2013 looks to be a good year for Ram HD trucks

[Viperdave]

i am going to throw in my 2 cents on this. all trucks mentioned are used for towing duty say 75% of life is hitched to a 2 car enclosed triaxle trailer.

first on the ford (since its not the main topic here). current tow rig is a 2004 ford excursion 6.0L. ignoring the 6.0L issues, the torqshift is an AWESOME transmission. It shifts nice, with a programmer it shifts even nicer. and it runs cold. Hooked to my trailer, in 90 degree heat i can pull the hills of PA and CT at 70 mph and trans temp never gets above 180. normally sits right at T-stat temp of 165. 130K hard earned miles. I wish my 6.0L ran as good as the trans it is hooked to.

2006 ram 2500 mega cab. Cummins/48re. truck puked its first transmission at 96K miles. no programmer, stock setup. Trans always ran hotter than i wanted, but was in line with most 48re owners. I miss the cummins, but needed the interior room of the excursion.

2004.5 Ram 3500 quad cab. Cummins/48re. trans puked at 89K miles. mild programmer. 2nd trans puked at 91K miles, blaimed completely on the dodge dealer who rebuilt it.

the 48re never was a great trans, it was an evolution of the under built 47re. therefore i could only assume the 68Re is no better.it was just a 6 speed with the same duty rating as the 48re. the aisin in the 3500 is a welcome sight for those of us who tow.

yes i prefer a manual transmission, but there are others who drive the truck who do not. and some battles are best left un fought.

 

[crashz]

When shopping last year I looked at the ram as my next truck. With the only manual transmission left on the market, and coupled to the Cummins (who would buy one without the Cummins) it was a real contender. But I don't care for the interior vs the GM trucks. I also convinced myself that the gas silverado could get nearly the same mileage as a diesel. I assure you that it doesn't.

If I had found one on the lot, I think I could have gotten a work truck package, 6 speed manual, 4x4, Cummins powered Ram for the same price as the same extended cab, gas Chevy. Not to mention these two trucks are by far the best looking trucks that either mfg has produced.

But it came down to the interior, perceived fuel mileage and past quality issues (ram) that swayed me.

 

[mikehaugen]

When shopping last year I looked at the ram as my next truck. With the only manual transmission left on the market, and coupled to the Cummins (who would buy one without the Cummins) it was a real contender.

Don't they de-tune (not sure if that is the correct term) the cummins with the manual trans? If so, why is that- I have always wondered.

 

[Peacock]

Don't they de-tune (not sure if that is the correct term) the cummins with the manual trans? If so, why is that- I have always wondered.

Yes. I believe the '13 manual trans model is rated ~350/660. The reason for this is that it's tough to get a good reliable clutch that can hold the power, last 100k or more of towing and keep a decent pedal effort.

 

[mikehaugen]

Is it difficult to "un-due" this? Clutches are relatively cheap and would probably be worth having to replace it after 100k, even if it was 75k I think it would be worth it to have the power back. Also, how far back have they been doing this? I would be more realistically be looking for a cummins from the 5.9 era... do other do this as well, or only dodge?

 

[Peacock]

I believe all the 6.7l trucks are de-tuned a bit with the manual.

A good clutch that will stand up to more power will run anywhere from $5-600 and up. These can hold more power than any stock auto will, but have higher pedal pressure and tend to be noisier and more grabby than any OE clutch would be.

 

[mikehaugen]

the only full size truck I have driven with a manual was my cousin's old f-150 with a straight six. I would be kind of excited to drive one with a big diesel in a one-ton. I know shifting gets old though sometimes, probably especially backing a trailer.

 

[Bob77064]

My father just died. Thanks for reminding me.

You have my condolences.

 

[Hay Dude]

i am going to throw in my 2 cents on this. all trucks mentioned are used for towing duty say 75% of life is hitched to a 2 car enclosed triaxle trailer.

first on the ford (since its not the main topic here). current tow rig is a 2004 ford excursion 6.0L. ignoring the 6.0L issues, the torqshift is an AWESOME transmission. It shifts nice, with a programmer it shifts even nicer. and it runs cold. Hooked to my trailer, in 90 degree heat i can pull the hills of PA and CT at 70 mph and trans temp never gets above 180. normally sits right at T-stat temp of 165. 130K hard earned miles. I wish my 6.0L ran as good as the trans it is hooked to.

2006 ram 2500 mega cab. Cummins/48re. truck puked its first transmission at 96K miles. no programmer, stock setup. Trans always ran hotter than i wanted, but was in line with most 48re owners. I miss the cummins, but needed the interior room of the excursion.

2004.5 Ram 3500 quad cab. Cummins/48re. trans puked at 89K miles. mild programmer. 2nd trans puked at 91K miles, blaimed completely on the dodge dealer who rebuilt it.

the 48re never was a great trans, it was an evolution of the under built 47re. therefore i could only assume the 68Re is no better.it was just a 6 speed with the same duty rating as the 48re. the aisin in the 3500 is a welcome sight for those of us who tow.

yes i prefer a manual transmission, but there are others who drive the truck who do not. and some battles are best left un fought.

That's because the Ford trans temp gauge is basically an idiot light hooked to a gauge to look like a proportional gauge hooked to a sending unit. Your temp gauge takes it's info from the PCM. When your trans is in the "normal" RANGE (say ~150-210) the gauge needle stays parked at the normal range (mine do the same thing). If it overheats, it jumps way up into the red zone and by then it's too late and your trans is probably cooked. Our GM on the other hand, has a sending unit hooked to a real trans temp gauge. It goes up slowly on cold mornings, where the Ford reads "normal" right after I pull out of the driveway.
Believe me, your tranny has gotten hot, you just don't know it because the needle sits in the normal range, even when it's hotter than you think.
Look at your trans temp gauge on a cold winter day, it will read warm or normal way before the tranny fluid really is warm.

 

[Hay Dude]

You have my condolences.

Thanks. I was there at his side when he passed.
It's ironic that you have an avatar of a full moon. It was the last thing we saw my dad do before he lost conciousness. He pointed to the full moon out the window. He died the next morning.
Sorry to get off topic.