Official Cali Sledpull thread!

Oaborbag said:
I made this post somewhere else with no response, so maybe someone here could help me out.:

"I've done 2 pulls in the last week, and both turned out really really bad, I have video's to prove it! I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong if anything, and what kind of tires I need, because I think thats the problem.

1st vid:
YouTube - 25th Annual Gustine Sled Pull. www.brownsdiesel.com
Mines the first truck. This was 2nd/lo no lock up switch, truck weighed about 6850 and didn't have any rear suspension blocks. Front tires were at 35psi rears were at 40.

2nd vid:
YouTube - Ceres Sports Arena 7/09
This was with 2" suspension travel, had 640lbs of extra weight under the back seat and used the lock up switch, you can hear me shift into 3rd and still got back up over 3k rpm. Front tires were at 30psi rears were 50psi, left them alone.

Tires are 285/70/17 bfg at's, all psi is done warm basically. So what's the problem? I lost the first pull by about 80 feet, I think I got 137, winner was 207, 2nd pull I got like 150+' winner was out the gate. As far as I know my truck has similar power to the other ones, but sled pulling just isn't working! Any help is welcomed."

What do you think?
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You'll need to run WAY less air in those tires at that track. Probably about half of what you ran.

-jp
 
never satisfied said:
If you run those tires, run less psi in the front.
Why don't you run the tires in your pic?
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I was thinking that they would grip to much, but after seeing a few people run boggers I'm not real worried about that anymore. They are 33x14.5x16.5 with roughly 50% tread.

jlibert said:
You'll need to run WAY less air in those tires at that track. Probably about half of what you ran.

-jp
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How low can you safely go before popping the beads? If I run those again I'll probably drop the front to 15+/- psi see how they look. The next morning I checked my pressure in the front and they were at 27.5 cold. I did notice in the video my back end squated a lot less than before. at the end of the video my left rear tire stops, maybe I should change my diff fluid, haven't changed it since I got the truck in 03 :bang :hehe:
 
i used to run boggers on my ford with 15 to 20 front and no blocks in the rear but i was hanging wight in the front and the almost bald maybe a 1/4 of the tread left but it worked good
 
jlibert said:
You're not going to pop a bead at 15.
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i have heard a lot of bad stories about airing down a 16.5 rim! ive seen a lot of those come of the bead, and ive seen lots of rims spinning faster then the tire and causing a damaged tire due to the bead being melted. for some reason its only the 16.5s and usually by 12 or 14 wide
 
crazylb7 said:
i have heard a lot of bad stories about airing down a 16.5 rim! ive seen a lot of those come of the bead, and ive seen lots of rims spinning faster then the tire and causing a damaged tire due to the bead being melted. for some reason its only the 16.5s and usually by 12 or 14 wide
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most 16.5's don't have a safety bead, so you have to be a little more conservative with them.

The tires we were talking about are 17's, so no problem there.
 
BigBadDodge said:
Well there is a lot of it, that is way to low Joe, max out the rears to the tire recomendation and give it a try.

I haven't seen your truck in a while but from the video the traction bars look pretty short, how long are they? any way to get them longer and on more of a horizontal plane? are they preloaded pretty tight?

Raise that hitch as well like you said.

The track in Ukiah will be the same :)

BBD
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I have tried that before and it seemed to increase my wheel hop on these type of tracks. An example would be Casa de Fruta, that track was not as loose as Ceres but definately loose and I went from 50psi on my first run to 36psi on the second and the wheel hop was completely gone on the second run. Went down the track smoother than I have ever felt it before. Does anyone have any guidelines on what pressures would be optimum to run with duals vs. singles? I would think you could almost apply the same pressure to a set of duals as you would singles, all the duals do is spread the weight out more.....

As for my traction bars, yes, they are shorter than most others on here and have not changed since I put them in. Originally they were designed with clearance in mind cuz the truck was a trail rig, never saw the pulling track. Since it has become a puller I have reinforced the area around the frame brackets and boxed the frame some more. They are stout and do the job, I am thinking I need some more preload on them as you mentioned cuz they are pretty much at idle right now with no pre-load. Hitch will go up as well.....

I know you have been to Ukiah many more times than me Scott, but IMO, when I went there in '07, I thought the surface was very similar to Hollister, unless they brought in some new dirt last year. Ceres is a track in it's own class......Tulare is the only other one I have seen as sandy and loose as Ceres.

Joe
 
wildwood said:
Just got back from temecula. Joe looks like you were getting too much traction.
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I never made it down there, gonna try again this weekend.

