Dodge Ram Transmission Questions

I know I don't have a current Ram, but I did buy a 2011 Ram Diesel Crew-Cab long-bed with a six speed manual and a 3.42 rear end. It's certainly not the same as what you are talking about, but after buying it I regretted two or three things, including the 3.42 rear end and the manual transmission. The engine was de-rated, I believe, to accommodate the manual. When we pulled our FW to Zion and back we got pretty good mileage going to Zion, 11.9 on the console thingy, but after driving around quite a bit without the FW and then driving home the overall mileage dropped to 10.9. After getting home, we hooked the FW and our boat up and tried out the pulling power and were deeply disappointed. So, after nine months went out and got a GMC D/A combo Crew-CAb short-bed with 3.73 gearing. Now when towing our FW and boat we get around 12 mpg and never lack for power. My recommendation would be to get the 3.73 rear end, you will have the best of both worlds. By the way, our GMC runs about 1,700 rpm when traveling 65 mph pulling the FW and boat. Also, we do have pretty good mountain passes here in Wyoming so we do mountain driving as well.