Trailer towing mpg Need help

[RBuesser]

I bought my wife a 06 cummins auto 3. 73 3600 4x4 quad cab long wheel base. The truck is bone stock, empty she gets 14-17. With the trailer, Keifer four horse with living quarters approx # 14000, she only gets 9 mpg. There really isnt alot of hills so take that out. She had a 04 Ford 6. 0 auto 4x4 crew cab short bed before, it would get 14-17 empty and 10-11 with the trailer. I need, or hoping for alot better milage. The first thing she told me last night is she thinks her ford pulled the trailer alot better. She said the dodge transmission is always down shifting and hunting for a gear. I have drove the truck empty and then set the brake controller up with the trailer. My opinion is the transmission leaves alot to be desired, I think the truck has power but it is lost when the transmission downshifts on a hill, it doesnt pick up speed until you crest the hill. But I want to put a edge juice with attitude, but what do I do to the transmission? I really dont want to put 5k into it so any help would be great, kinda leaning toward a new convertor. She is empty all week then pulls the trailer on the weekend. Not trying to bash the dodge, just want alittle more towing, not downshifting.

 

[Bertram65]

Keep OD locked out unless you are above 2000rpm, also for any real towing with the auto 4. 10s are much better suited for the power band of the CR motor, below 2000 rpm the motor has little power and you will have problems downshifting.

You did not say how many miles you have on the truck, the mileage may get alittle better as the miles increase.

If you increase the power you should be especially carefull to keep the rpms over 2000 when towing as it is much easier on the transmission, putting a lot of power into a stock transmission below 2000rpm when towing will kill it pretty quickly.

 

[RBuesser]

We went with 3. 73 because it is the everyday driver, will the box help the transmission or is there something better than the juice. I like it because the gauges are all together. The truck runs good until it downshifts then its like someone threw the anchor out.

 

[PatrickCampbell]

So uh, what do you do with all those Fords?



How many miles on the Dodge? Of course you know this will go up with time. On a 14K trailer I would have gone with 4. 10s but 3. 73s will pull it. I have done this and did not really enjoy it much.



Is she using tow/haul mode?

 

[RBuesser]

The fords are for work. I have a concrete construction business. I have had alot of issues with the 6. 0 and decided to try a cummins. I have a 450 ford is doing a replacement on for a 07. Then I just got a 04 out of the shop with a reman long block. I ran cummins up to 98 then went to ford in 99, front eds brakes and trannys killed me, the 7. 3's were good, her 6. 0 was great, but my other 2 04 6. 0's are junk. The motor that is the trucks, trannys are great, even the 05's and 06's are great. I figured the 325hp cummins would be good with 3. 73's. I think I am going to try the juice, will that help with the transmission any? The truck has 4000miles on it,with my fords I never saw anything over one mpg increase after 40-50k miles. Still wondering about the vb convertor upgrade.

 

[REFLOYD]

the box will kill the transmission quicker

 

[CBari]

I Too Pull A 4 Horse Lq And Loaded My Will Weigh 15-16k I Found That The Sweet Spot For Mileage On Mine Was Between 70 And 75 But That Left It Always Wanting To Down Shift On Every Over Pass, After Two Years Of This I Finaly Brokedown And But The J/a On And Running It On 1/1 Man What A Night And Day Difference. Set The Cruise On 73 And It Will Not Drop Below 70 No Downshifting And Temps Stay Below 1250. I Have Noticed That In 40 To 55mph Range Even On 1/1 Loaded The Tc Wants To Slip. As Far As The Mileage Goes It Did Help It About 1-2. I Avg This 8. 5 This Winter Hauling To All The Long Horn Rodeos Up North. I Am Going To Tc And Vaule Body I Am Currently Researching And Trying To Make My Mind Up. Anybody Know Of A Good No Excellent Trans Shop Near Me. I To Have Hauled And Pulled The Same Trailer With Several 6. 0s And Some Seem As Good And The Stock Dodge And Some Leave A Lot To Be Desired. I Wish We Had One More Gear Between 3 And 4. Don't Give Up I Personly Think The Dodges Just Drive And Handle Load Vs The Road Better.

 

[Dieselnerd]

I tow a similar weight fifth wheel, around 14K. I have 4:10 axles with an automatic transmission. I recently completed a 2000 mile trip towing the trailer from Nevada to Minnesota. My mileage varied with tailwinds at times and headwinds at others. My worst tank was 9 MPG with a strong headwind and my best was 13 MPG with a good tailwind. There was a lot of uphill towing the first 2 days. Overall for the trip I averaged slightly over 11 MPG which I personally consider quite good. In my opinion, towing heavy with 4:10 axles gives better mileage than towing heavy with 3:73. My RPM's are around 2100 cruising and that seems to be a sweet spot for the engine. That translates to about 65 MPH.

