I just finished a 3300 mile trip from DC to Texas and back. Scale weight with a full tank and cargo was 9600 lbs! So I was 600 lbs over GVWR. Base weight was 5300 empty. I did not experience any bottoming out or uncontrolled body motions. The 3.7L was strong enough to pull the mountains in Tennessee and Virginia at 75 mph. Once I was in the powerband, the engine and transmission worked very well together. I got 16.1 average mpg while carrying 4300 lbs. I was very careful to load the truck so the weight distribution did not overload the axles. There were a lot of 40 mph crosswinds going south, and I think a rear anti-roll bar will do a lot for stability on these vehicles when they are loaded.
My experience "hauling heavy"
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, local delivery about 10 miles, no problemsThat's great results. I have a question though -- how was engine braking at that high a weight with such a small engine? Was it ever inadequate compared to what you expect?
I'm on return leg of same trip but from Texas to DC and back. Through Virginia I took part of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and coming off it I encountered some 8 percent grades. Even though my older van is lighter, and I have a 6.8-liter engine, I still had to use 2nd gear to slow the van without having to ride brakes. Locking out overdrive didn't provide enough braking.
I'm now curious if a little 3.7L can slow a heavy van enough on steep grades.
By the way, I'm not surprised how well your van climbs. I was thinking about that just prior to this thread. From Texas to DC area my van never downshift once. It handled every Interstate grade in overdrive at roughly 2000 RPM. Which made me realize a 3.7L would have done the same job at no more than 3000 to 3500 RPM (at very worse) while using a lower gear. And that's not bad at all. I can live with that much performance any day.
The 6R80 has the capability to lock the torque converter in all forward gears (even 1st) so engine braking feels much more like a manual transmission. A few times when I used engine braking it was actually stronger than I thought it would be. I was in 5th gear going down a 5 percent grade at 65 mph and the van was actually slowing a bit at 2600 rpm. The best part of the gasoline engines are the flexibility in how you use the rev range. 3rd gear is available manually from a dead stop up to about 90 mph, so you have plenty of range in every gear to optimize your fuel economy, speed, etc. The transmission does not hunt when loaded, but it does a bit when empty. Slight uphill climbs were handled in 5th, and the bigger ones in 4th. The beauty of the setup is that the penalty for running the engine at higher RPM is lessened because it was designed to rev from the start. Uphill onramps onto the Interstate were uneventful as long as you didn't mind shifting out of 2nd gear at 5000 rpm or higher. I am completely satisfied with the powertrain and suspension. I took some photos of the vehicle loaded to the gills, and it sat level, and not once did it bottom out, even on the rough spots on I-20. My 250 was about 600-800 pounds overweight, and it didn't feel stressed out. Of course, with the 3.7L you have to keep the revs up, but the engine sounds very sporty for a cargo van.
I haven't driven the 3.7 but the 3.5 Eco when fully loaded(4000)on a daily basis drives and shifts flawless I deliver in NYC metro and I'm getting 12.5 mpg I had a 06 drw sprinter I was getting about 16-17 really not a big difference although the transit sits low in the back when loaded there are no signs of fatigue on motor tranny or chassis.i would like to gain a few inches on clearance on the rear overhang when entering or leaving driveways I've scraped a few times.question is to go wit a taller tire or an extra leaf.
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One thing I've noticed in the 3.5 (I don't think it matters which engine) is that it will downshift going downhill to maintain the cruise control speed. This is without it being in T/H. I don't think my old Expedition would do that. At least I don't remember it doing that and it is quite noticeable with the Transit.
Any reason you did not get a Dualie?
I think that load would have been OK if it were.
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That was easy drw is to narrow to take paletts between wheel wells ,less gas mileage plus no d.o.t to deal with are 9500 gvw the ability to go on routes designated for tricks less then 10.000 gvw not to mention the difference in cargo capacity is only a few hundred lbs after the Xtra weight for the drw set up is considered
Are you concerned that it may adversely affect fuel economy and or handling?
Going up usually increases wind drag and center of gravity, two items most want to decrease. Taller tires on same rim size (taller aspect ratio) may have more sidewall flex, so that may come at a price too.
If I go forward with the changes I would use a tire with equal weight capacity.but slightly wider it may help handling I think the 245-75-16 is a good choices other people have made that change with success.the extra leave will not raise but instead just keep the vehicle level prob closer to stock specs
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