Tow Ratings For 3rd Gen

[dzldpatriot]

Thinking about trading up for an '05 3500 drw. Don't want to talk to a salesman yet... . I'm looking at the auto trans. What is the tow rating with the 3:73's and 4:10's? The 6 spds are hard to find, would like to think I could swing a deal on one that has been sitting on their lot for a while. Its loaded with an auto & 3:73's lsd. Any other thoughts? My trailer weight is only around 9k, but want some wiggle room if I move up in a few years :-laf Just curious, thanks in advance.

 

[dzldpatriot]

Ooops, forgot to add... . been looking at 2wd. Thanks.

 

[Bertram65]

4. 10s are the only gear to have with auto, off the line is great, highway speed puts the RPMs right were they should be.

 

[Fireman]

I agree with Bertram. Drive one before you decide.



Fireman

 

[Dieselnerd]

I agree on the 4:10 with the automatic. My 3500 LWB 4x4 SRW with auto has a tow rating of 15,750#. The 3500 DRW has the tow rating reduced by the weight of the extra wheels. Any of the 3500 trucks with 4:10 have a gross combination weight rating of 23,000#, to get allowable trailer weight just weigh the truck set up to tow and subtract from 23K.

 

[macdaddy]

Get the BIG guy and be done with it.

Always get more truck than you need. There are countless threads where members have bought SRW's or 3:73's and wished they would have gone all the way with the DRW 4:10's.

Look at my truck and trailer combo in my sig, and you will clearly see I didn't need a DRW or 4:10's. I believe when going to Las Vegas go all the way and not stop in Barstow (there's no gambling there!!).

That being said the DRW offers unmatched stability, and the 4:10's offer superior acceleration when loaded.



Two pennies worth.



Mac

 

[mpwalker]

Since I am on the road right now, do not remember or have access to the tow ratings on my truck, but I can help as far as experience with the setup you are looking at. My truck is a 2005, 3500, dually with the 3. 73, LB and auto transmission with 19,000 miles on it all but 3,000 miles of that is towing a 14,000lb (loaded weight) 5iver and it has done everything asked of it and done it well. Some of that milage is up and down the mountains with most of the driving done without using tow/haul gear, in fact the only time I have used the tow/haul gear is for braking when going down the mountain. My average speed is 62 miles per hour and it tows 95% of the time without ever down shifting. Finally after owning serveral Dodge's this is by far the most impressive of them all. Good luck with your purchase. PS: I have had the the radiator replaced under warranty after a oil change guy tightened the drain plug to tight and stripped the threads and the rubber molding around both front doors due to excessive wear/tearing when opening and closing the doors. Oh yes I have a transfer flow in the bed tool box/aux fuel tank. Hope all this helps.

 

[mpwalker]

More infor on the dually 3500 with the 3. 73, I forgot to add that my fuel milage on the current trip with 3,950 miles so far is 11. 64 at average speed of 62 miles per hour, the trip computers shows 12. 5 miles per gallon. Needless to say I am happy with that at 19,000 miles on the truck.

 

[mpwalker]

Op's forgot to add that my truck is 2wd.

 

[Eric_77]

I have always had the highway gears and had no problem at all with up to and way over GCVW (as much as 5k over) these 3rd gen trucks just move out no matter the load. Most loads are at 22k-24k on 3rd gen and 19-21 on 2nd gen 1st gen has been retired as a tow vehicle.



Now if I was towing more than I do (I average about 33%) and in the mountains I would consider the 4. 10 gears. If you like me are mainly flat lands or less than 50% towing the 3. 73 should be more than enough towing and the reduced engine noise and fuel consumption is a +

 

[Bertram65]

Must be something wrong with my truck, I have very little power below 2000RPM, fine on the flats forget it on the hills, and I am only towing around 9k lbs. Above 2000 rpm it pulls great, with the 4. 10s I am around 65 at 2000 rpm, if I get in slower traffic I have to drop out of OD if a good hill comes up.

 

[Kirwin]

Towing with a 3rd gen

My observations. The 3rd gen engines like to run at or above 2000 RPMs for the best power. They are not nearly as noisy at the higher RPM like the second gen trucks were. My trucks are both manuals, but locked in OD you will have a taller overall gear ratio that I do so here goes: at 62 MPH my 03 Dually is only turning 1850 RPMs. This is OK on the flat lands but when the truck comes to a hill, even some overpasses the cruise will open the throttle nearly wide open to try to maintain speed. The truck is much happier and more responsive if your get RPMs up to near 2000 which is about 70 MPH in my truck. Now I don't mind towing at 70 MPH IF traffic conditions allow it, but that isn't the case on I-95 very often. This is less of an issue with the TST fueling box as the truck has a lot more power on tap, however you still get this hugh surge and the associated speed overshoot as the cruise unit tries to maintain speed due to a very powerful truck with a computer that cannot anticipate the hills very well! :-laf My truck and trailer combination weigh 20K on the nose, so you can use that as a comparison. I would hold out for the 4:10 if I were going to get a auto. If I were to do the manual transmission over again it would also be have the 4:10 rear end ratio. My opinion is the you can't tell the difference pulling 20K as far as fuel mileage with the 4:10 ratio vs the 3. 73. Now if you were going to do a lot of long distance empty running around on the interstate with just the truck my opinion might be different. But for pulling big trailers go with the 4:10 ESPECIALLY if you are going to be pulling with an automatic transmission.

 

[pcarlson]

3. 73 and 4. 10 = same GCWR.

 

[Kirwin]

Gcwr

According to Dodge's Towing Guide, for 2005 all 3500 diesel trucks have a GCWR of either 21K with the 3. 73 ratio and 23K with the 4. 10 ratio. I'm not sure if anything changed with the introduction of the G-56 transmission other than the 4. 10 is supposedly unavailable with the G-56. Ken Irwin

 

[SSage]

I've ran 22K plus with mine and the power is better than expected. Drop under 2,000 rpm or much under 70 mph and it won't pull the hills in OD. 60 mph in third produces to much rpm for me. The 4. 10 / 48RE is a great fast towing combination in the dually. I run 2000 to 2300 rpm while loaded getting 11. 3 to 12. 1 mpg running between Alabama and Georgia on 20. 70 mph is the speed limit here, the combo is great loaded. I don't think I would like the 3. 73 unless I had a bombed engine and trans that produced more torque.

 

[DPelletier]

3. 73 and 4. 10 = same GCWR.

Since when?

The 4:10 trucks have always had a higher GCWR. GVWR is the same, however.



Dave

 

[pcarlson]

Dave,



Your right they are not the same on the 3500's. I used a printout I got from the dealer last month when I was looking at the 3500. The printouts were supposed to be for a auto w/3. 73 and auto with 4. 10's, however looking at the printouts today they are both for 4. 10's. That is why I said 23000 for both.



It didn't seem right at the time and of course it wasn't. I just didn't read it close enough until Ken posted the 21k and 23k, and it just goes to show you ask for one thing and get another.



Sorry for the bad dope... ... .

 

[DPelletier]

No problem, just checking to make sure they didn't change something on the new ones unbeknownst to me.



Cheers,

Dave

 

[Kirwin]

G56 question

Is the G56 available with the 3. 73 ratio only or the 4. 10 only? I'm still trying to figure out if my post above is incorrect. If it has a . 79 OD it would seem that you would want it with the 3. 73.

 

[klenger]

G56 is available with the 3. 73's only. Because of the numerically lower 6th gear compared to the NV5600, the final drive ratio is effectively the same as the NV5600 with 4. 10's.