2012 Max Tow

[MChrist]

But how many gears does a truck need?? Seems like 6 would be plenty...

 

[NIsaacs]

But how many gears does a truck need?? Seems like 6 would be plenty...

My Ford has 15 forward and 3 reverse



Nick

 

[CUMMINZ]

It is a fact that the closer a driver keeps the engine RPM close to the general best torque/HP range the better a diesel will perform. With an eight speed transmission the engine would be kept in a good range for longer lengths of time. When DC went from 4 to 6 speed the performance improved greatly. Same from 6 to 8. I personally don't believe from 8 to 10 would be necessary. Neither max tow option, increase in HP and torque, better looks or ANY other option addition to a new model truck would make me trade my truck. An 8 speed auto is a different story. The very best thing DC ever did to their truck and engines over several decades was to add lower first gears, higher final gears and lower reverse gears. :-laf

 

[Deleted member 995608]

The 8 spd transmission seems a little far fetched but if you consider the EPA standards the government is forcing upon auto makers, it wouldn't suprise me.



Several different componets of the truck need to be altered besides the engine and exhaust to meet these rediculous theories.



Jason

 

[rscurtis]

A switch to DEF wouldn't be a bad idea either.

 

[MChrist]

My Ford has 15 forward and 3 reverse



Nick

And how many do you use?...

 

[mwilson]

And how many do you use?...

It's a truck driver thing that I suffer from as well...



You can't ever have too many gears, too much power or too many chicken lights... .....



Mike.

 

[RonD]

I drove my first max tow today. Rode good and had decent power. I spoke to my diesel buddy at the dealer and he witnessed first hand at the training center an 8 speed auto for the upcoming new trucks. He said they looked bullet proof. You guys expecting to by a 6 speed new truck "Don't do it"



:-laf

allpar.com has the story, as said by others this is a gas engine transmission designed by ZF with a torque capacity of some thing like 400 ft pounds, not for the Cummins engine trucks.

 

[CUMMINZ]

allpar.com has the story, as said by others this is a gas engine transmission designed by ZF with a torque capacity of some thing like 400 ft pounds, not for the Cummins engine trucks.

I am done with expending energy with this issue. My buddy saw it and told me about it and I believe him. Nuff said. Give it 12 months and let's see.

 

[NIsaacs]

And how many do you use?...

When running empty I use 6, loaded heavy I use 9 or 10. What is really nice about multiple gears is, no matter what the hill or load is, you have a gear ratio to match. With a 5 spd or even 6 spd, sometimes you have to use the next lower gear, even if it is lower then you need. It is also easy to shift up when starting on a hill. My ratios are about 300 rpm apart. My engine is an industrial version so it doesn't like to run over 2100 rpm. Sometimes it is hard to up shift a whole main box gear.



With an automatic and it's converter you have more ratios then just the gear count, so you probably don't need more then 6 or so.



Nick

 

[MChrist]

That's what I was talking about. . automatics. With manual, If towing heavy in hilly terrain, I could see 7, but the torque curve on our Cummins is so wide that 8 (in automatic) seems overkill.

 

[Slow Six]

To get this thread back on track (Max Tow) I will relate my impressions off my new truck. I am really impressed with this truck, all except the navigation system. I just finished bring our Mobile Suites home from the dealer for hail damage and warranty work. I used the integrated brake controller with the electric over hydraulic disk brakes (EOH). I have pulled this trailer with the Max Brake on my other truck. As of right now I do not think I will be installing the Max Brake. I went in to the EVIC screen, selected heavy EOH, guessed at gain setting and started out slowly on a quiet street and tried them. Only had to do a slight adjustment and felt confident to hit the road. With a mix of city and highway towing I think this controller will be good to go and seems to be as functional as the Max Brake. I had to do a couple of quick stops due to traffic and I thought the brakes were coming on to hard but after more stops I realized it was the exhaust brake and transmission doing their job. I was in tow/haul and jake on. So far, so good. As mentioned previously, give this new controller a honest try. I may have a Max Brake for sale.

 

[RonD]

To get this thread back on track (Max Tow) I will relate my impressions off my new truck. I am really impressed with this truck, all except the navigation system. I just finished bring our Mobile Suites home from the dealer for hail damage and warranty work. I used the integrated brake controller with the electric over hydraulic disk brakes (EOH). I have pulled this trailer with the Max Brake on my other truck. As of right now I do not think I will be installing the Max Brake. I went in to the EVIC screen, selected heavy EOH, guessed at gain setting and started out slowly on a quiet street and tried them. Only had to do a slight adjustment and felt confident to hit the road. With a mix of city and highway towing I think this controller will be good to go and seems to be as functional as the Max Brake. I had to do a couple of quick stops due to traffic and I thought the brakes were coming on to hard but after more stops I realized it was the exhaust brake and transmission doing their job. I was in tow/haul and jake on. So far, so good. As mentioned previously, give this new controller a honest try. I may have a Max Brake for sale.

