getting a 5th wheel, looking for tow setups for my 97 12v

J

jaybuller

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Mar 27, 2009
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Im gettin a 5th wheel camper, it is a 1997, 28 foot dual axel coachman catalina, wheighs 6500 pounds. im lookin for the best way to set my truck up to pull this thing and get the best fuel economy i can. right now i have the truck in my sig, with 15.5* timing #11 fuel plate 3/4 forward. stock everything else besides exaust. Let me know if theres anything else i could do like injectiors, turbo different fuel plate or anything like that. thanks. also what kind of mpg would you all say i should get with this load? i get 20 to 21 now empty goin 65 on the hyw. thanks for any input. i would like to pull this thing all over the country.

1997 Coachmen 285RKS COACHMEN CATALINA 5th Wheels For Sale - Linn Creek, Missouri | RV Trader @ RVT.com
 
thats not really heavy so 300-350 hp would be more than plenty.

3k's and a 10 plate with a 16cm exhaust housing would work well. or keep you 11 and add some 50 hp injectors and a 16cm housing. cheap and proven old school combo
 
i have seen 11 to 13 mpg on my 12 valve ,the only difference my camper is a little heavier
 
Use to run the a #11 plate. Very good plate for towing. Used this plate with stock injectors and turbo and egt's were vereasy to control. I also had the plate set about where yours is setting maybe a little more agressive, I adjusted the AFC to my liking no smoke issue. My 5th wheel is 10K empty.
 
alright bought a smaller travel trailer, it is a 23' idle-time, weight is 4200lbs across the scales. i bought it hoping i would get some good mileage because it is so light. but i toped the tank off leaving dallas and set the cruise, had it in 4th gear rpms were about 2200 and egts were about 750, boost round 10 to 12, speed was at 57mph. i drove for 300 miles like this and topped it off again and did the math. only 11.5 miles per gallon. i was exprecting 14 or 15? what you all suggest i do to make this set up more pocket freindly towing.

i tried 5th gear at 60 mph and it holds around 900 degrees egt and 8 to 9 boost the rpms are about 1700 to 1800. It is running good and holding good in 5th but the egts stay steady at 900 and climb to 1100 oin up smallish grades. I havent checked the mpg yet drivin in 5th just seems like keepin the egts that high sustaned would be bad for me.

you all think that is all about normal? or you think im lackin somewhere in the engine/tuning department? BTW my gears are 3.55 and tires are 305/70/16. any sugestions on what to tweak to my setup would be greatly apreciated..
 
oh yeah heres what the whole rig looks like to give you all an idea of the frontal area.]

100_3016.jpg
 
I think that is normal. I pull 10k 5th wheel and get around 9 to 10 mpg running 65 to 70. EGT's are running 950 to 1100 pre turbo with the BD SuperB. I want to run a little more agressive with the fuel plate but for my comfort I would like a bigger turbo or complete what I have running twins.
 
I tow at 5000' elevation & above. The HX40-16 really helped lower the EGT. No doubt the hybrids are better than the HX40-16 for EGT control & spooling.
 
I bet gasket matching the turbo exhaust inlet, and enlarging the wastegate+crossdrilling would help your EGT's some and is free to do. Really doesn't sound too bad, I would either drop the speed down a tad while in 4th or pick up speed and use 5th.
 
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