Towing with a Manual
Hey folks. I'm helping a buddy of mine move his trailer from Edmonton to Vancouver. It should be roughly a 12-14 hour drive depending on traffic and route taken. The trailer is approx 38 ft long and w...
Forum Discussion
rhagfo wrote:JIMNLIN wrote:
I pull a 11200 lb 5th wheel rv trailer and several GN trailers up to 16k with my '03 Dodge/Cummins NV5600 6 speed manual 3.73 axle with the Jacobs exhaust brake.
Its a dream machine for towing heavy trailers however not everyone can use a manual and make glass smooth up and down shifts. After a while you can make those smooth shifts.
The Cummins from '03 and up uses the zero throttle launch system. Simply let the clutch (keep your foot off the go pedel) out and the Cummins rpms comes up which eliminates stalling on any grade. With the deep 1st and 2nd gear there is no need to slip the clutch....ever.
If its flat I take off in 2nd gear empty of pulling. When empty I go with 2nd....4th ....then 6th. Pulling a load I run the gears.
I believe that that is true from 99.5 on up, once the IP was electronically controlled.
The best part of that feature is when you're crawling along slow dirt roads. You can select any of the first 3 gears and, when empty, the truck will maintain idle speed even uphill with no throttle input. Dooing it with a load on causes the engine to surge and then back off too much in 3rd though.
