Ram 1500 3.55?

[tbolt2000]

I have been looking at Ram 1500 4 door. Looking at years 2011 to 2013, Most likely 2012. Gear ratio 3.55. Thought need the 3.92 gear, now not sure (see below). I don't ever plan towing greater than 6500#. Looking for a Ram towing of 10,800#.

Would a Ram with tow capacity of 10,800# be over kill or would 8800# be good choice?

Things I have noticed in looking up the VIN's for Ram's interested in, for the ""Equipment Listing"for a specific Ram it will show a gear ratio as 3.55.

If I plug the VIN here for 'LOOK UP MY VEHICLE it will either show the towing for a 3.55 as either 10,800# or 8,800# based on the VIN I plug in.

Why is it a 3.55 gear can tow 10,000#'s or 8,800#'s?
How do I really know what RAM I'm looking at can tow?

I have read also that 2013 and 2014 Dodge stated on sticker that it had a 3.55 gear when in fact it had the 3.21gear on some RAM's it sold.

[jrp26789]

4x4.

[tbolt2000]

jrp26789 wrote:
I towed my 27 dbud with my 2012 ram 1500 quad hemi 3:55.

4X4 or 4X2?

[jrp26789]

I towed my 27 dbud with my 2012 ram 1500 quad hemi 3:55. Never an issue with the power or ability to pull. Handling wasn't great. Mostly due to the tires. I upgraded to my current truck for handling reasons. But for 3 or 4 weekends a year, I should have kept it.

[tbolt2000]

mkirsch wrote:

Did you verify the gear ratio on the ones rated to tow 10000?

Well lets say I went to this linkEquipment Listingto see the specific build for a particular truck via the trucks VIN. It would show 3.55.

I would take that same VIN number and enter it into the Look up my vehicle and it would show it tow rating.

I may also have jumped gun to my first thoughts as; the more I look at trucks with the 3.55 gear it appears why I'm seeing the two differences is that a 4x2 with 3.55 tows 8000# and a 4x4 with 3.55 tows 1000#.

I'm doing this for two reasons:
1. So I will not have to go to lot to actual look at the truck when it does not tow what I want.
2. Went to 1 dealer and I asked "what it tows", oh it tows 12000#'s. Looked at sticker and seen 3.21 gear and I KNEW NO WAY A 3.21 CAN TOW 12000#, MUCH LESS A 3.55.

So just trying to avoid useless rides to dealer and dealer saying it tows this. So at least when I get there I know exactly what it tows at least.

[tbolt2000]

APT wrote:

Note what each has where mine says 2051.

Thanks, using yours as an example it could be said?

10800#'s towing capacity (as advertised) - 2051# = 8749#(actual tow capacity) AS LONG AS PAYLOAD (Gas, people, cargo)AND TOUNGE WT DOES NOT EXCED THE 2051, correct?

Thinking like this you should be easy to determine the MAX TT you can tow safely and also not work truck to hard.

[mkirsch]

tbolt2000 wrote:
In going to the link for Towing "Look up my vehicle" I noticed that some VIN's showed 8800 and some 10800#, yet the Build PDF from the other link states 3.55 gear. With that got me thinking maybe I could get a RAM with a 3.55 gear and tow 10800# if the site states it at 10800#.

Did you verify the gear ratio on the ones rated to tow 10000?

3.55 may be a "standard" ratio, listed under standard features, but if you go down to options, it may list a different ratio, i.e. 3.92.

GM was doing that as of last year, and I wouldn't put it past Ram to do the same thing. Heck they'd list one ratio on the dealer website, and when you went to look at the truck it had a completely different ratio.

[APT]

tbolt2000 wrote:

I have looked at the door jam sticker and see the load fro front wheel and rear wheel....my question is how do you relate that to towing and/or payload?

Front/rear axle ratings are also important, but you'll have to go to a scale to find out how much room you have left. As equipped payload is noted on this sticker for 2006+ model year vehicles in North America. Note what each has where mine says 2051.



