Towing question

[Dieselnerd]

I've been reading through the DVD that came with my new truck. It says to not tow until you have driven at least 500 miles. Pretty normal, same as my '05. I'm planning on towing my 5th wheel about 1800 miles in a few weeks. I already have over 500 miles on the truck so no problem there.

It's the next thing they say that I find troubling, "Do not tow over 50 miles per hour for the first 500 miles of towing". Are they kidding? I never did that before. Is that a new thing? How about those of you that have towed with your '13 or '14, did you keep it under 50 MPH? I'll do it if it's necessary but that first day on the road will take a long time! I would think 60-65 wouldn't hurt it. Am I wrong?

Thanks in advance for your answers...

 

[Powder Extreme]

I wouldn't worry about it at all. The main thing to worry about for breakin is the rear end. Run it how you normally drive, maybe stop after 100 miles or so while towing and let the rear end cool down. I've towed many times right off the dealers lot. No worries.

 

[RVTRKN]

A great way to break in motors is not to run the same RPM for long periods, in other words change your speed every 25 miles or so, you don't want the motor and drive train to drone at one speed for extended periods.

 

[Gonzo 1066]

I "Broke in" my 2013 the same way I did my 95, 2001, 2002, and the 2004, hooked the trailer to it and headed to the mountain passes. All of these trucks are still on the road, none of them have had any engine or driveline issues. With the Cummins run in procedure at the plant, the close tolerances of the trans and diff, I would not worry about it too much. As mentioned vary throttle shift down for the steep hills and DRIVE IT.

 

[Slow Six]

Drive it!!

 

[EDankievitch]

Builders to day are using the break in/ run in of gear sets to do the finish polishing to save money. It's all fine as long as you do the oil changes as requested and as often as they ask for. Next time you open up you new truck rear end take a white paper towel and wipe the inside of the housing. The grey stuff painted all over the case is the metal from the gears from the run in/ break in. I deal with outboards and stern drives. The finish on the gear set in a outdrive that has 400 hp going through a 2" pinion gear at 4500 rpm is almost mirror smooth. The finish on our truck rear ends is crude at best. That said follow the break in/ run in instructions as printed and you'll have a very long and happy gear/ rear end life.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

Gear finish and coating from the factory have been basically the same for the 40+ years I have been setting up differentials. Yes, they should be broken in gently for 50 or so miles. After 500, towing should be fine; I didn't use my DVD but the owner's manual and Diesel Supplement available on line at ramtrucks didn't have the wording you quote, as far as I could find it. Just go easy for 500 miles, and after that, towing helps the Cummins break in.

 

[Dieselnerd]

.

Gear finish and coating from the factory have been basically the same for the 40+ years I have been setting up differentials. Yes, they should be broken in gently for 50 or so miles. After 500, towing should be fine; I didn't use my DVD but the owner's manual and Diesel Supplement available on line at ramtrucks didn't have the wording you quote, as far as I could find it. Just go easy for 500 miles, and after that, towing helps the Cummins break in.

Joe, this is the wording that appears in a box on page 580 of the downloadable 2014 RAM Owners Manual.

CAUTION!
• Do not tow a trailer at all during the first 500 miles
(805 km) the new vehicle is driven. The engine, axle
or other parts could be damaged.
• Then, during the first 500 miles (805 km) that a
trailer is towed, do not drive over 50 mph (80 km/h)
and do not make starts at full throttle. This helps
the engine and other parts of the vehicle wear in at
the heavier loads.

It doesn't jump right out at you when you scan the manual but it's in there. Maybe it doesn't apply to the diesel but it makes no distinction.

 

[AH64ID]

It's the next thing they say that I find troubling, "Do not tow over 50 miles per hour for the first 500 miles of towing". Are they kidding? I never did that before. Is that a new thing? How about those of you that have towed with your '13 or '14, did you keep it under 50 MPH? I'll do it if it's necessary but that first day on the road will take a long time! I would think 60-65 wouldn't hurt it. Am I wrong?

Thanks in advance for your answers...

It is for the rear end, and it's not new. It was also in the MY05 manual. It's not in the diesel supplement because it's not a diesel thing, it's for the truck regardless of engine.

A 3.42 truck and a 4.10 truck will have a large difference in rotations and heat for 50 mph at the same load, so what are they trying to do? It is probably a finish and heat issue, so I would consider a few extra pit stops for the first 500 miles and maybe kick down a gear on any big grades, but otherwise 60-65 should be fine.

 

[Dieselnerd]

It is for the rear end, and it's not new. It was also in the MY05 manual.

Good thing I didn't read my '05 manual as carefully! I drove it several thousand miles before the first tow though, carrying a small slide in camper a lot of the time.

