Are HO Cummins falling out of favor for SO for "22 3500?

[jkempken]

Why did you buy a 3500? Maybe not necessary in your circumstance... the 2500 would have been a nicer-riding truck.

One word Payload. 2500 limited mega cab diesel with sunroof and ram boxes would have been about 1700-1800 lbs. Add 4 guys to the truck, all our gear, and trailer tongue weight and we are right at the "legal" payload capacity. Heck, my current truck has around 3800 lbs. payload I believe and has 2300 more GVWR (12,300 vs 10,000).

 

[gimmie11s]

One word Payload. 2500 limited mega cab diesel with sunroof and ram boxes would have been about 1700-1800 lbs. Add 4 guys to the truck, all our gear, and trailer tongue weight and we are right at the "legal" payload capacity. Heck, my current truck has around 3800 lbs. payload I believe and has 2300 more GVWR (12,300 vs 10,000).

Ah, gotcha. But no need for that payload with your tow requirements, right?

Peace of mind i guess.

 

[jkempken]

Ah, gotcha. But no need for that payload with your tow requirements, right?

Peace of mind i guess.

I would rather have the capability and not need it than need the capability and not have it. There was zero cost difference to go 3500 vs 2500 and honestly the ride isn't that bad in my opinion and I plan to put some Thuren suspension components on it anyway in the next year.

 

[gimmie11s]

I would rather have the capability and not need it than need the capability and not have it. There was zero cost difference to go 3500 vs 2500 and honestly the ride isn't that bad in my opinion and I plan to put some Thuren suspension components on it anyway in the next year.

Makes total sense... nice truck!

 

[Nd79]

Another upside to the HO is I'd imagine it has better resale possibly

 

[Brutal_HO]

Another upside to the HO is I'd imagine it has better resale possibly

I looked high and low for a decent low mileage used HO/AISIN truck before I decided to order one.

 

[Brewbud]

I looked high and low for a decent low mileage used HO/AISIN truck before I decided to order one.

I found a lot of HO 3500s around. The hard ones to find for me were SO 3500s.

 

[Scooter29]

3500 SO here, the 68rfe doesn’t scare me as I’m not tuning my truck or towing max capacity. Engine will stay stock and I’ll daily drive it when I need to otherwise it works great hauling my truck camper and towing a flatbed trailer with sxs and kids quads. And I know if I ended up with a 5th wheel it would tow it fine. This last week is my first time driving to work everyday and I’m probably averaging 19mpg vs the computer of 20.5mpg 60-70mph on the freeway.

 

[gpattikjr]

How does the 68 do with light/medium plowing? Our 5500 asin dump at work plows effortlessly. However it shifts like I'm double clutching manual schoolbus until third gear when unloaded.

 

[Brutal_HO]

How does the 68 do with light/medium plowing? Our 5500 asin dump at work plows effortlessly. However it shifts like I'm double clutching manual schoolbus until third gear when unloaded.

What year 5500?

Does it have the latest updates?

 

[gpattikjr]

What year 550?

Does it have the latest updates?

16? and most definitely not. I know that's most of its shifting issue unloaded. It only has 3k miles of pushing snow or hauling snow. It does that great.

Im looking at building a 3500 mega or 2500 cclb for my personal usage.

 

[unclelala]

Not quite sure if this applies here but after following the advice of Brutal to break in / train the Aisin by putting the truck in tow mode and full exhaust break I turned them off yesterday and I didn't like it at all so I turned on the full exhaust break and it was better but I'm so used to them both on.
I prefer them both on especially driving around town and it slows down way better with less braking so I guess my question is can I permanently leave the tow mode and exhaust break on without fubaring the truck?

 

[agtcovert]

Man the Aisin gets a lot of shade. I love the way it drives. I already have some performance mods done and it took the Aisin about 1000 miles to relearn with the higher power levels but it's smooth and firm shifting now. Maybe I'm just weird for liking it lol.

Transmission service is no big deal to me. I do the work and they make it real easy with a dip stick and a drain plug.



^ parts are easy to find for both. Just gotta know where to look.

I have to agree, I actually like how the Aisin shifts compared to the 68RFE. There's little to no flare, the shifts feel good and firm. 1st gear can be 'clunky', but the ratio of 1st gear between the AS69 and 68RFE is decently significant, and if you're on the throttle, you can feel a bit of the defuel. But moving from 2-3 and forward, it's smiles. For me anyway.

