Ok! Ok! I own two ford powerstrokes you can now give me all the s**t you want but I do have a question for you that may have the information I'm looking for. If I get a new mega cab what should i look for I don't tow alot but I do drive cross contry about 3-4 times a year with a trailer (24 ft)
1 diesel will be the only way I will go, what does every one think of there cummings, tow well up hills, good milage, plenty of pickup and go, so on.....
2 which transmission should I look for and what should I avoid, automatic is prefered but willing to go with manual.
3 What fetured did you get and wish you hadn't and which did you wish you had?

Just to let everyone know I still have a dodge 2500 cummings 12 valve with bunch of miles and never had any big problems, but it is just a ranch truck now the cab and body have seen better days.

thank you for your time
Martin2500

 

I have the NV5600 6 spd manual tranny in mine. . .in terms of pulling, no matter the grade or with the little I have towed behind her, the weight, if I want to go faster I just puch the go pedal farther. . .engine feels like you would have a hard time getting it to break a sweat

by the time the mega cabs come out I would imagine word of the 6 spd auto will be surfacing a bit more. the current 48RE auto is a good tranny, as long as you keep the engine bone stock, or maybe put in a towing module. but much past 375hp and 700ft-lb of torque your gunna smoke the TC and burn up some clutches.

the new 6spd manual, the GETRAG G-56, the jury is still out about this manual. the main dislike I have about it is the dual mass flywheel. also the tranny cannot handle the shockloading the good ol' NV5600 could. Also the NV5600 can handle well over 1000 lb-ft of torque by just replaceing the aluminum bell houseing I dont want to run you off of still looking at the manual. I'm just letting you know of a few things that I have run across so far.

as of right now, just about all the bugs have been worked out of the 48RE auto. This trans is actualy a beefed up version of the old 47RE that sat behind the Cummins for many years, but as soon as the torque of the engine rose to over 550 lb-ft the clutches were burning up and the bands were breaking due to the torque. the newer 68RE that is slated to go behind the Cummins would be wonderful to see, that would increase the pulling capacity of the truck. Now, I havent heard much about this trans, but I would imagine it would be a totaly new design to handle the ever increasing torque and horsepower figures of these trucks.

Fuel mileage, unloaded I get around 18. thats a manual tranny and 4.10's turning 2300rpm at 70mph. if I had one thing to change I would have gotten the 3.73's. but when it comes to pulling, the 4.10's are great at doing that. I cant realy tell you what my loaded mileage was, but when I have pulled something, I didnt know it was back there. Most guys I know that are hauling that type of trailer are averaging about 10-12mpg with the speedo sticking at 60-70.

I hope that helps you out some

 

Drew,

Thank you for your quick responce, that is the exact type of information I'm looking for. Keep the reply's coming, if anyone else has more information out there. Also if you have already posted don't be afraid to send more information if you forgot something.
Thanks
martin2500

 

if you havent been yet, I recomend checking out turbo diesel register, just click the pic in my siggy, I'm also a member, $35/yr subscription gets you acess to post on the forum and a VERY good magazine. you have free acess to alot of the threads.

also check out Diesel Ram. a small site, but alot of people who know what they are talking about, and yes, I'm also a member of that site too

 

Thanks again for the information,

Now how about interior options, what did you get? What didn't you get and wish you did?

Thanks Martin

 

Listen to Drew he won't steer you wrong.

I have a 6 spd tranny, with 373 rears. I don't notice anything behind me when I tow. I think the road gears I have plus my manual tranny its a good combination, & works well. I have pulled 14,000 plus, I set the cruise @ 65 and let er run. Never once has this truck lugged, or made a single complaint. Hit the go pedal and we go faster, no worries. With the new auto's coming out, you might prefer not shifting all the time, I don't mind, some do. Drive both, and decide for yourself.

As for interior options,, well that is kinda up to you. I was going to get the Laramie package, but decided I did not want to spend the extra $$ for just leather, and some fancy buttons behind the steering wheel that can adjust my stereo so I won't have to actually reach for the noise maker. I saved some $$ by exerting a little extra effort when I adjust the radio by lifting my arm.

I don't know what they are going to offer on the 06's but I bought my 05 brand new with the SLT package. I have no complaints, I have cruise, air, 6 disc CD, pwr SEAT, pwr mirrors, sliding rear window. I could have gotten one with a NAV unit in place of the 6 disc CD player, but again it was more money, and I figured I don't have much trouble reading a map myself, and I sure as heck don't need a machine to tell me where I am going,,LOL. So no NAV for me.

One thing I do wish I had,,, the Sport package. I looked, and Looked for this truck with a sport package, but none could be found. So I have Chrome, front and rear bumbers, and my grill is chrome. The sport has no chrome all is painted same color as the truck.

So again that is up to you! No complaints here this was the best decision I ever could have made vehicle wise, even if diesel is $3.29 a gallon where I live.

 

I have the loaded SLT, I drove the Laramie version and realy liked the sterio adjustments behind the wheel, and I kinda wish I had them, but my arms are long enough I can reach the sterio easily. also the GPS on the larmie I drove was nice, but I have my own Garmin GPS

I can do without leather or alot of the other "trick" of the Laramie. but when it comes to the SLT's, mines pretty loaded.

 

Great job Guys!
Thanks for all the information. Now, if they would just release the darn things so I can take a look at the Mega Cab. Each time I stop at a dealership I hear "ohh next month, Next month, Now I heard DECEMBER!. I got the bug for a new truck bad, And the wife is saying "Go Look" the pressure is to much to take.
Martin

 

I'm actually a Ford guy too but I've been looking at the mega cab also. I like the trucks in general and really think that Cummins is a good engine. But the weak link I've seen with the mega cab and the cummins is the payload capacity. A 2500 Mega Cab with the Cummins only has a payload capacity of 1570lbs. That blows! That's what most 1/2 ton trucks are rated at. I think the Quad Cab with the cummins has a payload rating of like 2200 lbs I think. Can the bigger cab really add that much weight? A decent size trailer can easily have a tongue weight of 1000 lbs - that leaves you with about 600 lbs for passengers and cargo. Doesn't seem right to me and might keep me from buying one I don't want a 1 ton.

 

jdew,
Great point, I didn't ever look at that I guess I just assumed the payload would be about the same. I'm glad you brought that to my attention. I'm not sure what the tongue weight is, I'll have to figure that out. I'm sure I won't have a 24ft trailer the entire time that I would own the truck.

I'm not sure the reason for the low tougue rating, I'm sure someone has the answer.
Thanks for the information
Martin