Which year did Dodge begin installing turbos on Cummins-equipped production trucks? I'm shopping for a 2004-2006 Ram 3/4T to pull a 5th wheel and I believe the turbo boost will help. And, if you would like to volunteer which options you recommend for towing, I'd appreciate it. This is totally new to me, so I'll have lame questions until... Thanks in advance.

 

i could be wrong, but i belive all dodge cummins are turbo diesel, but isugest if you get one get a set up from banks

 

Aside from how much you're willing to spend on the truck, give me a dollar amount you can spend for upgrades. I have a 95" 2500 and I will out pull just about anything within reason. Single turbo, no propane/meth fix.....lol. If you want to tow, and you want reliability, then the transmission is the first stop. Stock torque converters from Dodge are good converters, but they have very, well defined limits. They were only rated for 600 ft/lbs of torque. Mine held up as I made mods, but there finally came a point where something would give out. The tc was first.

I researched and decided to go with a certain brand. (I feel bad mentioning company names in case it's a legal issue. You can PM me if you ever want specific stuff) At the time the tc was being replaced, the shop doing it, installed a heavy duty pump, shift kit, carbon kevlar bands, and made a few simple valve body mods that allow the pump to operate in the "Park" mode. Now, with a thermostatically controlled tranny cooler, your vehicle will circulate in park and allow cooling to take place. Works well for me because I also added a trip wire from my turbo timer. Even if the tranny is within acceptable temps, when I set the turbo timer say for 3 minutes, the tranny fan runs for that time also. During normal driving, the thermostat controls the fan.

One more quick thing about trannys that I believe to be true. My tranny rebuilder claims that the 47/48 RH&RE are good transmissions in theory. Their plantaries and drums are very, very rugged. The weakness was the tc, the bands, the clutches. Technology wasn't this far when I got my truck....lol. Anyway, I originally considered the super heaviest duty tranny that money could buy. The big sell was great clutches, finer tolerances, billet this and billet that. I'm a steel man myself. I ordered a lot of upgrade parts from this company, but retained my planetary sets. The mechanic stated that "having closer tolerances is not always good". During extreme heat, that "slop" allows part to expand properly. End result is I kept the planteries, and replaced everything else. It cost me a total of $5,785.00. That was including labor, parts, the new TC, new cooler, and an electronic controller for lock-up.


Now it runs, shifts, and pulls like a tranny should. Firm shifts are a GOOD thing. Here's the secret to long tranny life..........fluid temp. As I am sure you're aware. In lockup, my tranny maintains 160 degrees on an 85 degree day, with the A/C running. If I have to pull a hill, you have to select the right gear. All that, PLUS watch the EGTS, the tranny, and anything else you wanna watch.LOL.

I've spoken enough. If you want a good puller, you have to add big bucks.

Either way....

Good luck

 

Since the Cummins motors were first dropped in the Ram, they have been turbo (1989)
For towing a 5'er you probably should get 4.10 gearing (not 3.73). Manual or auto is a can of worms here! Their are a lot of passionate manual lovers out there!! As for dependability of the slush boxes out there, the 48RE beginning in 2003.5 ( when they came out ) have been improved somewhat over the plder 47RE. Still, a little uprgade to the toque converter would still be a good start.
From '04.5 up, the tow rating of the manual and auto versions are similar.
The Cummins 600/325 motor came out in '04.5 (600 lb/ft torque, and 325 Hp) The lift pump porblems of the past seemed to have been less since the '05's that have the pump in the tank as opposed to inline outside the tank.

Definitely get the limited slip differential, and 2 or 4 wheel drive is another debatable subject 'roun here
Cheers, and best of luck!!
Chime in guys!!!!!
Mike
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