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An aluminum tow vehicle for an aluminum Camplite.

Started by whoofit, September 07, 2015, 09:07:58 PM

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gnies

Quote from: @whoofit" source="/post/25200/thread" timestamp="1475768224As I said earlier in this thread I use this truck primarily for work. Short in-town runs in a hilly area, with many starts and stops per day, and that involves towing most days. From my experience this is the worst case scenario for turbos. I have read that Ford has addressed this with oil drain holes at the bushing/bearing area and through aggressive cooling methods.

Considering my past history of needing to replace turbos at 50-60k miles I can only guess that a 20% improvement from Ford would be minimum. Unloaded highway driving you may never have a failure.

Our latest car purchase was going from an EB Escape to a normally aspirated V6 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk that eventually makes around the same HP and torgue. I don't miss the Escape one bit. The Jeep pulled through the hills of PA, West VA and VA far better than the Escape did and stayed cool as a cuke.

The Jeep gets the same fuel mileage as the Escape did towing or not, highway and city too.
Oh you got rid of your Escape? My brother have a Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk, really nice jeep but he had a lot of trouble and had to replace the transmission completely

whoofit

[quote source="/post/25201/thread" author="@paul" timestamp="1475768758"][quote timestamp="1475768224" author="@whoofit" source="/post/25200/thread"]As I said earlier in this thread I use this truck primarily for work. Short in-town runs in a hilly area, with many starts and stops per day, and that involves towing most days. From my experience this is the worst case scenario for turbos. I have read that Ford has addressed this with oil drain holes at the bushing/bearing area and through aggressive cooling methods.

Considering my past history of needing to replace turbos at 50-60k miles I can only guess that a 20% improvement from Ford would be minimum. Unloaded highway driving you may never have a failure.

Our latest car purchase was going from an EB Escape to a normally aspirated V6 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk that eventually makes around the same HP and torgue. I don't miss the Escape one bit. The Jeep pulled through the hills of PA, West VA and VA far better than the Escape did and stayed cool as a cuke.

The Jeep gets the same fuel mileage as the Escape did towing or not, highway and city too.
[/quote]Oh you got rid of your Escape? My brother have a Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk, really nice jeep but he had a lot of trouble and had to replace the transmission completely
[/quote]Yes the first runs of the ZF transmissions were problems for the Cherokee. By all user reports they have solved those. It wasn't only Jeep either. Lots of makers are using it in cars. I am really impressed with the 9-speed tranny and more so with the off road and towing capabilities of the Trailhawk.

I have a hard time admitting that the Trailhawk is my wifes.....it is that much fun. Way better than the Escape.



gnies

Quote from: @whoofit" source="/post/25203/thread" timestamp="1475769489
Quote from: @paul" source="/post/25201/thread" timestamp="1475768758Oh you got rid of your Escape? My brother have a Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk, really nice jeep but he had a lot of trouble and had to replace the transmission completely
Yes the first runs of the ZF transmissions were problems for the Cherokee. By all user reports they have solved those. It wasn't only Jeep either. Lots of makers are using it in cars. I am really impressed with the 9-speed tranny and more so with the off road and towing capabilities of the Trailhawk.

I have a hard time admitting that the Trailhawk is my wifes.....it is that much fun. Way better than the Escape.


Since they replaced the transmissions my brother didn't had problems after that. It's a really nice jeep!

brandonboss

The 2017 ecoboost is all new. We will see what the improvements are but they are putting a 10 speed automatic transmission behind the new ecoboost which is rated at 375hp and 470lbs of torque. They supposedly changed a lot of things to keep the truck out of boost (new transmission) and improved the cooling on the engine. Time will tell but in the short term the ecoboost is probably the best towing 1/2 ton I have researched and from people who have experience with such vehicles. Towing in the hills especially since the twin turbo's help the truck not lose as much power at elevation. The truck may need a lot of work by the time it hits 80-100k miles though. The 5.0 is more than likely going to be cheaper to maintain over the years thats for sure and get as good if not better fuel mileage. 

whoofit

[quote timestamp="1475770588" source="/post/25205/thread" author="@brandonboss"]The 2017 ecoboost is all new. We will see what the improvements are but they are putting a 10 speed automatic transmission behind the new ecoboost which is rated at 375hp and 470lbs of torque. They supposedly changed a lot of things to keep the truck out of boost (new transmission) and improved the cooling on the engine. Time will tell but in the short term the ecoboost is probably the best towing 1/2 ton I have researched and from people who have experience with such vehicles. Towing in the hills especially since the twin turbo's help the truck not lose as much power at elevation. The truck may need a lot of work by the time it hits 80-100k miles though. The 5.0 is more than likely going to be cheaper to maintain over the years thats for sure and get as good if not better fuel mileage.  [/quote]I suppose I could call Whipple for 600-700hp if I wanted to but I would need a bigger reason than any Camplite. As I get older I want a more simple life. My Note7 cellphone could burst into flames at any moment. My favorite photography drone is gone out of business. My Camplite frame is developing a crack per year every 12,000 mile or so.

I think I'm gonna go get a hunk of bamboo and go fishing with my tent by a river, fly a kite and take up smoke signaling.....lol.

brandonboss

You may need to take up those new hobbies after the next election lol. Is your camplite really developing cracks in the frame? I don't even have a smart phone yet(holding out as long as I can). The small screens drive me crazy as far as texting goes. I love my laptop tho.  

whoofit

[quote source="/post/25208/thread" author="@brandonboss" timestamp="1475793857"]You may need to take up those new hobbies after the next election lol. Is your camplite really developing cracks in the frame? I don't even have a smart phone yet(holding out as long as I can). The small screens drive me crazy as far as texting goes. I love my laptop tho.  [/quote]I rely on my phones for work but this Note7 debacle is driving me nutty. Now the replacements are starting to blow. Seems like manufacturers take liberties with Q.C. and only inspect on an AQL basis. Segway to Camplite. Here is a thread of my first cracked weld last May. http://livinlite-owners.com/thread/1103/cracked-weld-on-tongue Last month I had another on the L-bracket that holds the axle to the frame.

So now before I leave for the coast tomorrow I need to crawl under the trailer and then again forever more.

brandonboss

I read it over. Good thing you have friends that know what they are doing. If that was me I would be pretty upset about it. I guess you just have to roll with the punches. By the time your friends done with it it will be stronger than from the factory so thats a plus. Another thing I need to check on my trailer now lol

whoofit

I was upset a little but it didn't last long. I really modified the heck out of this trailer so I guess it was all in stride. Unlike the TV purchases the trailer is a "forever purchase" to our family. It will be interesting to see how this thing holds up to 60, 80 and 100k miles.

I still love this trailer. In it, we want for nothing now. It has dents and chips all over it from all the lovin' but it was paid for on day one.