Not Enough Truck

[AJH]

https://youtu.be/MdbOMRKvvRQ 

 

Another example of not enough truck for the load.

[Marty Roth]

To make it easier to access:

https://youtu.be/MdbOMRKvvRQ

 

and the follow-up:

 

[Guest Mark McAlpine]

The Rolls-Royce looks like too nice to have been towed on an open trailer.  I hope they had great insurance.

[Trulyvintage]

Actual post from a Facebook group

I belong to posted today:

 

 

 

Jim

[Marty Roth]

On 9/17/2020 at 10:19 PM, Trulyvintage said:

Actual post from a Facebook group

I belong to posted today:

 

 

 

Jim

 

The correct equipment for this individual would be the following:

 

1.      Cellphone

2.      Credit Card

3.      List of reliable licensed, insured transporters

4.      A Fat Wallet

5.      Become an agent and hire other folks

 

[Larry Schramm]

On 9/17/2020 at 11:19 PM, Trulyvintage said:

Actual post from a Facebook group

I belong to posted today:

 

 

 

Jim

 

I saw that request a couple of weeks ago.  All that I said to myself was REALLY??  🙄

Edited November 5, 2020 by Larry Schramm (see edit history)

[50ChevyFrank]

That’s scary!!

[Robert Street]

Seriously I wouldn’t tow anything but my trash trailer behind a Range Rover 

Robert

[trimacar]

I'm on an RV site (Grand Design Imagine travel trailers on Facebook) and the subject of tow vehicles comes up constantly.

 

Typical is one that says something like "we just bought this 32 foot RV that weighs 9000 pounds, and we want to tow it with our half ton 2.5L but it has EcoBoost or whichever that particular manufacturer is calling it, will it tow?  The dealer says it has great torque and no problem".

 

I've given up responding, but when I did respond, my comment was always don't just look at torque and horsepower, look at the torque curve....yes, your little engine develops X amount of torque, but yours does it at 4000 rpm and my 8.1L 496 does it at 800 rpm.  

 

You buy horsepower, you drive torque....

[auburnseeker]

It's funny people say why does one type of person have such a big truck or need such a big truck.  Honestly usually it's me and a few gas cans in the back,  once in a great while the family but when I bought my truck I bought a superduty 4 wheel drive 6.0 liter diesel stick with an 8 foot bed.  It's pretty much stripped,  but every once in a while I need to haul something and don't need to call a friend with a truck to do it for me.  Of course rarely do you see those people when you are loaded. 

Though I have the ability and the equipment with a nice enclosed 24 foot car hauler,  I don't haul my own cars.  I found realistically it's cheaper in the end to just hire a professional transporter to move them.    I work on projects at home and the car just shows up.  Sometimes time is as, or more valuable than the cost of shipping.  

[charlier]

2 hours ago, trimacar said:

I'm on an RV site (Grand Design Imagine travel trailers on Facebook) and the subject of tow vehicles comes up constantly.

 

Typical is one that says something like "we just bought this 32 foot RV that weighs 9000 pounds, and we want to tow it with our half ton 2.5L but it has EcoBoost or whichever that particular manufacturer is calling it, will it tow?  The dealer says it has great torque and no problem".

 

I've given up responding, but when I did respond, my comment was always don't just look at torque and horsepower, look at the torque curve....yes, your little engine develops X amount of torque, but yours does it at 4000 rpm and my 8.1L 496 does it at 800 rpm.  

 

You buy horsepower, you drive torque....

 

Will be very interesting to see the next generation of hybrid pickup trucks that pair electric motors with the V6 Turbo engines.

Have to wonder how much torque the electric motors will bring to the equation and how it will impact the entire torque curve.

I am looking forward to a hybrid option to get an empty 3+ ton pickup moving from a dead stop in a much more efficient manner than any gas or diesel engine can by themselves. The same goes for towing a fully loaded trailer from a dead stop. Early next year should be an interesting time when these trucks are announced.

[Mark Shaw]

Most often, it's not just the torque or HP, but the size of the brakes and weight of the tow vehicle that establishes the vehicle's tow rating.  One option I think many overlook is the weight of the trailer itself.  I tow all my Buicks with a 2019 Yukon Denali and a 20' all aluminum enclosed trailer. 

When the tow rating is marginally exceeded by the total weight of the trailer & load, it might pay to buy an all aluminum trailer instead of upgrading to a diesel truck.  Just my opinion...  I also believe in keeping the load under 80% of the tow rating because you will always have more stuff to put in your trailer....

[edinmass]

I like to stay under 70 percent of rated load......after that, you start to get pucker factor kicking in.

