What gear should I get in my new truck I'm going to order

[Fitter48093]

I went "D1" today with a VIN# and ship date of 05/28/2014 . Hopefully I get it.

 

[tony1461571]

I have the same status my salesman said the truck would come around 7/12/14.

 

[Too Tall]

I have the 3.73 and although I only have 450 miles on my truck, I was a little disappointed on my first tow with a 4000 travel trailer. I was bucking a strong head wind but I felt it was a little sluggish. Hopefully it will get better as it gets broken in. Based on this, I'd go for the 4.10.

 

[tony1461571]

Thanks to all I did go with the 4.10. It's starting to be built now will let you all know my thoughts after my first time pulling our 2011 Forest River Sierra 5th wheel to FT Bragg.

 

[Too Tall]

Thanks to all I did go with the 4.10. It's starting to be built now will let you all know my thoughts after my first time pulling our 2011 Forest River Sierra 5th wheel to FT Bragg.

I think it is a good choice. When it comes to towing a RV, there's no such thing as over kill. The more advantage you have, the easier it'll be on engine and driver and the truck will last longer.

 

[jacknife]

ugear ratios

I would go with 3.73s you got 380 horses and 850 lbs of torque. Look at your normal towing speed and the max peak torque rpm devolped by engine . You can get those specs and use that to decide your gear ratio.These motors develop max torque at a relatively low RPM. Good luck .

 

[tony1461571]

I would go with 3.73s you got 380 horses and 850 lbs of torque. Look at your normal towing speed and the max peak torque RPM developed by engineers. You can get those specs and use that to decide your gear ratio. These motors develop max torque at a relatively low RPM. Good luck.

Too late, already ordered the 4.10 would rather have more than less anyway.

 

[RVTRKN]

Thats a good choice, after all, the six speed is perfect for the 4:10 diff, if you need pulling power and better MPG towing.

 

[SnoKing]

Unless somehow someone tows the same trailer with similar trucks, one with 3:73 and another with 4:10, it will remain a mystery as to which is best. Or maybe twins with the same trailer and slightly different trucks. Chris

 

[RVTRKN]

As an owner of two CTD, one my brother now has, with 3:73 gears and two different manual transmissions, I can say the 3:73 gears are perfect for city driving and towing up to the GCVWR. But you give up MPG while towing heavy as well as having to downshift then upshifting constantly while in rolling hills. My current C&C is used most of the time for light towing of my boat, so it works out pretty well, but when my AF 5ver is connected I really feel the 3:73, and although the truck pulls it just fine, while pulling the grades you wish you had 4:10. But that is with the manual, when the six speed autos were introduced in the 07 and later trucks, the 4:10's shouldn't feel like the truck RPM's are too high while in 6th, as they were with the 4 speed autos.

Its funny how with my manual and the 3:73's, I sometimes look for 7th while in 6th, oops! :-laf

 

[moparnut72]

I think you did the right thing. Mine, '13 DRW 4:10's Big Horn, is perfect for towing and reasonable daily driving duties. However where I live speeds are lower and lots of climbing. Also remember your 98 had 215's for tires, a lot shorter than your new truck will have. Be patient with your new truck as far as mileage goes, mine was terrible until it got a few miles on it. It is now doing quite well and is still getting better. In fact it is doing better than I expected. I am seeing 18 to 20 on the flats in the low 60's as reported by EVIC which is a bit optimistic as reported by others.

I didn't realize my truck had 4:10's when I bought it off the lot, the Window sticker was AOL. When I found it later and discovered it had the 4:10's I was bummed. When I test drove it the rpm's looked good in relation to the speed I was going. I am now very happy I that I have the lower gears.
kk

 

[tony1461571]

Thanks moparnut72 I do as well actually my 98 was 3500 DRW, and with the mods I made, it was about 345 or so HP with around 700ft lb of torque It had the smallest gear at that time.It would pull pretty well in the Mountains which we were in a lot going south each year. And when I put my Wing on the top of the truck it made a big difference in pulling, and mileage. My driving is still the same, so mountains and big hills are in my future. If you buy a 3500 DRW and think you should get great mileages you are fooling yourself. It's all in how heavy your foot is. My 98.5 was 16 years old, but pulled really great I would not be getting a new one, but for an accident in Houston, TX that totaled my it so I must upgrade poor me. Don't really want the payment I'm retired, but I'm looking forward to the new truck. And the new ones only 1 in longer 98.5 Quad Cab 20.5 ft 2014 Mega Cab 20.6ft which make me happy, it should fit in my garage.