 

[GPurcell01]

I have to agree, I actually like how the Aisin shifts compared to the 68RFE. There's little to no flare, the shifts feel good and firm. 1st gear can be 'clunky', but the ratio of 1st gear between the AS69 and 68RFE is decently significant, and if you're on the throttle, you can feel a bit of the defuel. But moving from 2-3 and forward, it's smiles. For me anyway.

Yup! What helped a lot with 1-2 shift and 2-3 is the fact that I now have 37" tires. Made a huge difference smoothing out the first few shifts thanks to the changes in effective gear ratios.

Shift flare never really seems to be an issue for me either. If I putt putt around town with easy driving for a few days, I get some flare when getting on it. However, goes away quickly when I'm back to hammering down. The Aisin is always adjusting to driving habits.

I was specifically told to drive it decently hard to remove any flare between shifts. So far I have seen that to be very true. Hence why most guys say it shifts much better after towing.

 

[gpattikjr]

I still cant make up my mind on either. I'll only be towing a 5k boat and a 10k camper.

 

[GPurcell01]

I still cant make up my mind on either. I'll only be towing a 5k boat and a 10k camper.

I have the ability to jump between a '21 2500 SO and my '21 3500 HO. You can feel the power difference easily and I prefer the Aisin. That's my personal preference anyways. The HO also feels less taxed getting up to speed or doing anything really.

The 2500 easily gets better fuel economy though. The 68rfe is very smooth.

Both have the same performance mods too. So it is still apples to apples.

 

[agtcovert]

I still cant make up my mind on either. I'll only be towing a 5k boat and a 10k camper.

For those weights, SO w/ 68 is fine. If you have any future plans of towing larger, I'd just skip right to the Aisin. You'll definitely see better fuel mileage on an SO if that's a thing for you. Even an SRW HO uses more (having recently 'upgraded'). My impression is that when 4.5 gen's came out, the tuning on the Aisin wasn't great, saw a lot of complaints at that time. I think at this point, 21-22 tuning has dialed in pretty well. Like I said, I was expecting the AIsin to be something I dealt with due to my plans and I've found I like it far better than I did my 68, even for daily driving. I do have a PedalMonster on mine and I like it a lot. Don't have to mash the pedal to get the response I want.

For me, I was in the 'rather have it and not need it' arena with our camper plans. (Watch, a year from now I'll want a dually, but I digress).

 

[gimmie11s]

Like I said, I was expecting the AIsin to be something I dealt with due to my plans and I've found I like it far better than I did my 68, even for daily driving. I do have a PedalMonster on mine and I like it a lot. Don't have to mash the pedal to get the response I want.

This has been my experience as well. I prefer the way the Aisin truck drives vs my 2016 68rfe.

 

[gpattikjr]

For those weights, SO w/ 68 is fine. If you have any future plans of towing larger, I'd just skip right to the Aisin. You'll definitely see better fuel mileage on an SO if that's a thing for you. Even an SRW HO uses more (having recently 'upgraded'). My impression is that when 4.5 gen's came out, the tuning on the Aisin wasn't great, saw a lot of complaints at that time. I think at this point, 21-22 tuning has dialed in pretty well. Like I said, I was expecting the AIsin to be something I dealt with due to my plans and I've found I like it far better than I did my 68, even for daily driving. I do have a PedalMonster on mine and I like it a lot. Don't have to mash the pedal to get the response I want.

For me, I was in the 'rather have it and not need it' arena with our camper plans. (Watch, a year from now I'll want a dually, but I digress).

I tried looking into the mpg differences but they are all over the place, some are 5mpg diff some are 1. Either will be better mpg than what i have now. Honestly getting the HO will push me down to a bighorn which i think is where i want to be anyway.

 

[TWILLIAMS9]

By wanting a 1 ton truck, it sounds as if you either outgrew a 3/4, or simply want the most that a "light" duty truck has to offer.

In that case, why would anyone want the SO in a 1 ton? Fleet vehicle maybe? SO makes sense if you buy a 2500, but in my not so humble opinion, if youre buying a 3500, youre wanting a max-effort light duty truck and in that case--you must go HO.

HO does not disappoint and neither does the Aisin.

I’ll give ya a reason. In my application the aisin doesn’t do much for me 98% of the time. I have a 3500 because of a 5th wheel at 16,000 lbs with a 3800 pin weight. We camp roughly 6-8 times per year. Everything else is just commuting and doing daily chores. Why would I spend $3K more for the aisin? I also hated how it defuels to shift. The 68rfe gave me a much smoother shifting truck that still handles my heaviest application with ease. If I towed heavy all the time then that’s a different story. SO works for me much better.