old 300

Was out on Saturday with the truck and was really disappointed with the way the truck pulled. Don't laugh but this was the first time I had the truck on the highway with any weight at all, usually just a people hauler. I had a large atv in the box and was towing another on a small single axle trailer. At 60 mph when I came on a good size hill the truck slowed down unexpectedly faster than I thought it should. It was cold ( air temperature ) but the truck just seemed lazy.
The truck works great, starts great, never smokes, great fuel economy, maintainence up to date and has had the lift pump replaced with good fuel pressure. It does have 3.55 gears running 285/70-17 AT tires which I know cuts back on power ( about 1600-1700 rpm at 65mph ) but I would have thought it would pull harder than that. Does this sound normal? When it shifted out of high gear ( auto ) it pulled no problem, first time I had it kick down on a hill. I had a buddy with me ( Chev 6.something litre owner ) gas truck and when a Chev Envoy passed us on the hill towing a larger trailer with 2 atv's on it and pulled away from me needless to say I felt small all of a sudden.

rickf

1700 is lugging it and not good for it. That would explain the power loss. The big tires and high gearing are going to factor into it but as long as you keep that in mind and drop it out of O/D on the steep hills you will be fine. As you said, most of the time it is a people mover so that tire/gear combo is good for most of your driving.

Rick

old 300

Thats what I was wondering, the truck is 12 years old and this the first work out, crazy hey? I think it needs a good load and be driven like the law is chasing ya to clean her out. Ha Ha.. I will try o/d off next time but as I said when it back shifted it pulled strong so maybe thats the issue.. Thanks.

Carpenter74

One thing I found that helped when going uphill like that is to start givin it alittle more throttle just before hitting the bottom of the hill. If you build a bit more boost it will pull MUCH better than making it try to build boost while under load.
I was a little disappointed in mine till i figured that out.

old 300

I guess I need to learn how to put the old girl into a hill the next time I work her. I tried the overdrive off yesterday just running light and the revs came up to about 1750 in the 45-50 mph range. Felt a lot more spirited for sure.

rickf

Pulling a heavy load on a fairly steep grade you are going to want to be around 2000 - 2200 RPM. That way you are not lugging the motor which is far worse for it than running the higher rpm.

bigfish95971

Change your fuel filter, sounds like you are a bit short on fuel when pulling extra throttle.