First month in my cab and chassis

[EB]

I've had my truck working now for a full month and have driven a little over 9300 miles, all but maybe 300 of them towing. I have some likes and dislikes and will list them below.



Likes:

The Aisin transmission- The two extra gears make all the difference, I had a 95 auto and with 4 gears it never seemed to be in the right gear even after I put a full DTT transmission in it. This one is a lot better, although sometimes you might want to be in a different gear, this is about as close to a stick as far as being in the right gear as you are going to get with an auto.



The exhaust brake- If you tow, this should be an automatic purchase, (it should come standard with the towing package) In the tow/haul mode this thing will really shut you down.



The engine- At stock power with the Aisin transmission it will pull the maximum load I can pull (as far as the company alows) with no problems. That would be about 24,000, trailer and payload.



The ride- This all comes from the longer wheelbase (167") Compared to my 03 which had a 130" something wheelbase, this one is much better.



The interior- It is fine, nothing special, it doesn't have as many covyholes as the 03 did to put things, mainly in the sunvisor.



The 52 gal fuel tank- I won't have to put an auxiliary tank on which will leave me more space in my bed (11. 5 ft. flatbed)



Dislikes:

A couple of minor things and one major one that I have my dealer checking up on.



The oil filter is much more difficult to change than it was on my 03, the way I did it, but I will probably go to the Amsoil remote setup and not worry about it. It also looks like the fuel filter is going to be a little tougher to service than my 03 was also.



My major concern is the burn mode on the particulate filter. It has done it 6 times that I know of and every time it was the same. It will smoke like you have an injector hung open, blue-white smoke and a lot of it for about 15-20 seconds then it quits. I've had several truckers call me on the cb and tell me something must be wrong. It happened again yesterday on a back road and I stopped to see if I had a miss, (I didn't) the exhaust had a roaring sound in it and it was really hot so I know that is what it was. There is no indication of anything wrong on the instrument panel, the only way you would know it is happening is if you looked back and saw the smoke. It always seems to happen when I am pulling my trailer empty, never with a load. Like I said, I have my dealer checking on it. I'm not going to worry about it at this point, but I sure don't think it looks good for Dodge to have a new model truck going down the road smoking like crazy regardless of how short a time it is.



Other than that, to this point, I'm happy with the way the truck has performed.

 

[jelag]

Could you expand on this """My major concern is the burn mode on the particulate filter. """



I'm going to order after the first of the year... . one or two 5500... . as soon as they are available... I'm looking for larger safety factor based on what we tow.....

 

[Duluth Diesel]

The AMSOIL bypass system for your truck doesn't relocate the factory, full-flow filter, just the bypass filter. The 2004 and newer trucks throw oil pressure codes with the dual mount bypass setup that the older trucks use. Since the oil pressure sending unit is remounted with the bypass filter, and the electronics on the newer truck are more sensitive, the sending unit incorrectly sees a slow rise in oil pressure, and throws an engine code. The single mount filter eliminates this problem. Unfortunately, this leaves your hard-to-change factory filter in the same location.

 

[Bekim]

The AMSOIL bypass system for your truck doesn't relocate the factory, full-flow filter, just the bypass filter. The 2004 and newer trucks throw oil pressure codes with the dual mount bypass setup that the older trucks use. Since the oil pressure sending unit is remounted with the bypass filter, and the electronics on the newer truck are more sensitive, the sending unit incorrectly sees a slow rise in oil pressure, and throws an engine code. The single mount filter eliminates this problem. Unfortunately, this leaves your hard-to-change factory filter in the same location.

Yo Chuck!#ad

Cheers
Mike
###

 

[jaird]

EB, thanks for the informative updates. Please keep them comming. Merry Christmas.



jaird

Raonoke, VA

 

[EB]

Could you expand on this """My major concern is the burn mode on the particulate filter. """



I'm going to order after the first of the year... . one or two 5500... . as soon as they are available... I'm looking for larger safety factor based on what we tow.....

I have the dealer looking into it. There is some discussion of it on the "photos of the particulate filter" thread talking about the burn mode. I guess everything is going to have this. The filter heats up to burn anything on it and clean itself. It really isn't self-cleaning but it burns off the soot, to my understanding anyway. I really don't know, I'm waiting for a better explanation from my dealer. If anyone is connected with a dealer or Dodge and can get a better explanation, I'd like to hear it myself.

