Anyone tow over 20k lbs with CTD?

[BMemmott]

I am new to tdr and have a 04. 5 3500 DRW 4x4 auto and transport cars with it. So far no major problems, but I wanted to see if anyone else is pulling my kind of weight and if they have had any problems.



I just turned 42k mi and the transmission still feels good, however, loaded with 3 cars on a hot day in LA traffic the truck will get warm and will slam into 3rd hard. I think the fan clutch has never worked because I never noticed it engage.



Any Feedback?????



Thanks,

Brian

 

[NIsaacs]

Brian, is the 20k lbs, total gross or towed gross. I will have to say yes, to both. However the more weight I hauled, the less money I kept in my pocket. Have you serviced your transmission yet? Do you have a transmission temp guage? What is warm? I have never owned an auto CTD, so I can't help any with it.





"NICK"

 

[BMemmott]

No guages, And the transmission service is scheduled for next thursday. By warm I mean 215-225. And the 20k lbs is trailer gross. I tow 20k-30k lbs daily. What do yoou mean by the more weight you hauled, the less money you kept in your pocket?

 

[PGiannetto]

total weight: yes.

trailer weight: No

I pull on a regular basis about 15,500lbs (tractor & trailer).

No problems except not enough brake when i want to stop.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Brian, you REALLY need to see this video:



http://www.whoomp.com/articles/87/1...C-Large-Trailer



And the REST of us need to stay WAY ahead or behind you!

 

[BMemmott]

Brian, you REALLY need to see this video:



http://www.whoomp.com/articles/87/1...C-Large-Trailer



And the REST of us need to stay WAY ahead or behind you!

Nice video.



Gary, It's nothing like that. The dodge pulls the trailer with little effort. Up even the steepest hills I do 40-45mph (like the grapevine!!). My powerstroke with a 12k lbs toy hauler could barely do that. And as far as stopping, all 3 trailer axels have breaks, it stops fine. After 42k mi the stock breaks have just started sweeking and the roters are not warped a bit.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

OH, and yeah - like some in THIS group, my Ford driving RVing bud liked to comment as to how tow ratings specified by truck makers were "only recommendations", and "didn't REALLY mean anything", He too figured he was such an excellent and safe driver, he didn't need to fear for his truck or any of it's "Super Duty" hardware - then:



#ad




Funny how $3200 for a new transmission, and being held up for a few days waiting for repairs "adjusts" your outlook on overloading. That, along with watching your RVing bud, in a hated DODGE, tow yer 13K lb bulgemobile on in for you - and a damn GOOD thing I WAS there behind him to stop traffic and guide him as he was forced to coast back into a pull-out that he was VERY lucky to be just past south of Sea Lion Caves on the Oregon coast - otherwise, Hwy 101 would have experienced a very nasty bottleneck for a few hours!



But that would NEVER happen with an overloaded super reliable Dodge/Cummins, right?





NAHHhhhh, never... . :-laf :-laf

 

[BMemmott]

I've had fords, those trannys will blow with no load and have before plenty of times.





Look, I'm not saying that what I am doing is right, I probably will have issues do to the fact that I am overloaded. All I said was that the truck has plenty of power and stops well.



I am just trying to see if other people overload there truck like I do and what kind of problems they have if any.

 

[Winston Wolf]

I weighed 29k

at the dump scale a few weeks ago. It was a local trip, no big hills. Gooseneck dump trailer with a load of dirt.



That was my total weight -- truck, trailer, and load.



Truck towed it just fine. PRXB exhaust brake and electric brakes on both trailer axles stopped it just fine too. Not sure I'd want to cross the Sierras like that though.

 

[Winston Wolf]

Brian, watch your brake wear too. I talked to a hotshotter who delivered a tractor for me. Said he had stress cracks in his rotors after 40k miles or so of cross coutnry trips. Guy had no exhaust brake.



If you tow heavy, get one.

 

[BMemmott]

Thanks for the info, I am doing a break job next week and will post what I find, was thinking of slotted or drilled rotors, don't know if it would make a diffrence though. I would like an exhaust break, but am worried about the effect on my auto. I suppose I will have to get one soon.

 

[DHayden]

There are people who tow as heavy and heavier than you, they just don't post anymore because they are tired of Gary comming after them :-laf



Gary is one of the sticklers to the weight rating which is a good thing. The only confusion is how the DOT handles things and rates vehicles with tire and axle weight. We all know that Dodge seems a little under on the weight ratings and that it can handle more, but those who go by manufacture ratings and not DOT ratings are passionate and will try to eat you alive

 

[GWBourne]

23k on the ODO and i pull a GN. GCW is 25,500lbs.



exhaust brake and all 3 azles on the trailer are braking. i need a flat bed and a Dual swap to be better off... but im getting there. i have only one more tow to do before i get out of the corps and start making a bit more money. then i will swap it all around as needed. i will also go to 19. 5's or 20's with a lot higher weight rating. im finding that 20's have a better weight rating than 19. 5's...



