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Old 11-19-2004, 08:41 AM   #9
RockyMtnRay
TrailManor Master
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Posts: 816
Thumbs up Indeed!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by APerkins

Not anything much better than a rice burner eatin' up American Iron.
Hee hee...yes indeed. Three occasions come to mind...

1. Eastbound on I70 on the 8 mile, steady 7% grade climb up to the Eisenhower tunnels under the Continental Divide. Starting elevation on this grade is 8700 feet, ending elevation at the tunnel entrance is 11,150 feet. At the beginning of the grade a Hemi powered Ram roars past me at about 80 mph with a single axle utility trailer in tow. I'm doing the speed limit...60 mph. 5 miles up the grade at about 10,000 feet, Mr. Hemi Ram is down to 45 mph. The Tundra with TM in tow is still happily climbing at 60 mph. I wave "buh-bye" as I blast past him. His reaction:

2. Eastbound again on I70, this time coming up the notorious Floyd Hill east of Idaho Springs. 2 mile long, 6 to 7 percent grade with a sharp 50 mph curve at the bottom so it's hard to get any momentum going into the grade. Thankfully it's 3 lanes going up cause I'm over in the left lane within half a mile with the speed steadily rising to about 65 mph by the top. Halfway up I overtake a brand new Ford 150 pulling an itty-bitty little Coleman popup and barely doing 40 mph. The driver of the Ford is so amazed that a Toyota pulling a much bigger trailer is overtaking him so fast that he literally hangs his head out the window with his mouth wide open! I just gave him a ear to ear grin and stuck my nose in the air.

3. Westbound I70, this time a couple of miles below the east entrance to the Eisenhower Tunnels at about 10,100 feet. Speed limit is 65, the grade is between 5 and 6 percent, and I'm running heavy with a full load of food and water in the TM...plus a lot of cargo on the truck including a kayak and my bicycle. Nonetheless, I'm still easily holding 65 to 70 mph, most of the time in 3rd gear. Overtake a Chevy Suburban...loaded but without any trailer in tow...that's clearly struggling to maintain 60 mph. The Suburban's driver's expression was priceless as he watches my rice burner...with sizeable trailer in tow...leave him in the dust.

As you may be gathering, Bill's comment above about being prepared to be passed by other vehicles at high altitudes just doesn't apply to the Tundra. In fact, you should be prepared to be the one doing the passing. Stock, that required simply being willing to let that wonderful 32 valve engine rev around 4600 RPM in 2nd gear (which I'm sure you realize it loves to do). After I installed the headers and free-er flowing muffler, I could more often than not stay in 3rd gear at around 3000 RPM on these high altitude grades. This week my Tundra's differentials are being regeared (from the stock 3.91 ratio to 4.30). That will do two things...a direct 10% gain in torque at the wheels and move the engine's peak torque RPM right into my preferred towing speeds (65 to 70 mph) which will provide yet another 10 to 15 percent gain in usable torque at the wheels. I'm expecting to now be able to stay in 3rd (direct drive) and easily achieve the speed limit on all but the toughest, highest climbs.
__________________
Ray

I use my TM as a base camp for hiking, kayaking, mountain biking, and climbing Colorado's 14ers


The Trailer: 2002 TM Model 2720SL ( Mods: Solar Panels (170 Watts), Dual T-105 Batteries, Electric Tongue Jack, Side AC, Programmable Thermostat, Doran TP Monitor System)

The Tow Vehicle: 2003 Toyota Tundra V8 SR5 4X4 w/Tow Package (Towing & Performance Mods: JBA Headers, Gibson Muffler, 4.30 gears, Michelin LTX M/S Tires, Prodigy Brake Controller, Transmission Temperature Gauge)


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