I'm in the market for a fifth wheel trailer and a truck. The 5er I want has a GVWR of about 14,300 lbsOne truck I'm looking at that fits my budget is a 2006 Ford F-350 DRW 4x4 6.0L diesel. It has an axle code of "37" which translates to "3.73 non-limited slip"Is that bad?Do I want a truck with limited slip or without?I looked up on Ford's specs for the 2006 F-350 Super Duty DRW 4x4 and it says that both the 3.73 and the 4.10 axle gear ratio for that truck have the same GCWR of 23,500 lbs and 5er towing limit of 15,600 lbs(see the screen capture)So why get a 4.10 vs 3.73 when they both have the exact same limits? My only guess is that it's a tradeoff of higher speed fuel economy vs low speed torque.

Is this leaving you only 1,300 pounds for stuff, water etc. in the FW? 100 gallons of water is about 830.

I don't think that the 3.73's will be a disadvantage unless you do a very high percentage of mountain towing. The 4.10's will be an advantage to get everything moving, once "rolling" it's pretty much a "wash"!

I think either will do the job. Now before all the 6.0 bashers get here, just educate yourself about the 6.0. It is an awesome towing machine when running right. I would think by now any issues would have surfaced and been dealt with. But know what it is you are buying. The possible problems that can arise and how to deal with them. Good luck, John

Lwiddis wrote:Is this leaving you only 1,300 pounds for stuff, water etc. in the FW? 100 gallons of water is about 830.Nope, 14,300 lbs is the total GVWR of the trailer. The unloaded dry weight of the trailer is 10,800 lbs. That gives me 3,500 lbs for water, cargo, etc which I doubt I'll even come close to.Even fully loaded to 14,300 lbs, the way I read it I still have a 1,300 lbs margin for the truck's maximum weight for the fifth wheel trailer.

shadows4 wrote:I think either will do the job. Now before all the 6.0 bashers get here, just educate yourself about the 6.0. It is an awesome towing machine when running right.I've been educating myself about the 6.0L for almost a year.I think I've watched every PowerStrokeHelp video out there that Bill has made, read the BulletProofDiesel website and FAQ and actually called and spoke with them (very helpful!). I've also watch videos of 6.0L full-time RV'ers LoLoHo and Jared Gillis both break down with the EGR problem.I've already discussed with my regular mechanic shop that I will be getting a 6.0L diesel and will be looking to replace (NOT delete!) and upgrade the EGR and head studs shortly after I get the truck.Once the work has been done, my understanding is that the 6.0L is a 300K, 400K, 500K or more truck.

Fifth Wheel Towing Limit and Axle Ratio 3.73 vs 4.10

15 Replies

scottkeen
Explorer
Jul 05, 2017
shadows4 wrote:
I think either will do the job. Now before all the 6.0 bashers get here, just educate yourself about the 6.0. It is an awesome towing machine when running right.

I've been educating myself about the 6.0L for almost a year.

I think I've watched every PowerStrokeHelp video out there that Bill has made, read the BulletProofDiesel website and FAQ and actually called and spoke with them (very helpful!). I've also watch videos of 6.0L full-time RV'ers LoLoHo and Jared Gillis both break down with the EGR problem.

I've already discussed with my regular mechanic shop that I will be getting a 6.0L diesel and will be looking to replace (NOT delete!) and upgrade the EGR and head studs shortly after I get the truck.

Once the work has been done, my understanding is that the 6.0L is a 300K, 400K, 500K or more truck.
scottkeen
Explorer
Jul 05, 2017
Lwiddis wrote:
Is this leaving you only 1,300 pounds for stuff, water etc. in the FW? 100 gallons of water is about 830.

Nope, 14,300 lbs is the total GVWR of the trailer. The unloaded dry weight of the trailer is 10,800 lbs. That gives me 3,500 lbs for water, cargo, etc which I doubt I'll even come close to.

Even fully loaded to 14,300 lbs, the way I read it I still have a 1,300 lbs margin for the truck's maximum weight for the fifth wheel trailer.
shadows4
Nomad
Jul 05, 2017
I think either will do the job. Now before all the 6.0 bashers get here, just educate yourself about the 6.0. It is an awesome towing machine when running right. I would think by now any issues would have surfaced and been dealt with. But know what it is you are buying. The possible problems that can arise and how to deal with them. Good luck, John
memtb
Explorer
Jul 05, 2017
I don't think that the 3.73's will be a disadvantage unless you do a very high percentage of mountain towing. The 4.10's will be an advantage to get everything moving, once "rolling" it's pretty much a "wash"!
Lwiddis
Explorer II
Jul 05, 2017
Is this leaving you only 1,300 pounds for stuff, water etc. in the FW? 100 gallons of water is about 830.

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Fifth Wheel Towing Limit and Axle Ratio 3.73 vs 4.10

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