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ROBERT CROSS · 04-13-2012, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phbarnhart

Update: I caved. I'm picking up the 3/4 ton Suburban on Saturday.

Congrat's...What? Were you able to find a good used?

Burb+AS...they do go well together.

Bob

slowmover · 04-13-2012, 06:26 AM

Scale numbers are great to have for the reasons we've gone over here and elsewhere. And payload capacity is hard to trump for another variety of reasons. A few years down the line (if the TT isn't changed which is another possibility) the TV can be changed again. How the pair work together (via numbers) makes all those choices clear. Extra elbow room makes it all easier.

If it is the 6.0L motor that has a good reputation. An oilfield welder I ran across recently has one in a 2003 truck that has nearly 250k miles on it with near-perfect reliability even though it has towed a 5'er probably a little big for the truck a great number of those miles.

And the latest transmissions make life a lot easier on the road.

Pro-Pride, disc brakes . . . now just need the DIRECLINK brake controller for that new 'Burb (see Mexray thread).

.

xrvr · 04-13-2012, 06:49 AM

Good choice, you will be happy. jim

phbarnhart · 04-13-2012, 09:26 AM

It's a 2012 (new) so it's got the 6.0 liter, 6 speed transmission and 3.73 gearing. I'm actually pretty shocked at how well my 2010 suburban held its value in the interval.

I'm going to have to find someplace to drive it to put the requisite 500 miles on it before towing though.

Eaglemate · 04-13-2012, 09:51 AM

PH, I took my 24 ft. AS on three trips totaling 900 miles, and on the third trip trashed the back end.

One of those trips was in the Tennessee hills.

Cost me $1,500.00 to replace the back end. I also learned that 1/2 works darn hard to get up the small hills, running up 6000 RPM in the shift. She sure had to work hard.

I am shopping now.

phbarnhart · 04-13-2012, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eaglemate

PH, I took my 24 ft. AS on three trips totaling 900 miles, and on the third trip trashed the back end.

One of those trips was in the Tennessee hills.

Cost me $1,500.00 to replace the back end. I also learned that 1/2 works darn hard to get up the small hills, running up 6000 RPM in the shift. She sure had to work hard.

I am shopping now.

Yeah, I live in Oregon and the mountains are killer with the 1/2 ton. I've had it down in 2nd gear @ 4000rpm just to maintain forward momentum.

If I traveled more often I would have been all over the diesel.

ROBERT CROSS · 04-13-2012, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phbarnhart

It's a 2012 (new) so it's got the 6.0 liter, 6 speed transmission and 3.73 gearing. I'm actually pretty shocked at how well my 2010 suburban held its value in the interval.

I'm going to have to find someplace to drive it to put the requisite 500 miles on it before towing though.

Brand spank'n...can't do better than that.

Have some fun now and good luck.

Bob

slowmover · 04-13-2012, 06:42 PM

Running an engine near redline for hours doesn't in any way hurt it, and buying too much truck to avoid going slowly up the hills makes no sense at all. It is the smallest factor of importance once past a certain threshold of TV capability. The initial cost and fuel mileage penalty otherwise mitigate against it. Payload is the place it makes sense . . not an engine or transmission working within design parameters. When one is on the edge of capabilities it may be nice . . so long as one can deal with the penalties for 99.7% of actual miles traveled.

Easy for a fulltimer, harder for the "vacationer".

6.0 and 3.73 will sure pull. Fuel mileage is another story! I'm looking forward to how this rig scales and adjusts. I'm already sending people who ask about these things to all phbarnhart threads to see how it can be done.

.

phbarnhart · 04-13-2012, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by REDNAX

Running an engine near redline for hours doesn't in any way hurt it, and buying too much truck to avoid going slowly up the hills makes no sense at all. It is the smallest factor of importance once past a certain threshold of TV capability. The initial cost and fuel mileage penalty otherwise mitigate against it. Payload is the place it makes sense . . not an engine or transmission working within design parameters. When one is on the edge of capabilities it may be nice . . so long as one can deal with the penalties for 99.7% of actual miles traveled.

Easy for a fulltimer, harder for the "vacationer".

6.0 and 3.73 will sure pull. Fuel mileage is another story! I'm looking forward to how this rig scales and adjusts. I'm already sending people who ask about these things to all phbarnhart threads to see how it can be done.

.

Truth be told that's what finally made me cave. I realized that we were right on the payload capacities of our 1/2 ton all along and I was constantly worried about every little thing we packed. I guess that I came to the conclusion that, if I'm worrying about the weight, I'm not having fun; if I'm not having fun, why bother at all?

So, I'm going to get the new rig, break it in, install the ProPride and go get the weight distribution dialed in at the scales.

Disc brakes are a likely next step, although the service manager at Sutton RV tells me that Airstream has stopped using discs entirely in their new trailers so he's not sure which kit to use.

slowmover · 04-13-2012, 07:29 PM

About the brakes: talk to Andy/Inland RV as he is on top of this. Then, to DIRECLINK to see if they have their ABS trailer brake actuator up and running. The combo would be state-of-the-art. And give you an outer-edge idea of what all might be involved. Easier decision then.

