Forum Discussion
- The 6 miles up to Timberline from Government camp, is 10% or there abouts. I could do that in the 35-40 range with a 5 sp manual and a bone stock 96 6.5GM in 3rd gear, ie gear below direct. No complaining from me. I could do all the 6-10% grades in Yellowstone, 3000' higher, also in the 35-40 range. Issue I had with the truck, as Turtle points out, is the wide spread gears. If I had had 3.73 gears, or the NV5600, I probably would have been split between the max low speed of 48-50 in direct, and an easy cruise up the hill at 2600 or so rpm which was around 35-40 for me. I could go faster, but why redline it when I did not need or have to! My total was usually in the 14-25K range. My emanual rating was 12500. I pulled every bit as fast or faster at times as the auto version at the real gcwr of 14500.
Reality is, I would not be surprised if this combo in the 12-14K range total gcw is able to meet the 40-45 mi mph on a 5% grade!
Marty - I want it...this truck would fit my lifestyle perfectly...quite literally all the 3/4 ton truck I need...
Great for Hunting...
Great for fishing...
Great for commuting...
Great for fitting in my parking garage...
Great for towing my pop up...
Great for hauling my family of four around. ..
Should be a 300k plus mile motor too.
Thanks!
Jeremiah - I suspect that they use Ike, not because it is frequently traveled but it is an easy way to test and compare towing capability. I have never pulled over it, and would avoid it if I had an option to do so. However it is a great way to compare and contrast pickup performance. Much more revelent than quarter mile times. If a tow rig can own Ike it likely can handle about anything in North America.
The little Dmax should be pretty much bulletproof. They have been running this motor in other parts of the world for some time now.
I will take a guess that the little truck stays above 40 mph going over the hill at max payload. I look forward to this test regardless, but I really want to see what the real world MPG results are going to be. spoon059 wrote:
I would love to take a poll of people here on RV.net and find out how many of them actually drive up that road. For all the nonsense I hear about that road, I would bet less than 5% of RVer's actually drive that thing. We never did and we went across the country when I was a kid.
Of those 5% that drive up that road, how many tow there with a regularity? Maybe 10% of them? For that miniscule population, perhaps this is a valid concern and something to think about. For the 99% of people that will never drive it or drive it less than once a year... does it really matter if you can drive super fast or if you are cruising along at 45 mph in the right lane with the OTR truck drivers and it takes another 15 minutes to get to the top?
Enough with the freakin Ike Guantlet already...
Spoon, taking the 26 out of Portland, OR towards the coast, you get a 6.5% grade right out of the city. Semi's are always on the far right with hazards on when they are loaded. It may not be a mile or 2 in the air, but I frequent this grade all the time. West coast residents have plenty of big grades whenever they want to go somewhere, skiing in the cascades or rockies, driving out of the valleys to the coast. So it's a big deal over here. The only thing Ike tortures in addition to steep grades are the cooling systems, brakes (because fluids boil at a lower temp when the atmospheric pressure is reduced) and Naturally aspirated engines (modern turbo engines really don't feel much, the turbos will just spin that much faster and the computer will adjust the geometry to ensure it hits its boost targets to maintain the atmosphere it wants). So it will be interesting to see how the minimax does when loaded to the hilt. Peeps is guessing 42 mph, I'm hoping 45mph or greater. I think we almost have a pool going here ha ha.- I've only driven the Ike in a sports car (with a measly 260hp, 285ftlb pentastar v6), and wasn't that impressed with the supposedly difficulty of the grade.
The switchback grades you encounter in Jasper-Banff National Park(s), and others along the way to Alaska THOSE are impressive grades. I was glad to have the 5.7L hemi in my grocery getter ram 1500... it tows my puny 3500 lbs trailer like a breeze, regardless of grade.
I've thought about eco diesel (in a jeep no less?) but grocery getter payloads hold me back. my trailer is so light weight, I carry all my cargo in the truck - I've upgraded the rear suspension to help with the squat, but she'll sag pretty good loaded for an extended trip and the trailer full of water. I don't have the extra 20-30g to spend on a 3/4 ton (not gonna buy a 2 seat stripper), wonder what the Japanese 1/2t truck with it's supposed 2000 lbs payload will retail for... I just need to pack lighter and lose some weight :) spoon059 wrote:
Turtle n Peeps wrote:
With less than 200 HP on tap and 7K on the tail things are going to get ugly when they take this thing to Co and tow up Ike. Snails are going to be in the passing lane and going past this thing.
