I ordered my 4500 in late July. I took delivery in early November. It currently has 6000 miles on it. Overall I am generally pleased with the pickup. My first issue was when I took delivery of a Dodge's newest pickup with every option available it was sitting on painted steel wheels. My Ford buddies at the rodeos asked me what happened to the Alcoa Aluminums that their Fords had.
My main issue is the 4.44 rear axle. When driving empty at 70 mph the engine is turning 2100 rpms which is acceptable. When pulling in tow haul mode the Aisin Transmission doesn't shift to 6th gear thus running the rpms up to 2600. I am used to pulling with 6 speed manuals that run 2100 rpms in 6th gear at 70 mph. The 4500 does not have enough power to pull in 6th gear in the Aisin. Some quick calculation tells me that is an extra 500 revolutions every minute. That is an extra 30,000 revolutions every hour. If I pull 10 hours to San Angelo that is an extra 300,000 revolutions that aren't needed. Over 200,000 miles that's a lot of extra revolutions. So much for our longevity and fuel mileage. This pickup is currently getting 14 mpg empty and 8 mpg pulling this horse trailer. I am in search of mods that will not effect my warrenty but give me the power to pull in 6th gear.
Linear Mode
