Notices
1999 - 2003 7.3L Power Stroke Diesel  
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by: DP Tuner

wrong tuner?

Old Apr 16, 2013 | 12:02 AM
  #1  
sudsmcduff's Avatar
sudsmcduff
Thread Starter
|
More Turbo
15 Year Member
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 546
Likes: 1
From: reedsport
wrong tuner?

the mods listed below is what i have. not sure the triple dog is the way to go anymore now that i have a 6700lb toy hauler. tow with it in tow/haul mode and have trouble going up hills without hammering down on the pedal. i just wondering if i should get a differnt tuner or do some other mod that wont destroy my motor. thanks for any advice.
 
Reply
Old Apr 16, 2013 | 12:11 AM
  #2  
A/Ox4's Avatar
A/Ox4
9 ECHO 1
15 Year Member
Liked
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 12,467
Likes: 58
From: Missouri
Club FTE Silver Member

The triple dog tuner isn't the right way to go even if all you do is get groceries.

Look up DP Tuner, PHP and Gearhead tunes. They are all custom tunes for your truck.
 
Reply
Old Apr 16, 2013 | 07:56 AM
  #3  
joeyd61's Avatar
joeyd61
Posting Guru
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,736
Likes: 0
From: Dalton,Ga
Club FTE Gold Member
Originally Posted by sudsmcduff
the mods listed below is what i have. not sure the triple dog is the way to go anymore now that i have a 6700lb toy hauler. tow with it in tow/haul mode and have trouble going up hills without hammering down on the pedal. i just wondering if i should get a differnt tuner or do some other mod that wont destroy my motor. thanks for any advice.

what size tires??still running stock gears??I know my 6" lift with 37's and stock (3.73) gears and it didnt like towing ny camper
 
Reply
Old Apr 16, 2013 | 08:05 AM
  #4  
HKusp's Avatar
HKusp
Lead Driver
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 7,760
Likes: 27
From: Hampton, Maryland.
Club FTE Gold Member
I am running 315's (35's) with stock gears (3.73) and I tow a 3 horse slant, and dual axle dump, a 9k pound travel trailer and I have no issues at all towing. I have been running a DP tuner for 6 years.
 
Reply
Old Apr 16, 2013 | 09:04 AM
  #5  
MTalley's Avatar
MTalley
More Turbo
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 594
Likes: 5
From: Full-time RV
Club FTE Silver Member

I'm hoping you mis-typed the weight of your trailer. Would it be 16,700? If only 6k, you should hardly notice it back there. If 16k, now we're talking.

As others have mentioned, I'd drop the Triple Dog and look at one of the custom tuners. I'm pulling a 15k fiver and use a DP Tuner 20HP tow tune. Note that if you aren't running an EGT gauge, you should be. Pulling 15-16K with a 40+ HP tune might well burn something up.
 
Reply
Old Apr 16, 2013 | 11:18 AM
  #6  
Shake-N-Bake's Avatar
Shake-N-Bake
Post Fiend
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 6,096
Likes: 27
From: Mesa AZ
Club FTE Silver Member

Originally Posted by sudsmcduff
the mods listed below is what i have. not sure the triple dog is the way to go anymore now that i have a 6700lb toy hauler. tow with it in tow/haul mode and have trouble going up hills without hammering down on the pedal. i just wondering if i should get a differnt tuner or do some other mod that wont destroy my motor. thanks for any advice.
Your transmission has a tow/haul mode?
 
Reply
Old Apr 16, 2013 | 11:42 AM
  #7  
Tugly's Avatar
Tugly
Hotshot
10 Year Member
Photogenic
Photoriffic
Shutterbug
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 18,849
Likes: 179
From: Puget Sound
Originally Posted by Shake-N-Bake
Your transmission has a tow/haul mode?
I'm sure he means OD cancel. The Chevy has the same button and that's their "tow" button.
 
