I own a 2007 5.9 Cummins that is a manual 6 speed. When towing a trailer should I keep it out of 6th gear, even on the freeway? Thanks for the help.

 

My toyhauler ends up about 9K. I use all my gears and did same with my last truck as well. Just know when it is time to shift etc.

 

6th gear is O/D. Its not as strong as 5th which is direct 1:1.

I tow 11,000 and run in 6th all the time. As long as you don't beat on 6th too hard you'll be fine.

 

My combined load on my last trip was about 19,300 lbs. I ran in 6th any time that I did not feel a need to drop a gear. I run an EGT/Boost combo guage and run using the EGT as a guide. If my temps start climbing that tells me it is time to drop a gear. I normally run about 60 mph when towing. Even with outside temps exceeding 100* the EGTs stayed around 900-1000* unless there was a hill in the way.

 

i run 6th with my loads which start at 10k and go up way up. i will down shift when i feel it lugging down or temps require it

 

I think a lot of what you hear about not towing in OD comes from the guys using an NV4500. It was/is a great transmission but you can back the 5th gear nut off and lose od if you're rough with it.

From everything I've read thats not an issue with the NV5600 and the G56.

 

Thanks for all the help.

 

I pull 16,000 all the time and use 6th on level ground above 55mph. I do have 4.10 rear end.

 

im at around 23,000 lbs and i use 6th gear all the time. never had a problem

 

When I got my first Dodge, I e-mailed Cummins about the best RPM operating range.

Basically, they said not to lug it, which they defined as not running the engine with a load below 1600 RPM, or running the engine in a gear where the vehicle will not gain speed with the accelerator pedal on the floor...

Beyond that, they said any RPM up to the governed speed is safe, but, other than higher road speed in a particular gear, there isn't anything to gain by running over 2700.