• RME Gear & Apparel

New tow pig

haulinshine

haulinshine

Active Member
mbryson said:
I'm more of a fan of an equalizer hitch than airbags. Some folks like them, I've not been that impressed with them.
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I personally would use an equalizer with anything over 4k but with the tongue weight johnny says the trailer is getting a good amount of leverage on the axle and is going to cause some pretty good sag. with it being a 2500 he won't have overload springs so I recommend airbags or some sumo springs if they don't want to deal with the airbags. I'm just saying that keeping front and rear at roughly level height when towing makes a world of difference and an equalizer won't change that much.
 
Johnny Quest

Johnny Quest

Web Wheeler
Location
West Jordan
mbryson said:
I'm more of a fan of an equalizer hitch than airbags. Some folks like them, I've not been that impressed with them.
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i've got an equalizer and it sat perfectly level on the last trip; took Soldier Summit at 65-70mph and around 2300rpm.

i might step up to a slightly larger tire, on a larger wheel (for more take-off options in the future; thanks @Bart ) but i dont want to deal with regearing, or putting more stress on a somewhat older system.8DA71290-CCAD-42C3-951C-780281C99C72.jpeg
 
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haulinshine

haulinshine

Active Member
that looks like a t2160 so your 2500 is a little overkill for something that small, the mfg claims 585 for the tongue weight and with the 1'' or so of squat I would say that is pretty close to right. So yes the helper springs would be unnecessary with that setup.
 
Johnny Quest

Johnny Quest

Web Wheeler
Location
West Jordan
626C7171-F609-428D-9757-FB19CAE72D5E.jpeg
Got some new shoes. Nothing crazy; no suspension mods, just some very minor trimming up front. Other than that, it’s only been maintenance stuff.


If anyone knows about a bed topper than would fit this, I would be interested.
 
Johnny Quest

Johnny Quest

Web Wheeler
Location
West Jordan
Greg said:
20's? That should make towing a much more stable experience.
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yup, they're 20s off a newer Sierra; tires are about an inch taller than what was on there before with the stock 16s. I had to run adapters since the new wheels are 8x180 (vs 8x6.5 stock) which I know isn't ideal on a tow pig, but its just one more thing to keep an eye on. i did have to cut about a 1/4" off the stock studs so the wheels would sit flush against the spacer. this widened out the stance by a couple inches as well, but not enough that the tires stick outside the flares.

the 20s will also give me more tire options down the line as well.
 
Johnny Quest

Johnny Quest

Web Wheeler
Location
West Jordan
just finished up a 2400 mile, 9 day long road trip up through Oregon and back. Things were good, except for when they weren't. Fought an overheating issue most of the trip, which i finally tracked down on the 2nd to last day to a small split in the turbo coolant line,. Trans also got warm once or twice due to low fluid levels. anyway, got home, parked the trailer, and run out to grab dinner, and the truck dies while driving. Looks to be a fuel issue, but my tech is still looking into it. However, the bigger issue is that he also found that the cooling system is also immediately building pressure.

yup.
head gasket.
fml.

its got 289k, and putting 6-8k into a head gasket doesnt make sense to me. because then the trans and the rest of the truck still have close to 300k. I'm just going to end up throwing money at this thing for the next few years, and i'll never get it back. so it looks like its time to cut my losses and find something else. But have you seen the used diesel truck market lately? its horrendous. $30k for a 10-12 year old truck with 200k is the norm.
 
RockChucker

RockChucker

Well-Known Member
Location
Highland
The gasser market is just as insane. I've thought about selling my LBZ and getting a gasser that is 8 or 9 years old....but prices are so bonkers that I'm just going to keep my LBZ until it is dead.
 
Rot Box

Rot Box

Diesel and Dust
Location
Smithfield Utah
Sorry man that’s not good to hear.

The used truck market is outrageous. I cannot believe how much they cost nowadays. I get frustrated with mine and look around for something newer and no way ain’t going to happen.

They go a long time what if you bite the bullet and just fix it and drive?

Other than the headaches how was your trip? I love the Oregon coast and am dying to get back 😎
 
Johnny Quest

Johnny Quest

Web Wheeler
Location
West Jordan
ive thought about doing a head gasket, but i'm guessing that it'll snowball. "since we're in here, you might as well do X, Y, Z...." and then i've got a $10k bill on a 300k truck that i only spent $9k for in the first place. and after all that, the rest of the truck still has 300k.

other than the truck issues, the trip was incredible. we did 2 days in Bend, 2 days at Coos Bay, and 2 days at Nehalem. Such a beautiful state, (but i'd never want to live there).
 
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glockman

glockman

I hate Jeep trucks
Location
Pleasant Grove
Johnny Quest said:
ive thought about doing a head gasket, but i'm guessing that it'll snowball. "since we're in here, you might as well do X, Y, Z...." and then i've got a $10k bill on a 300k truck that i only spent $9k for in the first place. and after all that, the rest of the truck still has 300k.

other than the truck issues, the trip was incredible. we did 2 days in Bend, 2 days at Coos Bay, and 2 days at Nehalem. Such a beautiful state, (but i'd never want to live there).
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That $19k is likely better than you will find for a truck that you know ALL the issues with.

I've thought about selling my truck at today's premium, not having a truck for a year and buying back in when the crash happens. It has to happen. People can't keep paying $100k for trucks that have 50k miles on them. It just isn't supported by anything.
 
Bart

Bart

Registered User
Location
Arm Utah
I bought my 02 DMax with 195k on the odometer and 2 weeks later drove it to West Virginia (3700 miles round trip) to pick up a 10,000 lb boat. By the time I got home it was smoking badly from the old injectors and the t-case was leaking because of the known wear issue. I was worried I had bought a lemon and had to dump $5000 into it right off the bat. 60k miles and 7 years later I am happy I kept it and it has been an awesome truck. 90% of the miles I've put on it are towing. I've done routine maintenance, tires, added a Tap Shifter for actual gear selection, and a double din receiver, and like it as much as any truck I've had and most trucks I ride in. I look at newer trucks and am too cheap to drop another $30k on something with over 100k miles that doesn't offer much more than updated amenities. Good luck with your decision.
 
Johnny Quest

Johnny Quest

Web Wheeler
Location
West Jordan
glockman said:
That $19k is likely better than you will find for a truck that you know ALL the issues with.
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thats part of the problem- ive only had it about 7 months, and don't know all the issues. I'm just starting to find the first ones that have popped up. Since its a tow rig, and not a daily, the only time those issues will pop up is when we're hundreds of miles from home. i can't risk getting stranded with my kids on the side of the road. i just got super lucky that this most recent issue happened at home, and not 24 hours earlier when we were driving through Oregon and Idaho.
 
N-Smooth

N-Smooth

Smooth Gang Founding Member
Location
UT
This is why I have trust issues and have to buy newer trucks. Buuuuuut unless that's an option I say fix it rather than replace it with another truck that's also surrounded by question marks 🤷
 
Rot Box

Rot Box

Diesel and Dust
Location
Smithfield Utah
I wonder if you shopped around for a better price on a head gasket(s). It’s a tough job I know that so maybe the price reflects that.

Might be a tough sell as is I just don’t know. I’d put thrust in a 300k mile truck like that if everything was sorted out. I wish I was more help..
 
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