RAM 2500 Cummins diesel - Using the Tow mode, shift selector, exhaust brake. 

Thanks so much.

I injoy your videos thanks

Yes, 4th is the strongest also. 1 to 1 ratio.

Yes keep up the good ram information

appreciate that

Yea, that gets my attention every time. ha

Marion Blair I gotta say with music at a reasonable volume the motor rev wasn't very noticeable at first. Which was alarming

It's got a rev limiter so you should be fine.

@@MarionBlair It will stop 3200 RPM.

It doesn't matter what the tow haul thinks, you are the boss, ha. I think you can do a better job at selecting a gear than the PCM because you can see what's ahead and know more about the terrain and conditions. The PCM will often put the transmission in a gear that is too high and the transmission is shifting up and down at overpasses and inclines. You don't want this to happen. When towing, I like to use the shift like a manual transmission. As long as the RPM is between 1500 - 2000, (give or take) you are in a good range. Does this make sense?

Those temps are about exactly what I see. The very highest was Colorado pulling Monarch Pass.Coolant was about 210, Tranny, if I remember got up around 210 or so when pulling the steepest hills. Oil out west pulling 65 will run 208 or so steady. i kind of use those as y base line for max temps.

Thanks, The 19 and up 68RFE’s are much improved. RAM beefed it up quiet a bit. You’ll be happy with it.

That's exactly how I do it. Less stress on everything.

Thanks, that's been my experience also. Never have tested it on this truck however. Hope I don't ha.

Thanks, Mine will get up over 200 under heavy tow, My transmission also gets up there. I suspect it is a 190 Deg F however.

Yes, that's fine. It's wear your brakes faster since you are not using the exhaust brake quiet as much. Assuming everything is working normally, the aggresive downshift won't hurt truck, assuming it's not over revving to redline. I'd leave it in tow haul the rest of the time while towing.

Yes, all diesels should not be idled for long periods. They build up a varnish like substance over time that coats the cylinders, injectors etc...

The 3.42s are fine, good fuel economy and fast top end. If you run in 5th gear it’s the equivalent of a 4.10 gears.

bayonne 4th gear in the 68rfe is direct gearing is 3.42. 5th and 6th are both overdriven gears. maybe in 3rd be the equivalent of 4.10

That's the edge insight but I'm using the banks idash now. Neither one will void warranty.

Yes, in tow mode it will lock the gear you select. Too bad they don't show it however.

Hey Allen, Yes 7 is about where I usually put mine. IMO, if you set your brake too high, then your trailer brake is doing all the braking and you don't want that. You'll wear out your trailer brakes prematurely.

Thanks Marion. I'll fine tune it when I take my road trip in a few weeks.

We also have a 2018 Ram 2500 Cummins with the factory brake controller. We pull a 20ft gooseneck equipment trailer and quickly discovered that the 3.5 gain did very little to activate the trailer brakes. The trailer is new used (2016) with 8K axles. We adjusted the brakes and still found 3.5 gain too low. We now run the gain around 6 - 8 depending on load.

Yea, I had one and loved it. I probably would have one this go around if they hadn't de-rated the torque. I never had issues with mine however.

2018 is the last year Ram is offering 6 speed manual transmission for HD trucks . I know because i bought one 6 months ago and absolutely love it. It's like having a pet monster. I Searched the internet for 8 counties to find one 85 miles away with a G56 trans. This truck has so much power it will tear an automatic trans up over time. Doesn't matter if you tow or not. I would rather replace a clutch on a manual than do a rebuild on a automatic.

Thanks, do you recall the the tranny temp when you got the hot light?

@@MarionBlair it came on twice, 230 and like 243 or so. It didn't last long cooled down to 180 after 5 to 10 min

@@MarionBlair trailer and load totaled about 22k

Put in 5th and tow mode. You may be able to run 6th (in tow mode) as long as the transmission stays in 6th and doesn't drop down on the overpasses and hills.

As long as it's converter locked up it doesn't matter however you got enough weight where I think I would.

Hi Mick, Yes it is doing something and I always use tow haul when towing. The gears are identical whether in tow haul or normal however the tow haul mode increases the RPM that the transmission shifts at when accelerating up thru the gears, which helps to handle the load. So you still want to use tow haul. In a perfect world we would downshift/ up shift with no load or very little but that's not possible all the time, of course. It's just less wear and tear on the tranny if it's not jumping back and forth between gears on hills etc.. It's hard to avoid in the hills however. When it's locked in a gear, it's only locked from shifting up, not down. I wish I could lock it from shifting down also. If you watch your boost, you can get a pretty good idea of when it's wanting to shift down.

