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.
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.