Pulled the trigger today on a Duramax

[timswi]

Nice rig!!!..The damage is a live and learn. We all have that, thankfully it wasn't too bad.

 

[handirifle]

Thanks. I am still mad at myself.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Yea I don't have much desire to go the tune route, nor the money , and I do plan on keeping it as long as possible.

I took the trailer out today with the new Anderson hitch, and that thing is rock solid. NONE of the bucking and chucking, my others hitches had. My "test" road is about a 30 mile loop, and 10 of it is on our country road. It has all sorts of undulations and pressure ridges in it that usually made for a very clunky trip to the freeway. Not today. I can honestly say I have never towed anything that felt so smooth behind me.

I was on cloud 9 until I got home and was testing it for front corner to truck cab clearance. I was so focused on the cab and rear window, I almost completely over looked the fact that the pin box was climbing on top of the drivers side of the bed. Arrgggggggg!!!!

I was not a happy camper, not happy with myself at all.

Fortunately about 90% of the damage, I have fixed and the other 10% doesn't show on the outside. It was all my fault. What happened was when I installed it, I made sure there was enough clearance to clear the tailgate. I had that issue in the other truck. So thinking all was ok, I proceeded on. The problem, was the kingpin adapter puts the pin box back about 4" and that 4 inches was more than enough to make it contact the drivers side bed rail. Live and learn, good grief.

At least there are two positions I can put the kingpin adapter in, and so I reversed it. This gave MORE than enough clearance for the pin box, so now, instead of the king pin being 4" back, it's 4" forward, so I have to watch the rear cab very closely.

Here's some pics of it at max position

And one of the rig in a straight line.

I'm going to build something to warn me when I come too close to the cab before I whack that thing too. On a good note, now that I am a bit more comfortable with the truck itself, I am simply amazed at how powerful this truck really is. That combined with that Allision 6spd is an unbelievable combo.

I had no idea what I was missing, towing with the Toyota. Not to knock that truck, kept in it's realm of capabilities, that was the most reliable truck I have ever owned. Seven years and 60,000 miles and not one single problem that ever required a repair, by me or the dealer. I know 60K isn't a lot of miles in the big scheme of things, but not many trucks can make those claims. At least they didn't used to. Hopefully that is changing.

Wait till you drive the new trucks. Have a friend who works for Ford and he drives a 2012 F350. 400 horsepower, 800 foot pounds of torque. I have drove it many times and it's simply amazing compared to my 2006 F 350. He said that he had the opportunity to drive the new F 350 with 440 HP and 860 FT TQ. What a monster.

Chris

 

[buickanddeere]

She is a good looking outfit

 

[dodge man]

I agree nice rig. I've never towed anything but a bumper pull with my truck but it has a gooseneck hitch in it and you can tell it was used, dents on both cab corners. When I had some other bodywork done I had him fix the cab corner damage at that time.

 

[nc redneck]

I would second on post above about Kennedy Diesel, good info on his sight. I had him retune my 01 Chevy 3500 computer several years ago. Switch under the dash to go from 50 HP towing mode and 250 HP haul but mode. Towing mode increases fuel mileage and HP. He has other options but advised me not to exceed 250 HP with stock trans. Also his lift pumps and extra filter system are first rate ( but not cheap )
Before I got my 2013 3500 I used to tow my (16,500 loaded with golf cart and gear ) 39 foot 5 th wheel toy hauler with the 01. Nothing like sitting at red light and seeing all of those cars changing lanes trying to get around slow rv. Then putting 5 or 6 car lengths on the in first 1/8 mile.
The 2001 will smoke the 2013 in pulling power realy no comparision. The 2013 has better brakes and handels the weight much better.
Cant wait untill warranty runs out on 2013.
Scott

 

[handirifle]

I agree nice rig. I've never towed anything but a bumper pull with my truck but it has a gooseneck hitch in it and you can tell it was used, dents on both cab corners. When I had some other bodywork done I had him fix the cab corner damage at that time.

I emailed Anderson with a question on how I think I can resolve cab contact issues. I will let ya know if they think it's OK to do. Don't want to say anything unless I get their OK on the idea. Waiting on a return email. I think it will work, but I want to hear their opinion.

Yea, I can see cab contact happening easily. Luckily I have been paranoid enough about that, that I have ONLY screwed up the bed rails of my trucks. Did it a little to my last truck even. Duh!

nc redneck

I emailed Kennedy about a tuned ECM. I wouldn't mind an economy tune and a tow tune, so I will see. I am sure it will all be way out of my $$$ range for a long time.

 

[MikePA]

I was on cloud 9 until I got home and was testing it for front corner to truck cab clearance. I was so focused on the cab and rear window, I almost completely over looked the fact that the pin box was climbing on top of the drivers side of the bed. Arrgggggggg!!!! I was not a happy camper, not happy with myself at all.

Arrrggghhh is right. Yikes. That's why I'll only use a bed mounted hitch in a truck with an 8' bed. Glad the most damage was to your ego and not the truck. When we were looking for a GN hitch for our truck (many years ago), the installation instructions warned against installing them in less than an 8' bed.

Btw, we installed a GN hitch in a truck with a 6.5 foot bed, but we paired it with a GN horse trailer with a tapered nose and the hitch installer moved the GN hitch back as far as the instructions allowed, but we still had to be careful when backing up.

 

[handirifle]

Well the problem wasn't bed length as much as bed width, in my case. Here's why. The Anderson "ultimate" 5th wheel hitch uses offsets in the design. I was concerned because of the rear offset, that it might not clear the tailgate, but it did from the get go. The issue was the kingpin to GN adapter that mounts over the kingpin, made the pin box effectively 4" longer. As I mentioned it cleared the tailgate, so I kinda forgot about side to side, and when I made my first sharp back up test I was watching higher for cab clearance. The metal crunching thing kinda took my eyes off the cab.

The kingpin adapter mounts with the GN ball behind the kingpin or in front. Originally it was mounted with the GN connector in the front, but I have since reversed it. THAT position clears the tailgate and side very well, I have about 5" clearance that way, but is closer to the cab.

Sooo, that brings me to my latest fix. I ordered the B&W 4" turnover ball extender. It's rated to 20,000 but my 5th wheel is only 9200 gross so not an issue. Anderson gave me the green light on using it, and that will pull the trailer back 4".

It's confusing I know, trust me, I have had to run this through my head MANY times, but think of it this way. Reversing the adapter was like shortening the pin box, giving me the bed clearance I needed. Adding the extender ball gives the cab clearance I need, WITHOUT making the pin box effectively longer.

If this thing were not so smooth I would have sent it back and gone the slider route, but even with rails solidly mounted in the bed, the hitch rattled and clunked. The B&W companion slider does seem like a better system than I had, but it is $1500, compared to about $700 I will have in this setup. That's an extra $800 I don't have to spend on a hitch.

I cannot tell you the difference in ride this hitch has made, otherwise it would not be worth the hassle. But I think it is.

It should be here Tuesday, so I will hook it up and give a road test and report, with more pictures, of the hitch as well.

 

[sd455dan]

Thanks. I am still mad at myself.

you are not alone - i unhooked the 5th wheel tilt trailer a while back after hauling the tractor and I closed the **** tailgate to go park the 3500.
drove forward and bowed my tailgate when the trailer hitch caught the top it....GRRR