RE: Wilderness/Fleetwood wheel question.
I don't know the answer re: the wheel rating. According to the Maxxis site, the move to the larger "D" rated tire will give you 230 lbs per tire of additional capacity at the same 50 psi you are currently running with the smaller tire. Perhaps with that extra you wouldn't need to use the extra 15 psi available with the heavier tire. If you determined that the wheels were up to the extra psi, then you would have an additional 390 lbs of capacity per tire. One thing to note is that with either cold starting pressure, 50 psi or 65 psi, the hot pressure with identical loads, after 50 miles or so of operation will probably be virtually identical, with the principle difference being the tires temperature. That was my experience when testing truck tires loaded to identical weights at different starting pressures varying from 90 to 120 psi. The hot pressures never varied by over 1 or maybe 2 psi, but the tires starting at lower pressures were much, much hotter. Heat from under inflation is the number 1 enemy of tires.
RE: What areas are the most desolate ?
EPenny said: "If you don't mind a few hippies, go to the Black Rock Desert late August early Sept."
That comment is a bit of tongue in cheek. Every hippie in CA is in Nevada's Black Rock desert at that time, except those that broke down on the road trying to get there (which is also no wonder if you look at some of the junk they try to make the trip in ... Donnor Pass is pretty rough on some of them)! In fact, if you want to see San Francisco w/o the hippies, that'd be the time because they're ALL at Burning Man!
RE: Oil Filter question
Our local NAPA store just ordered an oil filter for me. $8.03 + tax. I'm sure that's not really a bargain, but at less than $10, it wasn't really worth doing a lot of shopping or driving anywhere to get one. Asked him what kind of filter it was and he said "NAPA Gold made by WIX." As far as the oil, I'm using Mobil 1 10w-30 Synthetic.
RE: Actual federal weight law rules, some questions and answers
Shapeshifter: It sounds to me like your coach needs a tag axle. Perhaps it would be possible to mount one behind your present drive axle. These axles are often installed on heavy trucks forward of the front drive axle. They are liftable and many are also steerable, in the sense that they are spring loaded and will turn with the vehicle as required. They typically add about 8000 lbs of load carrying capacity and that too is adjustable I believe, determined by the amount of air pressure you allow into their air bags. It would be something to consider if you are really concerned about being stopped, weighed fined and parked. If you decided to get a tag axle, I would make certain that it is liftable in the event you are presented with a low traction situation. Transferring all the weight the tag would carry back to the driven axle would aid your traction immensely when and if the additional traction was needed.
RE: Tweaking the 5th AirBorne hitch?
My pin wt is high. I tried the 3 different positions for the air bag and found that the rear position was the only one that would lift the front end to the line on the shock --- and that was with 100 psi.
RE: Dodge truck chip
loveshack1 said: "I don't know why anybody would want to put one of these on their dodge CTD." That obviously comes from someone who never drove a Smarty equipped truck.
I can promise that if you want to stay as happy with your truck as you are now, don't EVER download a Smarty program into it, drive it a bit and then revert back to stock. Once you experience Smarty power, you won't want to be without it. It's addictive and can completely change the personality of your truck.
Everything it is now, it will still be only more so. In some respects, it's actually real cheap...for instance if you want a new truck for no real reason but for getting a new truck, just try the Smarty instead. You'll think you have a new truck, it'll feel like a new truck even though you're still driving old faithful...and as long as you don't go crazy with it you won't even need the new clutch or tranny to hold your new, half again as strong Cummins in check. I gross over 24,000 lbs and Monteagle isn't steep enough to make me drop a gear unless I would want to for some reason. I'm sure I might have to slow down for that one turn going west and maybe drop a gear there, ... maybe.
RE: Dodge truck chip
Consensus is that the best available unit for towing is the Smarty Jr.
It is supposed to provide the maximum safe power for the rest of your truck -- clutch, transmission, turbo, etc.
If you want more power than the Jr. provides, the Smarty Sr. can add well over 200 hp and 300 ft lbs of torque or so, but you'll need other supporting mods to run the maximum power that the Sr. will put out.
Technically, neither one of the above is a "chip". They are programmers that download new programming into your trucks ecm. They will also erase codes, adjust your speedometer for different sized tires and leave no "footprint" in your computer when or if you revert to the stock programming.
Should you ever get a newer Dodge/Cummins, you can take the Smarty with you as the same unit is supposed to work on the newer trucks.
RE: Towing 38 fot fifth wheel
Assuming you actually experienced 4500 lbs of pin wt. (max for your hitch) you'd probably have close to 8,000 lbs of wt on the rear axle and tires. Axle will handle it, but unless you're running load range G tires or 19.5" single rear wheels, your tires/wheels will be quite a bit overloaded. One solution to that problem is using Rickson wheels, 19.5" tires and perhaps upgraded springs/shocks or airbags/Timbrens.
RE: Exhaust Brake
I have to side with the folks saying that while exhaust brakes may not be absolutely "necessary" they sure are handy to have ... especially if you tow heavy on hills that amount to anything. I towed 23,000 lbs combined gross wt. over Cedar Pass in California (Hwy 299 from Alturas to Cedarville) with my Dodge Cummins w/ PacBrake PRXB exhaust brake. Never touched the service brakes while maintaining 50-55 all the way down the mountain into Cedarville, geared down near the city limits and cruised down to the stop sign (downhill all the way) finally applying the service brakes only at the stop itself.
Without the exhaust brake, I don't think I'd try leaving the top over 35 mph or so with that kind of weight, and even that may be a little quick. And, I can guarantee that the brakes would be very warm at the bottom in that scenario. It's just a far more comfortable driving experience with the exhaust brake than it is without ... just like it is in a big rig with an engine brake as compared to one without.
RE: Dear Dodge, I hate you.
I think I might know what the problem is. I had a similar problem with my '06 Dodge. I have a Cummins 5.9 w/ manual transmission and a Prodigy brake controller with which I pull a 3 axle 5th wheel toyhauler. I was having a problem taking off from a stop, but once I got it rolling it pulled it fine.
Problem turned out to be that the brake pedal itself wasn't returning to a high enough position and it left the brake light system energized slightly...not enough to notice while rolling down the road, but just enough drag to warm the brakes up a bit --- and then after stopping they wouldn't release.
I found this problem while going back to check on the trailer to see what was going on and noticed that the third brake light above the rear window was on when there was no one in the driver's seat. Pulled up on the brake and the light went out.
Instant cure was a small bungee cord from some point under the dash to the brake pedal itself applying just a hint of upward pressure and de-energizing the brake light circuit. No more problems.
I was going to take the truck back in for some warranty work and get it fixed properly, but forget completely about it until I read your post and the little light in my head came on!! It's now some 35,000 miles later and I've had no problems whatever since installing that bungee cord.
Hope this helps you...
