I'm still a newb to diesels and have never towed anything heavy before. I'm in the AF and I will have to move cross county soon. I expect the loaded trailer weight to be around 10-12k. I'm concerned about how the truck will handle this load since its close to the manufacture's limit with an auto and 4.10 gears (my truck has 3.55's, but the manual doesn't specify a weight with those gears). So what do I need to do to make sure the truck is up for the challenge?

I've already done the following:

replaced stock fuel pump with Airtex Fuel pump
added Fuel Gauge
changed diff and tranny fluids
New ball joints (they were completely shot at 106k)
repacked front bearings
new rear shocks
new shoes and chevy 1 ton slave cylinders

I'm also considering adding a manual lock up for the torque converter. Is there a kit out there that you can buy, or is this one of those DIY only type of mods, and is it worth it?

The truck has a 115.5k on it, VP44 was replaced at 90k.

Thanks for all the help guys, this forum has been a huge help in getting me up to speed on all things diesel.

Brad

 

do the lock up switch and install a edge EZ and it will pull that load but beware of the BOMB BUG! also your trans is the week link

 

I'd say yer ready ta go...

 

What is the BOMB BUG???

 

better off modified baby once it bites you your $ will vanish

 

lol! Never heard that one before. It's already bitten me, just not for the truck yet....

 

Unless I've been ill informed ...installing the EZ edge should not be used on the Cummins unless the plan is to pull light loads .Especially if the tranny is suspect...I personally passed on the dicision to use one knowing that my 10,000 tow weight could blow the allison tranny in my 3rd gen .Ram Especially in the mountains ..I'm suggesting to strong05 to lighten the load as much as possible ..take your time and keep the rpms up .

Roadie

 

Thanks everyone for all the feedback!!!

What about a set of gauges (tranny temp, pyro, and boost)? Or can I get by without those?

 

Must have= pyro gauge and tranny temp when towing. Nice to have=boost

 

not to mention the guages will help diognose/prevent a lot of problems.
Frank

 

Don't forget the fuel pressure gauge to protect the high dollar vp, it's the most important gauge in my opinion.

 

You've got an allison in your 3rd gen?

The EZ's for the 2nd gen trucks are only 65hp, nothing serious. The ones for the 3rd gens are somewhere around 110hp, are they not?

 

[QUOTE=Tate;2364926]You've got an allison in your 3rd gen?

Didn't the 07's come out with a 6 speed Allison?

 

1st-EGT gauge/trans gauge and Fuel Press guage
2nd-lock up switch(I think I have $15 in mine)
3rd-XZT+(you can turn it off on the fly)

With this combo your rig will walk all over 10K-12k.

 

No Allison from Dodge.