Towing horsepower questions

[Edm]

I have an 04 Dodge 2500 with the Hemi that is well maintained and in really good shape. It tows a 24' fully loaded enclosed trailer really good but on the hwy it feels like it could use a little something to help maintain the speed a little better and help the MPG out. I have read about all of these bolt-on upgrades to help with the hp and fuel mileage like computer programmers, cold air intakes, exhaust systems, under drive pulleys etc etc.. I have owned this truck for a few years and I plan on keeping it for several more. I was wondering if anyone has used any of these or would have any recommendations so I don't throw money away at some useless but well marketed product.

Thanks,
Ed

[tedrichard]

Bang for the buck probably the single biggest gain you'll get would be with a cold air intake. I'd be leary of chips. Exhaust might help a little bit but nothing huge. Is it a manual trans or auto? If it's an auto, don't give in to the temptation of leaving it in overdrive. Even if it's not going in and out of overdrive which you'll be able to feel, it'll be constantly going in and out of lockup which you can't feel and it'll burn up the lockup clutch's in the converter, pump the trash through the tranny and kill it. Tranny's cost a LOT more than gas! This I found out the hard way! Pretty much like anything else I know about racing and towing............

[bubba]

The problem with the chips etc is that everyone that has sunk the money is more interested in justifying their investment than being objective. So, I have had friends who have claimed ridiculous MPG numbers and some who have claimed magical HP numbers by the seat of their pants. I have yet to find somebody who can show me the numbers with some level of scientific backup. MPG is a pretty easy thing to show, so that leads me to beleive they may be full of it.

[flvideo]

Hey Ed, How much does Your trailer weight? I have a F250 with a 6.0 diesel and a 5 speed automatic. I have towed travel trailers with it with no problems. I put a chip in it a few years ago and I honestly didn't see any change. I wasted my money. Believe what Ted said about over-drive. I smoked a tranny in Chevy 3/4 ton. I pulled a race trailer to LA and back and I had to put a new Tranny in it in Monroe LA. They soaked me and I had no choice but to buy what they had. I was stranded. What I learned there was I didn't have a trnsmission cooler and it over heated. I ran it in over drive trying to get a little better MPG. I could have bought a lot of gas with what that cost. Is your truck diesel? If its diesel you could put a banks turbo on it. Now I have seen those Banks turbos work and they greatly improve the power curve. Unfortunately they don't do much for you pocket book. Hope this helps. Bob..

[Edm]

Thanks for the info. Its a gasoline engine with a 4 speed automatic. I have always kept the OD off whenever I am towing. The trailer loaded weighs somewhere around 8000-9000lbs. The trucks capacity is 11,000. Don't get me wrong, the truck tows very good but I think if I enhance the horsepower a little bit so it doesn't have to work as hard I think I can get more longevity out of it. I have read alot about performance for street vehicles but have found very little in regards to towing.

[tccaz]

Ed check on http://rv.net on their towing forum some of those people have been towing rvs a loooooooooong time I am sure someone will know your best way to go.

[backdoorbob]

Its kind of funny people want to improve fuel mileage by putting in chips, like banks ,bully dogs. Isnt it supposed to give you more power? How could one expect to improve fuel mileage while increasing horsepower? If I were you I would sell your ford and buy a druamax with 6spd allision.

[Edm]

Its kind of funny people want to improve fuel mileage by putting in chips, like banks ,bully dogs. Isnt it supposed to give you more power? How could one expect to improve fuel mileage while increasing horsepower?

Careful Bob, your giving away your age. Its called technology. The new Camaro SS has 422 horsepower and gets 29MPG. My old 95 Z-28 had 285 hp and got 24MPG.
Most peak horsepower ratings are at higher rpms so if you enhance the hp you can do the same amount of work at lower rpms, therefor increasing your mpg.

[flvideo]

Yeah, the chip I put in was designed to increase MPG not power. I have all the power I need. backdoorknobob is from another planet I guess. I get pretty good mileage anyway, 22 on the highway with out a trailer. But with a trailer and it don't seem to matter which trailer. Travel trailer, race car trailer, golf cart trailer, it gets 14 to 15 MPG. I guess thats not bad for a big truck. What engine do you have? A 318? you shouldn't have any trouble with that. bob..

Oh I forgot,that happens a lot lately. My age is 65 and I'm proud of it. Of those years 55 of them has been around racing of some sort. Bob....

[Edm]

5.7 Liter Hemi

[flvideo]

you should have plenty of power to pull 8000 pounds. I pulled a 4500 pound travel trailer with a 1/2 ton Suburban and smoked the transmission. now I really had to get off my pocket book for that one. Does your dodge have a transmission cooler? That is the single thing that will save the tranny, keeping it cool. I have had my share of tranny trouble over the years and the most, according to the transmission shops, could have been avoided with a cooler. The Transmission in the suburban was too small and didn't have a cooler. The specs said it would pull the weight. Live and learn. Bob...

[Joker139]

power

A good rule of thumb is horsepower creates efficiency. The less an engine has to work to do the same job, the more economical it will be. Most trucks are governed down from the factory to meet EPA standards but can be brought up to speed with a few changes. I work on a lot of trucks in my job and there are three things that are pretty standard. First is cold air induction. Then go to the exhaust so it can breathe. Factory exhaust is very restrictive. Then you can get a good programmer( not just a chip ). It will adjust for the changes to intake and exhuast and let that puppy run like it should. You should see a significant change in performance and a little better fuel economy. You won't get an extra 10 miles per gallon more but a few at least. If you do the work yourself, you should be able to pull it off for about a grand. Hope this helps you a little.

[Joker139]

Oh yeah, Bob had a very good point. Make damn sure you have a good tranny cooler. It could save you a pile of $ down the road.

[Dana Barlow]

Here I'm reading every one talking about more HP and better MPG??WT_,when the man ask about MPG and highwayspeed towing big ass trailer,well fisrt thing I'd be looking at is how the trailer is shaped aero wise,is the front flat?can it be more aero,are the wheels under it or sticking out with not aero fenders,is there any draft reductions spoilers on rear of trailer=type that flow air into void to cut drag.
If the air drag is cut down on trailer and maybe even the truck,it's better then more HP and gets MPG.
Do some aero work....

[Edm]

The truck is heavy duty and is equipped with a tranny cooler. I am very particular about maintenance and try to keep my trucks as long as possible. I just want to do for it whatever I can to make sure it lasts. The trailer is 8 1/2 feet wide with a flat front so some aero things would help but I would rather start with the truck being that we have multiple heavy trailers.
Thank you for all your info.

Ed