Somewhere in Nevada - at an off Ramp.

It might seem brave, but we had to get the truck out on the road quickly to determine if it would be a good family and fifth wheel hauler.  We were able to find a nice, reasonable weekend trip to take with the truck -  we took it from Carson City to Salt Lake City!   At least 1,100 miles in total, round trip.

In Wendover, NV, at a truck stop - this was great because there was a hot rod show there that day. Driving through town I even got a few thumbs up!

On the way there and the way back, the truck did well, but there were a lot of vibrations.   It turned out that the driveline was done quickly and accidentally cut too long in the section between the carrier bearing and the rear differential.  So, whenever I hit a big bump, the driveline got bound up and actually got bent during our trip.

Arrived at the KOA in Salt Lake City

Best looking truck at the trailer park (ha ha)! And it doesn't even have the smoke stacks yet!

Our spot, with the fiver and the Dually Crew Cab

Also, the exhaust was updated with a muffler prior to departure, but it  was straight cut with exit under the truck… this was to allow for smoker stacks!  Needless to say it was a little louder than it had to be for a long trip.

We met family in Salt Lake and that was great.   On the way back however, there was an unexpected benefit; photo opportunities next to the Bonneville Salt Flats!

A photo opportunity like no other - parked next to the Bonneville salt flats at a rest stop along I-80

Taking a break near the salt flats. The dogs didn't like the taste of the water (there was still water close by at the edge of the rest stop).

As a closing comment, this truck with 297k miles on the Cummins, 4-spd 518 tranny and 4:10 gears in the rear got about 12mpg pulling the fifth wheel trailer on this trip.