 

[EB]

The AMSOIL bypass system for your truck doesn't relocate the factory, full-flow filter, just the bypass filter. The 2004 and newer trucks throw oil pressure codes with the dual mount bypass setup that the older trucks use. Since the oil pressure sending unit is remounted with the bypass filter, and the electronics on the newer truck are more sensitive, the sending unit incorrectly sees a slow rise in oil pressure, and throws an engine code. The single mount filter eliminates this problem. Unfortunately, this leaves your hard-to-change factory filter in the same location.

Thanks for that information, I wasn't aware of that, guess I might have to rethink that.

 

[BillRamsey]

Cab/chassis

mine will be here Tuesday been waiting for nearly 2 months. Qcab slt with the jake. I'm ready

 

[RGardner]

How about an update?

 

[EB]

How about an update?

Ok, I'm over 12,000 miles now with no problems of any kind. I was able to make a run yesterday, (and finish it today) of over 700 miles without my trailer. This was the first time I have been able to check the mileage without a trailer. The mileage was 15. 4 mpg. (It is making about 10. 3 on average pulling the trailer)This was driving the speed limit most of the way. My overhead said I was making 16. 2 so it is still off . 8 as far as the mpg goes.



When I bought the truck the dealer weighed it and said it weighed 8800 lbs. I reweighed it with full fuel and all my gear, (chains, straps, ect. ) and the truck weighed 9700 lbs. , quite a bit heavier. My old truck weighed 8700 with everything on it. This is probably going to hold the fuel mileage down some. I still believe the people getting this truck, the 6. 7 engine, with a stick and 3. 73 gears will get as good if not better mileage than with the 5. 9 engine. I know I'm giving up some mileage to have an automatic, but it is sure nice to not have to shift gears in traffic.



Any questions, I'll try to answer them tomorrow, I'm loaded and have to leave at 4 in the morning so I'm going to bed.

 

[gsbrockman]

This was the first time I have been able to check the mileage without a trailer. The mileage was 15. 4 mpg. (It is making about 10. 3 on average pulling the trailer)This was driving the speed limit most of the way. My overhead said I was making 16. 2 so it is still off . 8 as far as the mpg goes.

That big ol' 52 gal tank makes for some nice, unloaded cruising ranges I'm sure. 15. 4 mpg x 50 gals = 770 miles :-laf



Thanks for the update. I drooled over a nicely optioned RAM 3500 4x4 DRW SLT 4x4 Quad Cab auto at Cornett Chrysler in Irvine, KY. today... ... ... . nice.



Greg

 

[Yo Hoot]

Sounds like you got an afterburner onboard :-laf



Is the oil filter in the same location on the passenger side of the engine?



In this picture you can see my oil filter behind the A/C compressor. I go from below with a cup wrench and a ratchet extension. Takes about 60 seconds to take it out.



#ad




I this cup wrench...



#ad

 

[MamthTorq]

What does the 6. 7 sound like? More rattle, quieter, deeper? Also how do you like the VG turbo? should have pretty fast spool up. Keep the reports coming!

 

[EB]

Sounds like you got an afterburner onboard :-laf



Is the oil filter in the same location on the passenger side of the engine?







The oil filter is in the same place, guess I'll have to do my filter changes different from now on, oh well, not that big of a deal.

 

[EB]

What does the 6. 7 sound like? More rattle, quieter, deeper? Also how do you like the VG turbo? should have pretty fast spool up. Keep the reports coming!

The 6. 7 sounds different than the 5. 9, hard to explain the difference, it is quieter and smoother. It has a deep rumble when under a load in 6th gear, kinda tells you when you need to be in tow/haul or it will shift itself when needed. You can hear the turbo and yes it spools up pretty fast. 12,700 miles now and everything is working as advertised.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Cummins really worked on reducing NVH on the new series, and the 6. 7 comes with a Fluidampr-style damper now.

 

[RVTRKN]

HI EB,



Whats the latest on your new C&C, and how is the auto trans doing ?

 

[EB]

HI EB,



Whats the latest on your new C&C, and how is the auto trans doing ?

I rolled over 15,000 miles today, no problems at all to report. The transmission is working great. Pulls anything I need to pull, up to 24k behind it with no problems. Just wish there was some ULSD in this area. The closest I have found is 87 miles away.

 

[Jaysyl]

Thanks for the updates Only 15000 miles? why don't you take it for a drive some time, and stop babying the thing. :-laf :-laf