Yep, sits right inside the door in it's own little compartment. And yes, it's checked regularly! Hauling my horses would be similar to hauling my kids in the trailer- I don't take chances with their lives. I took a long time finding the right trailer for that reason- its steel framed with aluminum skin, fiberglass roof, slant load, full size safety door, extra beefy suspension, full size tires, emergency braking, etc. It's important to me that they be as safe as I can manage. It's also why I bought a 3/4 ton Dodge and not a Tundra! Anyone who tows live weight in something less than a 3/4 ton is risking serious injury to their animals, themselves, and other folks on the road. Gotta have the right tool for the job!!

 

If you haul up and down hills a lot, definitely consider an exhaust brake. I pulled a hill a few months ago with my 14K 5ver that was so steep I was limited to 25 mph going up. Coming down, with the TC locked up and the exhaust brake on I was able to hold the truck and trailer to 30 mph without touching the brakes. Very comforting knowing that my brakes would be nice and cool and 100% if I needed them.

 

You should have no problems, I have a similar rig, 06, 3500, same setup. I regulary do more extreme towing than you are tlaking about. I take a loaded 3 horse in and out of Robinson Flat above Foresthill with no problems. I have been told that you need a exaust brake, but have never felt a need for it

The general rule is to go down a hill in the same gear you would use to go up. The Dodge has a nice feature in that if you are steping on the brake for about 30 seconds, it will automaticly down shift.

You need the gauges, I find that the trans temp will creep up on you. You can have all the power you need, but if you are pulling hard and in converter the tranny will get hoter that you would like. In pulling the canyon between Auburn and Cool, I use second both going up and down. It will do it in 3rd but going up the trans temp rises and going down you have to ride the brakes too much. With going to 2nd the converter stays locked and the transmission cool. Going down with the converter locked I find that I have all the engine braking power I need, only need to touch the brakes ocationally. If you don't have gauges make sure you don't pull in converter for an extended time. If you are really climbing, lock out the OD.

I ususlly keep it in tow-haul. Going up hy20 out of Nevada City it stays locked in OD, but the egt tends to creep up to 1200. Rather than run it at that temp for extended time I lock out the OD and let the RPM's come up and the egt temp drops back to about 900.

If you are towing on an exterme mountain road, one where your maxum speen is probaly 20 to 25 mph, due to curves, use 1st gear. You won't overheat anythiong and it won't get away from you going down. Mountain driving is just useing common sense, gear down and don't let speen build up and you are safe.

If you are towing steep grades on dirt or gravel you might consider going to 4 wheel drive. This is where I use mine. It keeps the rear tires from sliping and spraying the trailer with gravel that chips the paint. When going down a steep gravel road pulling close to 10,000 it lets the front wheels help do the job of holding the load back. I have had the experience of being in two wheel drive and the trailer starting to skid the back tires.

 

[QUOTE=MtnDodge;2123463]Thanks Dogger. Any brand recommendations for the tranny temp and EGT gauges? Also- dealer install or DIY? Any pics or suggestions for best location for these two at least? I bought an extended warranty (100,000) on the truck since I bought it used- thoughts to whether it might void it?

I have a friend with an 04 3500 with the gauges mounted near the rear view mirror. My truck, an 06 3500, has them mounted verticaly on the left. Having driven both trucks extensively I find that I much prefer the mounting I have. I find them just easier to keep an eye on with them in that location

 

My favorite is "You can go down a hill too fast once, you can go down a hill too slow a whole bunch of times."

 

So true!!!!

L8r,..........dogger

 

Ok, so maybe its a good thing I decided not to the Sierras. Today I went down the mountain to buy hay. It was hot there- over 100F. I loaded up a stock trailer and started the drive back. Total weight- between 5-6,000. Not a lot that's for sure. The grade coming home runs between 12-17%. I had it in Tow/Haul and was taking it easy. About 40 minutes into the drive, and only about 10 minutes into the mountain climb it suddenly felt like I might be losing power. Up until then it was strong and wanting to run faster than was safe. It revved back in when I pushed it and I continued. About 10 minutes more I could tell the tranny was having some issues as every time it shifted it shifted HARD with a big thunk. I don't have a temp gauge on it yet but wondered if it was getting hot so I pulled over and let 'er rest for about 20 minutes. Made it the rest of the way (20min) up the mountain with no issues- but I kept it in second.

So...does that sound like the tranny was getting hot? or something else? Did I do the right thing or was there something better I should've done? This sucks cuz I was really thinking my truck was just a good running machine!