Reply
Old Apr 16, 2013 | 11:55 AM
  #8  
BWST's Avatar
BWST
Got Data?
10 Year Member
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 4,251
Likes: 1,383
From: Lake Stevens, WA
Club FTE Gold Member
MTalley - what made you go with the 20T versus the 40T for your load? How does the trans shift with the 20T (where do the rpms like to be at the shift points)? Helpful to understand how folks dial in these larger loads.
 
Reply
FTE Stories

Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts

story-0

10 Ugly Ford Trucks That We Still Kinda Love

 Joe Kucinski
story-1

10 Things Every Truck Owner NEEDS (2026 Edition)

 Michael S. Palmer
story-2

Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath

 Verdad Gallardo
story-3

Top 10 Most Expensive Ford Trucks Ever Sold on Bring a Trailer

 Joe Kucinski
story-4

2027 Ford Super Duty Buyer's Guide (Every Model, Engine, & Package)

 Brett Foote
story-5

Top 10 Ford Truck Tragedies

 Joe Kucinski
story-6

AEV FXL Super Duty - the Super Duty Raptor Ford Doesn't Make

 Brett Foote
story-7

Lobo Vs Lobo: Proof the F-150 Lobo Should Be Even Lower!

 Michael S. Palmer
story-8

Ford's 2001 Explorer Sportsman Concept Looks For a New Home

 Verdad Gallardo
story-9

10 Best Ford Truck Engines We Miss the Most!

 Joe Kucinski
Old Apr 16, 2013 | 12:28 PM
  #9  
MTalley's Avatar
MTalley
More Turbo
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 594
Likes: 5
From: Full-time RV
Club FTE Silver Member

I went with 20T just as a starting point (wasn't loading up the tuner with a bunch of tunes only to use a couple). I suspect I'd do fine with the 40T (I'm at the suggested cut-off point - 15K - for a 20T or 40T). The 20T has almost negligible effects on my EGTs over stock (I've seen about 1260 max, stock touched 1250 once).

Shift points are generally spot-on. I did have to send it back to DP to lighten the 4-3 downshift (it was extremely harsh). Does much better now. About a 3/4 second lift off TC lockup, downshift, right back into lockup in 3rd.

The only thing I might change (though I'll probably not, since I have to pull and send it in to get tunes changed) is that running WOT from a stop it'll run up to near redline in 1st and on the upshift to 2nd, also locks up the TC. The first couple times, I thought it was skipping a gear. A bit less than WOT will shift up through everything fine.

My original 20T tune (before sending it in to get it changed due to the 4-3 downshift) would drop down into 3rd when coasting down below about 50, then into 2nd somewhere along the way with the TC locked. It was great for decelerating. After the change, it doesn't do that automatically anymore (it will if you turn OD off, but then again stock does that pretty much as well). Again, haven't asked DP about it because I'm generally happy and don't want to do the pull, mail, receive, re-install cycle again.

One thing I do like is that it'll generally stay in 3rd up to about 52 or so, which is about where I'd upshift manually with a 15k load if I were controlling things.

Generally speaking, other than the couple of anomalies listed above, there aren't really any WTF's in the shift strategy. Also, that's essentially why I got a tow tune (and the decel, which is nice) - for the improved shift strategy and more aggressive lockup strategy. It annoyed me no end that running up a steep hill and downshifting to 3rd would unlock the TC and leave it unlocked until you let off enough for the stock tune to re-engage lockup (and lose an appropriate amount of speed).
 
Reply
Old Apr 16, 2013 | 03:48 PM
  #10  
Km1210's Avatar
Km1210
Elder User
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 659
Likes: 1
From: Millstone, NJ
Custom tuner > Bullydog

I had the same Bullydog tuner as you did. Got rid of it when I got my DP tuner. Never looked back, never will.
 
Reply
Old Apr 16, 2013 | 04:05 PM
  #11  
sudsmcduff's Avatar
sudsmcduff
Thread Starter
|
More Turbo
15 Year Member
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 546
Likes: 1
From: reedsport
thanks for the replies, i have 35's with 6 inch lift, have no tow mode on shifter , just od. my toy hauler is 6700lbs and about 8900lbs fully loaded. gearing is stock. i will look into those dp tuners right now, thanks again. also my truck would always go faster when i slowly lay into the throttle. when i floor it, doesnt do much other then downshift.
 
