I have a 2012 dodge 3500 manual, and after I pulled my 32' 5th wheel I get to a camp sight and as I was maneuvering it into the lot out of the blue it would not shift out of reverse and I began to smell the transmission. In order to get it out of reverse I had to shut the engine off and put it in neutral and even then it had a hard time going into gear. There is no signs of leacking and the fluids are full. The next day it shifted fine and I drive it back with no issues. Any idea what might be the issue and how to prevent it from happening?

 

Sounds to me more like your clutch is hanging up and not completely disengaging.

 

Sorry, but I seriously doubt that you can smell a manual transmission. What you smell is probably your clutch burning.

I second what nothingbutdarts said.

Don't know about the the 2012 but suspect that it is time for a new clutch master and slave cylinder assembly. Think that Rock Auto sells them.

Let us all know what you did to fix the problem.

 

My old 2002 5sp did that. It did it a few times over a weekend, having to turn off the truck to get it in or out of gear, but then was fine again. A few weeks later it did it again and then got worse.
Short story is, I took it to tranny shop and discovered a cracked clutch plate.

 

Had a 2000 with the NV 5600 6 speed tranny. Never had a tranny issues with 241,000 miles. Many people did have issues with what your descriped. Some found that the Pilot Bearing was bad and not allowing any movement in the input shaft, with the clutch pedal pushed in, which would make it difficult to shift it. The Pilot Bearing also was gouging the input shaft.

The clutch was the other problem or the hydraulic device that actually moved the throw out bearing to disengage the clutch.

You might go back into the 3rd Gen Truck forums and read a few of the posts on the subject. You’ll find a few posts that I put up as well.

Good luck

Dave