Marion Blair thanks for the explanation! I’ll be experimenting with this on my next trip. 👍🏻

Ben, Depends on the ambient temp but genrally speaking, summertime travel, hilly but not pulling mountain passes or anything like that, I'll see 200 max on coolant and 208 max on oil temp. Tranny, doesn't seem to go over 180's unless in the mountains, then were looking at over 200 to 220. I back off when I get to about 215 on the tranny.

Thank you sir. I didn't see the tranny get that hot, but I did see my coolant hit 219 and my oil got up to 230's. I have been doing some reading and it does not seem out of the ordinary from what the forums have said. I appreciate your response.

No, no difference, I think I know what you mean. Every once in a while going downhill, the tranny downshifts to aggressively and RPM go up higher than I like. I've blamed it on having my cruise on but that may not be the case. I think RAM needs a flash to prevent that. It's rare and I haven't quiet figured out what's causing that but I will if I can figure out what I'm doing to cause it. You could probably prevent it by taking it out of tow haul on the down hills but then it's probably not aggressive enough and who wants to be fooling with all that stuff

I would but I'm pretty anal. Less oil contamination and less shifting shock on the torque converter but the transmission should take it.

I pull a 21000 lb toy hauler (loaded with Jeep) with my 2015 Ram HD with an aisin and 3.73 gears. The Aisin is programmed to not let your engine overwork it. Only downside is the dead pedal

Shouldn't, because when the exhaust brake is on, there is no fueling from the pump. Another words, it doesn't use fuel when the exhaust brake is on.

Yes it's okay to use a shift selector either with tow haul or without it also I have several videos on various OBD2 gauges. But the short answer is just plug it in under the dash

Locking 5th will keep from upshifting on slight downhill and then back to 5th on the next hill or overpass. Tow mode 5th is your best bet. Not a heat issue but wear will be less on the clutches. The less shifting, especially down shifting under heavy load the less chance of failure.

@@MarionBlair Thanks so much. Yeah, any time I'm hooked up, I'm in tow mode fore sure. I think I will take your advice and keep it locked in 5th with tow mode activated for all towing of my 5th wheel. Really appreciate your time and attention to this stuff. I definitely want to keep my 2014 running strong and in good shape and your videos have been really helpful.

@@MarionBlair at around rpm do you shift, always makes nerveous when pulling my 5th wheel. I know i need to start using the manual shifting though.

Sure, drop an email to marionblairjr@gmail.com and I'll send it to you.

Some say it's way higher but I think they are close enough.

Yes, no problem. However, the PCM won't let you shift to a gear, either up or down if it will over-rev or under-rev (lug) the engine. I like to hold 4th sometimes way Beyound where it normally shift in D until I'm really for 5th. Example; I see a very steep hill ahead and I anticipate I'll need a lower gear, I'll shift to it before the hill so auto doesn't do it will I'm climbing. Saves tranny and torque converter wear when you shift with less load on the tranny.

@@MarionBlair thank you for the quick reply. I guess what I am concerned about sir is my fourth gear seems to not shift into fifth until 57 mph or 1800 RPMs (The MPH and RPM numbers are not exact but a close example.) are these Cummins engines supposed to rev high before fifth gear sir?

@@solarpoweredrainbow7591is that with the shift selector in D? Tow mode? if you are in tow mode with a load and heavy throttle, that's probably normal. Manually shifting to 5th from 4th at 57 mph is fine.

@@MarionBlair Shift selector in D

@@solarpoweredrainbow7591 Depends on whether you are in tow more and how hard you are on the throttle etc... That sounds high but depends. You can use the shift selector as you want.

No, when the engine brake engages you don't have control over the amount applied like you do when you apply the brakes. When you apply brakes in a slippery condition, you can apply gradually and it's applying to all 4 wheels. The exhaust brake would be like you slamming your parking brake to the floor causing just the rear tires to lock up. That would then cause you to face in the wrong direction as your rear end passes you on the road.

