Driving a 2011 HO

[Schumacher]

I have been driving my 2011 HO, 3500, drw, crew cab,4x4, auto,for a week now. I,m not overly excited about the power over my signature truck. Maybe after it brakes in a bit, it will come into its power.



I went to 3 different dealers trying to get a max tow (4. 10) gears, but the only way to get the HO in a drw is with 3. 73. When they typed in 4. 10 it would switch to a srw. So I ended up with 3. 73s and a HO. Which brings up 3 questions.



1) Is the 3. 73s a production change for the HO



2)Do I really need 4. 10s for a 6-8k trailer, may go as high as 10-12k (daily) and a cgvw of 18k on weekends (camper and offroad 4runner w/trailer)



3) Will the Sonnex line pressure booster help with the 3. 73s and will it show up in a dealer scan.



Thank you for your input. I value TDR member opinions

 

[Kry226]

I have been driving my 2011 HO, 3500, drw, crew cab,4x4, auto,for a week now. I,m not overly excited about the power over my signature truck. Maybe after it brakes in a bit, it will come into its power.



I went to 3 different dealers trying to get a max tow (4. 10) gears, but the only way to get the HO in a drw is with 3. 73. When they typed in 4. 10 it would switch to a srw. So I ended up with 3. 73s and a HO. Which brings up 3 questions.



1) Is the 3. 73s a production change for the HO



This is the first year for an HO since 2004. 3. 73 and 4. 10 were available with the HO in 2004. Cannot really call it a "production change," per se, though I do not know why 4. 10 wouldn't be available with the 2011 HO.



2)Do I really need 4. 10s for a 6-8k trailer, may go as high as 10-12k (daily) and a cgvw of 18k on weekends (camper and offroad 4runner w/trailer)



Assuming you're staying under your GCVW and with 800 ft lbs, I don't think you need 4. 10s. I think 4. 10s really shine with bigger tires as they give you a bit more wiggle room with keeping RPMs in the sweet spot.



3) Will the Sonnex line pressure booster help with the 3. 73s and will it show up in a dealer scan.



???



Thank you for your input. I value TDR member opinions

Thoughts in red above.

 

[macdaddy]

800 LB FT and only 18K combined?



Your good to go if you dont mind hauling at or near 70 mph.



The 4:10. 1's are better for towing any weight due to putting the CTD in int's sweet spot. Old subject.



However if you are driving allot of non hauling road trips the 3:73,1's are the hot set up.



Mac

 

[Mhannink]

3. 73's will be just fine i know with my truck if i had 3. 54's which i want puling 6% grades at 20+ gcw i would pull in 4th which puts me in the sweet spot and is better for the trans mine is a manual. i like the taller gearing cause even with a trailer on flat ground you can run low rpm and just cruise and get good mileage, and its ok and probably even best to downshift on the big grades and then the rear gears dont really matter.

 

[RustyJC]

3. 73's will be just fine i know with my truck if i had 3. 54's which i want puling 6% grades at 20+ gcw i would pull in 4th which puts me in the sweet spot and is better for the trans mine is a manual. i like the taller gearing cause even with a trailer on flat ground you can run low rpm and just cruise and get good mileage, and its ok and probably even best to downshift on the big grades and then the rear gears dont really matter.

The 68RFE in the 6. 7L trucks is a double overdrive transmission - 5th and 6th gears are both overdrive with 4th being 1:1 or direct. That means that, even with the 4. 10s, my truck is only turning 1612 RPM @ 60 MPH in 6th (as opposed to my 2002 ETH/DEE dually that ran 2000 RPM @ 60 MPH with 4. 10s). With 3. 73 gears, 60 MPH equals 1466 RPM in 6th which means that, if you tow heavy, you'll be spending a LOT of time in 5th or even 4th. That's why towing capacities are significantly higher with the 4. 10s than the 3. 73s in the new trucks.



Rusty

 

[macdaddy]

The 68RFE in the 6. 7L trucks is a double overdrive transmission - 5th and 6th gears are both overdrive with 4th being 1:1 or direct. That means that, even with the 4. 10s, my truck is only turning 1612 RPM @ 60 MPH in 6th (as opposed to my 2002 ETH/DEE dually that ran 2000 RPM @ 60 MPH with 4. 10s). With 3. 73 gears, 60 MPH equals 1466 RPM in 6th which means that, if you tow heavy, you'll be spending a LOT of time in 5th or even 4th. That's why towing capacities are significantly higher with the 4. 10s than the 3. 73s in the new trucks.



Rusty

Excellent post.



Mac

 

[CUMMINZ]

I know one of you have it all figured out on paper!!!