Travel trailers with their high front and side profiles generally are more stable towards the higher end of the recommended TW %, say 13-15%. A boat may be stable in the 8-10% range. For example if you have 1000 pounds of payload available for TW, then a 10,000 pound boat is reasonable, but a 10,000 pound TT is not.

[BC_Explorer]

tbolt2000 wrote:
Did more looking and it appears that a 3.55 4x4 can tow 10000# where a 3.55 4x2 tows 8000#

A 3.92 4x2 can tow 10000#

Thanks for all the post have learned I also need to look at payload in my search.

Yes on paper, 3.92 gears can pull 10,000 lb but don't be fooled by this. As others have mentioned, you will run out of payload well before you get anywhere near 10,000.

My RAM 1500 with 3.92 gears is rated to 10,800 lb but I would never consider pulling any more then 7,000 lbs max due to overall truck payload constraints.

[tbolt2000]

Did more looking and it appears that a 3.55 4x4 can tow 10000# where a 3.55 4x2 tows 8000#

A 3.92 4x2 can tow 10000#

Thanks for all the post have learned I also need to look at payload in my search.

[tbolt2000]

FLY 4 FUN wrote:
Dodge has online tables that will list all of the possible variables others have listed above...and give you the max ratings. Even 20" tires vs 17 can impact your ratings. On a personal note I had a 2004 4x2 quad cab with a hemi and 3:55 gearing and I regret not having a more "towing friendly" gear in there. As mentioned before, having too much truck is rarely an issue so the 3:92 gears will perform slightly better than the 3:55 with all other factors being the same. The only downside is worse mileage, but that's a compromise we face with towing houses down the road.

I'm doing a lot of window shopping online before actually going to lot before test driving. I started out looking for a 3.92 gear. Found very few with the 3.92, mostly 3.55. Why see a truck online I like and go to dealer and find out it don't tow what I would like. So I would use the VIN they post on dealer site and check at the two above links to see gear and towing capacity for that individual VIN. Most had 3.55 very few had the 3.21 and the 3.92.

In going to the link for Towing "Look up my vehicle" I noticed that some VIN's showed 8800 and some 10800#, yet the Build PDF from the other link states 3.55 gear. With that got me thinking maybe I could get a RAM with a 3.55 gear and tow 10800# if the site states it at 10800#.

Side note seems like most pdf file also shows that it come with the engine cooler and transmission cooler.

[tbolt2000]

ChooChooMan74 wrote:
I don't believe you will find a Ram 1500 with 10k towing capacity. Maybe a stripped down 2WD regular cab with 3.92.

But I have went here and plugged in the VIN of a Ram 1500 Quad and some come up 8800# yet a different VIN (yet quad) will come up 10800#.

http://www.ramtrucks.com/en/towing_guide/

It will be the link "look up my vehicle. Although most will be the 8800 a few I have done will come up 10800.

[tbolt2000]

APT wrote:
But focus on the as equipped payload which is identified on the tire and loading sticker on every door or door jam since 2006.

I have looked at the door jam sticker and see the load fro front wheel and rear wheel....my question is how do you relate that to towing and/or payload?

[SouthpawHD]

As others have said, payload is more likely a factor than overall published towing capacity.

Also, I have noticed that Rams have lower payload capacities than the other Detroit trucks. So look that over carefully before making your decision.

[APT]

Most half tons run out of payload/rear axle/ or receiver limits well below the tow ratings when it comes to towing RVs. Many people underestimate their weights for RVing. A 6500 pound TT loaded with a long weekend full of family camping stuff is more like 5500 pounds dry. It also has 800-900 pounds of tongue weight. That TW takes part of the vehicle payload. If you and the family and a bed full of cargo weighs 600 pounds, you will want a truck with at least 1400 pounds of payload. Some half tons have under 1000, some over 2000.

The performance difference between 3.55 and 3.92 is not significant with 6+ gears. I highly recommend the 8-spd for Ram. But focus on the as equipped payload which is identified on the tire and loading sticker on every door or door jam since 2006.