As to weights: the public scale is our friend. A stack of scale tickets covering a variety of loads tells me what tire pressure and what WDH adjustments are needed. The range between min and max isn't big, but knowing where to start and end is confidence made palpable.

phbarnhart · 04-13-2012, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by REDNAX

About the brakes: talk to Andy/Inland RV as he is on top of this. Then, to DIRECLINK to see if they have their ABS trailer brake actuator up and running. The combo would be state-of-the-art. And give you an outer-edge idea of what all might be involved. Easier decision then.

As to weights: the public scale is our friend. A stack of scale tickets covering a variety of loads tells me what tire pressure and what WDH adjustments are needed. The range between min and max isn't big, but knowing where to start and end is confidence made palpable.

Do you use scales other than CAT scales? The closest one is 40 miles away.

slowmover · 04-13-2012, 09:53 PM

What's great about CAT is repeatable results nationwide.

Try moving companies, grain or lumber companies, etc. Look in Yellow Pages under Public Scale. Just don't expect repeatable results against other scales . . but for purposes of setting the hitch we can live with what you come up with.

And, if it's on flat ground, go for wheel by wheel readings. One per position. Nailing tire info this way (versus the usual "axle average") gives best info for pressure on TV, and on TT alerts us to shift the TT internal load to better equalize readings.

When we read about tire failure on TT's it is entirely possible that one of two, or one of four, is loaded, say, 30% higher than the others. Only an individual reading will show this.

And the sort of thing that stumps us when we "know" we have been conscientious about tire issues . . just never checked this closely.

.

phbarnhart · 04-13-2012, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by REDNAX

What's great about CAT is repeatable results nationwide.

Try moving companies, grain or lumber companies, etc. Look in Yellow Pages under Public Scale. Just don't expect repeatable results against other scales . . but for purposes of setting the hitch we can live with what you come up with.

And, if it's on flat ground, go for wheel by wheel readings. One per position. Nailing tire info this way (versus the usual "axle average") gives best info for pressure on TV, and on TT alerts us to shift the TT internal load to better equalize readings.

When we read about tire failure on TT's it is entirely possible that one of two, or one of four, is loaded, say, 30% higher than the others. Only an individual reading will show this.

And the sort of thing that stumps us when we "know" we have been conscientious about tire issues . . just never checked this closely.

.

How does one go about getting weights at individual wheels? All the scales I've seen just weigh the axel.

ROBERT CROSS · 04-14-2012, 04:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phbarnhart

How does one go about getting weights at individual wheels? All the scales I've seen just weigh the axel.

Steering, driving and trailer axles, if the trailer is level they will be loaded pretty close to equal.

Once the baseline is set I usually only weigh if I know we are loaded differently, ie..no boat, no motor, generator and 'dock'n stuff left behind.

Bob

slowmover · 04-14-2012, 07:37 AM

Individual Wheel Weights: Drive onto the scale in such a way that a single tire/wheel is the only part of the rig on the pad. You might say we're using the corners.

CAT Scale is a raised platform and this isn't possible. But some older scales were built flush with surrounding lot. No two are alike. I think all that I would want is the ground surrounding it would be generally level.

phbarnhart · 04-14-2012, 09:26 AM

Okay, I'll have to find a different set of scales. The CAT scales we went to had Jersey barriers all along the sides so it wouldn't be possible to get a single wheel on I don't think.

Sodbust · 04-16-2012, 08:20 PM

Our local DOT folks,, have what they call pad scales.. They are about 2 foot square and weight 30 lbs each.. They have a bad habit to toss them under my semi truck from time to time and say I'm over loaded.. Well duh,, you throw a scale that's 3" tall under one set of axles it will tend to carry more weight than the axle that is still on the ground.. Every time I have made them follow me to the local grain company and see the total weight with all 18 tires flat on the ground.. Got out of 12 tickets over the years and they are not cheap costing the trucker $1000 to $2500..

Glad you went and got a TV with the proper axle gears.. Any newer over drive has the reach to catch the needed mpg on most days..

And trust me,, no motor made that is sold to the public can handle long term use at 4000 rpms.. If so,, why do all industrial engines based off the engines in our tow wagons only rated to turn 1800 to 2600 rpms?

Sodbust..

Skater · 04-17-2012, 06:23 AM

I realize it's a moot point now, but:

Every time I see the title of this thread, I think: "Yes. Now get out and have some fun camping."

phbarnhart · 04-17-2012, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skater

I realize it's a moot point now, but:

Every time I see the title of this thread, I think: "Yes. Now get out and have some fun camping."

No kidding! I'm itching to GET OUT THERE! My wife is organizing an auction for a not-for-profit that's taking place on May 6 so I'm not allowed to have weekends for a little while. Plus I'm still breaking in the new Suburban!

dcheshire · 07-24-2013, 06:55 PM

I'm probably marginal with my 2007 Tahoe LTZ 1500, but I max the rear tire pressure on the TV (44lbs), dial in the WD bars to even the drop across the TV tires, and have a friction antisway and do OK.

I also (with the four speed auto), go into "tow haul" mode and manually keep the tranny out of overdrive. I find it rarely hunts and the tranny temp never goes over 200 degrees, even on big hill climbs with the motor at 4000 RPM.