 

[mpaulson]

In my opinion you can't go wrong with the 4.10's if you tow. I just towed for the first time last weekend to the mountains with the full load on my truck with the deck on and trailer behind and I'm very happy with the performance. I locked it in 5th gear while in the mountains and rolling foot hills portion of the drive because it would want to down shift on every climb if I didn't anyway. In 5th it climbed every hill basically without losing any speed, 110 km/hr normal speed. Once the road leveled out I ran 6th gear with no problem. I'm at 25,000# total weight with allot of wind drag with canoes and quads up at 12'10" to the top above the truck plus a 30' RV behind. I found that the power down at 1900 rpm running 6th in the mountains doesn't seem to produce the torque that I felt it should from what everyone says about this version of the Cummins but 5th puts me at 2300 rpm which is about the top for a steady cruise rpm, but has all the power I could want then and doesn't slow down for anything, not even passing my buddy with his new 5500 up hill!
the fact that Dodge jumps the tow rating substantially when you go from the 3.73 to the 4.10 says allot. Too much extra capacity never hurts and just means that you are not close to stressing the truck and it should last longer then.
You won't be sorry for the 4.10's.

 

[RVTRKN]

The easier it is to turn the rear wheels, the better the MPG.

 

[Too Tall]

agree if you are talking about the same rear axle ratio, however a lower ratio gets better mpg. Lower rpm equal better mpg. But I prefer a higher ratio for towing. Less stress on the engine and drive train.

 

[RVTRKN]

3:73 = poorer MPG towing, better MPG empty.
4:10 = better MPG towing, poorer MPG empty.

So the statement is correct, the easier it is to turn the wheels, the better the MPG, while towing. I chose/ordered 3:73 because I planned on 50/50 towing and city driving, then the economy fell through, so the truck sits unless it's towing the boat or 5ver.

 

[tony1461571]

Hey mpaulson Your 2014 is for the most part the same as the one I'm ordering except I'm getting the Mega Cab can you tell me what the GVW is for your truck.

 

[mpaulson]

hey mpaulson your 2014 is for the most part the same as the one i'm ordering except i'm getting the mega cab can you tell me what the gvw is for your truck.

14,000#, gcwr 37,000#

 

[Too Tall]

I think you did the right thing. Mine, '13 DRW 4:10's Big Horn, is perfect for towing and reasonable daily driving duties. However where I live speeds are lower and lots of climbing. Also remember your 98 had 215's for tires, a lot shorter than your new truck will have. Be patient with your new truck as far as mileage goes, mine was terrible until it got a few miles on it. It is now doing quite well and is still getting better. In fact it is doing better than I expected. I am seeing 18 to 20 on the flats in the low 60's as reported by EVIC which is a bit optimistic as reported by others.

I didn't realize my truck had 4:10's when I bought it off the lot, the Window sticker was AOL. When I found it later and discovered it had the 4:10's I was bummed. When I test drove it the rpm's looked good in relation to the speed I was going. I am now very happy I that I have the lower gears.
kk

I'm facing the same thing now. I've got 600 miles on the truck and just found out that I have a 3.42 thanks to the Chrysler Vin checker site. I was mislead when I bought it as the salesman told me it was a 3.73. They took the sticker off and as you said, it was AOL. I think it's going to work out well however as I don't tow but about 5000 lbs. The sales manager said we could work something out but I don't see a Laramie within 500 miles of here. Apparently, dealers are ordering the 3.42 option.

 

[RVTRKN]

Its being forced on the dealers because of COLA, in late 2013 early 2014 it was hard to find anything other than the 3:42, and the dealers replies were they could order the 4:10, that it was now available. Of coarse, was it true, don't know, salesmen!