600 Megawatts

OK, so I have been towing my 28' Haulmark Edge Trailer (tag, not 5er) with my drag car in it (total weight 9,200#) all year with my 1994 6.5 Diesel 3/4 ton Suburban cause every time I want to race my wife needs the pickup for mulch, rocks and all the other stuff she's doing in the yard... blah blah blah. So last night I finally hooked the CTD to the trailer and went to the track. First leg of my trek, its back roads, hills and I am like man this is sweet, obviously its twice the engine that the 6.5 in the Suburban is. Then I merge onto the highway, boost's up, grabbin gears man this is great, haulin butt!! But now I am up at 65 MPH and the rig starts to wander, BAD. I slow down and smooth it out, but then a truck passes me and its wandering and shimmying again. So I pull over and move the car a foot forward than my mark where I normally have it in the trailer for more tongue weight. NO help. Bottom line, there is so much friggin slop in the steering of this truck it wanders terribly at speed with my trailer. I was miserable the whole way to the track, white knuckled, sweating bullets even though the air was on freezing cold !!

Bottom line, I HATE towing with it, give me my Suburban and I will deal with the lack of power and drive with one hand and play with the radio.... ... So, I guess its time to look at the modified track bar, steering upgrades, DSS, new tie rods etc etc etc etc... Anyone else have this condition?? The 'usual' steering mods most guys do take care of it ???


On the bright side, after making 5 passes with the drag car, I also un-hooked the truck from the trailer and ran it in street class (violated the cardinal rule of never racing the tow vehicle ). Ran a 15.35 @89.9 and then a 15.21 @91.01 That was fun too..

Then the miserable tow home


KP

J BODY

Don't know what to tell you on that one. I have 80K on my 01 4x4 and it pulls my 24ft haulmark great. I do have a slight wander in the steering, but most of the 4x4's I've ever drove (test drives at work) have that. It's not any worse with my trailer behind me thats for sure. The DSS and upgraded track bar mount has me curious too. Thinking about trying them both to see if I can eliminate the wander all together.

SHARPMACHINE

Start with a dss unit. You will like it either way. Then if still unsatisfied, decide on a better track bar. The track bar is in great dispute about which is better right now. I have not had to make that decision yet.


good luck and don't give up

smokindog

600,

You shouldn't have to worry about an upgrade to the tie rod unless yours is worn. In 1999 DC got smart and did away with the inverted Y steering and went to a T setup. The fact that you have a shortbed makes a great tow vehicle for backing, but not for haulin fast. If your track bar is not worn the upgrade will not make much difference, but the DSS certainly will. I just put mine on the week before the 4th and it still amazes me. For about $200 you can have it at your door and you can put it on immediately. Give it a try, I think you'll be impressed.

Moose10

So from what I gather so far, the DSS is quite an upgrade to tighten up the steering. Is it really worth the $200 for a chunck of steel? I've never heard of any other product like it as a competitor....can you notice a difference right away, even when not towing?
I'd want to make some changes too 600 !

CODODGE2500MAN

Next time you tow try giving a little more weight to the rear. I know it may not make sence, (physics) but try it. I tow a few trailers, from 40 to 14 all bumper pulls. Even though I have a long bed I think the weight can be hit or miss quite a bit, but hey its worth a try to be able to use the cummins!!!! Also, Are you using a weight distributing hitch? Might try that too. Good luck!

SHARPMACHINE

Moose10 and whooeverelse cares,

DSS makes a differance at all times. EVERY 2nd gen dodge should have one. It tightens the steering box up tremendously!!


justmy.002

darrenG

uhm....what's a DSS?

Tiger Rag

I hate to ask a dumb question but, what is DSS and where do you source it? Is there more than one manufacturer, and if so, who has the best product?

Thanks, Matt

600 Megawatts

Humm, very interesting. Thanks for the replies guys. The first thing I am gonna do is a basic front end linkage check. I will jack er up this weekend and pull, tug, kick etc. and see if anything is obviously awry. Then I think I will try to snug up the sector a bit in the steering box and see about that. Then if its the same, I will fabricate my equivalent of the DSS, which stands for 'Darrin's Steering Stabilizer' for those who asked. AFter that, I would think a tad more toe in could help as well...

CODODGE2500MAN , I was also thinking about a weight dist. hitch and also that sway damper too.........



KP

CTD NUT

Here ya go : DSS

I have one on my 94 and keep meaning to put one on my 98.5.....all this talk prompted me to get off my a$$ and order one for my 3500. It does work very well and it is quite surprising how much the steering tightens up once the DSS is installed. As SHARPMACHINE mentioned, it is a very worth while mod - every CTD Dodge I have ever checked the sector shaft on has play - the DSS completely eliminates it and also serves as a secondary frame cross member that stops frame flex where the box is mounted.

infidel

Great product. I recommend one before you have a steering problem to protect your steering box.

I tow real heavy, twenty-four 1000lb bins of apples and pears at a time.
Even though it's a gooseneck I've found that placing the load just 6 inches forward or back makes a world of difference in handling.
Suggest moving your race car forward and back till you find the sweet spot.

600 Megawatts

Infidel, thanks for the response. Hey, by the way, how do you keep all the soot off of the apples and pears??? . I think I am gonna start washing my apples better!!



KP

infidel

KP, what happens first thing when the fruit gets to the packing shed is the truck and trailer is driven though a drench wash that pumps around 2000 gallons per minute of recirculating fungicide (DPA) though the bins before they go into storage. This fungicide eats the steel on the trailer and stains everything brown including about a half mile of the highway leading away from the dump from dripping trailers.
Gets the soot off but gives you even more reason to wash your apples.

SHARPMACHINE

yummy