johnnyboy

Gents, need some input here... how many miles should I have on a new diesel truck before towing??? Thanks, Johnny.

CoolVanilla

I bought my 05 in Tulsa, went directly to the camper manufacturer, had the camper switched from the 98 to the 05. Then - with about 40 miles on the odometer I hooked to my 28' enclosed race trailer with a Corvette and a Harley in it - - and towed them to Florida.

That was May of last year. By Xmas, I had just shy of 99,000 miles of hotshot hauling on the truck with absolutely no problems at all.

Damlier-Chrysler recommends that you vary your speeds for the first 500 miles or so, they suggest you not just put it on cruise and stay at a steady pace. They suggest you do no more than 40 or 50 miles at one speed, then go faster for 40 or 50, then slower, etc.

After the first 500 miles or so, then you can haul all day at any speed you want.

Plus, you will need to be religous about changing oil for the first 10 or so oil changes (I have always used Rotella).

My mileage started off at about 9.4 average under tow, and when I sold my business in May was getting about 12.9 with the same loads. So you can look for an improvement in fuel mileage with time, also.

Hope this helps.

stock03

I read on another forum (I think BD Power?) that the Cummins is ready to tow right away. If it was me, just like coolvanilla, I would have no concerns about towing ASAP. It seems like the guys who tow the hardest, have the most efficient motors.

Marine

I concur.
You want to get a good load behind it, but I thought you SHOULD vary your speed, and NOT use Cruise Control. That is contrary to CoolVanilla's advice, I konw. He is probably right because he towed for a living.

CoolVanilla

I had to edit my message, you must have read my response before I reworded it.

One MUST vary the speed for the first 500 miles (according to D-C). I did, and have had no problems.

G

68dodge

CoolV is right , it should be 500 miles before towing a load. I did the same and have not had any problems, even with the Skyjacker lift.

rich

Picked mine up last Wed it had 129 miles on it and now its it got 1500 and all that has been towing. dealer never said a word about not towing with it

Festus

When I was still driving OTR, the way we broke in new tractors is hook up to the heaviest and longest load possible and get her hot (watching the pyro of course) for as long as you could sit in the seat - no messin' around.

bigwheels94

The engine is good to tow right out of the box.You're supposed to run reduced loads for about 500 miles to seat the ring gear in the diff.Then tow it like you stole it.

wcjp

My dealer mentioned the same brakein period.

Festus

Here's my opinion....just another opinion of course. If they want the ring gear to "seat", is it going to seat better by pulling with weight on it (gentle starts of course - limit the jarring - not hooking up to a sled or anything like that), or running like a mad man for 500 miles with an empty truck and no weight.

Where would you say that ring gear would get a better break in? I have to sit back and wonder where these engineers come up with this stuff.

ptgarcia

The key to ring gear break-in is to temper the gears with lots of heating and cooling cycles. The best way to do that is pull a moderate load on the surface streets (no highway) for a while.

Of course, I just hooked up and hammered it! I think its cool when you roast the tires while accelerating with a 10,000 lb trailer behind you!