 

[R C Cola]

Dodge Owners

I have a freind who has owned 7 Dodges all bought new and worked hard. Every time I see hiim he grows more unhappy with the 06 The changes made this last year did not compare well with previous years. R C

 

[THorton]

I have an 05 DRW 2WD long bed 3500 with the automatic and 4:10's. I have pulled heavy equipment on a gooseneck trailer from AZ through the mountains to NY and ND, average weight 30,000 GCW. I average about 9. 5 MPG across the board (10,000 miles) with flat land at about 11MPG and mountain grades at about 7 MPG. I agree, 2100 RPM is the right engine speed, tow/haul mode engaged. I also notice that if you use the cruise feature, the truck rarely downshifts untill engine speed drops to 1500 RPM. In manual (foot throttle) mode, it will downshift very quickly and does not use the torque advantage of the motor.

 

[EricBu12]

On the milage issue on the new truck, The engine is still tight and needs to break in... . The beast way to do that is to work it, which is what you are doing. When you listen to the engine, Abnormally quiet as it is... . you will notice the engine will quiet down as it is not using as much fuel even at idle. When you do some more driving, I bet you will see the #'s go up a bit and it will pull the hills easier.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Your not taking the computers word for MPG are you? Both the Dodge and the ferd lie! You'll need to hand calcualte to get an accurate picture.

 

[clem]

I go along with the 4:10 rear ends at 60 mph the engine is just getting in the power band,about 2000 rpm in O/D. We get 12 mpg on a good day with our 5th wheel that is better than 16,000 lbs and about 18 empty. now I can't run 70 mph + and get that. Thats on paper,My computer is fooled by the Edge Box Its to late to change rear ends,just try to keep the Revs up around 2000. Now there is one other thing that would help if the Cat were not in the exhaust system. I know of one case whare it feel off and the truck runs a lot better. It's a 05 Auto 4x4 3:73 rear end

 

[cwsoules]

I have my DTT smart box set the OD shift point at 57mph where the torque is high enough. I usually tow at 62 mph. I routinely get over 11 mph on flat land and occasilonally up into the 12 mph range. In hills it drops into 10 mph range and OD is often off.

 

[john3976]

I have my DTT smart box set the OD shift point at 57mph where the torque is high enough. I usually tow at 62 mph. I routinely get over 11 mph on flat land and occasilonally up into the 12 mph range. In hills it drops into 10 mph range and OD is often off.

So you are the one holding up all the traffic.

 

[EdwardsW]

I haul trailers for a living an have invested quite a bit to get better mileage.



First, let her breath, open up exhaust and intake. Second, upsize the injectors slightly, jammer II's or RV275's. See where that gets you. I also have a van Aaken box, and the extra power is nice but I only see a marginal mileage increase.



You have to be careful when adding extra horsepower. A full set of guages is a must, including trans temp. And, the temptation to use the power for powers sake must be overcome, drive like you do not have it to avoid premature wear on the powertrain and to actually see the mileage increase.

 

[EdwardsW]

I haul trailers for a living and have invested quite a bit to get better mileage, with some success.



First, let her breath, open up the exhaust and intake.

Then check your increase.

Second, increase fuel injector size, jammer II's or RV275's.

Check your increase again.



When towing, a set of guages is a must. Both EGT's and trans. temp can get pretty high without your engine feeling loaded down, especially in the hills. In addition to temps, I monitor fuel presssure and turbor boost. If you can keep you EGT's below 800 and your boost below 6 when towing you will see the best mileage and it will be the easist on your powertrain.



A fuel box on download box may be helpful. Seems to vary engine to engine. You can get most of them with a 30 day return policy. So you can try them out. The boxes definitly throw the computer calculated mileage display off, so do hand calcs. And don't even think about this without the guages.



If you add power to get better mileage, you will be tempted to use it. If you want to see the mileage increase, drive like you don't have it and play around with your driving methods to keep you guages as low as you can.

As you can see, I have a manual. When going up a hill, I let the vehicle slow down, trying to keep the EGT's from going over 900. When my speed gets down to 55. I downshift to 5th and do not try and recover any of the speed until I am on the downside.

 

[RBuesser]

Well I have a update on the milage. Empty she is getting 16, she took the trailer to a barrel race thursday, the trailer was full(four horses, water and everything else). She said they had a good headwind on the way but the truck got 8. 7 mpg on the trip there. All highway and was at 70mph, she said sometimes it was all the truck could do to hold that speed. I am really looking hard at the new juice box. Then do any of the boxes out get rid of the 3rd injection pulse?