So last weekend my dad had me tow a trailer up to his house. The trailer weighs around 4k pounds, and the metal on the trailer was around 5k pounds. This is the first time I used my truck to tow a heavy load, and I wasnt very impressed!! Getting on the freeway, I noticed the truck didnt want to downshift when I hit about 50-55MPH. It was 3K RMP or just over, and I thought the truck was gonna blow!! I kept on eye on my temp guage, and even though it ran slightly over normal, I never did get a temp warning light. So, heres my question....should my truck be struggling this much with 8-9k pounds?!!? I thought it would be easier to accelerate and maintain 60MPH, but it was pretty tough!! I kept it in tow mode till about 45-50mph, then shut it off. Im not sure how normal this is....excuse my ignorance!!!

 

Where at in nm?

My tow haul is good from a dead stop, but it is kind of topped out around 50. The cummins wants to pull, so I wonder what previous pulling experience you are judging this disappointment from.

I only have experience from two trucks and the first is why I bought the second. The truck I own does not pull as well as the second gen work truck that introduced me to cummins, but I have some luxuries that first truck did not have. My truck with its "weak" auto loves to pull whatever i hook up to, but in doing so it ain't gonna winany foot races. I never had any problems maintaining 60 with or without tow haul on. I would love to meet up with you to compare notes though. Every make and model of every brand have specimens that don live up to expectations. Or maybe you could be experieriencing some filtration issues.

Take care

 

I live in Albuquerque, and towed the trailer to the East Mountains/Edgewood area. I have been having some issues with my truck lately, going to the mechanic monday....could be injectors, lift pump, injector pump, something along those lines. I dont have a ton of experience hauling heavy loads, Im just comparing mine to my bosses truck and others I see on the freeway pushin 75-80 with giant 5th wheel trailers and what not!!

 

Our toy hauler weighs about the same as you're claiming, 8.7K, and our 2004.5 does a very good job. By comparison to my old 2001 Ram with a chip set on towing and my 2004.5 with a programer set for towing the rule I use is what speed will it hold on a 6% grade? Old truck was 50-55, new one always will hold 65. I think many diesel owners that tow have one or more performance enhancing things done that greatly affect the way they tow such as chips, bigger injectors, bigger and twin turbos etc. And if they're really hitting speeds of 75-80 with large 5ers they should not be out there with other motorists IMO. You need to find out what others with the same truck and load are doing I think.

 

9K should be no problem for the truck at all. You should be able to pick a speed and pretty much hold it without fighting the truck at all.

RPM's will be higher with tow mode engaged. Mine tops out around 50mph as well, but I think your 06 is a bit different than our 03 and 04's and can run a bit faster if needed. On flat ground around 60MPH I can cruise between 1900 and 2100 rpm with tow off pulling over 12k. At 3000 rpm I would be accellerating up a hill. These things live to pull.

How is the fluid in the Trans? From your description it sounded more transmission related than engine but if you have been having other engine issues towing will bring them out quickly.

Did you check for any codes?

 

-------------------------
Gudfshn3:

I have a 2006 Dodge CTD CR which is the same year as yours. I NEVER have trouble towing 10,000+ behind my truck at all. I drag race my 1996 Dodge CTD 12 valve and tow it on a 24' "Kaufman" Flat Bed. I am wondering as the other DTR Members if you are having these issues due to your transmission?
I have an "ATS Stage VI Full Billet Auto Tranny" in my truck and did not see in your signature whether your truck's transmission is still stock or not. If it is, your torque converter may be slipping or going south. The members are giving you good advice here. I wanted to add that when I am towing in the mountains (like I-77 through Va./W.Va) and I am on 4-6% grades I push the button on the shifter and tow with OD OFF until I get back on level ground.
IMHO,.....letting the truck shift into OD and then back into 3rd when your speed drops just causes alot of heat in the TC that is transferred back into the transmission to your clutch packs, seals etc.

Do you have a transmission temperature gauge? If not, I highly recommend installing one. The Dodge CTD CR trucks have the auxiliary transmission cooler installed BEHIND the engine right near cylinder #6 which IMHO, is one of the hottest areas of the engine bay and in an area where air has a hard time getting to. The automatic transmissions in these trucks run much hotter than the older 1st or 2nd Gen Dodge Diesels. Also, your larger tires are not helping the situation either, but that would not be my first concern.

