3500 ho diesel trans

[JFR Johnny]

Im looking at getting a 2022 3500 ho diesel. Heard the trans isn't all that great in earlier years. Wonder if anyone has the new and how it it. Harsh shifting. Will be my daily driver. And tow 5th wheel all summer. Thanks.

 

[Billet Bee]

Im looking at getting a 2022 3500 ho diesel. Heard the trans isn't all that great in earlier years. Wonder if anyone has the new and how it it. Harsh shifting. Will be my daily driver. And tow 5th wheel all summer. Thanks.

Are you going to be heavy hauling?

 

[JFR Johnny]

Are you going to be heavy hauling?

Not that heavy. 2200 pin weight and 15.000 total

 

[Billet Bee]

Not that heavy. 2200 pin weight and 15.000 total

I wouldn't recommend the aisin for you then, especially as a daily driver. I've had both aisin and rfe and both made us happy but we went to tge aisin because we haul heavy. The aisin is meant to haul weight and its a fuel pig, the rfe is way better on fuel as a daily driver and can very easily haul your weight.

 

[tjfdesmo]

It's a love/hate thing. The Aisin is as tough as nails, but definitely unrefined in operation. If you plan on towing heavy, I'd still get the HO/Aisin, and learn to live with its quirks. Mine still has the harsh 2-1 slam shift, and when pulling heavy gets a seriously annoying shudder on the 2-3 upshift. I mean "shake you out of the seat" shudder. If not, the SO Cummins gets better MPG, and the 68RFE is OK, as long as you drive it like a truck, not a hotrod. If you are not in a hurry(big IF)it may be worth waiting until they show their hand for 2023. At some point they really need to move past the Aisin and the RFE, and the sooner the better, IMHO.

 

[JFR Johnny]

I wouldn't recommend the aisin for you then, especially as a daily driver. I've had both aisin and rfe and both made us happy but we went to tge aisin because we haul heavy. The aisin is meant to haul weight and its a fuel pig, the rfe is way better on fuel as a daily driver and can very easily haul your weight.

Is the RFE trans reliable for towing. I liked the 1075 torque # of the HO

 

[Billet Bee]

Is the RFE trans reliable for towing. I liked the 1075 torque # of the HO

It was for us. We only had a 2500 with rfe and we full time rv and hauled 15k fiver all over the u.s without issue, it pulled great and was very good on fuel when not towing, the aisin is never good on full, it's meant for one thing and that's wht we bought it as we haul a 27k fiver now. Like i said we've owned both and enjoyed both but wouldn't have a aisin if it weren't for the weight. When empty our rfe *** getting double the fuel mileage that our aisin gets.

 

[John Jensen]

Johnny,
Everything said above is good advice.

I pull a 9800lb RV trailer and love my Aisin, the only medium duty tranny on the market of HD pickups. I don't experience any "quirks" or "slam" shifts. It's just starting to break in at 6500 miles, and I'm getting 18mpg empty and 12.5 towing. There's no way a 68RFE will "double" that. My brother has a 2016 Aisin, and he gets 18.20mpg, sometimes 22. I don't expect that from my Aisin as the 2020 has more horsepower and a larger turbo. For me MPG is a mute subject as I bought it for its power.

Not wanting to start an argument, just want to give my Aisin experience - it's all good, and it performs as advertised, daily driving or towing.

Buy what you want, or you'll be sorry later. Like you, I probably don't need an Aisin, but I went for it because it's the strongest tranny of them all, plus I wanted an HO.

 

[Firebird]

Is the RFE trans reliable for towing. I liked the 1075 torque # of the HO

I've had 5 rfe trucks, and never an issue in any of them

 

[ALRedneck]

Is the RFE trans reliable for towing. I liked the 1075 torque # of the HO

I’m on my 3rd rfe and I’ve had any problems. My 2021 rfe is the smoothest HD transmission I’ve owned so far(have had all of the Big 3 in HD trucks). Never owned an Aisin so can’t compare.

 

[RobHanshew]

It's a love/hate thing. The Aisin is as tough as nails, but definitely unrefined in operation. If you plan on towing heavy, I'd still get the HO/Aisin, and learn to live with its quirks. Mine still has the harsh 2-1 slam shift, and when pulling heavy gets a seriously annoying shudder on the 2-3 upshift. I mean "shake you out of the seat" shudder. If not, the SO Cummins gets better MPG, and the 68RFE is OK, as long as you drive it like a truck, not a hotrod. If you are not in a hurry(big IF)it may be worth waiting until they show their hand for 2023. At some point they really need to move past the Aisin and the RFE, and the sooner the better, IMHO.

