[lou08]

Hey guys been reading on this forum for a while now but this is my first post. Let me tell you a little of my problem...I bought a 03 dodge cummins H.O new in 03, love this truck I still have it and it has 155,000 miles on it with only a few minor repairs. I will never get rid of this truck.I used to pull our 40' toyhauler with this until my wife and I started a new company and now this truck is a work truck. I then bought a new 07.5 chevy 2500 duramax lmm nice truck but pullin the camper it was only gettin 7mpg. I loved the way this pulled tons of power!!!But it didnt feel like a truck more like a suburban, so I decided to trade it off on a 08 6.7 dodge cummins mega cab dually. This is a nice truck!!!! So I hook the camper up for the long weekend, get all the toys loaded and of we go. Come to the first big hill and this truck is struggling to climb this hill all the while my buddy ( who I used to walk away from in the chevy) is all over my rear end. He is in a 03 powerstroke. Where is the power? The gas milage is good but there is no power!!!I put a AFE intake on it but it needs more power. What is the next step? I am pretty disapointed. Please help Thanks guys. ( sorry about all the ramblin)

 

[mattpopp]

Do you feel that the truck is weaker then the 03 5.9 that you have?

I was pulling a trailer from GA to TX. Total weight of everything was 25,500lbs. I had to drop down to 4th gear to get over the hills.

Now I have the 6pd Auto with 3.73 gears. Not really a pulling setup for heavy weight. In the Chevy that you had, I take it that you had the 6spd Auto, with 3.73 or 4.10's, I am going on a limb here but your new Dodge has 3.73's right, with the Auto(68RFE).

Is your drive train the same in the two trucks, Chevy and your new Dodge

 

[simplysmn]

What was the weight of what you were pulling ? and how much was the flowerpoker pulling I have not had any problem's with my 6.7 auto truck yet I haven't found a hill that will slow it to under 65 plus .are you sure you had it in the right gear ?

 

[roo_roo1986]

yeah i have pulled 20000 plus with mine before the mods and it did just as good, if not better than my work truck (2006 1 ton dually duramax)

 

[Diesel Head]

if an automatic, are you in the tow mode on shifter?

 

[Teen wolf]

grab another suburban by the horns,LOL. Joke. some builds seem to be stronger than others from factory, wierd huh but true. id trade for 5.9 before its too late no joke...good part is a cummins will last for over 100000miles though and more power is less than 2 tanks of fuel away in price. think about flashes also ive heard plenty about that......peace!

 

[drtnsnw]

stock 08 makes my modded 99 look silly towing my 10K toungue pull trailer around. We need a few more sdpecifics like what others are posting. Also, check for codes and see if a soft code is thrown and maybe derating the motor

Chris

 

[lou08]

ok sorry, didnt give you much info on the trucks. They dodge and chevys are both autos and they both have the 3.73 rear ends. The trailer wieghs around 15,000 loaded, the ford was a little less but not by much I am guessing.It just dosnt seem to have much more power than my 03.... How do you check for the codes? I also tried it in tow haul mode and out of it, hell I even tried shifting on the colum but it wouldnt make much of a difference. Thanks for any help guys

 

[bucket truck]

Check for codes and see if it has all the latest flashes.

 

[bg6.7cummins]

i run from texas to arizona on I-10
20000 never drop outta 6 at 70-75 i have mp-8 and intake with 410's truck runs like a top

 

[H82LOSE]

I'm with everyone else here. It seems that your truck may have an issue. My truck is a manual with 3.73 gear and I tow between 5K & 15K on a daily basis. I have not had a single problem yet. Knock on wood...

 

[drtnsnw]

check the codes by turning the key on off on off on leaving it on the last time and looking at the odometer. There is a video here somewhere too

Chris

 

[lou08]

How do I check the codes? sorry drtnsnw didnt see the last post.

 

[lou08]

ok I ran the code and "done" came up does this just mean its done? It had like 5 dots on the odometer while the bells were ringing and then "done" came up?

 

[Compcowboy]

that means there are no codes stored.

 

[lou08]

Well crap! I was almost hoping there was a easy fix. Is there a exhuast out there for this engine with all the emisions crap on it that does anything? I dont really want to chip it since it is new and that would void the warranty, but I need to do somthing I am driving to oregon in a month to hit the sand dunes and I want to get there in a good mood.

 

[Compcowboy]

You shouldnt be having that much trouble towing. Before you do any mods, i would have the dealer check it out and see if it has the latest flash. If that doesnt seem to help then you can go the route i went. :thumbsup Get rid of the DPF/EGR/Warranty and make that truck purr.

Though in stock form it should move that load around just fine.

 

[123buster]

take the old reliable strong 03 to orgeon and call it a day

 

[lou08]

Thanks guys, I guess I will have the dealer look at it. I hate to leave the new truck at home. Maybe its just somthing I need to get used to I cant afford to go back to a duramax now!!

 

[mattpopp]

Those with the 6spd Manual and 3.73 gears. You run at about the same RPM in 6th at 70MPH As we do with the 68RFE and 3.73 gears in 5th gear at 70MPH around 2200 RPMs give or take. Those with the 68RFE and 4.10s at about the same as a 6spd Man with 3.73 gears. The only difference is that the Auto with 4.10s the rear end will last longer than on a 6spd Man with 3.73 rear end. Because the amount of torque is reduce by using a 4.10 gearing. The torque that is transfered to the ground is more evenly spaced through out the drive train using a 68RFE and 4.10 gears.

Also i have noticed that there is a advantage using the Gear selector on the Autos to down shift rather than letting the truck down shift on its own. ON mine at least, this is how it operates. If the truck down shifts on its own, It will first come out of lock up, if that is not enough then it will downshift, Which now the RPMS are way up there, more tan it needs to be. If i force it to down shift by using the gear selector it will stay in lock up and the Rpms run up to accomodate the selected gear and to maintain the speed. Which in my case feels a lot better while pulling