1991 Crew Cab Dually 2wd (New to Me)

[McLovin]

Just picked up a local 1991 Crew Cab Dually 2wd Camper Special. 454 with the 4L80-E. 80k original miles. Its an SLE Sierra. Power Windows, locks, AC and Cruise. So far I am really loving the overdrive transmission and TBI.

Picking up a travel trailer tomorrow. Can't wait to see how she pulls.

It needs an exhaust manifold gasket as it has an exhaust leak and a couple new power steering hoses. Otherwise it just needs a good cleaning and away we go!

Would like to eventually lower it slightly with some bigger wheels.

[cochino12]

nice!!!!!

[flashed]

Wow ,that is a nice one .

[Valarius_Starchaser]

Oh so nice!!! First year for the 80e if I recall

[McLovin]

Yes, I believe it is too. So nice to have that overdrive in a 3500 crew.

[Desert1957]

You will enjoy it, I really love mine. Great truck , does everything I need and more.



Desert

[1968vetL-71]

Nice score!

[Woodyboat]

How do the doors open and shut? By that, I mean do they fall down or out of alignment? Do they close easily or do you either have to pick them up to close them or do you have to slam the dickens out of them?

[McLovin]

Woodyboat,

The front two are more difficult to close and need to be shut firmly. Slammed once and awhile. The back two shut pretty smooth. Probably due to lack of consistent use. I have two car seats in the back for my 2 and 3 year old boys so they will be getting more use now.

Desert1957 - Beautiful truck! Love the chrome wheels and new style center caps!

I towed my new travel trailer home from about 45 minutes away from my house today. Trailer is 7,000 lbs unloaded and 33 feet long. I dropped the tongue onto the hitch and the truck barely even squatted. Towed great at 55-60 mph with the overdrive off.

[Woodyboat]

Thank you for the reply. I like to be able to compare my truck with others. All four of the doors on my Big Dually tend to fall or are constantly out of alignment somewhat. I've tried to adjust them and only gotten minor improvements, although replacing the bushings has made considerable improvement. Since you're truck seems to be in such great shape, I thought I would ask.

On the other hand, my car is a 1988 Volvo 244 that has over 500,000 miles on the clock. Actually, the odometer stopped working on it a couple of years ago and so, I really don't know HOW many miles. The doors shut with so little effort and latch solid every time. I'm spoiled. LOL Some how I just feel that if I can keep working with my Chevy doors, I'll eventually get them to open and close at somewhere near the level of the Volvo's. I know, I know. I'm comparing apples with oranges. LMTO.

Getting back to the truck, I plan to Dynamat the insides of the doors when I get into doing the body work. I know that will help too. So... I'll just keep working on em. If I can get my truck to the level of yours, I'll be thrilled!!

[McLovin]

Here are a few pics from bringing my new travel trailer home.

[Woodyboat]

Now THAT is a good looking rig. The ole chevy didn't have too much problem keeping up with traffic, did it?

[McLovin]

No, no trouble at all. I took it easy and drove around 55-60 the whole way home making sure it was out of overdrive. Truck ran great and the trailer didn't sway or do anything silly the entire way. I need to raise the weight distribution hitch slightly as the rear of the trailer is up a little higher than I would like. Also need to adjust my trailer brakes.

[Woodyboat]

So what kind of brake controller are you using? ... and does the trailer have brakes on BOTH axles or just the one?

I ran a landscape business in Nashville for twenty years towing trailers every day. I went through a lot of different controllers before I found some that worked really well. The one that has always made me the happiest is the Tekonsha Prodigy P2. I LOVE that unit! But of course, this was always after we got the drums on each axle dialed in correctly. I rarely was ever able to buy a landscape trailer that had brakes on both axles. And to my way of thinking, one axle just wasn't enough. So I would always buy a conversion kit to change the idler axle to a brake axle. I often found that a trailer would have the brake axle installed backwards too. The trailer manufacturers must have been hiring guys from "America's Most Wanted." Finally, I bought all the metal fab tools and my guys and I started building our own trailers. That way we knew just what we were getting and we got them just the way we needed them.

A lot of people feel like a big old one-ton truck can haul down some really large trailers and it can right up until you hit some gravel or it starts raining. Then you'll find out very quickly that you need brakes on every wheel that touches the ground.

In spite of having a couple of one-ton trucks in my fleet, I still liked having the weight distributing hitches too. They just made for much safer, more controlled and more comfortable towing. IMHO, it's the best thing next to a fifth-wheel or goose-neck trailer.

[McLovin]

I had the dealer install a Tekonsha Voyager. Its one step down from the P2 in that it doesn't have the digital display. Before I left the dealer I should have calibrated it and I didn't so the trailer brakes bite hard on initial pedal push. I need to dial it back a little bit as it made it really jerky on the way home. With a 7k dry weight I wasn't leaving the dealer without trailer brakes. The trailer max capacity is near 9500lbs.