The new Nav you will get used to it, I had the same issue, just keep messing with it and you will find it a real nice unit.

 

[Cummins12V98]

To get this thread back on track (Max Tow) I will relate my impressions off my new truck. I am really impressed with this truck, all except the navigation system. I just finished bring our Mobile Suites home from the dealer for hail damage and warranty work. I used the integrated brake controller with the electric over hydraulic disk brakes (EOH). I have pulled this trailer with the Max Brake on my other truck. As of right now I do not think I will be installing the Max Brake. I went in to the EVIC screen, selected heavy EOH, guessed at gain setting and started out slowly on a quiet street and tried them. Only had to do a slight adjustment and felt confident to hit the road. With a mix of city and highway towing I think this controller will be good to go and seems to be as functional as the Max Brake. I had to do a couple of quick stops due to traffic and I thought the brakes were coming on to hard but after more stops I realized it was the exhaust brake and transmission doing their job. I was in tow/haul and jake on. So far, so good. As mentioned previously, give this new controller a honest try. I may have a Max Brake for sale.

I agree the integrated brake controller works great but Harvey will tell you that you don't know what you are talking about!

 

[HBarlow]

Yep, you're right. Until someone can provide evidence that the new OEM brake controller senses brake line hydraulic pressure I will continue to do so.

For those who have never towed with a hydraulic over electric brake controller and try to convince others, or themselves, that an inertial controller is just as good I will always say you are wrong.

An inertial controller can only react to deceleration created by the tow vehicle. This means the truck must be capable of creating serious deceleration in order to activate trailer braking and because of this there will always be a delay between initial truck braking and following trailer braking.

If the new Ram oem brake controller is now designed to tap into or otherwise sense brake line pressure to the truck brakes and simultaneously activate trailer braking and someone can prove that with prints, spec sheets, or even photos I will eat my words and apologize.

Until then, you are not convincing anyone but perhaps yourself.

 

[Slow Six]

Harvey, as I posted earlier I have towed this trailer with the Max Brake and yes it is an excellent controller. I do not know how the integrated controller is activated but I do know that after my first tow with it on my trailer that is EOH brakes, I am satisfied with it. I really like the "built in" aspect of it as there is really not a good place to mount a Max Brake in this truck. The front cabin is very busy. FYI I have been pulling trailers for over 40 years with all kinds of units and tow vehicles and in all conditions.

 

[HBarlow]

I have nothing to say about an owner who likes his new Ram with OEM controller. That is your decision to make and none of my business.

I only disagree when someone claims it is better or just as good as the hydraulic over electrics. It cannot duplicate the performance of a controller driven by brake line pressure unless it uses the same design.

 

[rscurtis]

You may be on to something in post #55. In this day of modern electronics, it is altogether possible that the factory controller has a line pressure input.

 

[RustyJC]

If the new Ram oem brake controller is now designed to tap into or otherwise sense brake line pressure to the truck brakes and simultaneously activate trailer braking and someone can prove that with prints, spec sheets, or even photos I will eat my words and apologize.

Harvey,



I don't have a complete set of schematics, but I know that Continental supplies both the integrated brake controller and (among other electronics) the Continental/Teves anti-lock brake system. The anti-lock brake controller module senses hydraulic brake system pressures (front and rear circuits) as an integral step in its function, so this data might well be available to the ITBC through the CANbus.



Perhaps we might be fortunate enough to have a Dodge chassis engineer or technician happen by this thread who could confirm or shoot holes in this theory.



Rusty

 

[HBarlow]

If that turns out to be the case I would become an instant believer and enthusisatic cheerleader. OEM parts and particularly integrated OEM parts are almost always a better design if for no other reason than they are neatly included in the dash controls and don't have to be hung under the dash as we have done since the '50s.

It is unfortunate that Dodge/Ram feels no obligation or even interest in sharing fundamental information such as that with their satisfied buyers. I have found that leaving messages in bottles tossed into the Gulf of Mexico or writing them on the toilet stall wall in a Greyhound bus station are equally effective with calling, writing, or emailing to Chrysler/Dodge/Ram customer service. The young fools they employ to pretend to answer questions seem to derive more pleasure from ignoring messages, promising a reply that never comes, or simply putting the caller on hold than ever providing an answer or source for an answer.