07 was a half and half year. The first half was 5.9 second was 6.7 witch do you have? This will also make a diff on trans! Not a big fan of chips for a Cummins I like programmers such as Edge or Banks, these company's do allot of reaserch on there stuff before releasing to the public. One of the first thing you need to do is a new exhaust this alone w/ air intake make a big diff.

At this point and time the 5.9 is alot easier to build than a 6.7 because of all the emmission garbage they have on them. You can also do things like bigger injectors and bigger tubos quite easly. It just depends on how much you want to spend [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

As for my tag line, there are to many people that just dont care about anything else but themselves and they now who they are!

Thanks D57H

 

I wanted to make an amendment to my earlier post about diesel trucks... Yes I will admit for some trailers you will need the diesel. I was just saying for what I use it for and the trailers I pull I wouldn't buy the diesel. I bought the Wolf Pack toy hauler that this thread was started about, and you don't need a diesel to pull that. I just wanted to clarify what I was talking about. I'm not saying there is no place for diesels...I just don't need one.

 

FIrst off, this entire line of trailers is built with the half ton truck in mind.... Second, with a weight distributing hitch, you can transfer a lot of the tongue weight to the front wheels of the tow vehicle. 3rd, on any trailer, you wan't a minimum percentage of weight up on the hitch to keep sway down. This has been designed in planning for two machines up front to counter the weight of the camper unit. I am surprised though about the over all weight. That is as much as a regular toyhauler. FOrest River makes a cherokee Wolf pack line that has a 27 ft camper style that weighs in that range empty.

 

The 7500 lbs is fully loaded, that includes 1700 lbs of quads. The "dry" weight of the trailer is about 5000 lbs. I agree with the ½ ton plan, but I don't think they were counting on two quads that weight over 800 lbs a piece. If I were hauling sport quads my weight would be considerably less, even hauling large quads other than Polaris would reduce my weight by at least 400 lbs. The tongue weight on this unit as I have it is close to 1500 lbs! that's 20% where the preferred is 10% to 15% max. I'm not sure if I read you right on tongue weight and sway, but the more tongue weight, the less sway. A heavy tongue weight means a light front end which causes steering and brake problems, but not sway. Sway by weight distribution is caused by a light tongue and heavy rear of trailer. The 3/4 ton truck can handle the heavy tongue, heck it sits level before I hook up the WD bars. A ½ ton would probably need 1500 lbs bars and even then may need helper springs or air bags to move some of that weight back on the front tires and trailer axles.

 

Agree, that is what I inferred. you need tongue weight to keep the trailer steady. Using a weight distributing hitch will significantly help the light front end feeling too.

I hear you on the 3/4 ton not being phazed. My 2500 Dodge/Cummins wouldn't break a sweat. I pull a 9000 trailer (see personal page) in a side business I run and the diesel loves it. I tried to pull it with my old 1500 Hemi and it was too much for it. It was only 4500 then (Empty) and is still struggled with it. I swear, the heavier you pull, the more the truck likes it. I guess it must be because you keep in in boost that way.. I know going up hills, I sure pass a lot of gas vehicles on the way up, and I sure like that Jake brake coming down. I doubt I will ever get rid of my diesel. I am definately hooked.

 

Just to answer your some what of a question yes that is why your diesel tows better as the heavier the weight does keep up your boost. Another thing that does help is a higher gear ratio{ 3.73 vs 4.10} as the engine has to work harder to move a heavy load making it boost faster. Allot of guys use realy high gears in drags like 3.25 or 3.55 for the exact same reason!

 

Drag racers use higher numbers to get more revs and put the motor in the power band. The higher the number, the lower the gear ratio. It has been a while, but when I was a kid in the muscle car era, everyone would change gears to at least a 4:10, or a 4:56 to launch the car. You would be turning 6000+ in the lights. But for street use, you had to go easy.. maybe a 3.90 or lower. Course gas was 17 cents a gallon then too. Man, I thought I was going to die when it went to 25 cents a gallon. The guys with the big dollars used to get a gear venders overdrive and have the best of both worlds. Me? I stuck mostly with the small bolcks and high revs. My brother had a big block Dodge charger that was pretty quick. I used to smoke him with my 68 Camaro with a stroked small block. He still hates me. Take a look at my newest toy on my personal page... 485 HP at the rear wheels of rotary power with a HUUUUge single turbo turning 45 lbs of boost. It doesn't live very long at those boost levels though. It lives at 25 though. Makes the z-06 guys walk with the tails between their legs... All that power and only 2200 lbs. Yeah, and it can carve a mean corner too....

 

I have a 34 ft Carriage 5th wheel and had a hitch installed on the rear. I pull an 8' trailer with my AC on it. It pulls fine but don't try to back up with it attached.

We took it from MO to Utah via I-70 through CO and did OK although the ride down the mountain from Eisenhower Pass was a bit much. If I had a manual tranny and/or exhaust brake, it would have been easier. We returned on I-80 and never had a bit of problems.

OAL is right at 60 ft so it lets me into most states.

This was what I had to do since the wife wouldn't let me get a toyhauler to begin with. Plus she gets her luxury and more room inside with a triple slide out.

 

A quick note to everyone that pulling double like this is not legal in all states, so you need to pay attention to your route planning. What was your GVWR on the setup, and were you "legal"? Unless you are pulling with a pretty good horse underneath you, there are few trucks out there with the required ratings. Pulling is one thing... You touched on the other regarding the ablility to stop all that weight. With a triple slideout, I suspect you were pretty maxed out, if not way over your legal ratings. Coming down the mountains would be a handful. When I lived out there, under normal conditions you could get away with it, but in a wind, you would really have your hands full and would be playing crack the whip with the end trailer. Glad you made it.. even more glad I wasn't following you... Hopefully your spouse will change her mind on the toyhauler concept. Quite a few of them have slideouts these days and the luxury is there. My problem is they get pricey, and would be in that max range for my truck. I only have a 2500 with a cummins diesel. It has the power to pull anything, but with only 13000 GVWR, you have to really pay attention to what you buy and how much you haul inside. I kick myself for not springing for a dually 1 ton... with a much higher weight rating. the price difference wasn't all that much in the end. When you lay out that kind of green, it is important to get what you want the first time.. so you don't end up like me still dreaming of the day when....
Good luck with the rig and enjoy it while you can. Post some pics if you can...

 

You make good points. I have been to the scales and make weight so I am legal. I never had problems stopping going down the mountains, but it was a constant braking and/or downshift thing. It would be an issue with any tow vehicle, no matter the size, as any truck would speed up going downhill. I easily kept my speed in the 50-60 mph range where it was very controllable. The manual tranny or exhaust brake would have helped in this situation. The tranny I can't do much about but the exhaust brake is being researched for the most suitable model for my needs.

The triple tow is an issue with some states. With a 5th wheel it is legal in many more than with a regular trailer. The NE part of the country seems to be the most restrictive. And keeping 60 ft or less also stays legal in most that allow triple tow. Most of our trips are not to these restrictive regions anyway. We generally head west.

Wind hasn't really been an issue and we have been in some strong ones. When it has been, I just slow down or pull over for a while. I am not into driving when the tail is wagging the dog, so to speak.