mark293
NORTH OF HOUSTON
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Joined: 01/25/2008
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Either that or I had no idea what I was doing. Here are the details.
Winnie Journey 36'
330 Cat, Al 6 spd
new air cleaner and valves adjusted at 39k
mpg towing: 8.75 @ 58 mph running the gennie all the way
towing tandem tow dolly ( 1700 lbs ),golf cart ( 1000 lbs ) and Toyota Corolla ( 2600 lbs )
Total towing weight 5200 lbs.
family of four
full propane
3/4 fresh water
clothes and food for a week.
We are from Texas and have never been in the mountains with out rig. On our way from Dallas we went through Raton, Nm. at 1:00 am and the rig performed admirably throughout the steep grades.
Leaving Denver at 3:00 pm in 90 degree weather, we headed west on i-70 towards Breckenridige eagerly awaiting the steep grades ahead. We motored by a few tractor trailers with a smile on our faces as they went up the grades at a snails pace. I couldnt help but wonder that these guys are professionals. Do they know something i dont know? It became to apparent as my temp gauge started climbing. I figured this was normal as we were in the "mountains". But then the guage kept going up . Ive been following the forum for a while and Ive read where people have given the advice of keeping her around 2k rpm. Needless to say we had to pull over three times on our way to Breckenridge to let the Cat cool down. The worst part was getting passed by an older gas tandem axle class a that I know did not have the hp or torque that I have. Granted our mountain journeys are few and far between, but Im wondering, did I purchase enough engine? BTW, I never let the needle go past the 1:00 position ( for all you Freighliner owners )
Im hoping you experts can tell me
A: The 7.2l Cat is too small for what I was using it for.
B: Im a complete idiot and need driving lessons
C: Avoid high altitude, mid day (90 plus ) mountain driving
D: Jump up to a 400 plus hp unit if I want to continue driving in the mountains. Remember We have to get back home and we are not looking forward to going back the way we came.
2004 WINNIE JOURNEY 36G, 330 CAT, TANDEM TOW DOLLY, 2008 LIFTED YAMAHA DRIVE GOLF CART.'05 TOYOTA COROLLA TOAD
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geezer34nh
New Hampshire
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Joined: 10/22/2007
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It would appear as the temperature only goes up when climbing grades that you radiator is plugged up either internaly or externaly. Radiators mounted in the back of the coach tend to get debris lodged in the fins on the outside of the radiator. This can be cleaned with a liberal dose of a grease cleaner like Greased Lightning and then pressure washed to clean the air passages between the fins. I do this on my coach once a year and it keeps the temperatures down. Internally the passages clog up but with the young age of your rig my bet is the clogged fins. If the thermostat was bad it would happen at other times not just the hills.
Brad
ASE Certified master technician
SAE
Brad & Lucy aka the Geezer & The Hedgehog
1990 Foretravel 38' DP
Kitty Kat: Earl
Whitey Ford the Explorer riding the car trailer
Navigation: CoPilot 9 on a lap top
ASE Master Technician
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BroncoRVer
8,600 feet elevation, Colorado
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Joined: 07/22/2005
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Well, your CAT is typical of the DP units we pass all the time up here with our 36' gas unit with toad....Keep your speed and torque up and dont worry about it.
Enjoy our State!
2006 Winnebago Voyage 35A, W-22
Brake Buddy, Aventa II tow bar, Protect-A-Tow
2005 Hyundai Elantra toad
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mark293
NORTH OF HOUSTON
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Joined: 01/25/2008
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I forgot to mention i just had the radiator cleaned when I had the valves adjusted and the new air cleaner installed. The grades were just as steep in NM but I was driving in the middle of the night and I had no temp issues. I was expecting a little more from this engine, but Im open to driver error.
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geezer34nh
New Hampshire
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Define radiator cleaning that you had done. Did they remove the radiator and soak it in a tank or just flush it out?
Brad
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mark293
NORTH OF HOUSTON
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Simply BEAUTIFUL!
I guess "gas" rocks! I was wondering why that old guy was grinning as he went by.
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Economical Handyman
S. California
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Joined: 02/19/2004
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We have several friends with that CAT and they go I-70 pulling GC toads without a problem. But they gear down to keep the RPMs up.
I would be REAL careful if you use a pressure washer on your radiator, bent fins will cause bigger problems.
DeWayne & Judy
04 3810 Dutch Star
ISL 370
Frank's autoformer
01 Sahara Jeep-toad
F 374382
It is hard to kiss the lips at night, that has chewed your butt all day long!
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cm
Dillon, CO USA
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Joined: 08/01/2002
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Many of those semis that you motored by are loaded as heavy as 80,000 lbs total weight. That is one reason why you went by them since you are less than half of their weight.
And if you passed any of these semis going down hill it is because their drivers know how to not overheat their brakes. But that is why there are two runaway truck ramps on I-70 on the downgrade on the west side of the Eisenhower - Johnson tunnels. They get frequent use.
Due to road construction all vehicles heavier than 26,000 lbs have to use Loveland Pass between 7 am and 7 pm. Tuesday two semis passed Keystone with their brakes smoking as they passed Montezuma Road. Right pass the bridge where a few years ago a trucker died when she lost her brakes and crashed. This was about a half mile down hill from where another truck with overheated brakes had crashed and started a small forest fire.
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rv2go
Somewhere between Knoxville, TN and the coast.
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Joined: 12/26/2000
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"Ive been following the forum for a while and Ive read where people have given the advice of keeping her around 2k rpm."
IMO, 2000rpm is not enough when pulling the long grades when the temp is high. I use what ever gear it takes to keep it around 2400rpm.
Also, if you need to pull over to cool off, put the transmission in N and rev the engine up to about 2400rpm till it cools off.
Winnebago Journey
TN Lic. RV 2 GO
Jeep Cherokee
www.rv2go.us
I'm here #4335
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tommy wilson
southern ca, usa
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Joined: 10/18/2001
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turn the dash control to full hot. 3rd gear on the allison, 2200 rpm. you get much more fluid flowing and the cat will run cooler.
tommy wilson
1996 kountrystar dp
spartan mountainmaster chassis
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