I have a 2018 Ram 3500, 6.7, Aisin transmission and experience the same issues on shuddering transmission like your truck does. Hopefully Ram will figure out how to smooth out the shifting pattern for a better ride.

 

[papaPhil2022]

I just picked up my 2022 Cummins HO 3500 with the Aisin tranny and drove to Florida from upstate NY. It has 2350 miles on it right now. Pulled a 14k pound 5th wheel.
The tranny will “shift hard” occasionally, usually when I am idling through a parking lot or going slow.

The mileage before I was towing was about 15. Which was better than the Hemi 2500 I traded for the 3500.

Towing in the mountains of PA I got 13ish but most of that was at 40mph because of the weather.

On the flats of SC, GA and FL I get 14.

I am so happy with this truck and it’s features.

 

[RamGuy110]

I've owned multiple 68rfe Rams used for commercial towing and never had any trouble with them. Its getting dated though.

 

[2ndA732]

FWIW I have the 68rfe in my 2018 2500 with about 68k and experience some hard shifts. I had the dealer reset some electronic gizmo in the transmission and it helped a tad. I didn't use to have these as much and hardly haul my travel trailer around. I'm looking at a 3500 with aisin. Is it overkill for me? you bet. But so are alot of other things. We buy what we want.

 

[Billet Bee]

I just picked up my 2022 Cummins HO 3500 with the Aisin tranny and drove to Florida from upstate NY. It has 2350 miles on it right now. Pulled a 14k pound 5th wheel.
The tranny will “shift hard” occasionally, usually when I am idling through a parking lot or going slow.

The mileage before I was towing was about 15. Which was better than the Hemi 2500 I traded for the 3500.

Towing in the mountains of PA I got 13ish but most of that was at 40mph because of the weather.

On the flats of SC, GA and FL I get 14.

I am so happy with this truck and it’s features.

14k trailer ain't even half loaded for that beast

 

[68PowerWagon]

I've owned multiple 68rfe Rams used for commercial towing and never had any trouble with them. Its getting dated though.

Yeah where the crap is this new transmission that was supposed to come out like a year ago?!? I got tired of waiting so I am going to start working on the local dealers for a built 3500.

 

[Sstoner911]

I have owned a 2017 68RFE, 2019 3500 HO, 2021 SO 3500 and now a 2022 HO 3500.

The 2022 HO I feel is a better mannered AISIN Than the 2019 when towing with the down shift with Tow Haul and the Exhaust Brake on.

In town unloaded is about the same. The 2019 did better after a TSB they had on the trans.

As for towing weights I buy the truck I like and it never hurts to have more capability than you need....

After driving the HO I did feel a noticeable difference in the SO.. Not that the SO wasn't capable...but it was like going from a Limited Trim to a Tradesman...

 

[Cummins diesel]

I know what you mean about power. I went from a tuned 2015 3500 HO to a stock 2015 SO and it’s a pretty major power difference.

 

[Vijo]

2021 -- 2500 and my 68RFE took a dump at 9K miles. Was at the dealer for 6 weeks. They tore it apart 3 times with the last being what they called a "rebuild". Not sure what that really means but I understood it as "we are throwing everything on the wall to see what sticks" the 3rd try was the last before we swap out the transmission for a new one. The reason was a hard shift from 1 to 2 which started at about 8k. I am looking to trade-in for a 3500 HO just because I don't trust the 68RFE but I really don't need it. I don't do over 15K.

It is well documented that many people get lots of miles out of them but the same can be said for those who have had transmissions fail before 100k which IMO is totally unacceptable for a medium-duty work truck. The transmission should be able to go at least as long as the engine. As it stands, not even a miracle would make that happen when mating it with the Cummins.

 

[Dfleck65]

2021 3500 HO pulling a 202114.5k 5er.

We live in Colorado and pull mountain passes on almost every trip. We traded up from a v10 2500. There is no comparison. The v10 had hard trans shifts constantly (never pulled this weight but around 10k) and the Aisin is amazing. Yes, sometimes it shifts hard, but does not downshift constantly and pulls the passes at the speed limit. Combined with the exhaust brake we ride down the passes with minimal use of braking.

We just passed 4100 miles and got 21.6mpg going to Pagosa Springs and back (not towing).

100% believer in the HO/Aisin combo.