We attended the Spring RV Dreams Rally in Kerrville TX.

We learned a lot of great info and had Howard and Linda weight our Truck and Jayco Pinnacle 5th Wheel.

We thought we were overloaded but did not realize how much untill we got the truck and trailer weighted.

This past weekend we stopped by the GMC dealer to do some price shopping.

Well, they made us a offer we could not refuse, lots of Dealer Discounts, GM Rebates and a very good trade in offer on our 07 Chevy 2500 HD.

We now have a 2012 GMC 3500 HD Dually, now we will have the right setup for our Jayco Pinnacle 5th Wheel. Thanks Howard and Linda!!!!!

We will get the spray-in liner and hitch installed this week and be ready to head out on July 13th.

Robert and Debra

WOW what a nice truck! I hope that you get about 25 million miles of incident free rving.

Tom, Karen and Landon the 180 lb Great Dane

Hey Rob:

Congratulations on your new ride.  I agree with Racerguy and believe you will notice the improved stability with the DRW not to mention the factory installed, intergrated with the Allision., “Exhaust Brake” on the truck.  You now have a lot of headroom with the new truck weight wise.  Enjoy the improved ride.

Hope all is good for you two.  We enjoyed our time at the rally very much and it was great to meet you two in person.  Hope to see you guys again soon.

Have fun!

Bill

Bill and Linda wrote:

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Hey Rob:

 

Congratulations on your new ride.  I agree with Racerguy and believe you will notice the improved stability with the DRW not to mention the factory installed, intergrated with the Allision., “Exhaust Brake” on the truck.  You now have a lot of headroom with the new truck weight wise.  Enjoy the improved ride.

 

Hope all is good for you two.  We enjoyed our time at the rally very much and it was great to meet you two in person.  Hope to see you guys again soon.

 

Have fun!

 

Bill

-- Edited by Bill and Linda on Monday 2nd of July 2012 12:56:10 PM

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 Thanks Bill, we enjoyed the time with everyone at the Spring Rally.

I ready to tow with it and see how the exhaust brake works and see how the ride is.

Just need to get some more "Break-In" miles on it. When we picked it up, it only had 12 miles on it!!!!

Oh yea, Debra said, now we are ready for Alaska !!!!!!

 You can order mine in blue. Delivery for August 1 would be great!

Rob_Fla wrote:

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 Thanks Bill, we enjoyed the time with everyone at the Spring Rally.

I ready to tow with it and see how the exhaust brake works and see how the ride is.

Just need to get some more "Break-In" miles on it. When we picked it up, it only had 12 miles on it!!!!

Oh yea, Debra said, now we are ready for Alaska !!!!!!

-- Edited by Rob_Fla on Monday 2nd of July 2012 05:12:27 PM

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Rob:

I thought I would comment on the exhaust brake.  The first few times I used it getting off the Interstate at a rest area I had to apply power to make it off the road.  Seems I was slowing down so fast I wasn’t going to make it off the highway due to the speed at which the exhaust and the Allison were slowing down the rig.  I had to learn to wait longer before slowing down if I wanted to more or less coast into the rest areas.  The thing just works great and is so integrated with the Allison transmission that I just leave it on all the time.

You’ll have fun with all that power – and the ability to stop the rig as well.

BTW, we're ready for Alaska again too.

Bill

PS – The manual does recommend a 500 mile break in prior to towing.  Page 9-26 of the manual.

Bill and Linda wrote:

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PS – The manual does recommend a 500 mile break in prior to towing.  Page 9-26 of the manual.

 

 

Bill,

 

Thanks, I saw that in the manual.

 

I know that the type of "Break In" from the past is not required in todays vehicles.

 

IMHO, it only makes sense not only for the engine but for the Transmission and Brakes to have a "Break In" period before towing 15.000 lbs.

 

Robert

Rob:

 

  

PS – The manual does recommend a 500 mile break in prior to towing.  Page 9-26 of the manual.

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The GMC Manual has it on page 9-25, go figure

Starting and Operating

New Vehicle Break-In

Notice - The vehicle does not require a elaborate break-in. But it will perform better in the long run if you follow these guidelines.

1. Keep vehicle speed at 55 or less for the first 500 miles

2. Do not drive at any one constant speed for the first 500 miles. Avoid any full throttle starts.

3. Avoid making any hard stops for the first 200 miles. Durning this time the brake linings are not yet broken in. Hard stops with new brake linings can mean premature wear and earlier replacement. Follow this guideline everytime you get new brake linings.

4. Do not tow a trailer during break-in.

Following break-in, engine speed and load can gradually be increased.

On page 9-78 of the owners manual

Trailer Towing

Do not tow a trailer during break-in. See vehicle break-in on page 9-25

canuck wrote:

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Fantastic truck! We were looking to buy this model in '13. I would love to read about your thoughts good or bad as you get to know your new TV.

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Is is a beast !!!!

From what I read, there will only be minimal changes to the 2013 model.  GM is scheduled for the next redesign of their truck platform on the 2014 models

I will post updates once we get everything mounted and tow our 5th Wheel with it in about a week or so.

RVPAINTER wrote:

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Hi Rob - we met in Kerrville Tx - we are now in Nova Scotia for 3 more weeks and then onto Old City Quebec for 3 weeks - good travels with the new truck.

Dick & Melissa

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 Thanks, it was great meeting yall at Kerrville.

Hope everything on your nice Motorhome is working good.

Safe travels.