Geo
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- #1
Left the low lands, 39 ft. above sea level. 5.0 motor with max tow. Fully loaded with 85 gallons of water, camping and hunting gear. Plus a four wheeler in the back. had a couple of 1k ft. passes and one 4k ft. pass each way. Filled up at a filling station. I went to leave and started the motor both screens were blank. I turned off the motor and restarted, drivers screen came back. Pulled out of station turned motor off waited 5 min. everything cam back. The next 150 mi. were brutal, had a head wind of 35-40 mph according to the weather station. Truck and trailer handed it well, this is where the 3/4 ton diesel motor really shines. The 5.0 did great, I got a warning twice to pull over for a coffee break. Must of been all the sway from the wind. Got to camp after a 380 mi. trip. About 9 hours with stops. Got 8 mpg. on the way over. Drove the back roads, 2 & 4 wheel drive. I really like the electronic rear locker. The Eibach pro-truck sport shock and struts work great for minor off roading. The amp power step linkage caked up with mud and had to be cleared. No big deal. Drove around the area about 300 mi. in a week. I really like the 35 gal. gas tank. Headed for home same path. Got a solid 10 mpg., [all the water was gone]. I was really happy with the power and the return trip mpg. I didn't baby it, I found for me the truck did better using the manual shifter. On a hard pull left alone the truck would shift at 2.6-2.8 rpm then fall on it's face and needed a down shift. I think it pulled better holding it in gear till it reached 2.9-3.2 rpm. It may not be the programing or it may be my over sized tires [295/70/18]. I'm still learning, next time maybe different. I may try a set of rancho 9000s' for the rear to help with the trailer dips. I believe the 8 mpg is not the norm. I wished I could of found a road side scales to see my weight. Like I said I am happy.