As Bankdude said, I would be checking your transmission and fluid and see how everything looks there.

Good luck to you Sir!

--------
John_P

 

I tow a 15k 5ver with my 06. It goes in tow/haul as soon as I hook up and does not come out till I drop the trailer. As far as "struggling" to maintain 60mph is simply not an issue with my rig, yes I know I am loaded but It pulls it great. It will run up a 7% grade and never come out of od lock up, it will slow down from 65 to 55 but I just let it instead of smashing the hammer down trying to stay at the same speed.

Try leaving it in tow haul and see if that helps.

 

First off 9k of trailer is a good load for a factory truck. It's not going to get up and run off with that kind of load. Yes it will pull it fine, but it's not going to act like a nitro car off the line. The truck pulled the load to the destonation safely and didn't break or over wear while doing it. You have a great strong truck with strong towing capabilities. For towing mild loads occasionally on near level ground you have more than enough truck.

With a better torque converter and a shift kit you will see a difference in towing. All of my truck trans get a "mild towing" trans once the factory goes (btw, all the factory trans have lasted 200k miles plus towing every day).

I'm in demolition construction and tow every day with my or one of the trucks listed below. My 8 (iirc) trailers range from 1,500 empty to 25,000 lbs loaded. Only my personal truck (that's modded a little) takes off like a raped ape with a 10k lbs trailer but it's a 6 speed manual and built for towing.

+1 trans temp gauge.
+1 to a good trans maintenance schedule.
Also like John already said, your oversized tires are hurting you towing gearing. I went back to factory sized tire from a315/70/17 (34"x11" ish) and was surprised at the power I picked back up when towing vs the taller tire.

 

Thanks for all the great input!!! Like I said, I dont tow alot all the time, but I am in the market to buy a decent travel trailer, and want to make sure Im not having a loss of power somewhere. I did read that because my truck is a Megacab, plus the lift and big tires, Im about right where I should be. As far as codes.....I threw a P2146 about a month ago, but I kinda feel that was a fluke, maybe due to my Superchips Flashpaq I had on at the time. Over the last few weeks, my truck has some choking issues when I start it in the mornings, and has died a few times. Here is a link to that thread with more detail https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...s-t301922.html It did throw a P0341 when it died, but researched that to being from it dying. With these issues, I had my batteries load tested this morning and both were shot! I got new batteries this morning, and have an appointment with the mechanic Monday to check out my injectors, pumps, etc.

 

Oh....my truck is all stock except the exhaust and a CAI. I have 67K miles on it, and will have the mechanic to a tranny fluid flush for me!!

 

Why? Your truck is an 06. The T/H mode on the 06s allows OD to kick on for the highway and maintain. Leave T/H ON. Unless you really want to drive with OD OFF, that is an option too.

And you're still pulling 9k pounds in addition to the 7200+lbs your truck weighs. It isn't in a hot rod state

 

I was not aware the Tow/Haul mode would allow the OD to kick in...thats good to know!! I only turned it off because my RPS were so high, 3K+, right around 50-55MPH, and the truck didnt seem to want to downshift! Thought my truck was going to over heat or somethin!!

 

Yup, the 06s got that feature but the 03-05 trucks don't. You must have had the tranny in OD OFF if you were rolling that high (I'm assuming because I can't remember my RPMs last time I ran the truck in OD OFF, but 3k is really high for 55mph). I'll run it next time I'm out to check though.

Take the truck out for a spin and experiment with it in each mode to get familiar with it. Take note of the shift points and when OD locks up.

Regular - OD locks around 50-55 when accelerating to hwy speed; can loc around 30-35 if rolling steady slow in city speeds
T/H mode - much quicker shifts due to increase line pressure; OD locks around 30mph
OD OFF - no lock up

 

"ClickBang" makes a good point regarding your tires:
If your running 3.73 gears with those 35" tires your going to see some higher EGTs while towing (especially in that 50-55 mph range) if your NOT in Tow/ Haul mode. I experienced this going up some slight hills here in the Carolina while towing a 6K boat....

 

thanks again gents!! I will definitely be keeping it in Tow/Haul mode next time I tow!! Hopefully it will be a new boat or camper!!!