anyone have experience with a 2005 Dodge 3500 5.9 Cummins/Auto

So I bought a bone stock 2005 (2004-2007 is the same but some 07's have the newer 6.7L) Dodge 3500 with the 5.9L Cummins and 48RE 4 spd automatic trans with 116k miles of older folks driving and pulling a heavy RV, well maintained and no significant parts have been replaced. It will be towing an all aluminum 47 foot 1992 Gold Rush with living quarters, a 2500 lb pro mod, and a smart car or golf cart plus spare parts. I am looking for advice regarding mileage and reliability.

I did some research and found out the motors seem to be great and get the best mileage between 1600 and 1900 rpm but the fuel filters need to be brought down to 3 micron which can be done with a FASS lift pump that has the filter and water separator built in and this helps prolong the fuel system's life and I believe carries a lifetime warranty on the lift pump.. I also read that at around 200k it will need a new CP3 pump and injectors. Did I miss anything?

The trans I read is a big concern, barely holds up to what it is doing, doesn't oil the converter in park, has a check ball that gets stuck that won't let you get out of park, ect...Any advice on how to make it live and be dependable?

Wondering if anyone picked up fuel economy with mods using a hand calculated method not the digital readout on the truck. At most I am considering an exhaust system, a chip/programmer, and a Cold air intake but am not sure I want to hear the turbo whine for 18 hours on a long trip.

Thanks for any and all help,
Trevor Sherwood

 

Depending on weight. Expect around 8-12mpg. FASS Fuel system isn’t needed, but is nice. I’d spend the money else where! Don’t run junk fuel and you won’t damage the Injection pump & Injectors. Your transmission is the weak link and will get worse with a programmer while towing!

Save up for a built transmission and a programmer. Keep up on routine Maintenance & you’ll be fine for many years.

 

we build a lot of transmissions for heavy towing dodges. a GOOD programmer and extra low stall (1200 rpm) billet multi clutch converter will gain 4-5 mpg with 3.55 gears. If it has 4.11's you'll struggle to get any better

 

I will be saving up for a programmer and built trans for when this one needs freshening but for now billet 3 disk torque converter and maybe a trans cooling setup should be good. Not sure what gears are in the truck but the lady claimed

Should I get a billet flex plate with the converter as well? I have heard they tend to wobble out the bolt holes on the stock ones.

Which programmer do you guys recommend?

Thanks,
Trev

 

Itll be a whole different truck with a triple disc and as long as u spec a extra low stall. Like i mentioned before We have ours built spec’d out to 1200 stall (i believe 1800 is factory spec). They told us “itll be so tight it wont idle” but it was perfect. we found it spools quicker and put power to the ground so much better.

We rarely see issues with stock flex plates. Occasionally we see issues with the converter pilot hole. Billet ones are cheaper than factory mopar if u need one but make sure your converter is spec built for thicker billet flex plate to get correct converter spacing.

Edge is what we put in our 2010 dodge. Lots of power but maintains safety and we like large touch screen display. You can set it to show most anything in the data stream to the ecu.

Smarty and hypertech are other two main ones we see. Otherwise they been custom tuned and use edge insight monitor