Which gears, 4:10 or 3:73 on Duelly

[ROGER/DODGER]

I want to order a 06 quad cab, 2 wheel drive, dually, CTD, with the 48r trans. I will be pulling a fifth wheel that weighs about 13500 loaded. Would there be a large penalty in mpg. with the 4:10s ? Or will the 3:73 be OK ?

Do duels in general make a dent in mpg from the extra rubber on the road, versus SRW trucks. Don't know which way to go ?

 

[DPKetchum]

4. 10s. Neighbor pulls 9k with 3. 73s and in mountains,winding roads it guts,strains,downshifts and screams. You want to TOW in comfort get the 4. 10s. YES a dually gets LESS mileage then a SRW.

 

[Bertram65]

4. 10s should be standard with the auto, the combo works very well, the only way I would consider 3. 73s with the auto would be if the truck was never going to be used for towing.

 

[DPKetchum]

I second that. Neighbor says its just too tall with the auto unless you like running 70 PUS mph all the time. He tows at around 66 and on any kind of moderate hills it dosen't work well. Says mine tows MUCH better then his with any kind of weight behind it. PLUS resale should be better for a dually. I know if looking at a used dully I would NOT even consider one with 3. 73s. Now a SRW thats used for lighter weigh and general everday driving differant story. But NOT a dually.

 

[JEly]

I ordered a 2500 4x2 mega cab and I am wondering if I should of got the 4. 10's------I mean if you put a bigger tire on it will be different. I have 315's with 3. 73 and I have no problem towing I just have to keep the speed up.



JIM

 

[KBalzuweit]

So far so good with the 3. 73's in mine.

 

[Bertram65]

I ordered a 2500 4x2 mega cab and I am wondering if I should of got the 4. 10's------I mean if you put a bigger tire on it will be different. I have 315's with 3. 73 and I have no problem towing I just have to keep the speed up.



JIM

3. 73s + added power + 315s + 48RE, I cannot imagine the trans is going to last too long.

I would not want to tow with the auto below 2000rpms, with your combo I would have to be at close to 80mph.

 

[GAllen]

I'm at 1900 rpm @ 65 mph with mine. I think the 4. 10's are the only way to go.

 

[rweis]

I have a 02 ETC w/3. 54, tow 13k about 100 miles a minth and 2500 miles once in summer.



Have to wait for the turbo to spool. Turbo would be ready with 4. 10.



Always tow O/D out. Could tow w/O/D with a 4. 10.



Generally drive on flat land and can get by with 3. 54. Any normal driving in mtns should be 4. 10.



I have to carefully plan the elevation of the summer trip so I know I will minimize drive train stress.



I plan to change mine before we go full time to 4. 10.



I think that sums it up.



Bob Weis

 

[CLAYTON]

3. 73s + added power + 315s + 48RE, I cannot imagine the trans is going to last too long.

I would not want to tow with the auto below 2000rpms, with your combo I would have to be at close to 80mph.

I can testify to that. That combo will kill it sooner or later. But after going from a stock trans to a modified one I can't imagine driving that mushy stock 48re again. If I were going to buy a dually right now I would get the 4. 10's and the modify the transmission

 

[Hohn]

I want to order a 06 quad cab, 2 wheel drive, dually, CTD, with the 48r trans. I will be pulling a fifth wheel that weighs about 13500 loaded. Would there be a large penalty in mpg. with the 4:10s ? Or will the 3:73 be OK ?
Do duels in general make a dent in mpg from the extra rubber on the road, versus SRW trucks. Don't know which way to go ?

Duallies get worse mileage from the heavier weight and the additional rubber on the road. Usually, about 2mpg less.

But you may offset this by going 4x2 instead of 4x4. So you might get as good a mileage as a SRW 4x4 would.

You are buying this truck to tow, so set it up for it. Get the 4. 10s. You won't be towing a large trailer much over 70mph (or shouldn't be, hehe) so the 4. 10 will be fine.

OD on the auto is taller, so the 4. 10s are actually pretty liveable.

