Opinions wanted on 3.73 vs 4.10

[sangell]

I know this is beat to death here but I have been reading threads from th esearch all day.

I am about to trade off my 02 2500 HO 3. 54 for an 03 3500 dually HO 6spd 3. 73. The truck has a small work trailer (3500lbs) behind it every week day and for about 8k highway miles a year has about 8k (one Jeep, heavy 20' trailer and allot of gear) behind it. I would like to be able to get a goose neck and haul two Jeeps. The trailers I have been looking at with the two Jeeps will be about 13k to 14k for those 8K a year . I know with the 3. 73s I will be over GCWR and with the 4. 10s I would not be. I would prefer to not have the 4. 10s but I would like to be legal and under warranty. So for the limited amount of heavy towing I will be doing what do you all think would be the better set up?



Thank you



Scott





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[RustyJC]

Scott,



You'll have plenty of people here advise you either way, but it all boils down to a choice you have to make. How important is it to you for legal, warranty and other reasons to operate within the manufacturer's GVWR and GCWR ratings? If this is critically important, go with the 4. 10's. If not, go with the 3. 73's.



In our case, we ordered our truck to keep us within all ratings when towing our 5th wheel (10,380 GVW versus 10,500 GVWR; 21,180 GCW versus 21,500 GCWR). Had we ordered the 3. 54's, we would be significantly over the 20,000 GCWR.



Good luck whichever way you go.



Rusty

 

[juicedcummins]

I was messing around with an 03 last week and didn't see anything at all about the gears affecting the GCWR anymore. {maybe missed it}. I looked long and hard the only dif was the SO with the auto, good for of the top of my head 21k. The stick and the 48re in the high-output are good for 23k. I may have put the cart ahead of the horse these #'s are for a 3500 single wheel.

 

[GAmes]

GCWR

For the record, no one has ever come up with any law that makes it illegal to exceed the manufacturesers GCWR. Warranty coverage may suffer if you tear up the truck (which I doubt would happen) but there is no standard, federal or otherwise, that sets what a trucks GCWR can be. I'd go with the 3. 73s.

 

[RustyJC]

Re: GCWR

Originally posted by GAmes

For the record, no one has ever come up with any law that makes it illegal to exceed the manufacturesers GCWR. Warranty coverage may suffer if you tear up the truck (which I doubt would happen) but there is no standard, federal or otherwise, that sets what a trucks GCWR can be.

The legal risk relates to tort law in the event of an accident, not DOT or state licensing statutes.



Rusty

 

[sangell]

Thank you all for your advice, I went ahead with the 3. 73 geared truck. 99% of the time 3. 73 will be what I need and I only own one Jeep but it is a friend of mine that owns the other and would be buying the gooseneck so we could haul two Jeeps. I will leave it up to him to find a trailer light enough for our needs or get his own tow rig. If you go to www.dodge.com and then look at the trailer tow section it sates the DRW 3500 HO 6spd with 3. 73 gears GCWR as 21K and 23K with the 4. 10s. MY biggest cocern is if I was to wreck the truck and I was over weight I would be out a truck, trailer, and two Jeeps.



Thank you



Scott

 

[parcher]

What terrain will you towing over? Here in the north east I've heard numerically low gear ratios refered to as "prarie gearing". If you are not routinely towing over the rockies, I think 3. 73's will be fine.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Prairie gearing eh, well OK but just look out for any of my kin folk

 

[sangell]

I will make one trip across and back across the Rockies but the rest will be in the mostly flat.



Scott

 

[RoryTek]

You know you can always go with a gear splitter. If you had gone with the 4:10's get an overdrive unit, now that you have 3:73's get and underdrive.

My 1/2 cent. Have fun