New Power Wagon on Foshay Pass in the Mojave

[crawler#976]

Took a 3 hour detour on the way to LA to see how the big truck did on a trail I'd done in the Taco.

After airing down to 20 PSI in the rear from 45 PSI, and 25 PSI up front from 60 PSI, I headed up to Foshay Pass. What a difference airing down makes on 3/4T suspension! It will never ride as smooth as the Taco, but did very well. I plan on getting a set of 35" tires for the rig. The 33" tires on 17" rims are a bit short on the profile - I was concerned about going too low on air pressure and loosing a bead.

As I ascended up to the top I saw some great views of the basin and range formations stretching both to the east and west. Along the way I exercised the "magic buttons" - locking in both the front and rear axles and disconnecting the sway bar to see how long it takes to engage or disengage them. The lockers must be engaged below 3MPH, and it takes a series of S turns or loose terrain to engage them. The truck has a very tight limited slip in the rear diff, so I found the S turns worked the best. It will lock in if your stuck - spinning a tire very slowly will do the trick too. I played in some sand to find that out!

I was surprised to still see some spring color near the top of the pass! After reaching the top of Foshay Pass I decided to investigate the Vulcan Mine. I didn't have enough time to do so on my last trip since I exited to the north via I-15. After seeing the mine, I headed west on the power line road and had the chance to see how the big truck did at higher speed on a long sandy section of road - it handled fine at 50 plus, and absorbed some pretty fair bumps too boot. Great brakes - big disks front and rear allowed me to slow down easily as needed. It takes a lot longer to air up with the larger tires, but that gave me time to clean the front window and inspect the first scratches in the paint! It's not a virgin anymore!

 

[crawler#976]

I need to take some pic's of the under side of the truck. Dodge really thought out the protection for the rig. It has heavy gage 1/8 or thicker formed skids and tubular skids covering the underside of the truck including the gas tank! The diffs are huge - one ton rated axle shafts front and rear! It's a joy on the highway as long as your not in the truck lane. It shows that it's a heavy duty rig when ya get into the lanes the semi's have torn up. The worst ride I experienced was on the Hwy 118 between Simi Valley and the 405 interchange heading east bound. Rattled my teeth and guts! I guess the wheelbase fit into the bumps just right for a horrible ride at the speed traffic was moving.

Fuel economy is what I expected it to be considering the HUGE power the engine puts out. I averaged 12.4 MPG over the 1080 mile drive. With a 34 gallon tank I was able to only stop once between home and LA, and once on the way home for fuel. I expect the MPG will come up a little once the motor has broken in some.

Mark

 

[Cabrito]

Awesome write-up!

That truck is really nice.


I love this picture.

Long live the Fridgeless Taco!

>>

 

[crawler#976]

Hey Michael!

Those are the Kelso Dunes. They are almost 600' high!

I'm really scratching my head on where to mount a 2M/70CM antenna. I'm leaving the FT-7800 and 2/70 NMO antenna on the Taco - don't want to pull the head liner out, nor to patch up the 3/4" hole in the roof. A new radio will be easy to install, but I don't want to punch a hole in the roof of the PW since we plan on getting a cab over camper eventually. So, until I get that squared away, I'm using a 2M HT - no IRLP nodes here on 2M. I'm having radio withdrawals...

Mark

 

[Cabrito]

Perhaps the freeway ride will be a litter better once the camper is on the truck. My cruiser handles a little better with a load.

Are you going to get another 7800? I just got one this week and got it installed in my Land Cruiser today. I'm replacing my Icom V8000 (2m only), and I think I really like the 7800 much more than the icom (i haate saying that).

For your antenna what about a lip mount along the hood?

..

 

[calamaridog]

Looking good:drool:

 

[crawler#976]

Yup, I'll be getting another FT-7800 - I really liked it! It was easy to program, had a very fast scan rate, and having a remote head unit makes mounting it simple.

 

[jcbrandon]

Mark-

You're gonna love that truck. I like mine more every time I take it off the pavement.

Here are a few observations that might be helpful:
I average right around 13.5 mpg in combined highway and in-town driving. On a recent 1400-mile round trip from the Lake Tahoe area to Arizona, I averaged 14.5 mpg with the truck loaded to about 500 pounds below max GVW. That trip also saw several hundred miles of 75-plus miles an hour. Fuel mileage drops like a rock at 75 mph. You can coax another 50 miles or so out of a full tank by keeping the speeds at 65 mph or lower.

On the trails, I frequently average as high as 12 mpg, even with a lot of low range. The truck is geared perfectly for this.

The front swaybar disconnect might be the coolest feature on the truck. It really improves the ride quality on the dirt. As you know, the truck has to be in 4WD for it to work. So I often engage 4WD even when I don't need it just to take advantage of the swaybar disconnect. The swaybar automatically reconnects at speeds above 18 mph. That sounds limiting, but I have found that most of my dirt driving is at less than that speed.

If you find the automatic re-engagement annoying, you can install a bypass switch to fool the truck's computer. This will also allow you to engage the lockers with the transfer case lever in any position. I have not installed this and not found much of a need for it. But it is a very popular modification on the Power Wagon.

If you can find a set of the Mopar rock rails, get them. I believe they were discontinued about a year ago. But there must be somebody somewhere with a set for sale. They are well-engineered and fit great. If you find them, plan on about a full day to install them. Also, the original installation hardware is the most important part of the kit. If you find a set without the special hardware, make sure the price is substantially discounted.

Have you driven it much at night yet? I find the headlights are great on low beam, and inadequate on high beam. I installed aftermarket lighbulbs and the low beams got so bright that they annoyed oncoming drivers. The high beams were not improved at all. So I removed the aftermarket light bulbs and installed a set of driving lights behind the grill. These are great on open stretches of highway.

 

[crawler#976]

J, I already DO love the new truck! It's been way to long since I had a V8 :wings:

Thanks for the info! I already installed a set of Silverstars, but haven't really had to opportunity to use them. Oh well...

I may try to fit a couple of the 4" HID lights from Checker Auto in the grill - I think they'd fit fine! The 7" are too large, so I need to open a box and see how big the 4" ones actually are.

I hope the mileage comes up - I'd be happy at 14.

All ready have contacted the guy who makes the bypass setup - I like having the option! The rear limited slip is tight, so indeed, it really isn't much different than being locked as is.

I'll be building my own step bar/sliders. I like to have the rail extend about 2" past the widest point of the door, and to have a kickout on the rear. That keeps the doors and rear of the bed from getting beat too badly...

Mark