firedoger

A couple weeks ago I posted about my 1st towing experiece and I wasn't happy. Well this time it was completely different. This time I changed the fuel and airfilters and added a Smarty JR. I ran the JR on sw3 with advanced timing and the torque on mild. I was able to take the same hill at 75mph and I still had peddle left to go. The first time I towed the truck would only go 50mph over the same hill. My fuel economy went up about 1mpg ( hand calc) with the smarty. Things are good ! I got 8.5mpg.

Sixpack73

dang what kind of weight are you towing up that hill?

RobG

Your automatic isn't going to last long like that. IMO, you don't need to be pulling hills at 75 mph when towing. When I'm towing my big 5th wheel toyhauler, I find a spot in the RPM range, in 5th gear (1:1) and pull hills at around 50-55 mph. I smile at all the show-offs trying to blow past me, knowing they're wasting a ton of fuel and wearing out their trucks very quickly.

With the only real choice in new trucks being the emissions-laden 6.7, and that awful new sheetmetal, I want my truck to last a LONG time... at least long enough for them to fix all that new crap.

Rob

firedoger

My tow hauler is a weekend warrior 30' bumper tow. I'm guessing it weighs in around 11-13k based on dry wieght then adding toys. I usually don't tow that fast but this was a test of the capabilities of the truck. The last two hills I towed was on the way to the Glamis from Phoenix into Yuma. It's a simple hill. I usually tow in the summer at 110 degrees and on much bigger and longer hills. So if the truck can handle the hill going into Yuma at 75mph or better then I know I should be able to handle the larger hills at 50 or55mph. From what I understand the Smarty Jr was designed with the stock truck in mind and should be safe with a stock tranny. I will be adding a larger tranny pan to help with cooling and longetivity.

rogers259

firedoger,

I seriously hope you have gauges on your truck! If not you'd better get some or you'll pay the price down the road with a blown tranny or engine. I'd say your pulling a crap load of weight and i'd be willing to bet your tranny and EGT temps were sky high!

Just a fyi...my 04.5 typically gets 22-23.5mpg empty(hand calc'd) or pulling the three horse slant with three horses I generally get 17mpg(hand cal'd).

Lost Lake

Ahhh,

The Smarty Jr is fine for stock equipment. My EGT's went down 200 degrees with the Jr, and tranny temps are what they are I think when it is locked.

Just pull man, and if something breaks just fix it. Life's too short not to enjoy the ride.

GlennRMK

For that kind of weight I would only run SW1 or SW2.

EGTs seem lower with the JR in SW3 on my truck but haven't pulled anything nearly that heavy.

sallyman1

why do u wanna tow so fast? buy a used kenworth with a ISX or 60 series in it.Then you can tow fast. 55-60 mph is plenty. im at 1250 egt when i tow 60 mph pulling my 10,000 lb 344 foot travel trailer on flat ground in 3rd (*towhaul). you must be at 1500F

ShutupAndHoldOn

I am not sure if you can run the aftermarket turbo program on the Smarty Jr, but if you can it boosts to about 38lbs. It really helps the EGTs.

firedoger

I only did 75mph as a test!!! I usually like it around 55-65mph. 75mph is not safe when going around bends. Plus trailer tires are not speed rated past 65mph. You add weight ,speed and extreme AZ heat and your just asking for trouble.

xtoyz17

You never said whether or not you have gauges. Even though the Smarty JR is said to be safe for stock trucks, 100HP on a big grade at 75mph is probably pushing the EGT's pretty hard. I'd recommend at least buying gauges. Or, you could be narrow minded like someone else said and cheap out on 300 bucks in gauges and rebuild a 10k dollar motor in a couple months.

Your choice I guess?

jumper

There's a real nice 3-gauge pod that mounts above the mirror under the message center. I did EGT, Trans Temp, and Boost.

As I said earlier, I put a double deep transmission pan and a BD valve body and am happy with the better shifting and trans temps. The worst for the trans temps, actually, is backing the trailer up my driveway. Its not steep by any means, but the heat builds very quickly.

xtoyz17

Do you have any photos? Particularly from outside of the truck looking at the windshield? Trying to determine where to mount my new gauges...

jumper

May be able to get a picture tonight, but from the outside its completely hidden by the black-out stippling above the mirror. From the inside its just an extension of the message center. The place I bought it painted the assembly to match the interior. The pod mounts to the windshield with sticky velcro-like tape. That's not worked out so well. I may have not had the windshield quite clean enough when mounting the unit.

Wires etc. tuck into front of headliner, then run down the A-pillar behind the trim/grab handle.

xtoyz17

Awesome, I'd love a photo if you have a chance and don't mind. The gauges I bought come with an a-pillar and the overhead mount. I'd prefer to keep my grab handle, but either way I don't mind the way the a-pillar gauges look.