Also, if you tow at 60mph or so, the 4. 10 will delivery BETTER mileage in many cases will towing. This is because the engine is in the sweet spot at 2K rpm, not lower at 1700rpm or so. It will also downshift less with the 4. 10s, which helps towing mileage (downshifts kill mpg).

Resale of a dually w/ tall gears is usually bad because people buy them to tow and work, not commute.

If you had a SRW SB truck like me, then the tall gear are better. But you will be using your truck much differently and it would benefit the most from 4. 10s.

Ask yourself how often you see heavy towing guys (and don't kid yourself, 13. 5K is heavy) wishing for taller gears. NEVER! You always see the tall gear guys looking for lower gears.

Save yourself the money and spec it right the 1st time. With an auto, 4. 10 are the only way to go when towing.

jmo

 

[RustyJC]

From one who tows heavy 5th wheels - get the dually with 4. 10s. :-laf See signature.



Rusty

 

[BigGunZ]

I agree with everyone else. If you're going to pull... get 4. 10's. I had 4. 10's on my F250... even with 35" BFG MT's it pulled a 7k boat with ease through the mountains.

 

[MRosinski]

4. 10's is the way to go. Especially if your gonna get bigger tires.

 

[JEly]

I guess I am just lucky but I have towed with my current truck having the 315 and auto and added power and have not had any problems--------That being said I usally tow around 70 and rpms are 1750. But again IL does not have mountains either so I am sure that would change things.



JIM

 

[YOOPERVIC]

Sounds like the 4. 10 is the way to go with the 48r transmission, but... , I'm on my

second CTD, using the six-speed standard with the 3. 73. I've towed heavy

fifth wheels in 49 states, (never made Hawaii), and have never experienced a

problem making even the steepest mountains. My last trip, through Montana,

Wyoming, Idaho and so on, I was pulling a 38 ft. Alfa Gold, 18,999 GVWR, and

I rarely got below 4th gear in any mountains. What I'm saying, if you are going to be pulling a load, the manual transmission is the way to go. Besides, the

exhaust brake works better with the manual. Anyway, Good luck and enjoy!

 

[JRMora]

Sounds like the 4. 10 is the way to go with the 48r transmission, but... , I'm on my

second CTD, using the six-speed standard with the 3. 73. I've towed heavy

fifth wheels in 49 states, (never made Hawaii), and have never experienced a

problem making even the steepest mountains. My last trip, through Montana,

Wyoming, Idaho and so on, I was pulling a 38 ft. Alfa Gold, 18,999 GVWR, and

I rarely got below 4th gear in any mountains. What I'm saying, if you are going to be pulling a load, the manual transmission is the way to go. Besides, the

exhaust brake works better with the manual. Anyway, Good luck and enjoy!

I'm with Yoopervic. My six speed 3. 73's do fine at 14,000# even in the mountains 6-7% grades). SInce I only tow 1/2 the time, it worked out best for me.



Juan

 

[jimnance]

I had 3. 54's on my '99 with 47RE. I converted to 4. 10's and liked the gear ratio better for towing, but mileage suffered when I was empty. Loaded, there was little difference in MPG between the 3. 54's and 4. 10's at 62 MPH.



I liked the 3,73's in my '03, but it had a six shooter.



I'm not entirely happy with the 48RE towing my heavy fiver. I have the 3. 73's. With the Edge Juice/Attitude it is better, but on very steep grades the transmission is hunting a lot. I'd say go with the 4. 10's if you intend to stay stock and tow a lot. If you power up and do the transmission upgrades you may find the 3. 73's a better deal for economy and driveability.

 

[bmoeller]

But again IL does not have mountains either

True, but we do have pretty good hills. Around Peoria is one place. Pulling up out of Peoria on I-474 with a pot load of cattle heading west is enough to make the Kitty Cat work. 13spds are nice.



I have 4. 10s in the Ram. Driving around empty, 3. 54s would be nice, but not towing. My F-250 diesel and my previous F-250 gasser had 3. 54s. Sucked for towing. Not enough power for me. My gasser would outpull a Chevy 6. 2 diesel pretty easy though. :-laf



The 4. 10s do keep the RPMs up, and that helps while cruising. Punch the throttle, and the 40 spools like a stock 35.