Hey all. I am excited to say that I am ready to buy a new truck and looking mainly at Ram duallies. I currently don't need the dually, but would like to purchase something now to possibly upgrade to a toy hauler 5th wheel in the near future. I am looking at a larger unit, roughly 15,000 pounds. My question is if I look at tow ratings, it states around 16,000 pounds for a 2016 ram 3500 LB CC DRW with a 3 42 ratio. Is it different for fifth wheel towing? Where I'm looking just shows towing in general. Thanks in advance.

While the 3.42 is rated to pull XXXX I would personslly go with a 3.72 or possibly a 4.10. My 07 dually came with the 4.10, and honestly I would not have anything different. I was easily able to tow my 13,500 pound fiver all day with the cruise control on. At 70MPH towing I was right at 1850 RPM which was the middle low end of the torque curve. Right where I wanted to be. Stomp down on the go pedal and the truck would pull like a freight train. To a hundred. Did I sacrifice MPG? Yea, maybe 1 or two empty. But at 17 MPG at 70 empty and 10.5-11.5 towing I was totally satisfied. If you want the 4.10 then you need to opt for the Aisin, which as I understand is not a bad thing. Dont get me wrong the 68RFE has been proven a strong reliable trans too. Its all dependent on you. But if your going dually, go big or go home!

There may be a better source, but I have found the Ram Body Builder site to be very helpful for payload and tow ratings.

RAM DRW with AISIN 3.42’s is good to around 29k combined. Any higher go directly to 4.10’s. I have owned both.

Cummins12V98 wrote:RAM DRW with AISIN 3.42’s is good to around 29k combined. Any higher go directly to 4.10’s. I have owned both.Yet Ram continues to offer the 3.73 ratio and there are many owners including myself that are very happy with them! :B Granted, I don't have the Aisin transmission but I also like the fact that my truck easily holds 6th gear towing my 16k fiver on moderate grades and I only have to downshift when the pulling gets tough....The 3.73 gears are a great compromise.

Ram 3500 DRW expert advice | Good Sam Community

donn0128
Explorer II
Sep 08, 2018
While the 3.42 is rated to pull XXXX I would personslly go with a 3.72 or possibly a 4.10. My 07 dually came with the 4.10, and honestly I would not have anything different. I was easily able to tow my 13,500 pound fiver all day with the cruise control on. At 70MPH towing I was right at 1850 RPM which was the middle low end of the torque curve. Right where I wanted to be. Stomp down on the go pedal and the truck would pull like a freight train. To a hundred. Did I sacrifice MPG? Yea, maybe 1 or two empty. But at 17 MPG at 70 empty and 10.5-11.5 towing I was totally satisfied. If you want the 4.10 then you need to opt for the Aisin, which as I understand is not a bad thing. Dont get me wrong the 68RFE has been proven a strong reliable trans too. Its all dependent on you. But if your going dually, go big or go home!
reppoc12
Explorer
Sep 08, 2018
There may be a better source, but I have found the Ram Body Builder site to be very helpful for payload and tow ratings.
Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Sep 08, 2018
RAM DRW with AISIN 3.42’s is good to around 29k combined. Any higher go directly to 4.10’s. I have owned both.
blofgren
Explorer
Sep 09, 2018
Cummins12V98 wrote:
RAM DRW with AISIN 3.42’s is good to around 29k combined. Any higher go directly to 4.10’s. I have owned both.

Yet Ram continues to offer the 3.73 ratio and there are many owners including myself that are very happy with them! :B Granted, I don't have the Aisin transmission but I also like the fact that my truck easily holds 6th gear towing my 16k fiver on moderate grades and I only have to downshift when the pulling gets tough....

The 3.73 gears are a great compromise.
Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Sep 09, 2018
At 50-70K why compromise??? ;)
blofgren
Explorer
Sep 09, 2018
Cummins12V98 wrote:
At 50-70K why compromise??? ;)

Bad choice of words...
Learjet
Explorer
Sep 09, 2018
My truck has the 3.73 gears as it was on the lot that way...no issues with that.

Any of the gears would be fine for what I tow right now...but If I had to order a truck I would get the 4.10 gears since I don't run on the interstate solo very often and I would want the most towing capacity for future use...just my preference.

3.73 is fine for high speed solo...3.42 would be better.
Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Sep 09, 2018
5th with 3.42’s is the same as 6th with 4.10’s. AISIN gets the load rolling nicely in all gearsets.
C_Schomer
Explorer
Sep 10, 2018
My 3.73s are a great compromise for towing and DD. If the truck were mostly for towing it would be 4.10 for sure. I've had them in a CTD and what a work horse and still very good mpg. Craig
ulvik
Explorer
Sep 10, 2018
I got a heck of a deal on a new 2018 Ram 3500 DRW diesel but I was worried because it came with a 68RFE trans and 3.42 gears. I tow a 5th wheel that weighs 13500lbs loaded but luckily it had a puck system and the dealership agreed to let me take it home for the night. I put my hitch in the truck and took it for a test through the mountains towing the camper and it did great! I never try to tow over 65 mph anyway so when really hilly I just lock out 6th gear and roll on. Plus my fuel mileage pulling is around 12 to 13 and empty around 22. So I have no regrets at all!!!! You can see my setup on my profile page.