Reply
Old Apr 16, 2013 | 04:05 PM
  #12  
clem1226's Avatar
clem1226
Cargo Master
15 Year Member
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 2,502
Likes: 2
From: Bend Oregon
Club FTE Silver Member

any gauges? if yes what boost PSI are you seeing?

and to the tuner question, You would be much happier with custom programming versus off the shelf.
 
Reply
Old Apr 16, 2013 | 04:09 PM
  #13  
sudsmcduff's Avatar
sudsmcduff
Thread Starter
|
More Turbo
15 Year Member
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 546
Likes: 1
From: reedsport
Originally Posted by clem1226
any gauges? if yes what boost PSI are you seeing?

and to the tuner question, You would be much happier with custom programming versus off the shelf.
i have no gauges. should i be looking into dp chips or the tuner. not sure what to look for
 
Reply
Old Apr 16, 2013 | 04:22 PM
  #14  
clem1226's Avatar
clem1226
Cargo Master
15 Year Member
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 2,502
Likes: 2
From: Bend Oregon
Club FTE Silver Member

gauges are a must....minnimum Boost, EGT and tranny temp. If you purchase a higher end product like the PHP Hydra or the DP Infinity they will display everything but EGT ( exhaust gas tempeture) unless you install a probe then I believe you can add EGT to those.

As it stands now gauges would help you determine if everything was up to par on your truck. Mine stock with 315's and stock gears(3:73s) did not really "Struggle" to pull the type of weight you are describing and I never had an issue maintaining the speed limit....I suspect you may have some boost leaks or drive pressure leaks in the turbo system holding you back.
 
Reply
Old Apr 16, 2013 | 04:29 PM
  #15  
clem1226's Avatar
clem1226
Cargo Master
15 Year Member
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 2,502
Likes: 2
From: Bend Oregon
Club FTE Silver Member

here is some reading https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...his-first.html

Tugly is the poster child for OCD anality and knows his stuff ( learned it the hard way)
 
Reply

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:07 PM.

story-0
10 Ugly Ford Trucks That We Still Kinda Love

Slideshow: 10 ugly Ford trucks that we still kinda love.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-06-03 09:51:16


VIEW MORE
story-1
10 Things Every Truck Owner NEEDS (2026 Edition)

Slideshow: the best gifts for dads & grads

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-06-03 15:43:58


VIEW MORE
story-2
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath

Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-06-03 11:38:36


VIEW MORE
story-3
Top 10 Most Expensive Ford Trucks Ever Sold on Bring a Trailer

Slideshow: 10 most expensive Ford trucks ever sold on Bring a Trailer.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-27 16:24:34


VIEW MORE
story-4
2027 Ford Super Duty Buyer's Guide (Every Model, Engine, & Package)

Here's everything that has changed for the latest model year.

By Brett Foote | 2026-05-27 16:17:28


VIEW MORE
story-5
Top 10 Ford Truck Tragedies

Slideshow: Top 10 Ford truck tragedies.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-18 19:34:33


VIEW MORE
story-6
AEV FXL Super Duty - the Super Duty Raptor Ford Doesn't Make

And it might be even better than that.

By Brett Foote | 2026-05-18 19:26:42


VIEW MORE
story-7
Lobo Vs Lobo: Proof the F-150 Lobo Should Be Even Lower!

Slideshow: Does lowering an F-150 Lobo RUIN the ride quality?

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-05-18 19:20:37


VIEW MORE
story-8
Ford's 2001 Explorer Sportsman Concept Looks For a New Home

Slideshow: Ford's bizarre fishing-themed Explorer concept has resurfaced after spending decades largely forgotten.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-12 18:07:46


VIEW MORE
story-9
10 Best Ford Truck Engines We Miss the Most!

Slideshow: The 10 best Ford truck engines we miss the most.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-12 13:09:47


VIEW MORE