tdavis03

Got rid of the 03, driving 05 dually automatic. Going to set it up for TOWING! I even got bumper to bumper protection. Any upgrade suggestions?

rich

tranny temp guage and exhaust brake

wiskeyVI

PacBrake and bags.

Midnite

Performance is always a good thing, but in my mind safety and reliability come before anything. I've taken that view with the mods on my truck and I'd recommend the same with mods for yours. With that in mind I fully agree with Rich and wiskeyVI's recommended mods. My Pacbrake is definitely one of the best mods I've made to my truck, and I don't even haul or tow heavy. When you consider that a $.50 fuse could take out your trailer brakes, it's nice to know that you're not SOL.

Beyond their recommendations, some of what I'd add is dependent on how heavy you'll be towing. Probably the first area I'd look at given my focus on safety and reliability would be the transmission. Stock autos are notoriously crappy regardless of the hype. Easy mods for that are of course the tranny temp gauge, as Rich suggests, but also an extra capacity tranny fluid pan.

If you're towing really heavy, it's probably worth making sure you have brakes on all the trailer axles, not just one. Also invest in a top-quality brake controller, not one of the garbage inertia-activated models. Also, it's worth flushing the existing brake fluid and replacing it with top-quality synthetic. You bought a used truck and it's almost guaranteed that the brake fluid that's in there is the same that it rolled out of the factory with. Same with all the other fluids for that matter--change everything and replace with a high quality synthetic.

If you're going to be towing beyond the GVWR of your truck, then consider Rickson (or other make) 19.5" rims and tires. These are real truck rims and tires and where your typical light truck tires are either D or E load rating, the 19.5" tires are either F or G or beyond. These are much stronger tires, and give you a serious reliability improvement. Unfortunately the downside is price--they're not cheap. However if they save you from a wreck, then they've already paid for themselves and then some.

Regardless, welcome to the forum and good luck!
Mike

wiskeyVI

I had never thought of the ratings issues on the tires Midnite. VERY good point!

OutlawStorm

Midnite,, who hooked up your brake controller? As far as I know, they cant use a Fuse,, it has to have a circut breaker on them. I know in Canada where i live it has to be a 30 Amp circut breaker only. When they do my safety Inspection for my comercial plates , they check that everytime, and if it isnt hooked to a circut breaker they fail the truck.

Midnite

I actually don't have a brake controller because the heaviest thing I've ever had to tow was my brother's 24' boat (boat+trailer was probably about 10k lbs. at most). The only thing I'm going off of is what friends have told me, and one of them blew a fuse that took out his trailer brakes. A self-resetting breaker sure makes a lot more sense.

I have zero personal experience when it comes to trailer brakes, so I'll certainly defer to those of you with real experience.

Mike

OutlawStorm

Hey Midnite,, just to let you know,, most places i have been require trailer brakes on at least 1 axle once you break 3,500 pounds. Just a word of advice, be careful hauling that boat, even worse if they pull you over and dont see a brake controller in your truck.

Busboy

I'm not a boat guy but I think most boat trailers use a hydraulic surge brake that doesn't require a brake controller.

OK, I just dug out the WD for 2000 and 2001 and if you would have asked me if the factory "plug and play" harness for the brake controller was on a fuse I would have said it should be on a self resetting CB. TILT.. It's a 40 Amp FUSE At least on 2000 and 2001 trucks. I guess that's a very good reason to have an exhaust brake.

It wouldn't surprise me if all our trucks are the same. Heads up guys and gals.