Hauling 17k Gooseneck Horse Trailer

[DieselDog2016]

Hello!

I’m excited to be here and have read a lot off this site for a while!

I’ve been doing research but have found almost too many different answers and it’s leaving me more confused the deeper I get. Please bear with me.

I bought a Smarty Touch S2G tuner(waiting for unlock codes) for my truck to make a bit more power while hauling, reduce dead pedal feel/lag and maybe if I’m lucky, get better fuel mileage unloaded. I am also trying to make sure not to break anything. I truly don’t know much about tuners or anything and am learning as I go.

The truck is a 2016 Ram 3500 with 6.7 Cummins. It is a 4x4 Laramie, 35” mud tires, and a leveling kit up front. I installed air bags in the back to help with squatting under the big trailer. Other than that it is stock.

I haul a small landscape trailer(7,000 pounds max) weekly, and a 4 horse LQ trailer(17,000 pounds) a couple times a month.

I am contemplating putting in an EGT sensor at the manifold. What I’ve read so far says the truck already has 5 factory sensors after the turbo? Would these work to measure temps instead of a purely EGT sensor? How hot is too hot?

Torque management…from what I’ve been reading, this basically changes the throttle sensitivity and adds more fuel at lower RPMs and reduces the turbo lag. I’ve also read that having the setting up too high will damage the trans because of the increased response?

Then there is different tuning settings with and without timing. From what I gather, the with timing is if the tuner is the only component you’re running, and without timing is if you have already added components that advance timing. I don’t plan on messing with any of that but wouldn’t mind learning more about it.

If anyone has advice on which tune for towing, and which for unloaded please let me know!

Thanks for your time!

 

[Grumpy8811]

stock power output's are easiest on the drivetrain and manually choosing a lower gear to let the engine spin faster ( even when the engine makes enough power to pull a grade in the highest gears ) is generally a good idea.
Also worth saying over sized tires may look good, but do nothing to improve acceleration or stopping distance when towing.
Nothing else to add but those things.

 

[DieselDog2016]

stock power output's are easiest on the drivetrain and manually choosing a lower gear to let the engine spin faster ( even when the engine makes enough power to pull a grade in the highest gears ) is generally a good idea.
Also worth saying over sized tires may look good, but do nothing to improve acceleration or stopping distance when towing.
Nothing else to add but those things.

Thank you!

 

[slowmover]

Also worth saying over sized tires may look good, but do nothing to improve acceleration or stopping distance when towing.

Yes. Worse performance & MPG.

 

[DieselDog2016]

Also worth saying over sized tires may look good, but do nothing to improve acceleration or stopping distance when towing.

Yes. Worse performance & MPG.

Thank you

Truth be told I’m not worried about fuel economy. I bought it to work with. I like having a little more clearance underneath for getting to the hunting cabin lol

 

[bcbender]

Just put good fuel in and keep up with maintenance.. Nothing needed as these trucks come stock with more power and tq than any of our 2cnd and 3rd gens did after thousands of dollars in mods... only thing you'd get from adding more power, etc is broken parts and more headaches.
JM2C, enjoy your new truck and welcome to the TDR!