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RE: State Parks and sewer hookups
Stereotypical "tourists", spend your money and go home.There's the 2009 Slogan for the Montana CVB! "Welcome to Montana...spend your money & get out!" You know, as long as it's in a nice tone of voice, maybe...
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PepperB
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08/11/08 10:50am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Is this my Transmission Cooler?
Well, I followed the lines, and they lead to the transmission pan. So it is my cooler. I'm glad I checked before I bought! I supposed I could replace it with a bigger one, but the biggest I found from Tru-Cool was 11x12 I think, and this isn't that much smaller...I can't see that replacing it to gain 2-3 inches.
Would adding an additional cooler do me much good?
I've gotten conflicting information on just exactly WHAT my silverado is. My salesman looked it up by VIN, and told me 4.8L with a 3.23, and then said it tows 6800 lbs. The manual says a 4.8, 3.23 tows 4600 lbs. But then he said that I needed to add a cooler. Where can I find a resource to decipher those glove box codes?
If it is 3.23, I'm looking into having it regeared to 4.10...but then I was looking to add a trans. cooler, before I found that I had one, so...
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PepperB
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04/23/08 08:12am |
Towing
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Is this my Transmission Cooler?
I've been researching transmission coolers this week. I have an '07 Silverado V8, 4.8L with 3.23 gear ratio and a towing package. My dealer (chevy dealer) told me to get a transmission cooler to tow my new '08 Jayco JayFlight 28BHS. I took it out last weekend and the transmission got up to 192 running in 2nd at about 3500-3700 rpm going straight into a 25 mph headwind (thanks to all of you who responded with help in my "need input" thread).
Anyway, I go to see how much room I have for a cooler, and see this:
http://menshealth-content.communicationsmgr.com/pcsupload/e0e982b0-8a0a-48b0-8a28-f54989ec41f8_player.jpg
http://menshealth-content.communicationsmgr.com/pcsupload/7d7e0326-0e90-4dda-8b94-bac23c8a26c5_player.jpg
(looking down at radiator)
It sure looks like a transmission cooler to me, but then I'm new at this. I would think that my Chevy salesman would know whether or not I had one.
So my questions is simple...is this a transmission cooler?
Also...would it be of any benefit for me to either add another one or replace this one with a bigger one?
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PepperB
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04/18/08 11:37am |
Towing
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RE: Just finished first tow...need input
PS. Definitely get a tranny cooler if you are going to run in hotter temps. It can't hurt to have one and you'd better be safe than sorry or at least you'll be thinking that when you are writing the 2-3K check to the tranny guy! They are simple to install!Any recommendations?
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PepperB
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04/16/08 03:15pm |
Towing
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RE: Just finished first tow...need input
I was happy with the way it towed for most of the trip, but was freaked out with the towing in the headwind. My main problem was that I didn't know if what I was experiencing was normal or not. It seems that my TV's struggles into a stiff headwind are normal.
And, according to the Chevy dealer's computer, I can tow 6800 lbs. I live in N. Mississippi, and plan on staying within 150 miles of home for 90% of all monthly trips, which means low hills & the Delta regions. Our longest planned trip is to LSU, which is also a pretty flat drive. I consider Atlanta mountainous, and don't even like driving around it in a car, so I won't be going anywhere near real mountains. So that should help. I'm also going to set 60 mph as my new high speed, and shoot for 55 most of the time.
Would changing to a 4.10 gear ration reduce my mpg for our normal "driving to the grocery store" trips? We use this vehicle for more than just towing...it's our family vehicle. There might be a trade-off there that I need to consider.
Last question...is overheating the transmission the only thing I should be worried about? I hear people talking about burning up a TV, and I assume it's not the engine. From what I gather, towing something too heavy will first and foremost ruin your transmission. So my assumption is that if I keep a close watch on the transmission temparature, and never let it overheat, then I won't be doing any damage to it. And it seems that 192 is not overheating...although I'm going to be getting a big cooler here soon.
