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bigbobed
04-23-2002, 15:22
3500 SLT ec/lb d/a. Rhino lining, Go-Rhino triple step bars, Prodigy and CIPA power towing mirrors.
Towed about 800 miles from flat Gulf of Mexico country to the Hill country at 3000' and back. Fiver Sunnybrook 31', 9000lbs+. Set cruise min 55 max 65 depending on road conditions which varied from two lane no shoulder to Interstate.
Some observations of things that have been discussed in other threads.
Power--d/a has plenty. Pulled a lot of hills with no downshift. Does take some getting used to. Not as quick off the line and not as quick in a passing situation as my previous truck, 96 Dodge 2500 V-10. Sure wish they would let it shift into third and wind up a bit. Into a 35mph headwind the d/a would hold od at 60. The Dodge would drop to 55. Nothing drops a truck to it's knees faster than a fiver in a strong headwind.
Mileage--Best was 11.1 worst 9.9. Not bad.
Mirrors--As others have said, right side could be a little longer. However these are the best I have had. Good view and no vibration.
Prodigy--Compared to the Voyager there is no comparison. Set it and forget it. Smooth positive stops. Always felt in control.
The bad news--The radiator fan comes on too much. I could see no movement on the temp guage, but when I put a load on it the fan came on often. Two problems. Noise and robs power. My previous trucks would see a 20 degrss or so rise in temp before the fan would come on with an immediate drop back to normal. This thing seems to have such a small dead band that you can't see it on the guage. Hope I've got a deffective clutch.
Overall--Like the truck very much and it does what I bought it for.

bigbobed
04-23-2002, 15:28
Forgot to mention that the speedo and GPS were spot on. Never more than .5 mph difference.

SoCalDMAX
04-23-2002, 19:30
bigbobed,

Greta post, thanks for the info! I agree, the factory temp gauge doesn't seem to move at all and the fan does take a little power ( a PSD owner told me a vendor selling an electric fan kit is claiming 40hp loss on a PSD, might be a little marketing exaggeration there!) What were the outside temps?

Good to see you didn't downshift a lot. Did you bomb your Dodge? Are you thinking of bombing your Dmax? I've given a few people a ride in mine with plug and propane on, and they're always amazed. After the power to run the accessories, push the vehicle and drivetrain losses are met, all the rest of the power is gravy! It's really amazing how dramatic an extra 63hp is at the rear wheel, much less 120hp or more. ;)

Regards, Steve