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Re: Thoughts on trip out west
I needed a hitch that I could easily get in and out of my truck by myself so I chose the Andersen Ultimate Hitch as my 5er is well within the hitch’s design limits. I know others have bad mouthed this hitch for one reason or another but it is perfect for me. I was very pleased with its performance over the long trip.795Views0likes0CommentsRe: Thoughts on trip out west
spoon059 wrote: What kind of mileage did you get? I didn’t hand calculate it but the mpg indicator on the truck showed 9.5 over the total trip of 3148 miles. I know that is not accurate but the times I have hand calculated it and compared it to the truck mpg it was always one mpg less so the actual mpg was most likely 8.5. I'm assuming that even with the transmission downshifting, you still needed to brake quite a bit going down those hills, right? Surprisingly no. I didn’t have to brake much until the bottom of the hill. The transmission impressed me. A lot of times I was in 2nd gear by the time I needed to brake. I had a friend with the 6.4 and the 3.42 gears (I think they were 3.42) and he hated how it drove with that transmission. It seems that the 4.10 and that trans are the sweet spot for that 6.4. The combination I have sure worked well for me. What size gas tank can you get with that? Mine came with a 32 gallon tank. I wish it was bigger. I have a friend with a 2018 Chevy 2500 with the 6.0 and I believe his came with a 36 gallon tank.796Views0likes0CommentsThoughts on trip out west
Recently got back from a three week trip out west. St. Louis to KC, up through Iowa to South Dakota to Devils Tower to Yellowstone to the Grand Tetons. Returned home through southeast Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, and back through Missouri. This was our first long trip and our first towing through mountains. I have a 2018 Ram 3500 SRW, 6.4 and 4:10 rear with 3973 lb. of payload. My 30 foot fifth wheel has an unloaded pin weight of 1115 lb. and a GVWR of 9800 lb. This trailer is well within the capacity of my truck. I was very curious to see how the gasser would do in the mountains. I’ve read in a few places (including here) where folks were saying how difficult it would be from Buffalo, WY to Ten Sleep on highway 16 and also difficult from Ten Sleep to Yellowstone. I’m happy to report that my truck pulled like a beast all the way through the entire trip and it’s got a great exhaust note when the RPMs go up to about 4500 just like it was designed to do. I used my transmission extensively on the down grades and it worked just fine. As others have said, pay attention to the speed limits, watch for the switchbacks and all will be fine. My friend and his wife were in their 43 foot DP towing a Ford Bronco. They went a bit slower with all that weight but had no problems at all. I also used my new TST tpms system for the first time. The trailer tires were aired up to the sidewall recommended 80 psi. The tires that were in the sun had the highest temperature as well as the highest psi once on the road. There was a point where the two hot tires got one psi above my preset limit of 95 but that was the only issue I had with tires. I had recently put new Goodyear Endurance tires on the trailer and was just going to leave the truck tires alone but they were about at the end of their life so I figured I would replace them as well. I also recently replaced the engine air filter. I don’t know if it was coincidence or not but I got the best mpg I’ve ever gotten while towing this trailer as well as our previous one. I was looking forward to great gas mileage wile coming through Kansas but that didn’t happen with the crazy cross winds on I-70. That leg turned out to be worse mpg than coming through the mountains. The trip from Yellowstone to Gros Ventre in the Grand Tetons gave me the best mpg because of the 45 mph speed limit. No reason to go fast with all the beautiful scenery to take in. Gros Ventre is a nice campground. We were in loop D and it was quite tight and I wouldn’t want to be in a trailer much bigger than ours. This was a bucket list trip and I couldn’t have been more pleased. We even had a big bull elk strutting through our campsite at Fishing Bridge RV Park in Yellowstone one morning. There was a woman taking trash to the dumpster with her dog when he showed up. The poor woman just froze and did her best to keep the barking from her dog to a minimum. He just kept on walking. We had about five mule deer in the site across from us one day too. Just beautiful! Fishing Bridge is a nice campground (we were in loop E). Needless to say we saw many bison throughout the park. On the Walk to the Grand Prismatic Spring overlook there was a single bison walking right along the path. That was quite a shock with so many people in the area. We all remained calm as well as the bison. He was 12 feet away from us as we all stood still. There was really nowhere for all of us to go. This trip was two years in the making and did not disappoint at all!1.6KViews0likes8CommentsRe: Yellowstone east entrance
