First Heavy Tow On 3500 G-56

[RJOL]

Put around 1200 miles on my 2005 and decided it was time to load it up and take a short trip. Went to the Oregon Coast (lots of rain... ) and each leg was about 200 miles. About half of that was on I-5 and the rest on two lane over some coastal hills. Ran at 60-65 on the freeway and 55-60 on the two lane.



WEIGHT OF TRUCK AND TRAILER: Stopped by a closed truck scale and got the following weights. With Trailer: Front - 4850 / Combined - 11900 / Rear - 7050 / Trailer Front Axle - 4500 / Combined - 9550 / Rear 4900. Trailer is a 31. 5 Alpenlite Hillcrest model with two slides. It had no waste water onboard, and about 20 gallons of fresh. The published pin weight is about 2400lbs, but I'm at about 3100lbs. Truck Only: Front - 4850 / Combined - 8750 / Rear - 3950. Had about 55 gallons of diesel in the OEM replacement tank, 310lbs in two passengers, B&W Turnoverball and Companion hitch installed, a tool bag, ReTrax sliding cover, and the bed has a sprayed in liner. Overall: Trailer and truck weighed in at more then I expected. I had thought the truck would weigh in at close to 8K and the trailer at around 11K. Also, I knew the pin weight on the Alpenlite (lite???) was over 2400lbs with loading, but 3100lbs is getting up there.



FUEL MILEAGE: I'm getting around 16. 1 empty and around 11. 1 loaded. This is close to my 2001 2500 (it got around 10 loaded, and 17. 5 empty - NV4500 with 4:10 gears) but I hope the empty mileage increases as the engine breaks in. Glad to have the extra diesel in the Titan SuperTank.



PRODIGY BRAKE CONTROLLER AND B&W TURNOVERBALL HITCH: I really like the Prodigy controller. I bought the wiring harness and so it is just a "plug in" install. I like the way it handled the trailer, and the information it gives you concerning the connection, and amps applied to the brakes. The B&W hitch with the Companion 5th wheel adaptor is very good. It has a positive "hitch pin" lockup and there is absolutely no pin "clanking" when you accelerate or stop. Very easy to lock and unlock the jaws when hitching and unhitching.



GAUGE READINGS: Max temp, loaded on a grade, was 1250. Max sustained boost is around 28-29lbs with instantaneous readings up to about 33lbs. Fuel pressure readings are running at about 8-9lbs on level roads and a minimum of 7psi on the hills.



G-56 6 SPEED: Absolutely no problems with this setup. It shifts smoothly (when warmed up) and the clutch is a lot smoother then my 2001.



TRUCK: Very impressed, so far (1700 miles total). This truck is considerably quieter then my 2001 2500 under all loads and speeds. There is absolutely no excessive vibrations at freeway speeds and no drone (other then the normal road noise you would hear with a dually going down the freeway). It tracks straight with no pull to either side, with hands off the wheel. I like the instrument color and visibility a lot more then my 2001. I can tell the truck has more power/torque then my 2001 but I still have to shift down to 4th or 5th on the steeper hills. The brakes are noticeably better then my 2001.



OVERALL: Very satisfied with this truck, to this point. I hope the mileage gets a little better but I have to make some concessions when going down the road in a 8700lb truck...

 

[kah68]

Are you running 4:10 or 3:73 ?

 

[SRadke]

3. 73 is the only rear they'll put with the G56.



Thanks for the writeup, very complete.



-Scott

 

[kah68]

Thats odd , my 05' order i picked 4:10's not knowing how low the final drive would be with the new G56. Do you know this for a fact ?

 

[SRadke]

Unless all the other G56 info on this site is incorrect yes, this is fact. The OD in the G56 is relatively low so they aren't going to offer it with the 4. 10's.



-Scott

 

[CLAYTON]

Great post... So it's all and more then you expected?

 

[kah68]

I'll be interested to see how it comes in , I ordered mine in Jan with 4:10's and a stick

 

[RJOL]

Unless Chrysler has changed their order criteria, the 3:73 is the only option for the G-56. I think you can still order an automatic with the 4:10, but mine is the manual 6 speed. If you ordered yours in January, and it's a 6 speed, I think you are going to get a 3:73. You should be able to ask your salesman to read the order confirmation, from Chrysler, and it should tell you what it will have.....

 

[RJOL]

Great post... So it's all and more then you expected?

Yeap... I'm very satisfied with the new truck. Had my 2500 CTD for almost 5 years and I liked it a lot, but it just wasn't enough truck for my 5th wheel. If the problems with the G-56 are as minor as they are saying (overfill ATF by 1 quart) and that takes care of potential future problems, then it will be a great setup. Even if the DMF on the clutch setup turns out to be "not up to snuff" I can still call Peter at South Bend Clutch, and I'm sure he will have the fix for this...