well..........after quite an adventure i finally have everything. picked up my new truck and trailer this weekend. the truck is a 2001 Silverado 5.3 ext cab w/tow package, 74,000 miles, sprayed in liner, truxedo cover, chrome step tubes, box tube things, hitch, everything i could possibly want.

the trailer is a 16' wood deck + 2' dovetail w/5' ramps. the fenders are low enough that i can open my door, dual axle brakes, 10yr warranty on the wood and frame. the diamond plate on the fenders are nice, won't have to repaint because of rockchips.

i drove everything back today starting at 9am. holy crap does this thing drink fuel like a pirate drinks rum. drove from minneapolis to lawrence kansas, with 4000lbs of load to kansas city where i dropped off the car and trailer. i went through 2.5 tanks at about $40 per tank. 11hrs to road america this year will not be cheap. i must say though, it tows well. i used to use my dads 03 tahoe, which did a nice job, but wasn't nearly as stable in crosswinds or over bumps as the truck is, it just goes straight. cruised at 75mph most of the way, never broke 3krpm, never downshifted more than 1 gear up hills, and wasn't really effected by 20mph crosswinds. i pitty those trying to tow with v6 suv's. couldn't be happier (ok, if the fuel mileage was better i would be).

now pictures for you





i like the ramps tucked under from the side rather than the rear. less likely to come out if the pin breaks, and then won't fall out towards traffic behind you if they do (don't ask).


this is why we had to push the car on.








sorry for the size, it's the smallest my camera will take. and i'm lazy and don't resize them.





Modified by tnord at 3:37 AM 3/1/2004

 

10 mpg while towing a full trailer is about right. Looks totally sweet.

Is that a "Powered by Visa" sticker on the rear bumper? And did you drive the Miata up to MN?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SiLooksStock &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">10 mpg while towing a full trailer is about right. Looks totally sweet.

Is that a "Powered by Visa" sticker on the rear bumper? And did you drive the Miata up to MN? </TD></TR></TABLE>

i'm definitely going to try and up that mpg somehow.....anyone? anyone? bueller?

yes it is a powered by visa sticker (i added a pic). i didn't drive the miata up obviously (look at the motor). my friend has a pilot's liscense and wanted to fly me up there to accumulate hours, so i said "ok."

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tnord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
i'm definitely going to try and up that mpg somehow.....anyone? anyone? bueller?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

My average MPG in the V8 Cherokee went from 12 to 14-15 when I bumped the air pressures in the trailer and truck tires up to their max. Run them as hard as you can.

 

Looks good How's Dale coming along on your head? I've got him patroling for a short block, since mine's absolutely shot.

 

I thought that WAS the motor!

More MPG: Tornado!

Air pressures are a good idea, some highway rib tires rather than the all-terrain jobs on the truck would probably help too.

Maybe ditch the stepsides?

D16 swap?

 

air pressure is a dang good idea. i'm not quite too sure why ditching the step tubes would help except for wind resistance, and i think the 4000lbs behind me causes a BIT more resistance than the tubes. tires would probably help, but i'm not gonna dump the $ on them to get 1-2 more mpg.

i've gotta mail out the valvesprings to dale tomorrow, hopefully he'll have it done by the end of the week and i can get rockin on putting everything back together.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Batoutahell &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Looks good How's Dale coming along on your head? I've got him patroling for a short block, since mine's absolutely shot.</TD></TR></TABLE>

hey jim

are you gonna find a block in time to be able to make the school in st louis at the end of march? i think i'm going to try and do it baring some liscening issues with MC.

 

I'm quickly running out of time to get the crx ready. Dale has a block sitting in his garage, but needs to spec it out to make sure it's usable. I mailed my school entry fee today, so for now I'll remain optimistic that the engine will be fixed and installed in time.

I have an idea to help on mileage. Do you have a car cover for your miata? It would probably reduce drag a bit.