With 3. 73 in 5th or 4. 10 in 6th the 4. 10 will generally outperform the 3. 73. Due to the rear gear the 4. 10 will spoolup faster that the 3. 73 in 5th.

 

[Mhannink]

The 68RFE in the 6. 7L trucks is a double overdrive transmission - 5th and 6th gears are both overdrive with 4th being 1:1 or direct. That means that, even with the 4. 10s, my truck is only turning 1612 RPM @ 60 MPH in 6th (as opposed to my 2002 ETH/DEE dually that ran 2000 RPM @ 60 MPH with 4. 10s). With 3. 73 gears, 60 MPH equals 1466 RPM in 6th which means that, if you tow heavy, you'll be spending a LOT of time in 5th or even 4th. That's why towing capacities are significantly higher with the 4. 10s than the 3. 73s in the new trucks.



Rusty

i know it a little apples to organes however personally i like towing with taller rear gears and use lower trans gears to get the overall gearing right for conditions. so with 3. 73's empty leave it in 6 towing if on really flat ground like i often am being in the central ca valley i would tow most everywhere like that. once i started pulling the grades i would be downshifting to 4th since thats the most effiecent and strongest point in any trans.



if i could set up a truck like i wanted it would have a 2. xx gears or low 3's with a 5 or maybe 6 speed trans that was direct drive. with the rpms at say 70 being 2k and a 31 to 33 inch tire. they have and sometimes still do this in the big trucks and it nets better mpg and lower wear and tear while still pulling grades decent.

 

[EGroeneveld]

I ordered my truck with the 4. 10 gears and I am very happy that I did. I have a 5k slide in camper PLUS an enclosed trailer that gets me close to 20k total combined weight My 2011 with the 4. 10 gears turns the same RPM as the 2005 with 3. 73 gears at 70 MPH and tows with much more power then the 2005 thanks to more gears in the transmission and a stronger engine.

 

[jaird]

I ordered my truck with the 4. 10 gears and I am very happy that I did. I have a 5k slide in camper PLUS an enclosed trailer that gets me close to 20k total combined weight My 2011 with the 4. 10 gears turns the same RPM as the 2005 with 3. 73 gears at 70 MPH and tows with much more power then the 2005 thanks to more gears in the transmission and a stronger engine.

Is your truck an HO? The OP stated he could not get 4. 10 ratio with the HO Max Tow. I thought 4. 10 ratio was required with the HO Max Tow???

 

[RustyJC]

I thought 4. 10 ratio was required with the HO Max Tow???

That's what all the announcement hoopla said when the 350/800 was introduced. The 4. 10s have always been required to maximize GCWR and trailer tow ratings.



Rusty

 

[Wertles]

The max tow is only available in a 3500 dually with 4. 10's. That is the combination to get to the 30K rating hence the name Max Tow. The HO motor is not the Max tow package. It is now the stock motor for all 2500 and 3500 auto's regardless of the gearing and tow ratings will be adjusted accordingly. The HO motor and max tow package are 2 different things.

 

[EGroeneveld]

Is your truck an HO? The OP stated he could not get 4. 10 ratio with the HO Max Tow. I thought 4. 10 ratio was required with the HO Max Tow???

I have an early 2011 truck. Order Friday after Thanksgiving and it showed up at the dealer 01/04/2011. ABout 3 months later the announcement came up about the 800 pounds of torque upgraded motor and tow max package. sigh... ... ... . Been a great truck, just knowing thought that their is a 'better' one so soon hurts.

 

[RustyJC]

Been a great truck, just knowing thought that their is a 'better' one so soon hurts.

I know the feeling. We ordered ours on August 5 and picked it up on September 11, 2010. :{



Rusty

 

[jaird]

I have an early 2011 truck. Order Friday after Thanksgiving and it showed up at the dealer 01/04/2011. ABout 3 months later the announcement came up about the 800 pounds of torque upgraded motor and tow max package. sigh... ... ... . Been a great truck, just knowing thought that their is a 'better' one so soon hurts.

OUCH. I know that hurts.

 

[Schumacher]

As I stated in the original post, I got a 2011 HO with 3. 73 auto. I wanted 4. 10's but at 3different dealers I was told you can't get the HO w/4. 10. I explained the max tow has the 350/800 with 4. 10's not 3. 73. They tried ordering with 4. 10's but it would kick out the drw to a srw. Did anyone else have this problem?

 

[HBarlow]

There could be a minor programming error in the Ram software dealer's use for ordering trucks or it could have been a situation where the dealers want to sell what they have on the lot instead of ordering a special truck and lie to the prospective buyer.

If I wanted an HO I would wait until the issue was resolved or find a dealer who could order what I wanted.