If I were in your position I would be looking at a Hydra with tunes from either 1023 Tuning or SDK.

 

Those are the latest tuners out there and would be fine. I have one of the first DP tuners and use the 40 or 60 tow tunes and love them. Never had a problem in all these years. There are lots of options out there, just don't tow with out gauges or in a race tune with that weight.

 

I tow everyday , between 10,000 - 15,000 lbs, with my 80 hp and 60 hp DP tunes and love them! I have recently tried 1023 tunes on a hydra but have yet to get them dialed in correctly. If you do go DP tunes you may want to try getting the torque converter lock-up after 3rd gear if you aren't pulling steep grades. This helps to keep the RPM's up. I have stock injectors but I did put in a 5x5 billet compressor wheel which helps tremendously with turbo surge

 

 

First things first, an EGT gauge is HIGHLY recommended for towing while tuned. Keep it under 1200-1250 sustained. Bursts of 1300-1400 are ok for a couple of seconds, but you don't want to push your luck.

fuel pressure gauge isn't bad to have to protect your injectors, but is not required. I have a fuel pressure gauge sitting in a box, yet to be installed on my truck. I'll put it in before I pull my 5th wheel again in a few months. Low fuel pressure can hurt your fuel injectors over time. Whether it's a failing pump, clogged filter or your in-tank screens are clogging up, low fuel pressure can be easily missed or misdiagnosed on these trucks without a gauge for it. 45+psi under load is what you want.

I personally use the "canned" php tuning that is available with the hydra. I'll be trying out some 1023 tunes soon, but the php canned tunes aren't terrible as long as you watch EGT. Since you have a manual trans, the fueling strategy is your main concern. Us auto users also have to worry about good shifting strategies within the tuning. My truck has a 6637 intake, built trans and 4" exhaust, but is otherwise stock, including the turbo wheel.

DP tuner is quickly becoming a relic as better, more flexible tuning methods have come about. The hydra is the way to go. There are plenty of tuners that use that platform and you don't have to send in your chip to have new tunes loaded onto it.

 

For a truck with stock injectors the tunes that come with the Hydra are all you really need. You can only get so much out of the stock injectors and PHP has been tuning these trucks longer than anyone else so they know how to get the most out of the stock injectors.

 

I ran PHP tunes for 3 years on my stock sticks with no issues. I went back to them for tunes when I bought my single shots (the injectors were sill running well, my o-rings started to go). I also have Gearhead tunes but am having trouble getting them dialed in. 1023, SDK, and Jelibuilt are on my short list to try down the road.

Another thing to consider is customer service too. Call and talk to them about what you want. They can answer your questions but you'll get a feel for their business and customer service so you know what you can expect if you purchase from them. You're purchasing a package deal from the vendor and some are better at it than others in each respect. You can then decide what's important to you.

I agree with 00t444e, there's only so much left to squeeze out of stock sticks. I won't say it levels the playing field but there's not a blank page for vendors to work with compared to custom setups and bigger parts (turbos, sticks, etc.). Definitely contact vendors and talk to them though. Find out what they recommend.

 

1023 now sells the Hydra with their logo on it if you prefer it over the PHP logo. I think it's a nice touch. Canned tunes will be fine, but you won't go wrong with Dusty's, Brian's, or Dan's tunes. They are all excellent. They all offer great customer service and often throw in some freebies.

 

I run the PHP Hydra canned tunes on my 02 stock injectors and exhaust with a RiffRaff billet compressor wheel. The one thing I can tell you from my experience of towing our 28 foot 5ver with the Hydra tunes is get a EGT gauge and a tranny temp gauge if your running a auto. I tried the 65 hp tow setting and found that I could not tow with it because of high EGT. I would see in excess of 1300 on any uphill or hard acceleration. I switched to the 40 hp tow tune and it works fine.
Bill

 

That's odd when I had my stock injectors I could tow a single car trailer with a car on it in the 140 tune and I would have to push it hard to see the egts get to 1200.

 

On a good hill my truck gets hot in OD depending on RPMs. If EGTs start to climb I take it out of OD and run about 2300 RPM and haven't had a problem on any of my tunes (PHP or GH).

 

You also have bigger injectors, with my current 180/80 injectors I can easlily get the egts past 1200* unloaded in the TW Extreme tune.

 

I haven't had the cajones to open 'er up with the new injectors on a performance tune with the tired driveline. Once I get the ladder bars and new u-joints installed (sometime this summer) I'll gather some empirical data.