As I hope will appear in my signature I'm looking forward to the delivery of my new truck, and as many others I've gleaned a tremendous amount of information from this forum but still have many questions. My previous truck was a 1995 Dodge 2500 V-10 that I knew how to get the most from and I look forward to the experience of owning a new 3500 Dually. I will use the truck almost exclusively to tow an 11,000lb 5'er.

I posted the following on RV.Net but I think I perhaps should have posted it here in the first place. Any feed-back is appreciated.

I read on another forum that the new Dodge 3500 CTD with the G-56 6-speed transmission and 3.73 rearend is rated at a GCWR of 23,000 lbs. This rating is compared to the earlier NV5600 6-speed which was rated at 21,000 lbs with the 3.73's and 23,000 with 4.10's. The higher rating with the G-56 makes sense because of the O.D. gearing of the NV 5600 (0.73 to 1) vs. 0.79 to 1 for the G-56.

I've also read that 3.73 is the only ratio that is currently being offered with the G-56.

Has anyone got any specs on, or experience with, the new 3500's with the G-56 that would confirm the weight information I reported above?

Thanks,

Dave

 

You are correct, 23k with G56. You can't get 4.10/G56 because 80 mph is 2900 rpm in 6th gear (rated speed). Talk about poor fuel economy. I wonder what kind of fuel economy a hemi would get if you ran its rated speed? gallons/mile maybe?

 

Thank you for the confirmation. It's good news for me because with the new truck coming my dear wife is looking covetously at larger, and of course, heavier, trailers. Being a conservative type I like a little room between the load and the rated capacity.

 

A conservative in Canada . Wow, that is good news - maybe some of our friends in the north are starting be see "things" more clearly.

 

The "new" Duel Mass Flywheel design is apparently full of flaws. Apparently you WILL be replacing the clutch, flywheels and input shaft when things wear out or your engine is not running correctly, or you tow even just a little over the GCVW of the truck.

Check out Standard Transmission's explaination of the DMF and the problems they have. Apparently there is a BIG market for DMF conversions to single solid mass flywheels ... Fords has know this problem for some time.

Dodge make a big mistake by going in this direction ... but on the other hand maybe not ... they'll be making a ton of money on replacing clutches/input shafts/bearings/flywheels in the near future .... CHA-CHING!!!.

 

Well, as my French Canadian compatriots would say, C'est la vie! I know there are issues with the G-56 but I wanted a 6-speed, 2WD, DRW truck and for that I had to factory order so there was no option. On the other hand, after studying everything I can find on the G-56 I've found that not all reports and opinions regarding the new transmission are bad. I intend to run stock except for gauges and an exhaust brake, and, while I work my tow vehicles, I look after them well and I don't punish them so I'm hoping things will be O.K.

Small "c" conservative, yes. Not to mention: **** retentive, obsessive compulsive, manic depressive, over weight, over sexed, balding, and aging, but all in all a darn fine fellow.

Dave

 

Sounds like a true American (like most of us anyway).

My brother should be getting his new 05 w/ the G56 any day now. Hopefully it will be a great tranny.