Towing with a Ram

[riciren]

I found a 2016 Ram 3500 longhorn edition with 13,000 miles for a great price. It has the 3.42 gears with aisin transmission. Is anyone towing with this combination? Would like your thoughts good or bad. I currently own a 2013 36FL.

[Enroute]

I've towed my 36RL with a 2012 Ram 3500 dually, 3.73 with the max tow package and a 2014 Ram 3500 SRW with the 3.42. Both trucks have the Aisin tranny and removing the stability debate between SRW and DRW and strictly answering your question based off the rear end gearing - the 3.42 will do the job but you will find yourself in 5th gear more often than in 6th. I noted this to be especially true when in rolling hills or heading directly into a headwind. I prefer the 3.73 gearing as it will hold 6th more often on the rolling hills/plains and it does not seem to work as hard in the high mountains. If you are only a weekend camper, the 3.42 will do the job for you. If you are full timing and always on the move, I'd recommend the 3.73. My response is strictly based upon my own experience in towing my 36RL with both of my Ram trucks. The other thing to watch out for is the GVWR between the different gear ratios. The 3.42 has a lower towing rating and GVWR rating than the 3.73 or 4.10 geared trucks. Best of luck in your decision process.

[XCMARK]

if the price is really good and its 2 wheel drive a gear swap isn't out of the question. about $1000 get the rear end 4:10

[camper94]

Are you buying from a Private Party? If so, please ask if you can have it checked by a Certified Mechanic! My curiosity is why are they selling it? Just a thought!

[COLJDM]

Originally Posted by riciren

I found a 2016 Ram 3500 longhorn edition with 13,000 miles for a great price. It has the 3.42 gears with aisin transmission. Is anyone towing with this combination? Would like your thoughts good or bad. I currently own a 2013 36FL.

We wore out our 2008 Larimie Resistol DRW with the 3.73 rear The dealer stated our gear ratio should have been the 4.10 of course he told us that after we spent 10 k in rebuild and repairs to the transmission which didn't fix the problem. Great truck, recommend the 4.10 rear even if you buy the truck and change the gear ratio

[atom ant]

Originally Posted by COLJDM

We wore out our 2008 Larimie Resistol DRW with the 3.73 rear The dealer stated our gear ratio should have been the 4.10 of course he told us that after we spent 10 k in rebuild and repairs to the transmission which didn't fix the problem. Great truck, recommend the 4.10 rear even if you buy the truck and change the gear ratio

If your weight was within the numbers for the 3.73's, then he was just giving you lip service.

[SurveyTheWorld]

I’ve been pulling our 2013 36RE, with my 2014 Ram MC DRW LL, for 5 years now... No issues. However, it’s setup with the Aisin and 3:73. 106k on it, and doesn’t miss a lick. Also helps that I had it deleted @ 90k... thanks to a failing DEF pump=Junk!

Drivetrain wise, no issues.

[COLJDM]

Originally Posted by atom ant

If your weight was within the numbers for the 3.73's, then he was just giving you lip service.

Even though our dealer stated our 2008 Ram would pull our RW (16K lbs) before we purchased our RW (2012 36FL) after our transmission failed about 10 miles from our house (we made 3 previous trips out west with no problem) after our 4th trip out west, complete rebuild of transmission, oversized oil pan new cooler it would not pull the Redwood further than 1/4 mile without going into a safe mode. At that time he stated based on review of the VIN that the truck was not rated to pull 16K without a 4.10 rear gear ratio. Of course I asked why that info was not provided after failure of the 1st rebuild of the transmission, never did get an answer. I left that dealer, and purchased a new 2015 Larimie Larado DRW with 4.10 gear ratio, heavy duty tow package 4WD, mega cab and have had no issues towing my Redwood on any type road with surprisingly good fuel mileage.

