First trip out with the new truck

[steelpony5555]

Not impressed.... Ok I had a 07 Dodge dually 6.7 auto that was 2wd and now went to a 2010 Dodge dually 6.7 auto that is 4wd. Trucks are the same except for the years and one being 2wd and the other 4wd. Anyways we went of a couple hundred mile trip with it towing the same Montana trailer. The old truck once it got into 6 gear would purr right along never shift unless there was a steep or very long grade. Which means here in Texas that was rare. The new truck would not stay in 6 and would drop to 5 on any little incline. Also didn't seem to have the spunk on one of our steeper hills. It runs up thru the gears real well with no problems. The tranny and engine temps stayed normal. But I am gonna run it by the dealer but doubt they will do anything since there are no check engine lights or anything obvious. Sad the truck that looks like a beast is wimpy wimpy wimpy......

[DQDick]

Only have a 2500 2011, but ours isn't like that. Ours is more like you describe your old truck was. Can't hurt to take it by the dealer.

[NCFischers]

What gear ratios do both trucks have?

[DarMar]

Yep, need to compare gear ratios between new & old.

[Artemus Gordon]

Could be bad muffler bearings ?

[Ramblin Roadrunners]

Do you know if it is dropping down a gear or coming out of torque converter lockup. The Dodges are very noticable when the come out of lockup. If what you are expierencing is a change of about 250-300 rpm's that is lockup.

[K0LCB]

I have a 2009 DRW 6 X 6. It has plenty of power, it takes a pretty good hill to slow it down or make it downshift. I always tow on tow mode

[c214dick]

I'll bet it's your gear ratio.

[Ramblin Roadrunners]

Someone that has been driving a manual will think it is down shifting when the transmission torque converter comes out of lockup. I manage a Aamco trans shop./ I hear this complaint often. My .02 worth.

[steelpony5555]

Well both trucks were 3.73 rears and no it is dropping into 5th gear cause I clicked over to manual on the gear shift to see what it was doing. But I did take it into the dealer today and he claims to hear this a lot when guys go from 3rd Gen to 4th Gen. He says it is the different trannies even though they are both 6 speeds. He also says they will check for a reflash for the tranny to see if there is a computer program that will help it. I don't know, these new trucks are outa my league when they have to talk to it with a laptop lol lol lol I still think there is a problem but will find out more when I take it in and they can check it. My fuel mileage also dropped big time, used to get 11 mpg and now its 9 mpg. I knew it may drop because of going to a 4wd but didn't think that much.....Oh well I got an extended warranty so run it till she blows lol lol

[DQDick]

I have 4 wheel drive and get a little better than 11 mpg pulling the Monty. Still doesn't sound right to me.

[Drifty1]

We have a 2007 2500 2wd and I do not notice very much hunting. I would not feel to happy if I went and upgraded only to find out old "Red" pulled a little better. I just got an Obd scanner that pairs with my IPad and am looking forward to checking my HP and tourque. Sorry this trade did not help on towing.

[Montana Sky]

I have a 2012 Ram 3500 DRW with the 3.73 and max tow package. Towing 16,455 lbs mine will hold 6th gear through the normal smaller rolling hills, but put any significant grade on it and it will drop to fifth or fourth if necessary. I too noticed that the fuel economy is not where my Duramax Chevy's ran. With speeds mainly the same, load is within a 1,000 lbs, I went from 12-13 mpg down to 10-11 mpg with this Ram. I attribute that to all the EPA exhaust garbage they have put on the newer trucks. Hopefully your dealer will find something.

[scott-pati]

quote:Originally posted by Montana Sky

I have a 2012 Ram 3500 DRW with the 3.73 and max tow package. Towing 16,455 lbs mine will hold 6th gear through the normal smaller rolling hills, but put any significant grade on it and it will drop to fifth or fourth if necessary. I too noticed that the fuel economy is not where my Duramax Chevy's ran. With speeds mainly the same, load is within a 1,000 lbs, I went from 12-13 mpg down to 10-11 mpg with this Ram. I attribute that to all the EPA exhaust garbage they have put on the newer trucks. Hopefully your dealer will find something.

Just so you know, the max tow only comes in 4.10 gears. If you were looking at your sticker that was in the window when you bought the truck, in the left column it does say 3.73 and the right column under options it says Max tow 4.10.

That's what it said on mine. At first I thought I had 3.73 too, but Max tow only comes with 4.10.

Scott

[scott-pati]

steelpony5555, did you buy this truck from a Dodge dealer or a second hand dealer?

It could be possible the last owner had the truck deleted and then re-installed the EPA stuff and that could be a problem.

You did not say how many miles are on the truck. I need more info to try and help ya out.

Scott

[Tom S.]

You also added several hundred pounds when you went from 2 wheel drive to 4 wheel drive, which will effect the trans shifting. Tire size may be affecting it too.

[steelpony5555]

I bought it second hand from a Ford dealer. It only had 43K miles on it. I don't think it was deleted, I looked for the signs lol lol...Now my sons truck, yeah it's definitely deleted lol lol.. I did expect a small drop in fuel mileage with the 4wd but not down to only 8-9 mpg. Most folks that have the 4th Gen trucks say theirs don't do the gear hunting. Now if I can just find out where the problem is, figure it's got to be either the turbo, torque converter or the tranny as a whole. If it is the tranny it cant be major since she runs normal with out the load on. At this point I am leaning more towards a software problem with the tranny, at least I hope. We'll find out more when I do take it in for service this week. ......Oh and Larry, I sometimes wish I had kept my old 07 5.9 too Pulled good and better fuel mileage when empty..lol...but then the dogs would not be able to watch movies in the back seat lol lol lol

[Montana Sky]

quote:Originally posted by scott-pati

Just so you know, the max tow only comes in 4.10 gears. If you were looking at your sticker that was in the window when you bought the truck, in the left column it does say 3.73 and the right column under options it says Max tow 4.10.

That's what it said on mine. At first I thought I had 3.73 too, but Max tow only comes with 4.10.

Scott

Scott,
Thanks, I'll look again at the window sticker this weekend. I could be wrong, but I am fairly confident that my previous statement is correct.

[scott-pati]

steelpony5555, they had a lot of issues with the 2010's. There were a lot of updates and turbo/egr cleanings with that year. I'm not sure if the Ford dealer can do anything about it. You can just walk into a Dodge service dept. and give them your vin and they will tell you if you are current.

Scott

[steelpony5555]

Thanks that's what the one service writer said and they are gonna go thru it when I take it in. Waiting on parts for my seat.