I know, i'm slowly learning more and more, but yeah, it was too much traction in the rear. Gotta get it figured out before I end up hurting the truck. :bang


Joe
 
RedPuller said:
I would think you could almost apply the same pressure to a set of duals as you would singles, all the duals do is spread the weight out more.....


Joe
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RedPuller said:
I know, i'm slowly learning more and more, but yeah, it was too much traction in the rear. Gotta get it figured out before I end up hurting the truck. :bang


Joe
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Take this for what it's worth.

Dual rear tires will exert less pressure on the ground than a single with all other factors remaining constant. The carcass of the tire will not flex as much as it would if it were being run in a single configuration at the same air pressure.

I spent a lot of time at the dunes when I lived in pismo. Your truck shakes just like a rig that pulled into the dunes without airing down. Ceres is a sandy track, and the same principles that apply in the dunes work in ceres.

Also keep in mind that ceres' sled isn't going to load the rear of the truck as hard either, again allowing lower pressure.

Did you notice how much pressure the winner of our class was running? Single digits.

I'd never run those pressures at a harder track or with one of the other sleds that loads you harder -- just at ceres.

--jp
 
Wait, so your telling me I should have run less than 28 psi in the rears?

Your also telling me that Albert ran single digit pressure in his rears? I know his front tires looked like they were riding just about on the rim but the rears looked like they had more than 10 psi in them....

Joe
 
RedPuller said:
Wait, so your telling me I should have run less than 28 psi in the rears?

Your also telling me that Albert ran single digit pressure in his rears? I know his front tires looked like they were riding just about on the rim but the rears looked like they had more than 10 psi in them....

Joe
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I've told you everything I know.

I just want to see you come out and kick a$$.

I've watched albert's truck come out and spin the tires and go nowhere. this time he came out squashed and pulled it out the gate.

The hard-clay back-east mentality won't work at a sandy track like ceres.
 
jlibert said:
I've told you everything I know.

I just want to see you come out and kick a$$.

I've watched albert's truck come out and spin the tires and go nowhere. this time he came out squashed and pulled it out the gate.

The hard-clay back-east mentality won't work at a sandy track like ceres.
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I hear ya Jp, I appreciate the "team spirit." I wish I would have come out and kicked a$$ too but obviously that didn't happen. I think what works on the sand for a "off-roading" only truck will not work necessarily for a puller on sand, at least for rear tire pressure IMO. What pressures was Albert running in the rears? His truck definately came out swingin'.

I didn't have any hard-clay back-east mentality going on, I was just in serious limbo about where to set rear tire pressure. I was @ 36psi going across the scales and after watching the other diesel classes along with studying the terrible track, I went to 28 psi hoping that would net me the hook I was looking for. Basically I was using my Casa de Fruta experience @ Ceres and it didn't seem to work. Ceres was A LOT softer than Casa de Fruta, which I found out the hard way.

How is your engine doing? Find anything more out? I really didn't like the sound of that pop at the end of your pull before coolant went everywhere, hope there is not a hole in #5 or #6.....:bang

Joe
 
RedPuller said:
I think what works on the sand for a "off-roading" only truck will not work necessarily for a puller on sand, at least for rear tire pressure IMO. What pressures was Albert running in the rears? His truck definately came out swingin'.

I didn't have any hard-clay back-east mentality going on, I was just in serious limbo about where to set rear tire pressure. I was @ 36psi going across the scales and after watching the other diesel classes along with studying the terrible track, I went to 28 psi hoping that would net me the hook I was looking for.

How is your engine doing? Find anything more out? I really didn't like the sound of that pop at the end of your pull before coolant went everywhere, hope there is not a hole in #5 or #6.....:bang

Joe
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Yeah, I didn't like the sound of the pop either. I had some stuff come up today, so I won't know what's going on with my engine till tomorrow. The upper radiator hose blew off. Hopefully it's just a head gasket.

You'll have to figure out the tire pressure thing on your own.
 
I think you should get rid of the dulls and go to singles, much easier to work with setting air psi. when i pulled we ran cut tires with bead locks 12 psi in front 18 psi in the rear. but a country modified Gasser is totally different than a diesel. wish i could help but its more of a learn as you go. the track prep next time at Ceres might not be so loose. its just a gamble win some lose some. Jp if its just the head gasket that be a relief.
 
wildwood said:
I think you should get rid of the dulls and go to singles, much easier to work with setting air psi. wish i could help but its more of a learn as you go. the track prep next time at Ceres might not be so loose.
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Well, going to a single rear is not gonna happen cuz I want to figure this truck out and get it right everytime. Just like you said it's definately a learn as you go thing and that's what I got to do. I most likely will not attend anymore Ceres events but who knows, if I get it all figured out, I'll give it a whirl and just hope for your prediction of a better track.

