Well I towed my travel trailer for the first time on a 150 mile trip,first thing I have to say the 48RE is nothing like the 47RE,this transmission is a huge improvement over the old one.My 2000 had the 47RE and it shuddered on takeoff and lots of slipage until I had the DTT TC and VB installed made it great,but the 48RE is pretty darned close absolutely NO shudder shifts are firm and strong.The engine performed great now I am comparing this to my 99 PSD I had and my 2000 Dodge,well it took my 2000 Dodge new injectors and a Van Aakens box to get it to perform like the Cummins should but after the mods,tranny and engine it was great.This truck was pretty close, pulled the hills with ease and had plenty of power to spare.


The only problem I had was it was a windy day here in Michigan,wind gust to 50 MPH and towing a TT is no fun towing when windy,this truck dont seem as stable as my dually was,granted this is no dually but it is hard to tell since it was so windy,I even stopped to add some air in the tires on the truck but did not help,but also my anti sway bars were still setup for the dually but seemed pretty close so I did no adjustments.I am thinking of adding an anti sway bar to the AAM like the 3500s have not sure if this may have contributed in the unstable feeling,wont know til I can tow in better weather conditions.But all in all I was comfortable wife was comfortable and when we came home empty I asked her if the ride was any different compared to the 2000 and she said seems the same,but I could noticed a more choppy ride but it being a short box compared to the long box and longer wheel base on the old truck,it was very acceptable to both of us.I know one thing I aired my tires before I left and there was 42LBS in all 4 wheels and my tireds called for max 80LBS cold,well I have been driving it for 1800 miles on the 42LBS pressures and the ride was great,I aired them to 65LBS I am sure my mileage will improve with the added air pressure change.I stopped and added 5 more LBS because of the swaying.These are BF Goodrich tires not sure if this had anything to do with the sway.But I am very happy with this truck,I have done no mods,only the silencer ring has been removed,but I am planning to mod the air box and the down pipe to remove the baffles,but other than that and some better and bigger tires and some H2 rims,and exhaust engine will stay pretty much stock so I wont have any warranty issues to deal with.I love this truck so farhttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big Smile.gif


Sorry so long.

I wonder what the difference between a 47 and a 48 really is? Seems like the tranny would be better with the extra factory power...but how much? I'd SunCoast the thing and be done with it.


..... BTW, can you tell any difference in the frame? Does the new box frame show it's strength?


Burner------------> http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big Smile.gif

One thing too to concider,Dodge warranties the 48RE for 7/70000 miles,GM and Ford is 3/36000 . As far as the frame goes the truck seems more rigid not as much flex as the old ones,I think it is a big plus,but I have read in an off road mag somewere the Dodge frame is to rigid not enough flex when rolling over rocks and heavy terrain.Edited by: DGFoster

Thanks DG for the experience. It's good to hear the tranny feels better than the 47RE. Hopefully they did enough to avoid having to use the 7/70,000 warranty. It doesn't make sense that GM and Ford, with a couple of pretty darn good transmissions, don't warranty them longer. Makes sense for GM since the Allison behind a stock truck is pretty much bulletproof.

As far as your handling is concerned with the trailer and windy, it could be a slight tweek or mod that would take care of it. Hard to know if your older trucks would not have acted the same in those particular conditions. But comparing to a dually, your experience should be what you desicribe.... dually has more stability. 50 mph is a heavy gust of wind.


Edited by: hoot

Edited by: MABurns

DGFoster,


50mph wind gusts will stop me. One of our drivers blew a trailer over near Chicago in something like that. A lot depends on the configuration, size and weight of the trailer but 50mph is flat out dangerous for travel trailers. You did well.


The best stability is when there is high tongue weight on the trailer. For most trailers the rule of thumb is 10 to 15%. I like 15%. That means you really need to deal with tongue weights over 1,000lbs for the typical trailer unit. When you have that they do tend to track better in crosswinds.

I didnt have enough tongue weight for sure,it was still setup for the dually,but I figured since it didnt squat and was level I would be ok,I will get it adjusted.It was pushing the front of the trailer sideways,thus making the rear of the truck push sideways too,so that makes sence on not enough tongue weight.