firefighter3931

Hey Guys, new member here with a few questions for the CTD experts.

I purchased an 05 3500 dually, quad cab, long box, 2wd, auto trans with 3.73 gears last fall. I luv the truck and drive it only in the good weather up here in the great white north. I have a 96 ram 1500 sport for winter snow and ice duty.

My questions center on upgrades for towing. I'll be hauling a 26ft tag with my musclecar (approx 10k lbs) to shows & races and was wondering about upgrades. The truck is bone stock, other than having a K&N cold air setup installed by the previous owner.

The first item i was looking at is the muffler. MBRK makes a nice drop in replacement for under $200 that looks a lot less restrictive than the monster that is in there now. Is this a worthwhile upgrade over the stock piece. I'm going to assume the stocker is pretty restrictive....

The second item is the quadzilla towing programmer that adds 65hp and 160 ftlbs. It is supposed to improve fuel economy as well....which is a nice bonus. I'm wondering if this will have any negative effects on the 48re ? From what i've read here it seems that when the boost is turned up....the trans can be hurt. Is this level of power ok with the stock 48re pulling a 10k load ?


Thanks, Ron

Bonshawman

I have the same truck, except 6spd 4x4 with a hauler bed.

I went with the Superchips in tow mode, dual 4" exhaust (turbo back), EGT & boost gauge, cold air intake, PRXB Pac brake. My 44' goose weighs in at 12,000# empty, so depending upon trailer/load I am between 21K empty to 31K loaded heaviest. These are NOT cheap, but the Pac brake (or similar exhaust brake) gives great comfort for stopping. With the automatic, you should get the boost, EGT AND transmission temp gauge (I love my two gauges on the A pillar - see my gallery photos). I believe stock exhaust is 3.5 inch, so a 4" does release more pressure. I have not yet seen a marked improvement in my MPG with the mods, but I believe that the truck hauls much better, and I am taking better care of it by monitoring my EGT's.

You need to be a bit cautious with the automatic, from what I've heard, as they CAN be more adversly affected by a chip w/increased HP than the manual. Check around and hopefully some others will chime in.

By the way, my heaviest load is when I trailer my 1600 IHC brush truck - she taps in at about 15,000# bone dry - I'd add about another 3,000# if she was wet.

Best of luck !

CoastalDav

I personally think you do not need to modify your engine as it has more power than you'll use pulling a 10K trailer and car. I pull a good size fiver with 235hp and 460 ft/lbs torque. My truck feels the wind on the trailer more than anything. Your tow will lay back with not very much wind resistance.

If you must spend money on something, they, I would spend lots of it on the Tranny. Because, thats the weak link in the system. Check out some of the vendors here on this site.

Dave

firefighter3931

Thanks Steve, the 48re kinda scares me with the "heat" turned up. That seems to be a common theme in a lot of the threads i've read.

I looked at your pics...that is quite the rig you've got. That tri-axle is a monster !



Ron

firefighter3931

Dave, thanks for the feedback. Maybe i'll just leave it stock for now and try it out. I'll probably swap in the MBRK muffler and see how it pulls. This is my first Diesel so i'm a newbie and i haven't pulled anything with it yet.

The last load i pulled was with the 1/2 ton and an open hauler and it seemed to pull fine but i didn't feel the 1500 would be enough truck for the enclosed carhauler so i went big, lol !


Ron

DODGE4X4

I would look at other modules other than Quadzilla.

scottsjeeprolet

the 48re is a heck of a lot better than the 47re junk.
If you go with the Edge EZ you will tow a lot better and be pretty safe for the trans. A good turbo back exhaust will help out a lot on the EGT's.
The Commander is pretty cool for guages but i prefer the a pillar as you can see in my gallery. Boost, EGT, fuel pressure & trans temp should cover all your bases.
PS fill in your signature and location. Oh Welcome to the DTR!

Bonshawman

Now I've been looking into an upgraded clutch for my 6spd (31K miles). Peter @ SouthBend suggests, with my frequency of hauling and weights, etc, to go with a dual-disc "lifetime" clutch - around 2K plus install. That and the Timbrens for the front/rear will about tap out all I can do to here as far as the modifications which address towing/hauling. In the standards in can be the clutch, in the autos the converter - seems like both may be an issue, but not always the case.

3500lly

I'd agree that you probly don't need more power for towing in your case, unless you want some added power for acceleration and passing, but it is always nice to have. Intake, exhaust, and a chip are the basics. You will see some MPG increase but it will take a lot of miles to offset itself. The tranny can be a weak link to this truck in many cases but these aren't extreme HP mods and you aren't towing any extremely heavy loads so I think you will be fine for the time being. As far as a chip goes, I prefer one that has a monitor that can be used in place of gauges...I use the edge and am happy with it but there are plenty of options out there and lots of imformation on this board to find what will work best for you.