I’ll be taking that route in September. My 5er is quite a bit smaller at 30 feet in length. This will be my first trip through any mountains and I’m curious to see how well my truck can pull the 5er. It will be less than 10,000 lbs. so I really don’t anticipate any problem. The route through the Bighorns on 16 does look like it’s more challenging than the later route from Cody to Fishing Bridge. I’ll be making good use of the lowers gears in the transmission.523Views0likes0CommentsTPMS question
I recently purchased a TST tpms system with flow through sensors. I now need metal valve stems for the trailer and the truck. Putting metal valve stems on the trailer is no problem but the truck is another issue. Even though the truck has a factory tpms system, I want to use the TST system because I’ll be able to watch it in real time like the trailer. Using the rubber factory stems is not recommended by TST because they flex too much while at highway speeds causing air to escape from the stem where it attaches to the rim. In Missouri (and possibly other states) it is illegal to disengage/remove factory tpms sensors located inside the tire. I had a nice discussion with my tire guy and he told me this, much to my surprise. I searched the internet and sure enough, it’s true. Ram does not make a metal valve stem that attaches to the factory tpms so I’m searching for an aftermarket stem that does. I’ve seen an aluminum stem at AutoZone that might work (I’ll have to compare it to the OEM rubber stem at the auto parts store) but I’ve read where the aluminum ones corrode too much and cause more issues. Can anyone with this same issue tell me what you did?1.6KViews0likes8CommentsRe: Opinions on Yellowstone trip
Horsedoc wrote: There is a neat looking small RV park in Ten Sleep where we have wanted to stay several times when we come through but timing wise, it has not worked out for us. That is exactly where we’ll be spending the night. The restaurants and small shops look real cool. We’ll also be making a short trip down the road to the small brewery. It looks like a neat little town. The way it got its name is also interesting.464Views0likes0CommentsRe: Opinions on Yellowstone trip
fj12ryder wrote: We were at Fishing Bridge a few years ago and it closed the last week in September. We had no issues with bad weather. I think you'll be fine. We’ll be leaving the park on September 27. ReneeG wrote: Every spring and before a long trip, we take our fifth wheel in and get the tires inspected. We've never had a fail with regular inspections by a professional. Thanks. I had planned on doing that.464Views0likes0CommentsRe: Opinions on Yellowstone trip
agesilaus wrote: The road east of Ten Sleep goes thru a high mountain pass and was very snowy when we went thru west to east last late September. Cody thru the park on 14 was also high altitude and actively snowing hard and being plowed at the time. The hot springs at Thermopolis were a major disappointment, concrete pools inside a building. So be prepared for weather in the park. Of course I have been in snowstorms there in July. The park is high altitude 9000ft more or less. Cody rolls up the sidewalks at the end of September and all the RV parks close. Be sure to visit Lamar Valley if you want to see critters. I could not believe the prices at Fishing Bridge now. I didn’t know the weather could be so severe in late September. Now you’ve got me wondering! The actual spring is what we want to see, not the concrete pools like you describe. I realize Fishing Bridge is in the park but I was shocked to see the price: $99 a night! Wow!464Views0likes0CommentsRe: Opinions on Yellowstone trip
valhalla360 wrote: Did the same route last fall... US-16 is the better route across the Big Horn Mts (vs US-14) but still a decent climb and drop. That's really the mountainous part of getting from Devils Tower to Fishing Bridge. At 10 Sleep you are past the worst, the route isn't bad at all (north to Greybull then west to Cody). No reason to go way south to Thermopolis. As far as tires, assuming there are no other issues (balding, bubbles on the sidewall, etc...), 3yrs is fine. Typically around 6-7yrs is when you start to consider tires having aged out. Thermopolis looks like a cool little town. We thought the spring itself might be something interesting to see. Going through there is a bit longer but it is also something else to see on our trip.464Views0likes0Comments
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