[trimacar]

The other problem that I see on the roads are people hauling trailers and driving 80 miles per hour.  I just got back from a 1000 mile trip towing a 7500 pound camping trailer, kept it at 60-65 the whole time.  Easier on the truck, easier on the tires, and gives one time to survive if something goes south. My 8.1 L Suburban can do that speed at 2000 rpm all day long, a major hill will make it go to 2800...while the smaller engine revs are higher.  The discussion becomes yeah, but my 3.5 Ecoboost can pull all day long at only 2600 rpm.  Let's see, 600 rpm times 60 minutes, that's 36,000 revolutions, 10 hour trim, 360,000 more revolutions than the larger engine.  Wonder which one will last longer..

 

My other pet peeve (again from the RV forum) is people complaining about tires blowing up, in fact one of the tires most "hated" is original Grand Design equipment Westlakes, and they are referred to as "China Bombs".

 

When you start asking, people say things like "I checked the tire pressures last year when I put it up for the winter and they were fine".  Underinflated means death to a tire, the sidewall flexes, heat builds up, boom.  Inflate to max recommended pressure and don't look back, get a pressure monitoring system if so desired.

[Marty Roth]

On 5/1/2021 at 7:53 AM, trimacar said:

 When you start asking, people say things like "I checked the tire pressures last year when I put it up for the winter and they were fine".  Underinflated means death to a tire, the sidewall flexes, heat builds up, boom.  Inflate to max recommended pressure and don't look back, get a pressure monitoring system if so desired.

 

Trimacar and I drive almost identical Suburbans, and I absolutely agree with his comment and analysis.

I am usuing the Load Range "G" Tires for the trailer as suggested on our FORUM by edinmass -  

 

One addition -

Trailer tire pressure, and also trailer brakes "should" be checked at least every morning before starting off,

and I usually check trailer hub temps at each stop - just in case !

Edited May 5, 2021 by Marty Roth (see edit history)

[trimacar]

1 hour ago, Marty Roth said:

 

Trimacar anI drive almost identical Suburbans, and I absolutely agree with his comment and analysis.

I am usuing the Load Range "G" Tires suggested on our FORUM by edinmass -  

 

One addition -

Trailer tire pressure, and also trailer brakes "should" be checked at least every morning before starting off,

and I usually check trailer hub temps at each stop - just in case !

Yep, I walk around trailer at every stop as you do, Marty, seeing if tire or hub is hot.  Use a trick I was taught, feel with back of your hand...your palm will burn worse if hot, and instinct makes one close hand making it worse, but on back of hand one jerks away...

[Ken_P]

11 hours ago, trimacar said:

Yep, I walk around trailer at every stop as you do, Marty, seeing if tire or hub is hot.  Use a trick I was taught, feel with back of your hand...your palm will burn worse if hot, and instinct makes one close hand making it worse, but on back of hand one jerks away...

 

I do the same walk - I will now add this trick to my repertoire! I've always felt the hubs with my palm, since that's the part of my hand that I normally use.

[avantey]

My '01 F250 7.3L diesel is one of the best things I ever got.  Just came back from Tenn up I-81 running 68 mph at 2000 rpm, a great comfort zone for this truck.  It just rolls along, hills don't phase it, doesn't care about the trailer weight and a pleasure to drive.  I also locked it up twice, once on the way down by Carlisle when traffic suddenly went from mild brake to full on stop and near Hagerstown on the way north when a TT pulled out of the uphill slow lane to let another TT out on an exit.  Both times I appreciated the extra braking capacity on the F250, everything locked and stopped straight and quickly.  Very important to check trailer brakes every morning too.  I also check the trailer hubs and straps at each stop.

[Marty Roth]

On 5/4/2021 at 9:50 AM, avantey said:

My '01 F250 7.3L diesel is one of the best things I ever got.  Just came back from Tenn up I-81 running 68 mph at 2000 rpm, a great comfort zone for this truck.  It just rolls along, hills don't phase it, doesn't care about the trailer weight and a pleasure to drive.  I also locked it up twice, once on the way down by Carlisle when traffic suddenly went from mild brake to full on stop and near Hagerstown on the way north when a TT pulled out of the uphill slow lane to let another TT out on an exit.  Both times I appreciated the extra braking capacity on the F250, everything locked and stopped straight and quickly.  Very important to check trailer brakes every morning too.  I also check the trailer hubs and straps at each stop.

 

Our 2000 Excursion 7.3L diesel is essentially the SUV version of Bill's F250.

I can only echo his comments.

Our 8.1L gas engined 2002 Suburban 2500 and 2006 Avalanche 4WD 2500 are quieter, and are comparable on paper,

but it seems the Excursion just pulls better on the hills. We don't have those (hills) here in New Orleans, but when we get on the road, the difference is there.

[Larry Schramm]

I too do a walk around at every stop. 

 

I also carry an infrared thermometer to check both the tire temps and hub temps. 

 

On a non-eventful run, the hubs are normally within 5-10degF of each other and the tires the same.