first long pull, impressions and mileage report - Diesel Forum

6SPDMANUAL · 09-03-2007, 11:40 PM

just got back from gainesville area, pulled the KZ 41footer up there and back. the new truck, 450 4x4 4.30 gears, did just fine, as it should. no down shifter, so i was very happy with that. mileage was not that good, 6.41 towing at 72ish. sometimes a little faster but also a little slower. at high speeds the power really is not too much different than my 6.0 was, but the "carrying" feel of the truck was different. more truck so it felt stronger. i was suprized that the fan came on a few times?? that new radiator is huge, but it came on anyway. not that thats a bad thing, but did not expect it to. this truck tracks more with the groves and or uneven road a lot more than my 06 dually did. on the way back i did not even try to calculate the miles, but i was moving, 78 to 80. truck did fine.
its hard to say if its worth the extra money or not (450 to 350) but i can certainly say that for me, it was not needed, but its a cool truck either way.

SVTKYLE · 09-03-2007, 11:54 PM

I put my new 450 to the test today . I had 3 S500 benzes on my trailer. Did about 70-75 the entire trip. Fuel milege sucks but everything else is off the charts. I have the 4.88 rear and this thing just pulls forever. I dont have a bad thing to say about this truck (yet). Im thinking the fuel milege will get better as it breaks in. But I guess you have to sacrifce fuel for more power. In my case I needed more power and reliabilty. So far I have half of what I needed. We shall soon see about the other half.

NatesDiesel · 09-04-2007, 01:02 AM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 6SPDMANUAL</div><div class="ubbcode-body">mileage was not that good, 6.41 towing at 72ish. </div></div>

Oh, dear.

Nate

Cram · 09-04-2007, 01:12 AM

Anything above 65 mph and these trucks shoot $20 bills out the back. If you guys pull at 65 mph or less your mileage will go up above 9 mpg once your truck is broke in, especially the guy with the 4.88 gears. I got 10 mpg pulling a 7,000 pound toy hauler from Albuqurque NM to Sierra Vista, AZ. I had the cruise set on 64 mph most of the trip. It is not the weight so much that gets you with the toy hualers it is the wind resistance.

ljbsvt · 09-04-2007, 02:16 AM

I know for my rig if I pull my trailer (14K) above 65-67 miles per hour, my milage goes down fast, but if I hold it right at 67, I do really well. Above 70 it drops off fast. I don't mind as pulling large trailer above 70 is just asking for tire failures anyway - IMHO.

6SPDMANUAL · 09-04-2007, 08:07 PM

AZ is one place i have not been yet, but yes towing slower just like driving slower saves fuel, but towing at 65 is too slow. people are passing you and the truck does not hit its "groove" until it gets up to more speed. but also from my own experience, when i go up north or to the midwest and colorado, my mileage goes up a little. not sure if its the cleaner, cooler, less humid air or simply less traffic. but here in fl, the traffic blows and the air hot and humid and it does take a toll on your mileage if you are pumping high humid air into it all the time. but reguardless mileage is not very good. i never really notice any improvement after "break in", maybe i do not keep them long enough

6SPDMANUAL · 09-04-2007, 08:13 PM

i just thought it would be a little better with a truck more geared for pulling than the others, but it wasn't.

also had to pull two big boats today, 32 scarrab, and a 29 ft seaswirl cabin boat (tank!!) this is where i noticce the most difference with the 450, is bumper pulling, more stopping power and very good acceleration too. one thing that was wierd, was i pulled the big seaswirl out of the water and i used low 4x4 only because my trailer has no winch and cable so i had a make shift rope tied there to hold in place and i was going very slow so i wanted more control. but i really had to push the pedal much more than i expected for this truck in LOW 4x4?? it did it of course, just was unexpected, i expected it virtually walk that boat out of there. (yes i was in low)

MT765 · 09-04-2007, 08:31 PM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 6SPDMANUAL</div><div class="ubbcode-body">i just thought it would be a little better with a truck more geared for pulling than the others, but it wasn't.

also had to pull two big boats today, 32 scarrab, and a 29 ft seaswirl cabin boat (tank!!) this is where i noticce the most difference with the 450, is bumper pulling, more stopping power and very good acceleration too. one thing that was wierd, was i pulled the big seaswirl out of the water and i used low 4x4 only because my trailer has no winch and cable so i had a make shift rope tied there to hold in place and i was going very slow so i wanted more control. but i really had to push the pedal much more than i expected for this truck in LOW 4x4?? it did it of course, just was unexpected, i expected it virtually walk that boat out of there. (yes i was in low) </div></div>

Does your pickup have the traction control? It might have limiting the power output a little. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/confused.gif[/img]

6SPDMANUAL · 09-04-2007, 09:10 PM

yes it does, but i have never heard of such a thing????? i have my ford guy looking it up (the traction control that is) to see if there is an easy way to completely disable it without disabling anything like, like how sometimes pulling a fuse does.
still baffled with your question????? if the truck tires never slip the traction control does not engage??

6SPDMANUAL · 09-04-2007, 09:29 PM

finally got a pic posted in my sig for those that asked

SVTKYLE · 09-04-2007, 10:18 PM

I did my second haul with my truck today and my only real complaint it the fuel milege. It really does suck. However overworking my 6.0 dually I wasent getting much better fuel milege so I guess it evens out. I was toying around with the idea of not installing my bed mounted tank. 2 days in the drivers seat and about 4 fuel stops and that idea went right out the window. All in all this is so far the best truck I have ever owned. And it looks like a monster comming down the road. !

MT765 · 09-04-2007, 11:01 PM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 6SPDMANUAL</div><div class="ubbcode-body">yes it does, but i have never heard of such a thing????? i have my ford guy looking it up (the traction control that is) to see if there is an easy way to completely disable it without disabling anything like, like how sometimes pulling a fuse does.
still baffled with your question????? if the truck tires never slip the traction control does not engage?? </div></div>

I was just thinking about it, as I don't know the right answer either. But if the traction control was on and you go into 4-low, will the computer automatically try to keep the wheels from spinning? I don't know.

newbie_101 · 09-05-2007, 12:14 PM

TCS is disabled in both 4-hi and 4-low.

My understanding is the TCS is not engaged unless there is slippage.

Phalynx · 09-05-2007, 12:33 PM

6speedManual,

Is that a KZ 41KGx2? It looks much like it. I have the 37KGx2 with the 6' toy section. I was shocked the other day when I put mine on the scale with our gear and a golf cart. 19,600 lbs..... Pretty heavy for a 16,990 GVWR trailer. I was just wondering if you had a eight of yours? We were looking at the F450 because of the weight. We currently have a 3500HD Chevy and get between 9-10mpg at 65 towing but it's the weight of the rig that scares me.

Stealth03TDI · 09-05-2007, 01:07 PM

I don't know about the TCS on the 350 yet because I'm still fooling with mine, but on the jetta there is a difference between TCS on and off. Simply, when on, a big brother software routine inserts itself between the pedal and fueling map, polls the wheels and lot of other stuff asks Is this safe?, then applies the fuel at the determined SAFE level. Since the powerstroke defuels also, I'm assuming it might have the same routines. When TCS is off, it's direct pedal input - fueling, a more noticable instantanious response.
Believe there's only 2-3 vendors worldwide. I know Bosch for one make them for OEM's