Junk Truck?????????

[Birchyboy]

I just thought of something else. Could the brakes on the trailer possibly be stuck partially on? I know me and my father pulled a smaller u haul trailer with his 05 2500hd and the brakes were stuck partially on (surge brakes). The truck was working 10 times as hard as it should have been. We found the brake issue after we finished the almost 150mile drive when the rims were starting to lose their paint from the heat.

I think that there would have been some indication if that was happening. Like you mentioned, hot paint, burning smell, etc.

 

[thz71]

I think that there would have been some indication if that was happening. Like you mentioned, hot paint, burning smell, etc.

Yah but from what I've read this guy is no genius so it's possible

 

[poncho62]

Yah but from what I've read this guy is no genius so it's possible

Suddenly, I can realize why the guy is not appreciative of your advice....All of 19 and knows everything.

 

[97ttpuller]

Lots of great advise guys Thank you. It kind of looks like gears and the fan may be the biggest problems. My truck is 100% bone stock, original size tires (265/75/R16), with 3.42 gears. The trailer is brand new, this was its first trip. I did unplug the trailer plug for about 20 miles and felt no difference. The trailer weighed in at 3900lbs with all our gear in it, its an 18' Travel Star. I checked all 4 wheels and they spin free.

I checked the plugs, they look new, new air filter, changed oil the day of the trip. I had all 4 tires balanced, rotated, and proper inflated at tire shop a day before trip. Transmission fluid is a nice clear red with no burnt smell. It has an external transmission cooler and the lines where not hot to the touch returning to the tranny. All 4 wheels on the truck spin free, so no brakes sticking.

Will switching from 3.42 gears to 3.73's give me 3mpg better gas mileage pulling the trailer ? Most guys I ask claim 10mpg towing a trailer at 65mph. I'm putting on a new fan clutch today. The Travel Star is real Boxy but no worse than any of the trailers my friends pull.

 

[Birchyboy]

My Yukon has 170k, the same size tires but has 3.73 gears. I averaged 9.2mpg over my trip. That was with our camper loaded, 2 adults and a dog for the first half of it, and then 4 adults and the dog for the second half. I kept my speed to 62 when I could and used cruise control and overdrive. When I was in the mountains of WV and then back home, I would turn off CC and take it out of O/D when climbing. With less weight in the truck and behind, 10mpg wouldn't be out of reach for my rig.

Where do you live?

 

[thz71]

Suddenly, I can realize why the guy is not appreciative of your advice....All of 19 and knows everything.

And exactly who ru to judge me by my age? You don't know a single thing about me gtfo

 

[michael hurd]

If you have a pendulum style brake controller, is it mounted and adjusted according to the directions? When I mounted my Tekonsha Voyager, I made a bracket for it to sit horizontal tucked up tight to the bottom of the dash, and made sure it was installed parallel to the direction of travel.

How old is the exhaust? A friend of mine that is on here has the same truck, engine, transmission, and the same gearing, yet his was a dog. Around town it drove OK, but if you got on the throttle it was very lazy, even with the same diameter tires as mine. I had test driven his when I helped him bleed the brakes. He drove mine, and confirmed that his was a dog compared to mine.

His stereo started cutting out, so he replaced it, and the replacement was doing the same thing. Pulled up the carpet, and the paint was burned off the floor over the converter, and the RCA cables that ran to his amplifiers in the back were melted and shorted together. If the cats are partially plugged or the muffler has collapsed internally, it won't seem bad, unless you really put a load against it and work it.

 

[Horns]

I HATE when people can't/don't read an entire post and spout out useless garbage. I WAS GOING DOWN HILL MOST OF THE WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I expect a V8 truck to easily maintain 65mph towing a trailer rated for a 6cyl. I KEPT THE TRUCK IN D ON THE WAY UP WITHOUT THE TRAILER!!!!!!!! Please read the entire post before answering. I'm not trying to be rude just looking for USEFUL information

Dude, this isn't going to get you anywhere here. Don't act like that. Everyone was giving you sound advice, and you got upset and made things hostile for what reason? There isn't a reason. The caps lock and multiple exclamation points shows a lack of maturity and intelligence. None of this post is proper forum etiquette. Really, why start bashing on people trying to help you and make yourself look like an idiot while doing it?

I'm just trying to help you out here, because you won't last long around here doing that crap. That's a hell of a way to introduce yourself.

Suddenly, I can realize why the guy is not appreciative of your advice....All of 19 and knows everything.

Seriously dude? Since when has age gone hand in hand with maturity/knowledge? Get over yourself. I like to tell people that just because you screwed up when you were young, doesn't mean I did. I don't know you, or your story, but I'm willing to bet there are hundreds of people under the age of 20 that have accomplished more in their time than you will in your whole life.

You don't know Taylor. You don't know what he does for work, you don't know what his education level is, you don't know his accomplishments, and you don't know the kind of person he is. So who are you to make tons of assumptions based on his age? Instead of making him look ignorant because of his age, you have in fact made yourself look VERY ignorant.

 

[98_k1500]

+1 ^^^^^

 

[polar]

Let's just let everything cool down jack. We don't need to get reprimanded also