Posted By: Dave Hall
Went on a 7,900 mile towing adventure - 07/06/19 06:37 PM
Took my dually and 24ft. enclosed trailer on a tour of the upper mid-west the last couple weeks. Only had to buy one trailer tire as it warned me before it was ready to come apart. Thank you Discount Tire Kingman, AZ! I picked up a freight job for the return trip towing a light, little, 200", front engine dragster back to the track at Sonoma. I had to go to Wisconsin from Missouri (roughly 10 hours) to get it. I spent a whopping $1,930 on fuel! I got paid $1,800 for the return trip so I at least mostly covered the cost. The truck got about 10 mpg with the headwinds driving around the speed limit (75-80mph). I had a problem with the pickup on the first mountain grade heading up the Tahatchapee from Bakersfield. I pressed cancel on the cruise control coming up on some slower traffic and all hell broke loose! The truck started downshifting and the rpm went to the governor! Check engine light told me it was the APPS codes 2121 and 2122. Thanks toTSTPRODUCTS.COM for the sensor which is hopefully on it's way to my house. After slowing down below 45 and coming out of converter lock the truck was still going fine so I drove it. It got worse and worse over the trip and will hardly go at all now that I'm home. I found out with a scanner that the idle position was the problem so basically once I was moving I couldn't take my foot of the throttle. I could no longer use the cruise which is so awesome on these pickups. Try coming to a stop by using your left foot on the brake and slowly lifting off the throttle in a machine that makes power right off of idle. Otherwise with new tires and brakes the truck was flawless. On the way home I stopped about 160 miles east of Des Moines. I left the hotel about 9am central and I made the Nev./Utah boarder at 5:30am mountain the next morning! I crossed Iowa, Neb., Wyo and Utah stopping about every 4 hours for rest and fuel. I slept a couple hours in the truck in Wendover, NV. Right by the Bonneville salt flats. I told the dragster guy I was shooting to make the track by 7:00pm pacific and I rolled in at 6:53. I also brought 100 gallons of diesel home where I can go 2,000 miles for the cheap state cost. CA is ridiculous and I'm on my way out. I tentatively have another job bringing a trailer from Pennsylvania (basically New Jersey) next week. May have to stop at Carlisle...