@@cwilks5592 Thanks for your reply, much appreciated. One clarification is that I am operating a manual transmission on my Ram 3500 which may behave slightly different than typical automatic transmissions. Coincidentally, I am currently on a ski trip traveling through Montana, Idaho and Wyoming in occasional sub-zero road conditions. I have had good success with the exhaust braking experience. No sudden lock up and infact, no skidding. In try to be safe and managing speed carefully in snow and icy conditions. My truck has 4-wheel disk braking which is a huge improvement compared to my earlier model trucks. I will continue to monitor winter driving methods and advise of bad experiences once discovered.

@@valdekparik392 Yes, manual transmissions have to be driven differently on ice. Simply letting off of the accelerator without disengaging the clutch could cause you to slip vs an automatic that will free wheel. If you are locked up in 4 wheel drive it would essentially be like applying brakes to all wheels. You are on the right track, experimentation at the appropriate time is the best way to learn. Be safe out there.

I'm not cold weather expert for sure but I believe it's recommended you don't use the exhaust brake on icy roads. Using the brakes you have the advantage of the ABS and traction controls whereas the exhaust brake may not.

It's an add on. Just plugs into the OBDII connector. You can use the torque app on android with a bluetooth adapter to see them also. I have a video on that also. thanks.

Yes, true. I try to pick the gear that will handle the hill. You know it won't be 5th or 6th, maybe 4th.

On the RAM, it only locks the transmission from shifting higher. Example, if I lock 5th on the selector, it will not shift to 6th but will down shift as normal otherwise.

You'll see the fan kick on at 217 deg. That's were I usually back off. Oil will probably be 10 deg higher. I'd keep tranny below 230 deg F. But, I'm very conservative. The mountains will humble any engine so go slow and let them flip you the bird when they go by.

Hii, yes. Peak torque 800 ft/lbs @ 1650 RPM WITH the standard 68 RFE transmission.

@@MarionBlair Thanks for the information. I'll try that the next time I get on the highway and set the cruise. Have a great tomorrow.

Put it in 5th gear and drive whatever speed you like. 65 mph with 3.42 ratio is around 1800 rpm which works well

You must not have the 68rfe. 6th gear is a weak spot for the rest of us.

That's the DPF differential pressure. It helps me tell when a regen is getting close.

Edge Insight

Clay Mullins no I don't see the benefit of a tuner unless the truck is deleted in fact I think it would probably cause problems.

Agree.

exhaust brake on, tow mode of course and a gear that will not require constant braking. It's going to be 4th or 3rd.

@@MarionBlair thank you, I’m still trying to understand how they work together. Engine braking is new to me. My concern with lower gears is RPM my first trip down as it down shifted it went pretty high about 3 grand. Braking quickly remedied that. Hopefully I will balance rpm, braking and engine brake for a easy ride down these mountain passes.

@@goducgo I know exactly what you are talking about. I call it a programing error by RAM. If your truck is like mine, when coming down a steep hill, instead of the exhaust brake continuing to slow the truck, the tranny downshifts to a lower gear with no exhaust brake on. It's aggravating and I constantly try to find a work around. It forces me to either come down to fast or downshift to a very low gear and stay there (3rd) which is too slow usually. A PCM flash by RAM would fix this.

160 is way within the limits of synthetic oil 260 might be a problem

Usually, a plugged fuel filter causes the engine to run poorly. Is that towing or running empty? Is this a 2500? thanks.

@@MarionBlair I tow a small trailer with a small mower on . But even when I'm not towing is the same thing!! Any advice I sure apreciate!! Thx

@@MarionBlair it's a 2500 big horn 6.7 Cummins

@@elmuneco53 wondering if your hand calculated and dash meter are pretty close?

@@MarionBlair I'm Goin by what the dash is telling me on the truck . Like the dash is telling me on average I'm doing 11 mpg .. but last week I fill up the tank about 27 gal. And I set my trip meter to 0 and I drove all the way close to empty and the trip meter was @ 320 miles!

If you've got monitor, you can watch i open and close.

10 minutes but much more if you high idle. 30 minutes at least.

On the shift lever

@@MarionBlair so I hold down the - (minus) button and it will down shift ?

@@paulg444 yes don't hold it down, just bump it each time to shift

Not empty but when pulling a camper, it's no competition.

This is laughable since FOX "news" spouts more propaganda than N. Korea and Russia combined.

Finally someone noticed, ha