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PepperB
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04/16/08 09:19am |
Towing
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RE: Just finished first tow...need input
PepperB, You are not going to see winds like that very often. When you do slowing down will make a difference. On I-55 you will probably get ran over if you are not going at least 70mph. Get the tranny cooler. They are easy to put in. How was your stay at Village Creek. I hear they are putting in a very nice golf course. The two lakes there have some nice bass or they did years ago. My mail carriers' ( here in Collierville) grandfather owned all that land the park is on. He said that was his back yard. Wish I had a yard like that!It was a fantastic place! We had a scout camp weekend, and other than being cold & breezy ( to put it mildly) it was a blast. I was nervous about driving in those hills, but after that headwind, the hills (and their nice, protective tree cover) were a relief! Though next time I'm getting a pull through spot, not a back in.
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PepperB
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04/15/08 03:55pm |
Towing
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RE: Just finished first tow...need input
Since it is painfully obvious that you do not have enough truck, and stopping towing is not really an option unless you plan on parking the TT in your yard and letting it rot, I think the next and probably only suggestions for you are, 1, get a really big trans cooler, and 2 change the rear end gear ration to 4.10. Hopefully you do not have a 4X4? At least those two things will give you a fighting chance of getting to your camp sites in one piece. And finally chalk this up to lesson learned!How do you change the rear end gear ratio? Oh, and thanks for not making me feel stupid by being condescending in your answers!
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PepperB
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04/15/08 03:50pm |
Towing
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RE: Just finished first tow...need input
I'm looking at getting an external transmission cooler, but am having trouble determining what transmission I have. That information just doesn't seem to be anywhere in my paperwork, and the VIN decoder doesn't seem to have it either.
On the subject of not buying "enough truck"...we had the truck first. I know getting a bigger truck might be the easy solution, but it is simply not an option. It may be easy for some of you to just trade in a brand new (well, 1 year old) truck for a 3/4 ton, but not for me. If faced with the choice of new truck or stop towing, I'll have to stop towing.
Like I said, I had no problems at all towing except for that 35 mile stretch into a headwind.
As for slowing down, I'm having a logic problem. Aren't I going to have a problem maintaining speed in a headwind regardless of my desired speed? Isn't the truck going to have as much trouble maintaining 70 mph as 40 mph? Will it really be easier if I'm shooting for 50-55 instead of 60-65?
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PepperB
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04/15/08 03:27pm |
Towing
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Just finished first tow...need input
The family and I just got back from our first trip in our new Jayco Jayflight 28BHS. It's 5400 lbs dry, and we have an '07 Chevy Silverado V-8, 4.8L with the 3.23 axle. We went to Wynne, AR to the state park. On our way north up I-55, I had no problems. But as soon as I turned onto I-40 heading west, I hit a very strong headwind. I simply could not keep my speed up, just trying to stay at or near 60 mph. I ended up driving the last 20 or 30 miles in 2nd gear, running at about 3500-3700 rpms. My transmission temperature guage went from 175-180 to 192 at the end. Once I turned north again and out of the headwind, it cooled off, even though I went from the Delta to the hills of Crowley's Ridge.
My problem is that this is my first time EVER towing anything, so I have no basis for comparison.
Is this normal? Is it OK to drive that long and that fast in 2nd? Is 192 too high for the transmission (I plan on installing an external trans. cooler anyway). How do you maintain speed going into a 20-25 mph headwind? I had to put on the cruise control to do it.
The only other problem we had was when we got home. I have to back my trailer up my driveway, about 100 feet. Since this was only the 2nd time ever backing up, it took quite a while and more than a few tries. By the time I had my TT in place, my trans. temp. was at 217. But I'm hoping this situation will get better with practice.
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PepperB
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04/15/08 02:47pm |
Towing
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Best TT Association to join?
Back before we had kids, my wife and I had an '89 Pace Arrow and joined the Good Sam Club. We were 25 at the time. When we went to an event, we were the youngest people by about 40 years. We eventually sold the RV after we had kids.
Now we're both 33, have 2 children ages 4 & 6, and are looking at getting a 30' Jayco TT. We'd like to join an association that is more suited to our demographic. The only other assn. I've heard of is the FMCA, but I assume from the "MC" that it's only for motorhome owners.
Can anyone recommend a good association to join? We're not looking for regular weekend camping clubs, but would like to attend the occiasional event with other families & people our age.
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PepperB
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04/03/08 09:46am |
Travel Trailers
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