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qttire1's avatar
qttire1
Explorer
Feb 17, 2015

towing capacity for dodge ram 2500

I have a 2004 dodge ram 2500 with a small lift and 35 inch tires. I was pulling a 33' rockwood ultra lite. Some small delam occurred above the slide and my insurance company totaled the camper. Now I am out shopping for a new tt and want to make sure I don't get to big for my truck.

My last tt was 33' 8" with a 8313 gwar and with the 35's was slow start and tough up hills but ok when it got going. I was thinking about changing my gears from 3.73 to 4.10 which will give an extra 2000 lbs towing capacity.

The new tt I am looking at is 35' 4" and has a dry weight of 7125 and gwar of 8990. Does anyone have this combo or know if this will be a good fit for this truck / tt combo.

16 Replies

  • ScottG wrote:
    Those tires are killing your tow capacity. Even if you change gears they will still decrease your ability.
    If your concerned then get a set of tires no bigger than 285/75 - and only go that big if you have added power.

    Exactly!
  • Going from 3.73 to 4.10 may give another 2000 lb tow capacity but that comes only with stock LT265/70-17 E at about 31.5" diameter tires.

    Part of the tow rating numbers is determined by engine rpms.
    stock 31.5" tires and 3.73 ratio @ 60 mph = 2387 rpm direct drive.
    ...................... 4.10 ratio @ 60 mph = 2624 rpm dd.

    35" tires with a 4.10 gears at same speed = 2361 rpm dd.

    Point is the 4.10/35" tires puts the engines rpm back in rpm range for stock tires.
    Now if you used the 4.56 gear set/35" tires = 2626 rpm. Now you have gained a 2000 lb tow capacity. However 35" tires are heavy/tall with lots of parasitic drag compared to stock tires.

    One thing in your favor is the Cummins. Tall heavy tires don't affect the diesel power like a gasser.

    Just something to chew on
  • Those tires are killing your tow capacity. Even if you change gears they will still decrease your ability.
    If your concerned then get a set of tires no bigger than 285/75 - and only go that big if you have added power.
  • What is gwar??? Do you mean GVWR?

    In any case, I agree with Don....changing tires might be less costly than a new 3rd member.

    Ron
  • Changing to 4.10 gear ratio will be a big help. Better still would be to go back to stock size tires, then probably the gear change would not be necessary.