Just bought a Dodge Ram 2500 Diesel 6.7 and I'm confused

[Lost_Traveller]

Ok, I did have a 03 F250 6.0. It had a tow/haul button. I now have the Ram 2500 Diesel 6.7. I now have a tow/haul button, a diesel exaust brake button, and a "+/-" button that is on the steering column for changing your gears. I am really confused about what I should use and when. I'm towing a 2002 Fleetwood Prowler fifth wheel.
Anybody else have the above truck with towing experience with it? I could really use some advice.
thanks for any help.
The Lost Travellers,
Bruce and Connie

[IdaD]

wilber1 wrote:

rhagfo wrote:

wilber1 wrote:

transamz9 wrote:
For all you people saying that reading the owners manual will tell you everything. Tell me the page number to where it tells you how to disable the seat belt chime on a Ram truck.

That seat belt warning is required by law, there is no way a manufacturer is going to publish how to disable it.

The manual doesn't tell you everything but is always a good place to start. There is lots of good information there and I go back to mine frequently even though I have had my truck for five years. The last time was just recently to find out how to change a DRL bulb.

Just wondering why you would want to disable the Seat belt warning light/chime???

I don't know. If I am just moving a short distance not on public roads and I am going to be getting in and out, I just buckle the belt behind me. Much easier than going through some drawn out procedure to disable the thing.

Ditto. If I'm going 5 mph down a rocky and rutted forest service road during hunting season the seat belt isn't going to do me any good, and it might slow me down if I happen to see something made of meat that's in season. In such a scenario I'll clip it behind me too.

[wilber1]

rhagfo wrote:

wilber1 wrote:

transamz9 wrote:
For all you people saying that reading the owners manual will tell you everything. Tell me the page number to where it tells you how to disable the seat belt chime on a Ram truck.

That seat belt warning is required by law, there is no way a manufacturer is going to publish how to disable it.

The manual doesn't tell you everything but is always a good place to start. There is lots of good information there and I go back to mine frequently even though I have had my truck for five years. The last time was just recently to find out how to change a DRL bulb.

Just wondering why you would want to disable the Seat belt warning light/chime???

I don't know. If I am just moving a short distance not on public roads and I am going to be getting in and out, I just buckle the belt behind me. Much easier than going through some drawn out procedure to disable the thing.

[wilber1]

Grit dog wrote:

wilber1 wrote:

transamz9 wrote:
For all you people saying that reading the owners manual will tell you everything. Tell me the page number to where it tells you how to disable the seat belt chime on a Ram truck.

That seat belt warning is required by law, there is no way a manufacturer is going to publish how to disable it.

Wanna bet?

Interesting. Which manufacturer publishes in their operating manual how to disable the seat belt warning?

[rhagfo]

wilber1 wrote:

transamz9 wrote:
For all you people saying that reading the owners manual will tell you everything. Tell me the page number to where it tells you how to disable the seat belt chime on a Ram truck.

That seat belt warning is required by law, there is no way a manufacturer is going to publish how to disable it.

The manual doesn't tell you everything but is always a good place to start. There is lots of good information there and I go back to mine frequently even though I have had my truck for five years. The last time was just recently to find out how to change a DRL bulb.

Just wondering why you would want to disable the Seat belt warning light/chime???

[Grit_dog]

wilber1 wrote:

transamz9 wrote:
For all you people saying that reading the owners manual will tell you everything. Tell me the page number to where it tells you how to disable the seat belt chime on a Ram truck.

That seat belt warning is required by law, there is no way a manufacturer is going to publish how to disable it.

Wanna bet?

[thecdnmole]

transamz9 wrote:

4x4ord wrote:
You're the first guy on this forum who bought a new Ram to admit that you're a bit confused??.....sorry I just couldn't help it. I only turn the exhaust brake on while towing. I seldom use tow haul. Often on steep grades I manually select the gear I want. I sometimes lock out 6th gear while towing at speeds below 65 mph. I'm not certain but I think my fuel economy may at times improve running in 5th vs 6th. (This will depend on gear ratios, travel speed and weight of the load.

The Ram exhaust brake set up is not as it is on the GM and Fords. It does take a little user input to get full potential out of it. Ram should do a little better job of teaching the buyers how to use it but that would mean that they would have to train the salesmen. Well, you know that ain't going to happen. LOL The EB in the RAM does a good job on it's own just like the GM and Ford but once you learn how to use it to it's fullest IMO the RAM is in a league of it's own. The only thing I wish they would do is give an optional heavy mode that would allow it to engage more when towing heavy but that would be a safety concern for people that are not experienced in using an engine brake on wet or slick services.

Yes, like in the HD Class 6-8 tractors, but they probably want to KIS for the general public. With the Class 6-8 you can select low-med-high or 2-4-6 cylinder braking.

[transamz9]

4x4ord wrote:
You're the first guy on this forum who bought a new Ram to admit that you're a bit confused??.....sorry I just couldn't help it. I only turn the exhaust brake on while towing. I seldom use tow haul. Often on steep grades I manually select the gear I want. I sometimes lock out 6th gear while towing at speeds below 65 mph. I'm not certain but I think my fuel economy may at times improve running in 5th vs 6th. (This will depend on gear ratios, travel speed and weight of the load.

The Ram exhaust brake set up is not as it is on the GM and Fords. It does take a little user input to get full potential out of it. Ram should do a little better job of teaching the buyers how to use it but that would mean that they would have to train the salesmen. Well, you know that ain't going to happen. LOL The EB in the RAM does a good job on it's own just like the GM and Ford but once you learn how to use it to it's fullest IMO the RAM is in a league of it's own. The only thing I wish they would do is give an optional heavy mode that would allow it to engage more when towing heavy but that would be a safety concern for people that are not experienced in using an engine brake on wet or slick services.

