally be a bit under 11,000, with about 2,000 on the hitch. I'd usually get around 12mph at reasonable speed on flat freeway. I got 13something one time, when towing w/o toys mostly on 55 mph freeways.

I'd say with that MPG and speed, there may indeed be some sort of issue.

Some of those grades around Yuma are steeper than they look. I'd still wonder if you've got a brake dragging or an engine issue.

What kind of RPM are you running it in, and if you have a pyro, what EGTs are you seeing?

Jeff in TD

Sorry, I guess you were typing at the same time I was...

I generally run up above 2,000 pretty good while towing also.

Boxes can make a huge difference in power, but if you do and tow, you absolutely, positively need a pyro.

Regarding the fuel filter, I'd say forget calling previous owner, and just replace it. They are like $12 to $14 at Cummins or Geno's. Even if it was just changed, you could have gotten some gunky fuel.

ripping r

my toy hauler is about the same 12 to 13k just depends on how long we are going and what toys i'm hauleing. i set the cruise at 75. and have no problems. tell i meet other cars. sound like you may have other problems. like said the fuel filter is a good place to start.

tonyiii1

Firedoger, I would ask if that is your first time pulling with a diesel. I know when I bought my 03 HO every diesel guy in the world said you would not even "feel" the trailer back there. Bull. I had a 27 foot travel trailer and live in the state of Washington...lots of mountains and hills and I can always feel it back there. With that said, I think that if you were used to pulling with a gas and have now switched over to a diesel, the pulling "techniques" are completely different. It took a full season for me to figure out my trucks sweet spot for pulling. The same hills that gave me trouble years ago I cruise right over today with my 35' trailer. I will say depending on the grade of the hill you were going over...a 12k+ trailer...and stock...50 mph is probably about right. Upgrades do really help. Exhaust, cold air, programmer make a big difference. Don't get frustrated yet. Just an opinion. Another thing is that you don't know where all these other people are pulling. A mountain in one state is a hill in another.

firedoger

I have towed with a diesel before. My truck that I just sold was GMC crewcab 4x4 drw longbed with the lly motor. It had a ATS built tranny with co-pilot. Egde/att, banks exhaust with cat delete, cold air intake, larger boost tubes, boost stick(creates more boost),and probly a few other things I forgot. I sold that truck because it would over heat on grades and get about 6mpg. There was about 10k in upgrades in that truck and it would get beat by my brother-n-law in his 04.5 dodge running a edge EZ. I would get 6mpg and he would get 10 or 11mpg. I'm sure I have a learning curve on the dodge but I was a little suprised at the performance stock.

I can't put the type of money into this truck as I did with GMC. I live in Az and I tow in extreme heat 110 -115 degrees on some big grades. The GMC would leave me stranded on the side of the road puking coolent .

Jeff in TD

I'd say before you get too discouraged, change the fuel filter and check the air filter.

Also, the next time you tow and are in a spot where it's safe to coast to a stop, go feel the trailer's hubs. A broken spring in the brakes, or a wheel bearing about to weld its self to the spindle would cause both poor performance on hills and poor mpg...

SOhappy

Hmm....mine's an SO with about 50hp of mods and it has no trouble pulling my 27' 10k lb. toyhauler. I didn't catch if you have an auto or a manual trans? If it's an auto, you should have been in 3rd pulling a hill at 50mph, maybe even 2nd IIRC. In fact, I'll keep in 3rd all the way up to 70mph when pulling hills. That's about where I hit 3100 rpm, 32psi and 1250°. Got to love it when a plan comes together.

Oh, and I get about 11-13mpg towing that much weight.

Lost Lake

I see a lot of posts saying "my trailer weighs about" or "Somewhere around", do yourself a favor and weigh your trailer.

Also figure the frontal area. Stick your hand out the window going 60 mph, then hold a frisbee out the window. I used to tow a trailer with a 64 square foot flat front and it pulled hard as heck with an angling wind where the wind could hit the front of the trailer without getting split by the truck.

Gears, tire size, then add a box and have fun. You know the Cummins can pull it, you just need to take the stick out of the spokes!

turbo246

change the fuel filter, takes literally not even ten minutes to do, very easy on them trucks

dozer12216

50 MPH up hill seems reasonable to me Wait till you throw 30,000 on a dual tandem and head up a hill you cannot stop on. Low gear, 30 mph and no taking it easy because of temp. Topped at 220 degrees, fan screaming, engine turning 3000 rpm. That is pulling. It made the 800 mile journey at 10 MPG. I'll not complain.

AH64ID

Yes frontal area is amazing.. At 55 mph my 18' TT (4K ) takes about 8-9 psi of boost (on a strech of road by my house).. I had a 7 yard dump with 4 yards of rock, about a 14-16K load.. .It only took 3psi under the same conditions.. 4x the weight 1/3 the load..

I would look at a Smarty Jr, set it on SW1 and forget it.. Put some gauges on your truck.. maybe ditch the Cat and call it good.

I personally wouldn't get an Edge EZ, they are a pressure box and I don't like pressure, especially when towing.