What do you tow with your B?
So, we just got our first B motorhome, a 1997 Great West Van Classic Supreme Special Edition on a Dodge B3500 chassis with a 360 cid V8 and 4 speed OD automatic transmission. We started out in 20...
Forum Discussion
truepath wrote:
I was recently talking with a transmission mechanic who had just finished rebuilding a Dodge 4sp with OD transmission for a friend of mine. The transmission was trashed when the van was used to pull a sail boat several hundred miles. The mechanic told me that the OD on these transmissions are prone to failure when called upon to pull trailers. He recommended turning OD off when pulling anything other than a very small trailer and even then he recommended turning OD off on long inclines or traveling into strong headwinds. This is going to require slowing down, unless you want to spend a fortune on fuel.
Based on my knowledge and experience with these transmissions, I would not disagree with that advice. I would go as far as to advise anyone towing with any brand of automatic OD transmission to tow with OD OFF. OD OFF puts a transmission into "Direct" mode, thereby all but eliminating the transmission doing any heavy lifting.
In general, OD is a marketing scam that has only negative effects on vehicles and consumers.