Post by Cowboy Camper on Oct 7, 2009 21:08:34 GMT -6
We're getting ready for another 4 1/2 - 5 Hour drive back to Marion, IL this weekend to see my uncle and aunt again. (Last trip was Father's Day weekend.)
At that time we really could have used a functional A/C in the truck. I almost got that fixed down there, but not quite. At least I now know that the A/C in the camper works Very Well!
The truck had me worried a bit for such a long haul for a couple of reasons.
1) Lot's of miles on her. 200k Plus.
2) V-6 engine, rather than a V-8. Will she haul the camper?
3) I've personally never driven Anything that far before, let alone a camper/truck rig.
Turns out the truck made the long haul just fine, and so did I. But this time around I thought I could maybe Improve on the trip.
So... I've changed the oil in the engine and am now running a 10W 30 Semi Synthetic. Maybe I'll get better towing Mileage?
Next, I've replaced the rotten out muffler with a Glass pack Cherry Bomb. I was able to reuse the original Tail Pipe so that the louder glass pack wouldn't be too loud for us in the cab of the truck. It's a little louder than it used to be, but not too obnoxious and offensive. Good deal, and maybe that might help the mileage some as well.
I've also heard that a Synthetic ATF Fluid would help too, but I just flushed that out last year with some new Standard ATF. So I did not swap that over to a Synthetic product at this time.
Finally, I also changed out the Axle Oil to a Full Synthetic 75 W 90 to replace the standard 80 W 90 conventional lube. I'm hearing from several folks at work that this will also go a long way to help to improve on my Towing mileage per gallon rating.
I guess I'll have to figure out some MPG comparisons on my end and let y'all know what kind of improvement I might see, huh? I'll be sure to make a report after this next trip!
Wish us some Luck, OK?
At that time we really could have used a functional A/C in the truck. I almost got that fixed down there, but not quite. At least I now know that the A/C in the camper works Very Well!
The truck had me worried a bit for such a long haul for a couple of reasons.
1) Lot's of miles on her. 200k Plus.
2) V-6 engine, rather than a V-8. Will she haul the camper?
3) I've personally never driven Anything that far before, let alone a camper/truck rig.
Turns out the truck made the long haul just fine, and so did I. But this time around I thought I could maybe Improve on the trip.
So... I've changed the oil in the engine and am now running a 10W 30 Semi Synthetic. Maybe I'll get better towing Mileage?
Next, I've replaced the rotten out muffler with a Glass pack Cherry Bomb. I was able to reuse the original Tail Pipe so that the louder glass pack wouldn't be too loud for us in the cab of the truck. It's a little louder than it used to be, but not too obnoxious and offensive. Good deal, and maybe that might help the mileage some as well.
I've also heard that a Synthetic ATF Fluid would help too, but I just flushed that out last year with some new Standard ATF. So I did not swap that over to a Synthetic product at this time.
Finally, I also changed out the Axle Oil to a Full Synthetic 75 W 90 to replace the standard 80 W 90 conventional lube. I'm hearing from several folks at work that this will also go a long way to help to improve on my Towing mileage per gallon rating.
I guess I'll have to figure out some MPG comparisons on my end and let y'all know what kind of improvement I might see, huh? I'll be sure to make a report after this next trip!
Wish us some Luck, OK?