[Bedlam]

Tow/haul keeps your transmission locked up more allowing the exhaust brake to work longer. If TH is not enabled EB will disable sooner when the torque converter unlocks. The programming is different in my chassis cab verses the pickups and the 4.44 gearing also gives it a different experience, but you need try the different combinations to see which work best for your driving style and conditions. For my truck, EB will stay in which ever mode I select even after shutting down and restarting while TH will always reset to the off position. I am typically loaded around 15K lbs GVW and use EB Auto unless in traffic where I go to EB Full. When I have an additional 8K lbs in tow, I use TH with EB Auto unless I am in traffic or varying grades where I use TH with EB Full.

BTW: My EB icon is either yellow when set to Auto or Full or off when EB is is off - I do not get a green indication and have to look at the DIC to tell whether I am in Auto or Full EB modes.

[wilber1]

transamz9 wrote:
For all you people saying that reading the owners manual will tell you everything. Tell me the page number to where it tells you how to disable the seat belt chime on a Ram truck.

That seat belt warning is required by law, there is no way a manufacturer is going to publish how to disable it.

The manual doesn't tell you everything but is always a good place to start. There is lots of good information there and I go back to mine frequently even though I have had my truck for five years. The last time was just recently to find out how to change a DRL bulb.

[transamz9]

thecdnmole wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:

thecdnmole wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
TH and EB on ALL the time! Try the "Auto" mode solo. I run full on ALL the time. You will never wear out the brakes.

I have not towed with mine yet, but soon, very soon. I try to turn on the EB all the time, which does save on brakes, but on my 2015 Ram it stops working when it slows to 50 mph! Whereas in my 2011 Chevy it would stay on till about 30 mph. I am curious how it works towing.

Put the TH on ALL the time. Your EB should stay on down to around 1,100 rpm's.

So as stated by Arcamper previously, EB is determined by engine rpm, not speed? Good to know!

Not just RPM. It is also determined by deceleration. The truck will adjust how much EB it uses by the mode you are in and how fast the truck is decelerating. If you are going up a slight grade the brake won't work as hard as it will going down a slight grade. The computer has a max that it will slow the truck down. You can turn your gauge cluster on to have the EB hp shown. You can watch the computer do it's thing. I have seen 150hp out of mine but when running around light it won't go no where near that high.;)

[thecdnmole]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

thecdnmole wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
TH and EB on ALL the time! Try the "Auto" mode solo. I run full on ALL the time. You will never wear out the brakes.

I have not towed with mine yet, but soon, very soon. I try to turn on the EB all the time, which does save on brakes, but on my 2015 Ram it stops working when it slows to 50 mph! Whereas in my 2011 Chevy it would stay on till about 30 mph. I am curious how it works towing.

Put the TH on ALL the time. Your EB should stay on down to around 1,100 rpm's.

So as stated by Arcamper previously, EB is determined by engine rpm, not speed? Good to know!

[Cummins12V98]

thecdnmole wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
TH and EB on ALL the time! Try the "Auto" mode solo. I run full on ALL the time. You will never wear out the brakes.

I have not towed with mine yet, but soon, very soon. I try to turn on the EB all the time, which does save on brakes, but on my 2015 Ram it stops working when it slows to 50 mph! Whereas in my 2011 Chevy it would stay on till about 30 mph. I am curious how it works towing.

Put the TH on ALL the time. Your EB should stay on down to around 1,100 rpm's.

[Cummins12V98]

minnow wrote:
Those using T/H mode; are you using it even when not towing and on the open road ?

Also any reason why one would use the EB all the time as compared to using it in Auto mode.

ALL the time, start truck EB and TH ON.

I have tried Auto Mode but like full on best. Your brain gets used to when to let off and all you do is lightly touch the brakes to come to a stop.

TH keeps your trans in the right gear so any time you hit the go pedal it goes. If TH is off it will have a delay down shifting to be in the right gear to accelerate.

I really am not into driving in 6th at 40mph or even less.

TH keeps line pressures up and EB keeps the turbo working. Both will provide better performance and longer life.

EXPERIMENT!!! It is a weird feeling going down a grade in cruise control but that really is the best option, look out a gear that puts you in the upper 2,000 RPM's. EXPERIMENT!!!

[4x4ord]

You're the first guy on this forum who bought a new Ram to admit that you're a bit confused??.....sorry I just couldn't help it. I only turn the exhaust brake on while towing. I seldom use tow haul. Often on steep grades I manually select the gear I want. I sometimes lock out 6th gear while towing at speeds below 65 mph. I'm not certain but I think my fuel economy may at times improve running in 5th vs 6th. (This will depend on gear ratios, travel speed and weight of the load.

[spoon059]

minnow wrote:
Those using T/H mode; are you using it even when not towing and on the open road ?

Also any reason why one would use the EB all the time as compared to using it in Auto mode.

I use T/H and EB all the time. The T/H helps firm up the shift points as I accelerate and also allows for more sustained EB power as I slow down.

The majority of my driving is in more city like conditions, so I am always slowing down for a red light or some idiot that pulled out in front of me slowly. I have the EB on full in these situations.

Now if I am towing or driving on highways and don't need to worry about constantly slowing down, I put the EB on auto. That way I just need to lightly tap my brakes to engage the EB, but I can take my foot off the accelerator and coast if I need to without worrying about the EB scrubbing speed.