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Old 07-29-2006, 04:42 PM   #1
dsprik
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I'm back!!!

I'll bet it was quiet while I was gone...

I am using my Motorola E815 cell phone for my air card. It took two 80 mile round trip runs into Traverse City's Alltel office to get things up and running, but I now have the internet. Running about 110 kbps in this area.

The trip home a week ago went well. Bill Tea and Town and Country RV of Clyde, OH are a first rate, class act dealership. We couldn't be happier. Cheryl absolutely loves our new home. So do I.

The 2002 GMC 4x4, Ext cab, LB w/ 265 Cooper tires did a great job. We had a real test coming north in I-75 throught Flint, MI @ 4 PM on a Fri afternoon. All three lanes packed, and drivers trying to come flying down the on ramps, expecting to somehow miraculously merge into that. I had to do two panic stops at 2 consecutive exits. Truck and 3400 performed great (did turn my brakes up a little though...)

Allison trans is a tremendous work of art. Had to fool it though at 55 mph, as it won't downshift until approx 62 mph. Otherwise, RPMs stayed at 2500. Did that for the first 40 miles. Called the dealership, then finally figured out that when I reached 55 (on cruise/tow haul), even when flat and up to speed, I had to tap the tow haul off, let it shift down, then tap the tow haul back on immediately again. As I said, all other speeds, like 65 on the interstate, it had no trouble shifting down on it's own. Not sure why it doesn't like that speed. Trans temp was fine.

What really amazed me was that I had no trouble coming out of a rest area and getting to speed quickly with that Duramax pulling 11,800+ of 5ver. Amazing engine. We were going to weigh it at some scales close to home, but ran out of daylight, and I did NOT want to rig up for my first time ever in the dark... We will weigh as soon as possible, though.

My mileage calc were 10.1 mpg during our first leg before figuring out that we were pulling at 800 RPMs over what we should have been running. Then, the last leg came in at 16.6 mpg, which seems a little high, but I went over the figures a couple times.

So, we are here at Bellaire in Craven park for 6 more weeks.

No major problems with our 3400 so far. We ended up with a Queen bed instead of a King. After sleeping in the Queen now for a week, I want my King. We have the King 4 inch memory topper laying on top of this mattress, and while it is very comfortable, I need more room. I "fell" off my side of the bed the first night (I claim Cheryl pushed me...) because of this pad draping over the sides of the bed. Bill Tea is working on this for me.

Our stove was installed out of level. Had not read or heard about this one... I thought the slide was out of level. I called Rich and we each looked at our kitchen sldes to compare while on our cells. With his help, we finally figured out the the slide was fine, but the stove was screwed into the cabinents with the front down slightly. Cheryl put a pan of water on the stove and she caught it as it slide off the front of the stove.

I simply unscrewed the top front two screws and the front bottom two screws. I then bought a 20" 1x2 and lifted up the front of the stove (it easily pivoted on the back two top screws) about an inch. This came out perfect. I then redrilled and re-screwed the top two screws into the counter top. I couldn't re-attach the bottom screws as the stove is now about 3/4" out away from any wood. Not necessary though as the 1x2 under the stove is very solid. Previously, there was nothing under the stove, and the two bottom screws did all the supporting.

Everything else is great. Rich took a look at our tub and mentioned that our drain is now different. I will post a pic. We did have gaps at the junction of our tub and wall. I caulked. We also changed the shower head, but I need a shutoff valve between the hose and the new head. I will work on that.

More later.

 
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Old 07-29-2006, 05:10 PM   #2
jrgwdenner
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Welcome back, Dave and Cheryl. I bet you've been busy but having a lot of fun getting settling into your new home. We are so happy for you and wish you years of happiness as you begin your fulltiming adventure.
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Old 07-29-2006, 05:12 PM   #3
Wrenchtraveller
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Congratulations on that beautiful looking rig but you have to coil up your cord and store it in the pin box cavity. Much tidier looking and we don't want a mouse to go find a new home by running up that cord. Just kidding, and I got to go into a new 3400 a month ago. They are beautiful and a great choice for full timers. All the best with your new rig and you guys .....ENJOY.
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Old 07-29-2006, 05:38 PM   #4
dsprik
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Thanks, Judy and Don!

Actually Don, that's the 3400 sitting at the dealership as we pulled in. They were still moving it around. I have since wrapped it around the outside of the pin box. =)

We are absolutely thrilled about our new 3400 and everything in it. The Venetian Gold is beautiful! I will post some pics.
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Old 07-29-2006, 06:19 PM   #5
txkrumm
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Dave and Cheryl,
Glad you're back! We all missed you. Congrats on the new 3400 and can't wait to see more pics!
Enjoy it!
the krumms
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Old 07-29-2006, 06:26 PM   #6
sreigle
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Congratulations on the new rig, Dave and Cheryl! Your excitement comes through loud and clear, as it should. We also coil the cord and put it in the pinbox cavity.

