Tuesday June 14 and Wednesday June 15 2011
Thus far, the trip has been relatively smooth. Coming out of North Carolina you have a 7 mile climb into Virginia. It is great if you are coming from the north as it is a 7 mile descent into North Carolina. The Dodge started out great. After a few miles, it was apparent it wasn’t going over the mountain at 60 mph. It wasn’t even going to get 50 mph. Obviously, there are some modifications and tunes to be done to the Cummins 5.9.
First on the list will be to set the timing at 15.5. This should avoid the lad in power. I will also have to crank on the star-wheel to adjust the air / fuel flow. This adjustment will be accompanied by a fuel plate change. The stock plate is probably too restrictive. The Dodge will need a #10 plate to feed more fuel on a consistent basis.
The Dodge is hauling the Coachmen Catalina with a dry weight of 10K pounds and another 1800 pounds of cargo. Coupled with the truck that is 5800, and another 800 pounds of passengers and cargo, it is moving quite a bit of weight.
The Dodge also averaged 11-12 mpg through the mountains. It did very well on the level surfaces where it cruised at 70 mph without any laboring. We are hoping the remainder of the trip will yield upwards of 12-13 mpg.
Then there is the end result when we stopped for the day in Winesburg, Ohio. With all the items we loaded for distribution, there is bound to be some settling of the product during shipment. The dinette table took a tumble—no harm no foul. Then there was the slide fiasco. ALWAYS find a way to securely LATCH the door and cupboards when in motion. As I powered out the slides; the bedroom goes first then the dinette slide follows, the dinette experienced a slight hesitation. I stopped the slide when I noticed it was out of tilt with the walls. Seems the cupboard doors (behind the slide and out of direct line of my sight) were ajar enough to catch the edge of the slide and jam it. LESSON LEARNED and another chore to tend to this trip—securely fasten the cabinet doors when in motion.
Wednesday morning we are preparing to get on the road and say good-bye to Amish Country Campsites. At $25 a night it is a great deal, super location. They only have 30 amp services, but if you have the double 30 amp plugs that converge into a single 50 amp outlet if you really need to power all you’re A/C units in the sweltering northern heat.
As we are pulling out, I notice the truck is harder to stop when I brake. Looking at the controller, I see there are NO numbers on the digital readout. We have no brakes. ARGH!! Nothing has changed since yesterday so I begin to sweat just a little. Stopping down the road at a closed restaurant to check the problem we see a Catalina without the slides parked in the lot. This one looks like a 1998. We refocus on the brake situation. I move the manual brake and the readout show it is working. Depressing the brake pedal does nothing. It has to be the brake switch.
I begin moving wires on the switch and the controller shows signs of life. The problem lies in the connection—between the plug and the switch. Mary gets a few wooden matches from the 5er and I jam the sticks into the backside of the plug to tighten the wires and we are once again on the road.
Today the 5er feels easier to pull. It seems to roll better, like there is less resistance? I begin to wonder if the controller wiring was activating the 5er brakes coming through the mountains. When I refuel, I will be able to check the MPGs and see how much of a difference there is from yesterday and today’s trip.
Tim and Mary
Brighton, Michigan
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