 

tell dale to get on his horse. or as the cable guy would say, "gitter dun."

as you will soon learn, you will come down to the last week before the school, with a just barely achievable amount of work to do. you will be up late into the night, and get it together "good enough," to run the school. when you come across this scenario, call me and i'll provide assistance putting crap back together.

i dunno if there's anything to work on this weekend, but i'll be out at the caves on saturday and sunday, so to scoot over to your place to help out wouldn't be a problem at all.

the cover is a good idea.......and hopefully i'll have a hardtop soon that will work even better.

 

Nice setup! The truck, trailer and SM are all beautiful. I tow a Spec Miata with a 99 Tahoe and get 15 mpg all day long ... No sweat in any weather either but my trailer is open deck and thus light.

One question: Why run the tie-towns thru the rims? You have to run the factory tie-down loops anyway (in most places!) and they secure the car better by inhibiting suspension bounce.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JoeLee &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">One question: Why run the tie-towns thru the rims?</TD></TR></TABLE>I had that question also.
here is a Honda solution... not sure if it will work for the Mazda.
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=498406


Question #2
Gas powered truck? Will this see daily use as well?

 

factory tie down loops? you mean tow hooks?

i'm not exactly sure why i run them through the wheels. i try not to compress the suspension so that the shocks don't bottom out and damage themselves. when i started going to races with my friend, he always tied down through the wheels, and he's never had any problems, so i figured it'd work for me as well.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tnord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">factory tie down loops? you mean tow hooks?

i'm not exactly sure why i run them through the wheels. i try not to compress the suspension so that the shocks don't bottom out and damage themselves. when i started going to races with my friend, he always tied down through the wheels, and he's never had any problems, so i figured it'd work for me as well.</TD></TR></TABLE>

It's much, MUCH better to tie down the whole car....for a number of reasons:

-no sprung weight on the trailer makes it much more predictable
-no excessive motion on the race car suspension prevents wear and tear on shocks
-j00 wont pull the car out of alignment
-j00 wont scratch up the rims

I would always try to tie the whole car down, compressing the suspension as much as you can...

Matt

 

Tie down loops as they are actually loops, not hooks and tie-down as they are there to tie down the Miata on the ship over from Japan. Not, tow loops as Mazda does not recommend towing with them. HOWEVER, no-one ever has a problem using them that way!

I just wondered if you removed yours - and if so, wanted to let you know some weenie is going to protest you for it.

 

willard - yes it is gasoline powered, and you hit the nail on the head why i went with gasoline over diesel; it will be daily driven. i seriously considered diesel, being that i could get one for the same money, but then you gotta upgrade to the 3/4 ton, and that's just too much truck to driver around town every day. maybe i'll tie down over the control arms next time, i'll read your link and see what it has to say.

el pollo - while it may make trailering more predictable, it's not a problem as it is. i just drove 500 miles in heavy crosswinds over less than stellar roads, and the setup went dead nutz straight. i'm not quite sure how there is any more suspension motion sitting on a trailer than racing, and wouldn't being in a constant state of compression wear on the shocks just as bad? pulling the wheels out of alignment was a concern i had, but scratching the wheels really is not.

joelee - i did not remove the tie-down loops, i'll have to look for them next time i'm under the car.

 

Always tie down the car, not the wheels, and always tow with the car in neutral.

The car cover idea won't work. It won't stay on the car and will last a couple of trips at best before it gets ripped. Car covers aren't designed for 75mph winds.

I got about a 1mpg improvement by putting Amsoil gear lub my diff. Doesn't sound like much, but 1 mpg adds up pretty quickly.
Adding Redline ATF to the tranny helped a little as well. The combination probably gives me 1.5mpg on average.
Yes, the high tire inflation trick works. I run my trailer at 50psi hot.

 

yep trailer tires at 50psi.....good all season LT truck tires...(Kumho K824) increased my fuel mileage 1.5 per gallon alone, cap on back of truck, Amsoil ATF in my F250 7.3L diesel trans(cooled trans by 20 degrees), Amsoil 85W140 in rear diff and Amsoil 15w40 marine diesel oil and Amsoil SDF99 oil filter (takes quite a beating). Can go twice as long on oil changes with the Amsoil synthetic.

Amsoil..... good stuff