96 Dodge CTD v.s. 2001 Toy. Tundra

John_P · 07-30-2001, 08:17 PM

Well, my son and I FINALLY got to "run" a 2001 Toyota Tundra
4X4 towing the same sized racing trailer as us, an 18 footer,
both fully loaded. Remember the commercial back around
the first of the year showing the Toyota Tundra pulling a
boat and passing a Dodge, Chevy and Ford on a hill???
Those trucks were all gas powered I'm sure.

Well, I am here to tell you the results of our little
"run" was much different than the commercial.

We race ATV's and were eastbound on I-40 just west
of Winston-Salem. Another racer who had also been at
the track and who just purchased a 2001 Tundra came up
alongside of us at about 75 MPH. Initially, we could not
do anything because of the traffic. He followed me through
the outskirts of the city staying with us pretty good. I noticed
that when I got my speed up over 85 MPH he seemed to fade
back some. Once we got on the open road between Winston-
Salem and Greensboro we lined "side by side" at 75 MPH.
We pulled him from the start and before letting off we were
at least 5 to 7 truck lengths ahead of him. We did it again
starting at about 80 MPH and at that speed it seemed like
we pulled away faster.

Anyway, we finally pulled over at a rest area near Raleigh to
"talk about it." The owner of the Tundra said he "was covered
in black smoke each time and wanted to know if there was
something wrong with my truck!!" I told him "no", and tried
to explain the smoke was a combination of my pump settings,
injectors and the load I was pulling. He said his truck was
"cutting out" as he reached 95 MPH. (Possibly a governor?)
He told my son and I he didn't know a diesel could run like
that.

I had been wanting to do this for some time (run a loaded
Tundra) and thought you (the members) would enjoy hearing
about it. I would still like to try it in the mountains (on I-77)
on those 4-5% grades. Our "run" was pretty much on level
highway with slight inclines.

-----------
John_P