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Flyer15015 · 08-15-2021, 03:43 PM

O.K. here is the story.
Jezebel is our "new to us" 2004 Fleetwood Pace Arrow 37c with 37K on the clock.
My signature has all the add on's, plus the 2 pancake fans in front of the Tx cooler are on a 3 way switch, up= fans on, ctr = off, down = OEM circuit.
Also added a deep PPE aluminum Tx pan and a Tx temp gage.

We just returned from a trip from Buena Vista, Co. to Gunnison Co. a total of 160 miles round trip. BUT, we are pulling 8000# of 1931 Chrysler imperial in a 24' enclosed trailer, so we're about 30K total weight. AND, we had to go over the dreaded Monarch pass, so we are going from 8000 ft. over an 11,300 ft pass and back again.

Here is how she did it. Going west it is a gradual climb in 4th or 3rd @3200 RPM til you get to the ski lodge, THEN it is 1st at 3200 RPM, or maybe 2nd @2100 RPM (but not very often). Cleared the top in 1st @ 3200 RMP @ 20 MPH, with the pancake fans running all the way up. Tx temp was 185 F max, with no engine over heating issues, though the big fan ran a lot all the way up.
Down the west side in 3rd gear at 3200 RPM and 40 MPH, using trailer brakes and tapping the coach brakes just before the turns, and yes they got warm.

Coming back is a lot tougher, even though we got a run at the pass by doing about 68 thru Sargent's. Boy, the bloom comes off the rose real fast when your towing 8K, so it wasn't long till we are down to 1st and 2nd again heading east up the mountain.
We just put her on 3200 RPM in first @ 20 MPH and counted trees till we cleared the top. Dropped her into 3rd at the top and again tapped the brakes just before the corners, to try and maintain a 3200 RPM max, till we got back down to the ski lodge. Not too tough after that and 3 rd and 4 th to the bottom at 50 - 55 MPH into Poncha Springs.

I told the old girl that I was very proud of her and we would never do that a to her again ............
So, lets all give it up for Jezebel !!!!

Mike in Colorado

PS; we took 1st place in the '30's restored class

Duner · 08-16-2021, 09:13 AM

Well congratulations on 1st place, she sure is a beauty.

But now I think it's time to let go of your pride and ego before I read about nasty motorhome accident at the bottom of a steep grade. The breaking system is just not made to hold back that much weight.

The hitch is rated at 5000 lbs so you need to keep an eye open for cracks and kinking on the extended frame that holds the hitch.

I have first hand testimony of a brother and a nephew that both overloaded their Class A gassers. My nephew noticed a big 4" gap opening in the rear closet as the hitch & frame was bending down on a trip across I-70 thru Colorado. He had a trailer your size with an Acura inside. The other case, we were loading up our sandrails at the Glamis dunes when I heard my brother cinching down the equalizer hitch and I heard a very loud snap! .... the hitch cracked loose on both sides.
Maybe invest in a super clean Model A or Model T.

CamJam1 · 08-16-2021, 10:26 AM

Love the Chrysler, Mike! And the styling on your Fleetwood makes it look much newer than a 2004 too.

I tow a 3,200 lb PT Cruiser with my W-22 and I'm about 1,800 lbs under my GCWR when fully loaded. So you must be, what... about 5,000 lbs over? If yours is a W-24 I guess you might be only 2,000-3,000 lbs over? In any case, be glad you weren't in an accident because the lawyers would be lining up to have a shot at you.

Ok, off my soapbox now. Here's how we transported our cars over Wolf Creek Pass in June... we drove them, from AZ to Colorado Springs and back for the American Motors Owners National show. Of course, it would be a lot more of an adventure in yours as ours are about 40 years newer! I can honestly say though that some of the most fun times I've had are driving my old cars on road trips. Sure is hard to keep a show car clean when you drive it though, eh?

yeloduster · 08-17-2021, 07:06 AM

Good morning Mike,

Congratulations on the first place. The car looks fantastic. Attached is a picture of my Mopar. It isn't a show car but then it isn't a daily driver...somewhere in between.

Sounds like the PPE finned deep transmission pan did the job of keeping the Allison cool. My MH with Jeep in tow grosses about 24K. I like to think I treat it like a baby but I do drive it like I stole it! On Monarch Pass I put the pedal to the metal, let the transmission decided when to shift and go up the pass somewhere north of 30 MPH most of the time. My transmission temps occasionally get slightly above 200F.

I'm not shocked by your weight. I grew up in a ranching/oil field family. Everybody towed things way beyond the ratings. I don't recall anything bad happening because of the weight. If you disregard an occasional trashed transmission! Someone mentioned the brakes on your MH aren't sufficient. To my understanding your trailer brakes are sufficient and they are the brakes that stop your trailer, not the MH brakes.

Tow on!

Flyer15015 · 08-17-2021, 03:39 PM

Duster,
I checked w/ my local Tx shop and reported my 185F max Tx temp on the climb.
They all said that I was well within the temp limits. 220 is when you are supposed to back off. So ya, the pan and 2 fans did what they were supposed to.

I also checked the tow hitch this AM and discovered that Fleetwood used 3/16 thick 3" x 3" angle iron tacked on top of the truck "C" frame rails, as a frame extender AND hitch mount. So today I picked up 4' of 2 x 4 inch thick wall steel tubing, that I'll cut into 2' sections and weld to the actual "C" frame and hitch plates on each side.
I'll post before and after pictures for those who follow.

Mike in Colorado

CamJam1 · 08-17-2021, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yeloduster

Good morning Mike,

Congratulations on the first place. The car looks fantastic. Attached is a picture of my Mopar. It isn't a show car but then it isn't a daily driver...somewhere in between.

Tow on!

My brown '72 Javelin isn't a show car either, somewhere in-between as well. The Big Bad Green '69 AMX is my friend Tom's car and is quite nice. I had a matching one in Big Bad Orange that I sold recently. It was a trailer queen, but I decided driving them is more fun, especially if you don't have to worry about every little rock chip or rain storm.

yeloduster · 08-18-2021, 07:23 AM

My Duster is an original 340 4 speed car. I bought it new on April 1, 1970. The chassis has 300K miles on it.

It now has a 360 CU engine making ~400 sea level horsepower and a Richmond Gear 5 speed transmission. I've never driven it at sea level. Dense air would really make a difference in performance that is already pretty good!

Flyer15015 · 08-21-2021, 06:35 PM

Well, I said i would post what I did to strengthen the hitch, and as of tonight
I've got one side done.
Bought a 6' stick of 2 x 2 x 1/4" and cut it in half, so 3' per side, which gives me 9" of engagement on the frame rail, and extends to the rear edge of the hitch side plates.
On the OEM set up, the hitch is "huck nutted" to a piece of 3 x 3 x 3/16 angle iron welded to the top of the "C" frame and this little bit supports the last 4 ft of the coach, in addition to serving as the trailer hitch mounting rails. = not very strong .....
So in picture 1, this is the OEM set up.
Picture 2 shows my fix using the 2 x 2 x 1/4" angle iron and (4) grade 8 bolts.
I did not want to weld these on as the driver's side is real close to the gas filler tube and the propane tank. = not a good idea.....
So tell me what you think of my "fix".

Mike in Colorado