Power Wagon Registry

Ok to start off with I've always owned doesels and got tired of the maintenance cost so I traded mine in on a 2013 power wagon with the hemi, I would never exspect a gas truck to pull as good as a diesel it's just not gonna happen, but today I went and bought a Massey fergusson tractor with a loader on my 20 foot goosneck trailer! I would guess the total weight to be 10,000 pounds most! For the most prt the trucked pulled decent except when I hit a steep hill! There is one hill next to my house that is pretty steep and about a 1/4 mile long and I had to come to a stop and put it in low lock to make it up it! I've haled tractors my whole like and used the gears correct and had it in tow haul? My question is for you guys pulling campers, is this pretty normal for these trucks because I would have never guessed! Thanks

It really depends on the hill and your approach to driving. A hemi makes it's power in the higher RPM range. If you drove to the hill, then mashed the throttle when you started the climb, you were too late. That works for a diesel, not a gas motor. I have never had trouble pulling a hill with my camper. If you are nervous about the engine really winding up, don't be. You gotta drive a bit ahead, and just let it downshift and scream a little. It won't hurt it.

Of course, mileage and maintenance play a part. How old are the plugs? Have you cleaned the throttle body? Air filter? You get the idea.

When I was pulling my 10,000lb camper. I would pull the tranny down into low and let the Hemi scream between 4,000, and 5,500 rpms.

Hemi loves rpm

X2 what Russ and FirerescuePW said, also don't be afraid to manually down shift before it bogs down, that's why they put in a gear shift lever.

Tow haul mode helps in the flatter areas but for real hills you better be at 4500 to 5500 before you notice the drag or your too late. On the smaller hills 4000 does fine for me if I'm not in a high elevation area. It is nothing like a diesel the RPM for a Hemi is key to making power and keeping things cool. Anticipating the hills helps a ton.

The RPM for a Hemi is what a turbo is for a Diesel. A good tuner helps quite a bit too.


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azracer wrote:Tow haul mode helps in the flatter areas but for real hills you better be at 4500 to 5500 before you notice the drag or your too late. On the smaller hills 4000 does fine for me if I'm not in a high elevation area. It is nothing like a diesel the RPM for a Hemi is key to making power and keeping things cool. Anticipating the hills helps a ton.

The RPM for a Hemi is what a turbo is for a Diesel. A good tuner helps quite a bit too.


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the truth!


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Thanks everyone, makes a lot of sense I think I didn't hit the hill hard enough because it's on a back road and you don't have much of a chance to get any speed before hitting it! Thanks I no next time what to do

You don't need extra speed, you need to downshift early and get the engine RPMs up.


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Low_Sky wrote:You don't need extra speed, you need to downshift early and get the engine RPMs up.


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X2
With a Diesel you settle into a road speed vs available power and you just try to maintain your speed. You never get to accelerate or up shift until the load decreases. You may even need to slow down and downshift if exhaust temps or transmission temps rise. Once you drop to a lower gear you never get to up shift again until you begin to crest the hill. Diesels never really overheat like a gas motor. It is the exhaust and transmission temps that are the problem.

It is a bit different with a Hemi, you settle into an engine speed, gear selection vs load. Think of your engine RPM like a diesel turbo, you spool up the RPM to make torque. This is why from a dead stop when you used low range you could move heavier loads. Your RPM helps you maintain your speed/momentum and you never really get to accelerate your speed or up shift until the load decreases. You may even be forced to slow down and downshift if engine coolant or transmission temps rise. Once you drop to a lower gear you never get to up shift again until you begin to crest the hill. It is impossible to make a gas motor perform like the monster torque of a Diesel. Low RPMs with a gas motor will overheat you very fast. With a gas motor You need that fan moving tons of air and the water pump moving an ocean of water to get rid of the heat generated when under heavy loads.

The gears multiply your torque and reduce engine loads so down shift early to keep from overheating.


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Thanks everyone, makes a lot of sense I think I didn't hit the hill hard enough because it's on a back road and you don't have much of a chance to get any speed before hitting it! Thanks I no next time what to do

Yup, keep the revs up. She's gonna be thirsty though....