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The Great Smaug

Overview Gallery Discussion
shady said:
Every 40 gallon burb tank I've had, gas or diesel, seemed to have a 25 gallon sender. Everyone when filled at E took about 25 gallons. :dunno: it was a nice buffer, but still odd
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I know my Stepside (dual saddle tanks) would drive for ~100 miles before the gauge started to move, and it would drive at least 50 miles past "E." The gauge only measured the center range of the tank.

This one, when pumped out via the sender (to the point that only air came up the fuel line), took 33 gallons (which doesn't match the 31-gallon label in the literature). It's not tall enough to be a 40-gallon tank.

I probably was fine for fuel. But I was tired of holding up the group, and was happy to have the extra safety margin.
 
campfire said:
I know my Stepside (dual saddle tanks) would drive for ~100 miles before the gauge started to move, and it would drive at least 50 miles past "E." The gauge only measured the center range of the tank.

This one, when pumped out via the sender (to the point that only air came up the fuel line), took 33 gallons (which doesn't match the 31-gallon label in the literature). It's not tall enough to be a 40-gallon tank.

I probably was fine for fuel. But I was tired of holding up the group, and was happy to have the extra safety margin.
Click to expand...
If it was an original diesel suburban most came with the 40 gallon.
I have the 40 gallon in both suburbans and I mostly will get about 36 gallons when I show empty and run another 40 miles.
 
The top of the trail. Since I lead the group, I got a picture before it filled up with rigs.


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Tree harvest, as seen from above.

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And serviceberries!

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But within a few minutes the parking lot got significantly crowded (which is why we had vetoed camping here for the night).

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I guess I did have one leaf-catcher on active duty.

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Cody brought his own portable lawn chair.

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No better way to experience a cliff than to walk up to the edge of it. ;)

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Looking down toward the highway and the town of Phoenix. In previous years we have camped at a different spot above that marsh.

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Michigan 'mountains.' I think that one is Mt. Horace Greeley? But I'm not sure of that.

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Where was Kenton's drone when we really needed it? :rolleyes:

:popcorn:
 
imiceman44 said:
If it was an original diesel suburban most came with the 40 gallon.
I have the 40 gallon in both suburbans and I mostly will get about 36 gallons when I show empty and run another 40 miles.
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It is an original diesel. I measured it earlier and it's not the deeper tank (based on dimensions I found here). And it only took 33 gallons after being pumped dry. As dry as is possible via the sump (well past the point where it would have stalled out).

As for diesels usually getting the big tank...why? When the truck beats 20MPG, what average consumer wants an >800-mile range? I think it's a virtue, but most drivers wouldn't ever use it.
 
campfire said:
It is an original diesel. I measured it earlier and it's not the deeper tank (based on dimensions I found here). And it only took 33 gallons after being pumped dry. As dry as is possible via the sump (well past the point where it would have stalled out).

As for diesels usually getting the big tank...why? When the truck beats 20MPG, what average consumer wants an >800-mile range? I think it's a virtue, but most drivers wouldn't ever use it.
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I know it doesn't make sense.
Even my diesel van had a 44 gallon tank.
 
I used to use mine when I had the diesel. Not because I had to, but fuel was cheaper where I lived. When I did my weekend trips from Evansville IN. To home and back, it's 380 mi one way and fuel was almost $.50 cheaper a gallon in Evansville.
So I didn't NEED to, but being able to was nice.
 
campfire said:
It is an original diesel. I measured it earlier and it's not the deeper tank (based on dimensions I found here). And it only took 33 gallons after being pumped dry. As dry as is possible via the sump (well past the point where it would have stalled out).

As for diesels usually getting the big tank...why? When the truck beats 20MPG, what average consumer wants an >800-mile range? I think it's a virtue, but most drivers wouldn't ever use it.
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I really don't like that my duramax came with only a 26 gallon tank, I want as big as possible, give me 40, even 50 gallons, and I'd be happy. The average consumer doesn't buy a diesel, they go for the easy to live with gas motor and readily available fuel. People who buy diesels want the range to get good fuel cheaper when they can, and not have to stop every 200 miles while towing.
 
noJeepshere said:
I really don't like that my duramax came with only a 26 gallon tank, I want as big as possible, give me 40, even 50 gallons, and I'd be happy. The average consumer doesn't buy a diesel, they go for the easy to live with gas motor and readily available fuel. People who buy diesels want the range to get good fuel cheaper when they can, and not have to stop every 200 miles while towing.
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And that is why I use my range to the limit especially with my big rig 220 gallons .
 
noJeepshere said:
I really don't like that my duramax came with only a 26 gallon tank, I want as big as possible, give me 40, even 50 gallons, and I'd be happy. The average consumer doesn't buy a diesel, they go for the easy to live with gas motor and readily available fuel. People who buy diesels want the range to get good fuel cheaper when they can, and not have to stop every 200 miles while towing.
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imiceman44 said:
And that is why I use my range to the limit especially with my big rig 220 gallons .
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I agree with you guys. But the 6.2 trucks were sold as commuter trucks, not as heavy-duty tow rigs. Your Dmax and big rig aren't reasonable comparisons, given how they are used.

