Will a 2006 48RE last towing 11K lbs?

[Nordby]

Thanks in advance for advice/opinions. I've been a cummins fan for years, own two of them (1992, and in a 1978 Ford project truck), but our tow vehicle has been a 3/4 Crew Ford PowerStroke. Until now. The rear diff went out on it - turns out it is a 10. 25 Sterling built thing, not a Dana, and being a 3/4 ton we are probably a bit over-trailered for the truck.



We are looking at 2006 Dodge 3500 Quad Longbed Dually's, with the 6spd. Hard to find them - and we do see a few with auto's out there. Question to you towing folks - should we hold out and get the 6spd, or is that auto going to cut it? DC auto's have had a bad rap in the not so distant past, just curious if they have improved at all. We don't plan on any mods (warranty) and this truck either tows or sits in the garage - very little empty driving, about 15K/year towing miles.



thanks folks,

jon.

 

[jelag]

My BIL has an early 04 automatic and pulls 15K lbs about 30K miles a year... . all my trucks are manual transmissions... . he found that right from the start he was overheating the transmission fluid to 260 - 280 pulling any kind of hill..... he ended up with an extra cooler to keep the fluid temperature under 180 all the time... . I'm guessing to make the 48RE live over the life of the engine you'll need an additional cooler right from the start... .



He now has over 100K and is still going strong..... BTW when he installed the cooler he also put in an extra filter that holds a qt of fluid..... and changes it every 50K...



Hope this helps.....

 

[Dieselnerd]

My 48RE never overheats climbing hills. As long as you don't exceed the Gross Combination Weight towing capacity of your truck the 48RE will be fine without additional coolers. If you add engine mods, different story, but stock should be fine. 11K trailer is pretty light load after all.



My truck is stock but I have gauges for boost, egt and transmission temp. When towing up long grades in high heat I never see transmission temps above 170 degrees and usually less. My trailer is a LOT heavier than yours. The 48RE TC locks up in Tow Haul so you don't get the heat causing slippage that was there in the 47RE in 2nd gen trucks.



The 48RE is a vast improvement over older automatics. Dodge would not give you the high tow ratings if they thought it would ruin the transmission. Get one and don't worry about it.

 

[the whale dog]

I have always been a manual fan but I bought my first auto this year as the result of breaking my left leg in 13 places below the knee I have found that once the transmission locks up the truck does well even with 12 tons on the trailer but when pulling out of my driveway and climbing a hill that I used to run 2nd gear now the truck will sit at 2500rpm and about 5 mph won't go any faster until I top the hill. I have noticed that it appears to be getting better. I also had one instance where I was going across this field towing the kubota and all of a sudden the truck stopped pulling I had 3000 rpm and no speed would not move until I put it in low range. I would hold out for the 6 speed as I believe that when you have a 800 rpm difference at lockup that it will cause further problems as glaizing the tc clutch just my 2 cents hope it helps and have a great Christmas

 

[Nordby]

Thank you guys for the input - good idea a few back to put the gauges on it and watch the transmission temp - I'll add the additional cooler, and extra quart in a filter, if pulling the 11K around starts pushing the temp too far. This is the info I need.



Whale dog, any clue what's going on with yours? Are you hearing of others experiencing this kinda behavior? Does your Edge affect shift points/transmission program at all? Good Christmas to you folks as well,



thanks again,

jon.

 

[PatrickCampbell]

If you are towing 11k lbs, get 4. 10's gears and you will be fine. transmission temp gauge and I would go for the Mag Hytec transmission pan. This is not a lot to spend to t ake care of your trans.

 

[SnoKing]

Thank you guys for the input - good idea a few back to put the gauges on it and watch the transmission temp - I'll add the additional cooler, and extra quart in a filter, if pulling the 11K around starts pushing the temp too far. This is the info I need.



Whale dog, any clue what's going on with yours? Are you hearing of others experiencing this kinda behavior? Does your Edge affect shift points/transmission program at all? Good Christmas to you folks as well,



thanks again,

jon.

I know that some transmission guys do not think you should put another filter on it. You put the extra filter on the cooling line, and if it plugs up, bye bye transmission. If you want extra fluid, put on the double deep transmission pan. By 2006, most of the early issues with the 48RE were resolved, and you can run an exhaust brake, which at that weight you will really like having one. I tow a 5er at 11-12K and love having the exhaust brake, and can not picture doing the western mountains without one.



SNOKING

 

[Nordby]

Again, more great input on the previous two - gear ratios, preventative by putting that Mag Hytec pan on, and the E-Brake! We tow West of Denver to Grand Junction, Rifle, and Salt Lake City, so get some hills on I-70 for sure and would prefer to have a bit more holdback on the engine/transmission that we have in the 2000 F*ord/E40D auto.



thanks, and I'll surely update this with what we get. Might be a few days/weeks even.

jon.

 

[nps]

This rig is my first auto - 6 speeds before. I pull about 12K. I keep it in tow haul even when unloaded.



Only got the transmission hot once going up a steep incline. Truck slowed and came out of lockup when it downshifted into 2nd gear. The transmission temp soared until it touched 260*. Then I dropped the shifter into 2nd from drive (OD was engaged the whole time) and the 48RE locked up in 2nd gear! The transmission temp immediately dropped like a rock to 160* and I proceeded up the hill at about 30mph.



Don't know if this is an undocumented feature because I never did read the manual, but if your 48RE is getting hot use the gear shift and the TC will lock up in 2nd.

 

[BGlidewell]

get an exhaust brake either way.

I sorta wish I'd gone manual... more control over whats going on, but I needed the tow rating

 

[Nordby]

Meant to update this sooner - no new truck yet. On 26 December my wife lost her job, along with about 40 others, in a buyout/takeover of the company she worked for. The quest for a new truck is on hold, and we may have to change those plans and go used. Oh well - that's how it goes sometimes!

Again, thanks for the input in here,



jon.

 

[CRuth]

All depends on where you go. Mine never overheats on the highway, but get it on some steep grade where you're lucky to hit 25mph before the next switchback and it does over heat.

 

[DerekW]

I sorta wish I'd gone manual... more control over whats going on, but I needed the tow rating

The automatic is rated to tow less than the manual. I personally am getting to the point where I will either trade my 04. 5 fully loaded with auto and DRW (tough find with when looking for one that has a good transmission) in for a 04. 5 fully loaded with 6 speed and DRW. either that or cut a hole in the floorboard for the shifter and a shifter for a manual shifted t-case (**** push buttom **** ******* me off). I don't mean to dog on anyone out there that is happy with push button t-case or 48RE, but all the reasons I hate my truck are thanks to those two things. The 48Re cost more to make work where as the 6 speed just frikin works without getting as hot as the 48RE. I bought this truck with an automatic cuz I wanted to do back to back pulling with it and automatic was the only way to go to be competitive now that I moved from the area of the competition I still want to sled pull, drag race, play, and tow, the 48RE is in my way and will cost me 8 grand from ATS Diesel to make right. I have had to many problems with automatics in the past. why I bought another vehicle with an Auto is beyond me, especially cuz I could have found a straight drive with all the options I wanted alot easier then this truck. I did search high and low to find this truck. I looked at a few others and they all had transmission problems this one was the best taken care of and worked the least (no hitch in bed= less trailer towing capacity). crush the ford and get a straight drive dodge and be happy