Alright I got a question for ya.
I bought an 05 Dak Quad Cab V8 4X4 with the "Tow pkg." (just for camping)Alright it's tow Cap. is @ 6,850 for the 4X4 & a lil higher for the non 4X4 I think it's 7,050.Now the MFG also states that you can have a payload of 1,460 for a combined weight of 8,310.That's alot of weight.

Ok here goes.......My Wife & I bought a Tow behind trailer,it's dry weight is 4,300,when we load it up It's prolly around 4,600 maybe 4,700 it's a guess.Were not tossing any & everything into it we don't take things we dont need were pretty practicle.My wife is a Lil thing @ 115# my gross kids weight(2) is 100# & IM @ 195 that is only 410 give or take some.Our payload weight combined w/ the trailer is around 5,000 that's alot less than what the Truck is rated for.

Now with that said we went camping this past weekend & the camp ground was only 48 miles away the bonuse was that there was no hills @ all to climb,my truck seemed to be struggeling to stay @ speeds of 65 MPH my Tac was always @ 2,700 RPM's.Every now & then it would be @ 1,800 RPM's, but that was few & far between!
My Temp guage was on the half way mark & sometimes slightly above also it wasn't that warm out side.
On our trailer hitch we have weight distribution bars which is supposed to transfer weight from the rear bumper & transfer the tounge weight to the front of the vehicle so the weght is uniform on the Truck.The truck look's good w/ the Camper on it,it's not looking like it's gonna do a wheelie or anything.It's over all stance appear's to be normal.

I took a Pic of my instrument cluster while driving so you all could see for your self.
So what's up ?Has anybody ele's have similar problem or IM I missing somthing in this equation.Somebody here must know the ans to this.
Please help!!!

Thank's in advance.
Bob

 

Maybe its just me but it hasn't even passed 3K miles yet and you are towing? maybe the engine just wasn't ready for that sort of haul yet...
Do you have a tow/haul button (on the shifter)? That might of influenced some things as well if that was off...
I'm kinda scared of this happening myself, i got a couple horses and a 2K lb trailer...but if it struggles at 65 like that i may have to give one of them a rest each time i go up the mountain

Oh and here is the Dodge Towing Document (dunno if you have seen this yet but just something ive been looking at)
http://images.drakkon.net/userfiles/...ota_towing.pdf

 

Yes @ that point it hasn't made it to 3K but I thought that with new & tighter tolerance's on engine's there is no reel creel on brake in,I really don't know.I bought this truck for my family so we could go "any where"w/ our camper and @ this point IM not so sure......

I posted a thread on "brake in" & there was no official mileage apointed,I thought these boards are monitored by "top" Dodge info Guru's maybe IM on the wrong site?

Also I do have the Tow/Haul button this is supposed to help the trani,this button elliminates "5th" gear /overdrive.When towing and you're trani keeps shifting up & down gears this is because of weight and or turrain,by pushing that button it will isolate you'r gears to 1-2 & 3-4 this will prevent unwanted gear shifting & pre-mature damage to you're trani.That's what I gathered from my manual.

 

break-in. . .usualy the engines are pretty much broken in when they are put into the trucks, given an initial run to seat the cam, lifters, and everything else. just drive it like you stole it

anyway, with that much behind you the tow haul button will prevent serious wear and tear on the tranny. going into OD towing is a bad thing since the OD gear realy isnt intended for use in towing. it just makes the tranny shift differently, mainly higher RPM's so the engine is reved higher to handle the load. to me, your gages looked fine and everything was in good working order.

 

I don't under stand how the OD can hurt my tranny,If Im driving on level ground,@ some point my truck has to plain out and shift into OD.1st for fuel eco & 2nd.less work & wear & tear for the tranny.No?

 

actualy theres more wear and tear on the tranny in OD.

3rd is a 1:1 gear. so the entire planitary gearset is moveing as one mass, therefore it is the strongest gear.

yes, OD does give lower RPM's. however, the engine is under more strain to do the same work, also the tranny is having to multiply the output which runs the risk of something breaking.

in 1st and 2nd the tranny is dividing the input RPM's giving for better torque to the wheelstranny isnt working all that much. in 3rd, you have a 1:1. basicaly what goes into the tranny, comes out at the same speed. in 4th the torque requirements go up to move the same mass. that is where things can snap.

 

you will want to stay in 4th gear to keep the engine in the heart of the torque curve and not force it to be lugging the weight at a lower rpm. should not really impact fuel milage as you will not be lugging the engine as much.
the second part may be a bit more difficult. the ole 4.7 meeds a bit more grunt. this is one of the issues that i am concerned with now that i am looking for a part time tow rig. the dak is rated to tow (depending upon configuration) about 6500lbs. that doesn't mean it will do it well. be careful when putting on power adders though. some (such as dual catback exh)while providing an improvement at high rpm can actually hurt the torque output at the rpm you will need it most. from looking at websites of other small engine pickups good headers do provide a good boost in low rpm torque. just make sure your upgrades are good quality, carb approved(to prevent emission hassles), and acutally do what they are supposed to.
as car and driver said "put the hemi in this thing"

 

You dont tow with any vehicle in OD. As said before, overdrive is for regular driving conditions and not severe driving conditions (towing is considered severe conditions). OD is set for a vehicle with a normal load to let teh engine run slower, but then its out of the torque curve (torque is your friend when towing). With a trailer theres ALOT more weight to pull and with the trans ratio of OD, its like trying to push a brick wall. Even with my manual tranny I dont use 5th gear when I got a trailer hooked up. In 5th the truck can barely get to 70 before it starts struggling. In 4th I can cruise at 90. Also in addition to the trailer weight the truck is pulling, it also has to overcome wind resistance from the trailer. Going by the weight of your trailer I'm assuming its not a popup trailer.


Only vehicles I ever seen that had no problem towing in their high gears are diesels.

 

I did some more reading in my manual & you Guy's are right in line!Thank's!
IM going camping this weekend and IM now looking forward to it,I'll post my finding on Monday.

Yes my camper is not a Pop-up it's 24' Tow-behind.

Have a great 4th!!!!


Bob