I would love to take a poll of people here on RV.net and find out how many of them actually drive up that road. For all the nonsense I hear about that road, I would bet less than 5% of RVer's actually drive that thing. We never did and we went across the country when I was a kid.
Of those 5% that drive up that road, how many tow there with a regularity? Maybe 10% of them? For that miniscule population, perhaps this is a valid concern and something to think about. For the 99% of people that will never drive it or drive it less than once a year... does it really matter if you can drive super fast or if you are cruising along at 45 mph in the right lane with the OTR truck drivers and it takes another 15 minutes to get to the top?
Enough with the freakin Ike Guantlet already...
I've never driven it, may someday but may not. I do regularly hit some pretty big passes, though, many at 6-8k feet. I think the Ike tests are worth a lot. If i lived back east my opinion may be different, though. Thankfully I don't. :B- Don't care for the avalanche look..but the truck offers a lot. I think that it will be a winner for GM, perfect for those who don't want a full sized truck and tow a smaller camper or boat. I like that fact that smaller diesels are hitting the market. It's a great idea and feel that more automakers will jump on board soon. Overall I like the truck, I of course would not need one for my current set up, but if I had a smaller set up, I could see the advantage of ownership.
Turtle n Peeps wrote:
With less than 200 HP on tap and 7K on the tail things are going to get ugly when they take this thing to Co and tow up Ike. Snails are going to be in the passing lane and going past this thing.
I would love to take a poll of people here on RV.net and find out how many of them actually drive up that road. For all the nonsense I hear about that road, I would bet less than 5% of RVer's actually drive that thing. We never did and we went across the country when I was a kid.
Of those 5% that drive up that road, how many tow there with a regularity? Maybe 10% of them? For that miniscule population, perhaps this is a valid concern and something to think about. For the 99% of people that will never drive it or drive it less than once a year... does it really matter if you can drive super fast or if you are cruising along at 45 mph in the right lane with the OTR truck drivers and it takes another 15 minutes to get to the top?
Enough with the freakin Ike Guantlet already...jus2shy wrote:
Turtle n Peeps wrote:
With less than 200 HP on tap and 7K on the tail things are going to get ugly when they take this thing to Co and tow up Ike. Snails are going to be in the passing lane and going past this thing.
180 HP is fine for only 7,600 lbs towing, and it's a turbocharged motor to boot, so altitude will have little effect on the motor.. It's not like the EcoDiesel that's rated at 9,000 lbs. It will probably have similar performance to the Ecodiesel RAM at its GCVWR as GM does meet J2807 on their rigs. So you should be guaranteed a minimum speed of 45 mph at full GCVWR going up. The big advantage though is that it has an exhaust brake for going down the hill. Something I think even the Ecodiesel is lacking at this point in time, though Chevy activates it with Tow/Haul mode. I personally like having the EB separated as I can have the gentler shifting and exhaust braking when driving the passes empty.
I towed my 7000 LB TT over Ike with my 200 HP/ 425 ft/lbs of torque 6.5 turbo diesel (turned up fuel and boost, most likely around 225 HP) and it was pretty ugly as far as speed goes. I was below 30 MPH.
These guys were towing 7,200 LBS with a 240 HP TD. They got down to around 42 MPH. And that is not a TT but a flat bed with a Bronco on it. BIG difference!
The only advantage the mini max has over my 6.5 is 2 more gears so it will be a bit better at keeping the rev's close to peak HP. That's not much because my 6.5 was pretty much maxed out at keeping the HP at it's peak with 4 gears and a 4.10 rear.
Doing the math, with this thing being down over 50 HP this truck should be around 35 to 40 MPH on the IKE. We will see how close I am when the test comes out.Turtle n Peeps wrote:
With less than 200 HP on tap and 7K on the tail things are going to get ugly when they take this thing to Co and tow up Ike. Snails are going to be in the passing lane and going past this thing.
I'm not a math major, but I would think that 190 hp and 360 ft/lbs or torque will move 7K up the hill just about as fast as 380/720 will move 14K up that hill. It won't set any speed records, but I imagine it will do just fine towing 7K.