I benefited several times from having dual tanks. On my Lake Superior trip It was cool to say that I bought fuel in Minnesota, drove all the way through Ontario, and a few hours into Michigan before I needed to refill. None of that there expensive Canukian fuel. But it wasn't a deal-breaker.

If I built the same truck over again I probably wouldn't bother with the work of adding the extra tank. Case in point...neither my Blazer nor my Burb got a second tank. And while it might look risky given my unbaffled tank, I did skip 3 consecutive refueling stops on this trip. While a spare fuel can is part of the truck's tool kit, it's really just for situations where the tank is punctured or it's far enough off camber to suck air through the sender. I think I can live with 600-700 miles of range, given my current driving habits.
 
So...was he aware beforehand that his lack of low range was an issue?
 
campfire said:
I know my Stepside (dual saddle tanks) would drive for ~100 miles before the gauge started to move, and it would drive at least 50 miles past "E." The gauge only measured the center range of the tank.

This one, when pumped out via the sender (to the point that only air came up the fuel line), took 33 gallons (which doesn't match the 31-gallon label in the literature). It's not tall enough to be a 40-gallon tank.

I probably was fine for fuel. But I was tired of holding up the group, and was happy to have the extra safety margin.
Click to expand...

My burb says it has the 31 gallon tank. I've put 33 gallons in it. Truck never stumbled at all.

As far as the fuel gauges go manufacturers do them that way. There was a mildly publicized court case in the early 90s about fuel gauge calibration. The group that brought the suit proved that the vast majority of new cars were calibrated so the first half of the tank lasted longer than the second half. They lost because it still showed the basic function of empty.
 
AJMBLAZER said:
So...was he aware beforehand that his lack of low range was an issue?
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I don't know much about ZJs, but there are 4x4 versions and AWD versions, this one being AWD. I'm told there is some form of traction control but since he had some ABS error traction control was disabled. This trail is actually pretty technical, so I'm a little surprised that only 1 rig didn't make it. Obviously the Smaug was fine, but I have no video since he was ahead of us.

ZJ on the cliff


Of course the preferred method of traction control is having all the tires touch the ground:

Blue85 on the cliff

 
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campfire said:
I agree with you guys. But the 6.2 trucks were sold as commuter trucks, not as heavy-duty tow rigs. Your Dmax and big rig aren't reasonable comparisons, given how they are used.

I benefited several times from having dual tanks. On my Lake Superior trip It was cool to say that I bought fuel in Minnesota, drove all the way through Ontario, and a few hours into Michigan before I needed to refill. None of that there expensive Canukian fuel. But it wasn't a deal-breaker.

If I built the same truck over again I probably wouldn't bother with the work of adding the extra tank. Case in point...neither my Blazer nor my Burb got a second tank. And while it might look risky given my unbaffled tank, I did skip 3 consecutive refueling stops on this trip. While a spare fuel can is part of the truck's tool kit, it's really just for situations where the tank is punctured or it's far enough off camber to suck air through the sender. I think I can live with 600-700 miles of range, given my current driving habits.
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I don't really tow with my suburban and I love the fact I only have to fill up once a week or 2 weeks and that is with the gas suburban.
When I finish the diesel burb it will be nice once a month :saweet:
 
Blue85 said:
I do have this video from our "Road Closed" section nearby.

Great Smaug in the berm

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:thumb: :thumb:

This is the only place that the poorly-installed low-hanging MBRP muffler actually touched the ground. The receiver-hitch dragged a few other times. The fuel tank skid plate is definitely getting installed before next summer.
 
Listen to the video. How often has this Burb been described as "fast"?
 
Blue85 said:
This trail is actually pretty technical, so I'm a little surprised that only 1 rig didn't make it. Obviously the Smaug was fine, but I have no video since he was ahead of us.
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Surprisingly so. The truck never slipped, it just walked right up the slope. A completely different experience than 2016. I like to think the new truck is just that much better, but the ponchos may have also had something to do with it. ;)

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Blue85 said:
Obviously the Smaug was fine, but I have no video since he was ahead of us.
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This is the biggest regret I have about the trip. We just didn't get very many good pictures of our wheeling. Breaking our camera was part of that, but some of it was poor planning on our part. I should have come down and joined the tire-smoke party instead of waiting at the top all lonely.

Next year, eh? :popcorn:
 
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