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Old 06-12-2011, 07:57 AM   #1
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Picked up the 21SS yesterday!

drove out to Albany yesterday to pick up the new trailer. Only part that I wasn't happy about was the walk-through was done in the pouring rain.

Hitch up was easy and towing wasn't that bad. I found tow/haul mode to be useless. It worked well on our pop-up camper, but i found it to shift too much while going up hills. turned it off and things seemed to go better. Still feel like I'm lacking power with hills and gas mileage was terrible. it wasn't too bouncy or jerky- HUGE improvement over the single axle pop-up... that felt like we were a boat on rough seas.

looking at the Airaid JR. Kit for a little better intake flow and an exhaust system to hopefully get the a little more power with hills and not have to fuel up all the time.
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Old 06-12-2011, 09:40 AM   #2
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i have an '07 Avalanche with the same engine and rear end.
i'm pulling the 23SS.
i don't seem to have any issues, even in the Sierras.

but i never pulled my popups with it. i had underpowered TVs for pulling those.
for a mpg range, you should be between 9-12mpg. not going to be close to what pulling a popup is for gas mileage.
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Old 06-12-2011, 09:59 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bikendan View Post
i have an '07 Avalanche with the same engine and rear end.
i'm pulling the 23SS.
i don't seem to have any issues, even in the Sierras.

but i never pulled my popups with it. i had underpowered TVs for pulling those.
for a mpg range, you should be between 9-12mpg. not going to be close to what pulling a popup is for gas mileage.
It could have just been the fact that I was pretty much going uphill the whole way back. I think I was getting about 6-8MPG. I got 14MPG average towing the pop-up.

Hit up camping world and walmart today for some accessories (mostly organizational supplies) and started outfitting the trailer with all the gear. It really does hold a lot of stuff.

Still on the list to get:
-Step ladder (I can barely reach the latches for the beds)
-sockets (one for the hot water heater, lug nuts, and jacks to hook into my power drill among other things)
-Streamlight "Fire Vulcan" rechargeable flashlight mounted near the door
-Garmin 1450LMT (time to upgrade my old GPS)
-level (dedicated to camper)
-carpeting for stairs

will be driveway camping later this week to fully test everything out.
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2012 Keystone Passport Express Super Lite 235EXP (Equal-i-zer)
2012 Forest River Rockwood Roo 21SS(Reese Dual cam) (broken)
2009 Chevy Silverado 1500 4x4 5.3L 3.73(G80) Z82 Z85
Whelen warning setup, VHF/UHF radio, CIPA slip on mirrors & brakeman compact
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Old 06-12-2011, 10:09 PM   #4
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Congrats and glad to hear it went well with the exception of rain.

a cat back exhaust will help out alot - air intake will give a little better response to throttle but not sure on the chevy's how well it will help.
Another suggestion is Superchips - I use the tow tune and also have the shift point option which allows me to change the points the tranny shifts.

I have the same issue as you where the truck lacks power but I am running stock 3.92 gears with 35" tires - acts like it is 3.55 gears with the stock 20's.
I am in the process of changing my truck around so am hoping it will change for the better - going back to stock heighted tires.
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Old 06-13-2011, 06:57 AM   #5
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Congratulations!! I don't like the haul button either, I feel like the RMP's are much higher than in drive.
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Old 06-14-2011, 10:47 PM   #6
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You could always get an F150! It's a FX4 5.4L 3.73 with the 6 speed. I use the tow haul and it will hold gears longer. I can tow in 6th gear with the torque converter locked up. I get something better than 9 mpg I think. I will be checking the end of this month on our longer trip.

The whole purpose of the tow haul is to hold the gears longer both up and down. I will turn 2500 to 3000 rpms before an upshift depending on the wind and grade. It will also hold the gear and not downshift to reduce the stress on the tranny. Ford also has the hill decent feature that will brake the whole thing on a long downhill.

GM's are meant to rev high. That is just where the Vortec's make their power. Let her go and use the power. You're mileage isn't going to suffer because of it (my experience anyway)

Being a Chevy guy all my life and my dad too, I freaking love my F150. Nicest truck I have ever driven and I have driven them all.
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Old 06-24-2011, 04:57 PM   #7
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we just picked up a 21SS yesterday and pulling with my avalanche 5.3 with 4:10 gears and trans go shift kit, averaged 8.8 mpg the 130 miles home from the dealer. About what I expected.
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Old 06-24-2011, 05:55 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hybrid21SS View Post
we just picked up a 21SS yesterday and pulling with my avalanche 5.3 with 4:10 gears and trans go shift kit, averaged 8.8 mpg the 130 miles home from the dealer. About what I expected.
i average around 10mpg with my Avy, but i have the 3.73 rear end.
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Old 06-24-2011, 06:56 PM   #9
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update

in day 6/7 of camping trip. Things have been going alright... some hiccups but they are going okay. Gas mileage was 7-8MPG.

had to get on-site service tech to come to fix our propane system as whenever our hot water heater ignited it exploded and fire shot out of the exhaust vent. (dealer did not attach propane system up right)

also they fixed a few leaks in the water system that should have been caught during dealer prep.

other than that much happier than our old pop-up.

on a more neutral note- burned my first attempt at baking lemon bars in the oven. cooks hot.
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2012 Keystone Passport Express Super Lite 235EXP (Equal-i-zer)
2012 Forest River Rockwood Roo 21SS(Reese Dual cam) (broken)
2009 Chevy Silverado 1500 4x4 5.3L 3.73(G80) Z82 Z85
Whelen warning setup, VHF/UHF radio, CIPA slip on mirrors & brakeman compact
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Old 06-24-2011, 07:06 PM   #10
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ResQMoore, a pizza stone or non-glazed ceramic tile is what a lot of RV owners do with their ovens.

on a second note as to 21SS owners' mpg, the 21SS is taller than most hybrids. it's 5" taller than my 23SS.
it's the only one as tall as the raised toyhauler hybrids.
so, by it sitting higher, it may cause more air resistance than other hybrids, therefore lowering the mpg.

from what i remember, FR had to raise it to allow for a flush dinette in the superslide, unlike the Starcraft SSO models that had a raised dinette. i also think the Kodiak/Cub 214 models had a raised dinette also.
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