Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) The perfect towing Machine

[VolsFan]

Edge comp, air dog and rv275s on my rig which is basically same as yours except 3500 w 4.10s, pulls a 28' gooseneck loaded with everything from equipment to hay bales never gets above 800 pre turbo, and that's only on a long grade in 6th hauling the mail. Good advice you have received from fellow members. I'd personally save your money for inevitable repairs, maintenance and fuel if your goal is a reliable tow rig and not a high horsepower beast. And mine too makes me smile, so glad every time I drive it I found a 2nd gen 6 spd, hard to find!

 

[Bob4x4]

Edge comp, air dog and rv275s on my rig which is basically same as yours except 3500 w 4.10s, pulls a 28' gooseneck loaded with everything from equipment to hay bales never gets above 800 pre turbo, and that's only on a long grade in 6th hauling the mail. Good advice you have received from fellow members. I'd personally save your money for inevitable repairs, maintenance and fuel if your goal is a reliable tow rig and not a high horsepower beast. And mine too makes me smile, so glad every time I drive it I found a 2nd gen 6 spd, hard to find!

Better check your pyro-no way you are pulling a loaded trailer up a grade at 800 pre turbo..............................unlessn you are in a very low gear

 

[VolsFan]

Bob4x4, your correct that wouldn't make sense! Readings are POST turbo, my goof. At 800 I just figure it's running at 1100.

 

[PC12Driver]

yes the super B is a bit laggy with the 14 housing as a daily driver, but for a towing turbo it would be a good unit. The cost of lower EGTs and top end power for towing is low end response.
For a 62/65/12 http://www.cumminsperformanceparts.com/dtech62turbo.html Its basically a phatshaft minus 700 bucks. With a 12cm housing on a towing turbo though it will be hotter. It really depends on how much it will be towed with.

Towing isn't about moving as much air as possible - it's about putting the air where you need it. Stepping up from a 12 to a 14 will move the powerband up a couple hundred RPM, which is not conducive to towing. Here's a thread from a fellow who downsized from a 14 to a 12 on a 57mm S300 (Super B). Basically, on a 450hp truck, egts went down in all conditions with the smaller housing and he gained some response back. The smaller housing extracted more energy from the exhaust and put the compressor in its sweet spot earlier.

My HTT was a 62/65/12, and as I said above, it was good over 1,800. Putting a 14 on that turbo would mean I would have had to keep my RPMs over 2,000 for any sort of response. Anything under that and EGTs would rise faster than boost. The HTT sales rep I talked to when I was buying that turbo told me that "The 12cm housing would work, but if you want to use all 450hp to tow then you'll need the 14." That's dyno advice, not real world. The thing is, nobody uses 450hp for towing. So for me it was a compromise: a medium compressor to cool the egts when playing, and the small turbine housing to keep the power as low in the RPMs as possible for towing. Turns out, my 450hp wasn't even maxing out the 12cm housing. So a lessor HP truck with the smaller compressor wouldn't even come close to filling the 12cm housing, towing or not.

Incidentally, and more to the original point, my towing EGTs were lower 99% of the time with the stock 35/12.

 

[PC12Driver]

Bob4x4, your correct that wouldn't make sense! Readings are POST turbo, my goof. At 800 I just figure it's running at 1100.

Keep in mind - the higher the drive pressure, the more temperature loss across the turbo. If you're really pulling and the wastgate is open you may be at a greater temperature difference than you think.

 

[Bob4x4]

On grades towing with my 94 I have seen as much Asa 500 degree variation between pre and post when just hitting the grades

 

[GCroyle]

Might not be able to get one anymore and I haven't seen discussed so far, your brake controller. I got lucky and got a MaxBrake it does the job. All of the work to get the load to roll on command should be almost 2nd fiddle compared to getting it to stop.

Real trailering mirrors.

If its a dedicated trailer, how about a TPMS system for the trailer tires?

 

[mpaulson]

One thing that I didn't see mentioned here is it should be a priority it add a supply fuel pressure guage and watch it so that you don't find out that your lift pump is weak by the means of a failed VP44 injection pump. I don't remember what the min pressure should be to keep the VP44 safe and durable, maybe someone here can provide that.

 

[BDaugherty]

The OP stated that he has an Edge Juice with Attitude monitor. That will allow him to monitor EGT, boost, trans temp, fuel psi and more. It seems that everyone has a different idea of a safe fuel psi for a VP44, but I think it's generally accepted that 12-16 is safe.
The walbro system on my '01 held pretty steady at 16-18 psi measured at the inlet to the VP.

 

[mpaulson]

I guess I should learn to read better, missed that in the OP.

 

[BDaugherty]

It was a really good point and I might have missed it as well if I hadn't owned one.

 

[Arctic Taco]

Seems like a pacbrake and. 4" exhaust and you are good. How do you like the FASS?

 

[Braydon.l6]

Sorry for the long reply, I have been away for a while. The FASS. I have had it for four years now and never had a problem. My fuel pressure stays around 16psi and when towing up a hill can get to around 12psi. It never goes below that. I have the FASS Platinum. Hope that helps.

 

[ChrisOlson]

Hello
I will chime in here. My 99CTD has been used for heavy towing. I have many of the upgrades listed by others in this post. My GCVW is 18500 lbs I have towed across the country from Bellingham to Tampa Fla 3 times round trip and once 1 way. the 3 round trips my set up was stock injectors edge comp with the tapped wire. 4 inch down tube and 4 inch exhaust with the resonator. The auto transmission was built and upgraded. I have the BHAF to let the air in. stock 3.54 gears and ranch 9000 adjustable all around with airbags in the back I also have a hellwig sway bar. I have all the gauges and pyro. with the pyro being pre turbo I relocated the lift pump to the frame rail and maintain 10 to 15 PSI. with this set up I could maintain 65 to 70 MPH with the pyro reading 1050. On 8% grades I could maintain 65 MPH without downshifting and the pyro reading 1200 I always kept the temp down below 1200. my last 1 way trip down to FLA was after my orig VP44 failed. I purchased the best bluechip and removed the edge Comp and installed the smarty.. I HATED THIS CONFIGRATION. The Truck was a dog after the smarty. I could barley maintain 50 mph up a 8 % grade and that was downshifting into Drive with rpms up around 2200. in either configuration Braking down hill was ALWAYS white knuckle I used lots of down shifting with the Auto transmission. When I go back to get my Rig in FLA I am going to stack the Edge comp with the smarty and install a PAC brake. I also have a 2007 Chevy Duramax Alison I use and Tow with in Alaska and this has proven to be a very capable truck. But I PREFER to drive and Tow with the Dodge and the mighty Cummins.