Joe
 
I thought you would like this. I received this from Brian (MLM).

It also concerns Gardnerville Nev. It sounds like if there is no pull in Gville, we might be heading to California State Fair.

July 15 2009

Late June saw the traveling gypsies that we call truck and tractor pullers out on the highways once again. The long haul to Eureka was a great trip for some and not so good for others!

Eddie “the hot foot, hammer down, let me show you how it’s done” Dutra laid down a fine pass in the awe inspiring Maxx Kakl to take home the first place prize money in the 8000 lb class. Nick Guriel had yet another fine pass in his Semper Fi machine to take home the silver.

The 7200 lb class went to school as the Professor once again taught a lesson in tractor driving with his Bail Out machine. The crowd pleasing White Lightning pulled into second place for the night with one of its trademark quiet power pulls.

It seemed as though the Reeve pulling team was going to sweep the 6200 lb modified class and lead the victory celebration until something inside the Rags power plant went sour. Donnie led the charge in his Rat Patrol machine as he powered past the rest of the class to set the mark to beat. Not wanting to be out done by the old man, Spike gave her hell until she couldn’t take any more. Several foreign noises and a puff of smoke left everyone wondering what could have been. Knowing the Reeve family, it won’t be long before we see that beautiful truck slinging dirt again.

The modified diesel class top honors went to Scott Vorhees and his immaculate Big Bad Dodge machine. Yep, that truck is bad! Joel Gooch’s valiant effort netted him a second place finish with his Big Green Sleeper.

Congratulations to all of our Eureka winners!

Only 48 hours and a short drive later we were charged up to pull again. The neat little town of Willits opened their Frontier days celebration with a bang! Marcy Barry of the hometown favorite Time Bandit pulling team deserves a huge thanks for all of her hard work in getting us into this event!

In the 8000 lb class, Jeremy Corriea forgot where the track ended and put on quite a show for the local crowd. Big Eddie D once again impressed everyone with his smooth operating skills in the Maxx Kakl tractor.

For the second pull in a row, Mark Zohns was the class of the 7200 lb field. Another fine pass leading Mark and the Bail Out machine to victory. Mustang Fever piloted tonight by Matt Darr lugged the sled far enough to take home the second spot.

Possibly trying to avenge the misfortune from the previous pull, Donnie took his Rat out as the first puller and laid down what proved to be an untouchable pass. The Young Guns machine gave a great effort, and came home with the second place paycheck. In an unfortunate situation, Wild Hare followed Rags’ lead and scattered some important internal engine parts on the track. I am sure the Danco pull team is working round the clock to remedy that situation.

Like clockwork, Scott pulled his Big Bad Dodge right out the gate to give the Willits fans one last thrill before we headed out of town to the next gypsy rendezvous!

I received a call today from the Gardnerville 20/30 club stating that they have decided to cancel this year’s pull. It sounds like the membership has not done their part to secure sponsorships so they will not be able to host the pull this year. I have been contacted by another group to possibly do a different event in the area and I will let you know as soon as I know.

I would again like to send a huge thanks out to our whole crew for all of their hard work to make the pulls such a success. This would not be possible if not for the time and effort put in by Kristi, Dad, Mom, Kevin, Amanda, Jeremy and John. I also want to send a great many thanks to the Reeve family and Reeve Trucking for transporting the sled for me on our northern swing. You just don’t find good people like the Reeves very often! Remember that these good people are giving their time so that you can enjoy pulling! We are looking forward to working with the fine folks of the PTPA to wow the fans in Merced! See you there!

~ Upcoming events ~
Merced Fair Merced, CA July 24th PTPA/MLM
Redwood Empire Ukiah, CA August 8th MLM
NV State Fair Reno, NV August 28th MLM
Sac Raceway Sacramento October 10th MLM
 
Yeah I saw that, kind of sucks as Gville has allways been a good event with a good sized crowed considering it's not piggy backed on top of a fair. We have allways had great runs there as the track and crew do an awesome job.

I guess this means no all nighter though from Gville down to Lancaster the next day :)

Were is this California State Fair you mention held?

BBD
 
BigBadDodge said:
Yeah I saw that, kind of sucks as Gville has allways been a good event with a good sized crowed considering it's not piggy backed on top of a fair. We have allways had great runs there as the track and crew do an awesome job.

I guess this means no all nighter though from Gville down to Lancaster the next day :)

Were is this California State Fair you mention held?

BBD
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I think thats at Cal Expo in Sacramento. Off of the 50 East. I bet Cole appreciates having one close to home if he has his truck running.
Here is a Link to the Fair.
California State Fair -
 
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