The mileage numbers are hard to figure accurately over just a tank or two. Just a difference in how full you load the tank can affect those numbers. When you've accumulated the gallons used over more miles the numbers will start to make sense. If you have the computer onboard that shows mpg that can give you a feel, also. I usually do ours on a day basis, resetting it as we're ready to pull out and checking the number at the end of the day. Today we were running 70 mph and doing very decently on mileage, then we hit a strong headwind as we headed into some thunderstorms. That wind trimmed half a mile per gallon off the numbers for today's 585 mile run.

I'm glad to hear the truck is doing well. That's a good engine and it should serve you well for a long time.
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Old 07-30-2006, 01:11 AM   #7
indy roadrunner
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Congrats Dave and Cheryl, I know you are excited. Looks like we have pretty much the same set-up.
Put a TrailAir king pin box on there and you will be set. Really makes a difference in the ride of that HD2500.
You know I experienced the same thing on that 5th and 6th gear thing between about 53 to 56 MPH. I have not tried coming out of the tow gear selection to shift and then going back. I will have to try that. I just got back from Dale Hollow and we were on Hwy 90 behind a truck that was running about 53 to 54 and we could not pass him for about 30 miles and it keep shifting back and forth from 5th to 6th back to 5th. Really up'd the Fuel useage.
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Old 07-30-2006, 01:33 AM   #8
Glenn and Lorraine
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Congrats!!! You sound like a kid at Christams time and I can't say I blame you. Maybe someday down the line Lorraine and I will get one of dem 3400s.

BTW-Are you officially Full Timers????
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Old 07-30-2006, 02:48 AM   #9
rlwhit
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Just a note on your TV. You will find that 1800 rpm will give you about 62-63mph and also the best mpg. At that rpm you can stay away from lugging it. Yes, 50 - 55 mph in tow/haul is a bad speed. However going out of tow/haul and it shifts into overdrive you will be at about 14-1500. It does not pull well at that rpm. It is just something that you get used to. I use the OD lock out quite a bit to avoid that back and forth shifting.

Enjoy your new rig for many a moon.
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Old 07-30-2006, 02:54 AM   #10
CountryGuy
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Glenn, YEP, he is, I saw a quick post the other day from Dave that said he carried the last of their stuff out of their apartment! WHOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

CONGRATS!!! to you both, may you have years and years of full timing delights!

We have the same problem with our GM Big Butt truck, that 55 to 62 thing. I think Al does what you were describing, either run er up to 62, let er shift, and then back down to around 57 OR that on and off thing with the tow haul button. Sometimes when I am driving he has me do that, and a couple of times I got er out of overdrive instead of tow haul. Ooops.

Can't wait to hear more! and PHOTOS!! We all wanna see em!

Again

CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Carol
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Old 07-30-2006, 03:27 AM   #11
Glenn and Lorraine
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Thanks Carol, I knew that as I had already put them down for the 19th! Must be that CRS kicking in again.
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Old 07-30-2006, 03:53 AM   #12
dsprik
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At 55, if I do the off-on again tow haul (using the cruise control to accelerate), it will downshift normally. I don't do if if it is still accelerating, or if I am going up any grade. I run about 1700 @ 55 mph. I am new to the Allison, but it seems to me that it whole purpose is to protect the gearing from runnuing too low under stress. I have heard stories of cars pulling trailers in over drive and messing up their over drive. Those smaller gears just are not designed to withstand that much stress. I totally agree with Dick, that 1400-1500 rpms under load is hard on the trans. Allison is just trying to protect itself.

40 miles at 55 mph and 2500 rpms, though was a little over protective and a bit expensive.

I will get pics in just a bit and post.
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Old 07-30-2006, 04:25 AM   #13
gkbutler
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Congrats Dave and Cheryl on both the new rig and the new lifestyle!!!!

I had our Monty at Collier RV in Rockford on Thursday to get some warranty work done and got to see the Venetian Gold in a 3000RK they had sitting in the showroom. All I've got to say is I am glad Karen didn't see that color!! If she had, we would have been waiting just like you.