Grant

 

[BMemmott]

GWBourne-

I was going to get 19. 5 alcoas, but a lot of $. Do you have any sugestions of places to buy? Do they make 20s for a dually? Is your truck an auto? If so, how does the exhaust brake work with it? And finally, how do you like the brakesmart controller you have in your sig?

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

There are people who tow as heavy and heavier than you, they just don't post anymore because they are tired of Gary comming after them :-laf



Gary is one of the sticklers to the weight rating which is a good thing. The only confusion is how the DOT handles things and rates vehicles with tire and axle weight. We all know that Dodge seems a little under on the weight ratings and that it can handle more, but those who go by manufacture ratings and not DOT ratings are passionate and will try to eat you alive

Well, you're probably right - and as much as I hate to antagonize others, I personally place deliberately towing seriously overweight right up there with running stoplites, driving well above the speed limit and driving drunk - yeah, lots or most of the time you WILL get by with it - but when you DON'T, you place yourself and innocent others at serious risk, needlessly.



And it only gets worse when those DOING those things encourage or support others who do the same thing, or openly brag about it as though it was to be admired...



What these trucks are physically ABLE to do - and what they can repeatedly SAFELY do, are two entirely separate and different things - and lives can hang in the balance!



OK, OK - sermon over...

 

[NIsaacs]

215*/225* seems a little hot, the 3rd gen has a huge fan so I would think you could hear it. I have not driven one so I don't know. If it is working I would suspect the transmission as the over heat culprit, maybe the t-stat.



When I was logging and hauling my own equipment, I would overload all the time. They were off-hiway private roads, very steep country. However when I quit logging and started hauling for a living the big loads just cost me money in the long run. I have found that anything over 26,000lbs, even with my custom built 1-ton Ford, was too hard on every thing. The truck would pull up or go down any hill with ease, but the wear and tear and low fuel milage just cost too much. Hence, no money in the pocket after all was said and done.





"NICK"

 

[dan shss]

I pulled 28k the other day ,my total weight was 36k truck and trailer.

I was only on back roads and drove slow i would not want to pull that much on the freeway for the safety of others. .



The truck pulled and stoped fine. .

 

[GFritsch]

All seriousness aside

Sorry couldn't resist. Now back to more meaningful discussion

 

[GWBourne]

GWBourne-

I was going to get 19. 5 alcoas, but a lot of $. Do you have any sugestions of places to buy? Do they make 20s for a dually? Is your truck an auto? If so, how does the exhaust brake work with it? And finally, how do you like the brakesmart controller you have in your sig?

as for the brakesmart... LOVE it. i will NEVER own anything other than one again. i set it up for what trailer i have (adjust gain for load) and go off on my way and never look at it again.



as for 20's they make them for duallies, BUT they cost almost as much as alcoa's. now i have not looked at 19. 5 inch alcoas because as far as I know they dont have an 8 lug alcoa in 19. 5. BUT i have not checksed in a while. if they do the weight rating on the alcoa SHOULD be higher than rickson's LOW 3500lbs rating.



exhaust brake... well, i have a 6 shooter and 4. 10's. i cant keep a sluchbox in ANYTHING i own with the exception of a geo metro i had for a while. so auto was a no no. then i saw the exhaust brake option. at 6k miles the truck got the Jake E-Brake installed. i didnt get to drive the truck for a few montsh and when i got back home and drove it i decided i would NEVER get a diesel without one. well worth the cash. i had yet to haul with the truck. once i hooked up and used the e-brake i was even more sold. i have had a few situations where stoping was needed yesteday style and made it with a couple car lengths to spare. once again, my GN has 3 braking axles.



as for finding a place to ge t20's i am still looking for a rim that has a decent Back space. the ones i am finding are going to stick out a bit more than i would like. it does not help that i HATE chrome and will only go with gun metal or BLACK. so i am limited as not all rims are made in black. it may come to me getting a close matched set for BS and then having them powder coated. a place to start looking is Trucking magazine. MOST of the 20's that look alright to me are rated AROUND 3800lbs and 10 ply. tires in a size around 34 inches for 20's are commonly rated the same. they also tend to be a BIT wider than i prefer, but i can deal with that. once ya finda set of rims you are interested in get online to find more info and call them direct to see weight rating and possibly more styles.



in the end if i go 20's then i will most likely stay with SRW. but still go to an aluminum flat bed and hedache rack.



Grant

 

[Grizzly]

I sold my 95 Dually with a CTD, 5 speed and 4:10 axle to a young man in Alamosa, Colorado. He is using the truck to haul his goose neck trailer to deliver 20K loads of alfalfa all up and down the Rocky Mountain states. He has made a lot of modifications to the truck and just loves it. He said that it is much better and more economical than his last truck, which was a Ford, PowerJoke. The Furd is on it's third engine. I told him that if he kept pulling 20K of alfalfa, plus the weight of the trailer, he would wear out the Cummins as well.