Just bought a stock 2005 dodge Cummins 5.9L 24 valve 2500 truck. And already looking at modifications. Want to start off with a programmer. Any recommendations?

 

I have a stock 07 with 35's . I had EFI Live tuning added when I first bought this truck 2 yrs. ago . With 270K miles on it now , I wouldn't trade or sell my truck . It runs really well , pulls like a freight train and will haul *** while doing it !!! It also gets almost 20 mpg pulling my trailer up the hill at 82 mph . I would highly recommend the EFI . Just a note , I have a 6 speed manual trans. and I did have to put a SouthBend clutch in pretty soon after installing the EFI .

 

Don't rule out EGT, Trans temp, Fuel Pressure, and Boost gauges. Ya need to monitor how the programmer affects your CTD, before you blindly go too far and F*CK it up.
Its cheap insurance....

 

EFI live is for 06+
HPT or MM3 smarty custom tuning is the best option. You'll need to beef up your tranny (AT) or upgrade your clutch (MT) before getting custom tunes.

you're not getting almost 20 MPG towing a trailer up hill doing 82 MPH.

 

Yeah, Im with ya on calling BS on the "almost 20 mpg going up hill, towing a trailer at 82 mph." UNLESS, of course, youre going uphill, being pushed by 200 mph hurricane forced winds, while youre in neutral, and scared out of your wits...…...it could happen....I suppose..

 

Now Now Now guys, You will notice he did not say how big the trailer was. I might be able to get that pulling my 14' trailer.

 

This is so very true what Bigg Redd is telling you I know from experience I took the motor out of my truck got my egt too high climbing a big *** hill at Helen MT
.I run a smarty jr on sw2 (which is tow mod) it gives you extra power and torque
Yes you should do some mod to your tranny but if you dont drive like a **** you will be fine until you can afford the tranny up dates.
Diesel motor have lots of hidden power it just how much money and repair do you want to spend
My 03 dodge i have a smarty jr on SW2 with the POD at 99 .I have all three gauges with a piler mount and my tranny has a shift kit, valve body drilled out and a heavy duty torque converter.plus i run 100% syn Mobil one tranny oil
This is in Canadian dolars
smarty jr 600.00
piler with 3 gauges 400.00
tranny up grades 1300.00
Mobil 100% syn oil 120.00
AS for fuel mileage i get 28-30 driving with out my trailer at 65mph and with my 12000lb fifthwheel holiday trailer i get 12-14 mph all depends on wind and hills
Renumber guy i live in Canadian don't eat me up i am taking Canadian gallon
I drive a 2003 Dodge Ram 2wd quad cab short box with a 5.9L cummins in it

 

That is not bad fuel mileage at all. Without any trailer on mine I get around 20-22 MPG at 65 mph. I will have to see what I can do to bring it up some, but there is no way in would be able to get 20 MPG pulling any of my trailers uphill at 82 MPH, unless it was maybe a 2% grade.

 

I pull a travel trailer 34.5 ft long and right in the range of 11,800-ish pounds fully loaded, pulling with my CTD QC dually ( see my signature). I drive @ 62-65 mph while towing and I can manage 16-17 mph on flat hwy. That to me is AWESOME! I have very conservative mods. Plus my progressive water/ meth kit really helps with my MPG. I cant even imagine driving 82 mph pulling / towing anything. IMO youre just tempting fate. Chopforman, that's a pretty sweet mill in your rig. nice job! Wish mine looked that clean...or even stayed clean. Cheers!

 

Unloaded I can manage just about the same mileage as you. I don't think I can get more, as my truck is a rather heavy dually. But, I have another dually truck (see my signature) that I can only manage maybe 10 mpg, empty......MAYBE 10. Its fun to drive but its a thirsty son-of-a-buck!.