Do you also cancel the OD when you are in tow/haul? I found out that was the only time when my Allison wouldn't shift properly. I dived into the owners manual and found that I could tow without cancelling the OD. For the most part, I don't cancel the OD. No problems and my gas mileage while towing is constant at 12mpg. I know others will have differing opinions on the OD but we haven't had any problems.
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Old 07-30-2006, 04:48 AM   #14
Emmel
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First of all, welcome back Dave and Cheryl, I know how you two were waiting on delivery being with you the weekend before. You and Rich need to keep Patti out of your 3400s though, at least for my sake! As for the allison tranny goes, you will find a speed that will suite your own needs. I found out for my towing needs that I don't use tow/haul mode at all. I use cruise and maintain 64/65 mph for my best mpg and the tranny temp stays right in the middle. When I'm in tow/haul it seems the tranny kicks in and out of 5th, so for this last three years I don't use it at all, just my own personal preferrence. See you at the Rally in September.
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Old 07-30-2006, 05:24 AM   #15
Glenn and Lorraine
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We use OD whenever the opportunity presents itself and like Emmel we try to maintain a constant 64 to 65 MPH for the best MPG. We will only kick it out of OD as we approach an incline where we know the tranny will need to shift down. For the very slight inclines we stay in OD. We will kick it out of OD on the downside of the hill but only if the grade warrants it. We only use the Tow/Haul mode when coming down the steeper grades or when slowing down for rest areas or exits when we again will kick it out of OD.
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Old 07-30-2006, 06:23 AM   #16
Kimmrg
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Congrats on the new rig and welcome to the full timing life! Kim
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Old 07-30-2006, 07:37 AM   #17
cargary
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Congratulations Dave and Cheryl on your new purchase - We hope you enjoy your new 3400 as much as we enjoy ours.

Interesting that this topic has diverted off to the Allison Tranny, but I'm glad it did as I can share some of my experiences also.
As Glen and Emmel have said, I also use the speed of 63-65 mph as the speed I prefer to travel at on the interstates. I don't know if the mileage is best at this speed though, actually I believe it would be better at 58-60, but I just like driving this speed better. I have found that if I leave the tranny in the tow/haul mode that after it shifts down out of OD to 4th gear, due to a hill or grade sufficient enough to cause it to downshift, that is takes much longer to upshift to OD again if I have it in the tow/haul mode. So to get around this, I take it out of the tow/haul mode after it downshifts and leave it out until it shifts into OD again. I do this because I like the auto downshifting feature of this tranny caused by stepping on the brake when going down a hill or when slowing down to exit or coming to a stop. We haven't as yet traveled to any area where mountains would cause us to use the downshifting feature more extensively to ease the stress on the brakes, but based on our experiences so far, feel this tranny will help us out considerably when we do.
We had a experience when traveling recently in the UP (Upper Peninsula)of Michigan that we would like to share with everyone with the Allison Tranny. While going down a fairly long and moderately steep hill, I noticed that the Motorhome ahead of us was hitting the brakes as to slow their decent. As with past experience, when you see someone braking ahead, you want to start slowing down also, so having the tv in the tow/haul mode I steped on the brake so it would downshift out of OD and nothing happened, so I got on the brake again a little harder and it downshifted from OD to I think 3rd gear, skipping 4th. This sent the RPMs to 3300 into the red zone. At this point, I just wanted to slow the engine speed to where the RPMs were out of the red zone, so I kept the pressure on the brakes until the engine slowed down enough. I then took it out of the tow/haul mode and we resumed our travel. On this trip, we had this happen twice to us. We have not had it happen before and not since, but left me thinking why did this happen. I have since called the dealership and explained the problem to them and was told they would talk to the tranny mechanics and get back to us afterwards. Well, its been about 10 days now and we've heard nothing. Has anyone else had anything like this happen to them?
Just off the cuff, I think somehow by stepping on the brake a second time harder was the cause by sending a signal to the computer that the first downship wasn't sufficient enough. Usally, the tranny will respond quickly and downshift, but in these 2 cases, it did not and when it did, it skipped a gear or so.
If any of you folks out there have had any similar experiences we would like to hear about them.
Thanks for any feed back.
Gary & Carole
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Old 07-30-2006, 08:03 AM   #18
sreigle
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I use OD and Tow/Haul almost always. Remember that OD is just another gear. A smart transmission will know when to drop out of OD. Tow/Haul, to me, is the important part. 61k on this transmission and no sign of problems at all. Just an opinion.
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Old 07-30-2006, 09:12 AM   #19
Parrothead
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The problem with the Allison in tow/haul must have been fixed on the new 6 speed Allison because we run in tow/haul with no problems. Of course Ed does not drive at 60 all the time but does when he can. We have found so many rough roads lately we tend to slow down.
Congrats on your new 3400 and getting everything working.
Happy trails.....................
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Old 07-30-2006, 11:10 AM   #20
Broome101
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Congrats Dave & Cheryl I am sure you will love the new home, nice picture. Need view of inside when you get it ready for display.
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