 

[RVTRKN]

Dieselnerd, your 4:10 rear will be easier on the break in of your rear-end, the 3:42 gear sets though, should heed the warnings.

EDankievitch, as you are well aware of the importance of the break in procedures for the stern drives as well as outboard gearing, isn't the proper break in for them, is to keep under a certain RPM and to vary the RPM below that RPM mark?

 

[Bill Stockard]

.
Joe, this is the wording that appears in a box on page 580 of the downloadable 2014 RAM Owners Manual.

CAUTION!
• Do not tow a trailer at all during the first 500 miles
(805 km) the new vehicle is driven. The engine, axle
or other parts could be damaged.
• Then, during the first 500 miles (805 km) that a
trailer is towed, do not drive over 50 mph (80 km/h)
and do not make starts at full throttle. This helps
the engine and other parts of the vehicle wear in at
the heavier loads.

It doesn't jump right out at you when you scan the manual but it's in there. Maybe it doesn't apply to the diesel but it makes no distinction.

The basically same wording is used in my '03 Owner's Manual which was the first year for the AAM axles in Ram trucks. I don't tow. Instead I haul at above the GVWR and had read the warnings, but didn't pay a lot of attention to them. I began a 3,000 mile trip to Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota with about 200 miles on the odometer. Our route didn't include any Interstate highways so the speed wasn't a steady 65 to 70-mph for long distances. I haven't experienced any problems as a result of just driving normally.

Bill

 

[Gonzo 1066]

With the agressive non break in procedure on my 2013 when I pulled the magnetic diff plug there was almost no indication of wear metal on it. This was at 10,000 mountain towing miles. So I assume that indicates that the original finish must be a good one. This has been typical on all of my Cummins pickups, Dana or AAM differential. I change the OEM oil at about 20,000 miles to inspect gear wear and clean out any wear in residue. On all of my trucks at 20,000 mile inspection, it has been very impressive in that the finish of the ring and pinion is near mirror like. I know that my experience with 6 trucks is not something to draw a complete base of knowledge from, but is has some merrit to ponder. In all of the posts on issues with our trucks there is little or no negative comment on differential issues. This leads me to think that if you tow rationally during breakin there will be no issues to deal with. again DRIVE IT

 

[Dieselnerd]

Thanks for all the thoughtful and encouraging replies. I won't drive it hard while towing for the first 500 miles but I'll go varying speeds and take rest stops from time to time. The weather will be cold so excess heat shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Gonzo 1066]

I assume that your truck has the aluminum differentail cover? This should make some difference with diff temperature

 

[Dieselnerd]

I assume that your truck has the aluminum differentail cover? This should make some difference with diff temperature

Yes, it has the finned aluminum cover.

 

[Kirwin]

Guess I shouldn't have hooked on my trailer during my over-the-weekend test drive and hauled my trailer about 45 miles should I! The truck had like 14 miles when I picked it up at the dealer! I think I had about 120 miles on her when I dropped the trailer on the ball. Like the other people here, I think if you tow reasonably, your truck will be fine. Don't lug it or use wide open throttle in low gears and it will break in fine. Ken Irwin

 

[Bug Out]

On my 2013, I towed several times @ 25K GCVW (under 2k mileage) and checked the temps with a thermal gun...Rear axle was always running much cooler then previous axles, 180 degree's or under. My 05' with 4:10's even after 20-50K miles ran at 180 degree's even with a mag hytec cover. I won't admit to too much on the board here, but I must have skipped right over that 50 mph warning..Not that I was racing down the road, but temps usually give me a indication of whats going on with internals etc.

 

[Gonzo 1066]

On my 2013, I towed several times @ 25K GCVW (under 2k mileage) and checked the temps with a thermal gun...Rear axle was always running much cooler then previous axles, 180 degree's or under. My 05' with 4:10's even after 20-50K miles ran at 180 degree's even with a mag hytec cover. I won't admit to too much on the board here, but I must have skipped right over that 50 mph warning..Not that I was racing down the road, but temps usually give me a indication of whats going on with internals etc.

My first towing with the 2013 was up Snoqualme pass here in Washington state. Truck had about 150 miles on it when we hit the hard pull of the pass. When we reached the summit my heat gun showed just under 170 degrees this seemed very cool (in both ways) to me.

 

[AnOldBiker]

500 miles before you through a trailer on it
500 miles before you crank it up as you will sooner or later.

Nothing compared to the hours and miles to come.
And if something happened, they have one less thing to gripe about since you did as 'they stated'.
So it will take a bit longer the first trip pulling, is this that big of problem ?