[XCMARK]

Originally Posted by COLJDM

Even though our dealer stated our 2008 Ram would pull our RW (16K lbs) before we purchased our RW (2012 36FL) after our transmission failed about 10 miles from our house (we made 3 previous trips out west with no problem) after our 4th trip out west, complete rebuild of transmission, oversized oil pan new cooler it would not pull the Redwood further than 1/4 mile without going into a safe mode. At that time he stated based on review of the VIN that the truck was not rated to pull 16K without a 4.10 rear gear ratio. Of course I asked why that info was not provided after failure of the 1st rebuild of the transmission, never did get an answer. I left that dealer, and purchased a new 2015 Larimie Larado DRW with 4.10 gear ratio, heavy duty tow package 4WD, mega cab and have had no issues towing my Redwood on any type road with surprisingly good fuel mileage.

most transmission shops don't rebuild completely , they put a bunch of used parts in from other units that they have inspected the parts and say they are good enough to get to the end of the warrantee they give you. basically the pull out the unit ( 1 hr) , disassemble clean and inspect your parts maybe put one set of clutches in it . some shops will open the converter up and clean it out and re-weld the half's back together. fill it with 3 gallons of fluid ,road test it , take $5000 ~ 6000.00 dollars of your money and send you down the road. This is where the aftermarket company's that sell to the hot rod diesel guys can really help us. they build trans that can handle in many cases 4 or 5 times that amount of power and still offer a warrantee . I had my dealings with shops back when I drag raced some of my cars back in the 1980's into the 90's . All I got was lip service a warrantee and a big bill never once was a there a cure!


If your rear end was worn out , its not from pulling heavy. Set up and break in is very important. Don't ever take a brand new truck and hook up and pull anything for 500~1000 miles. the amount of heat and the metal floating in the oil just eats the ring and pinion gears. put 500~1000 miles on it dump the rear end fluid , I think you will be very surprised to see what is in there for lube. Every new truck or rebuild I have done this and the oil is always loaded with fine metal from break in. Fresh clean fluids is the only way to keep a truck on the road with low cost of ownership and high miles.

[atom ant]

Originally Posted by COLJDM

Even though our dealer stated our 2008 Ram would pull our RW (16K lbs) before we purchased our RW (2012 36FL) after our transmission failed about 10 miles from our house (we made 3 previous trips out west with no problem) after our 4th trip out west, complete rebuild of transmission, oversized oil pan new cooler it would not pull the Redwood further than 1/4 mile without going into a safe mode. At that time he stated based on review of the VIN that the truck was not rated to pull 16K without a 4.10 rear gear ratio. Of course I asked why that info was not provided after failure of the 1st rebuild of the transmission, never did get an answer. I left that dealer, and purchased a new 2015 Larimie Larado DRW with 4.10 gear ratio, heavy duty tow package 4WD, mega cab and have had no issues towing my Redwood on any type road with surprisingly good fuel mileage.

Ah, if it was overloading then I understand. Lost the transmission in my 2000 Ford and I figured it was from being way overloaded triple towing. I bought a new truck instead of fixing the old, because the towing capacities just keep going up and up.

With the Redwood, I went from a 2008 with 4.10 to a 2014 with 3.73 thinking the fuel mileage would be nice and the newer 6.7 would overcome the gear ratio - NOT I regretted not going with the 4.10s. Not only did I loose pulling power uphill with the 3.73s, you loose downhill engine braking with the higher ratio.

[riciren]

Thank you all for the replies, I have been out of pocket for a while know (working), I still haven't decided on the purchase yet, but keep posting the advice its all been good.

[riciren]

Bought the truck have driven it over 600 miles already, I only pull our redwood 300 miles from home about 4 times a year, don't ever travel with any water and only carry the minimum needed of clothes etc.. I believe that this will be a great truck for along time. The puck system adapter for the 26 kw husky hitch came in yesterday and I will install today, and also need to finish installing the auxiliary fuel tank. Don't know if to use the overfill line or splice the fill line, and thoughts on this from anyone.

[riciren]

Finished plumbing in the 50 gal auxiliary tank yesterday, after reading in the Cummins Forum I spliced the over fill line to fill the factory tank. Transfer of fuel went great.

[Striper05]

Originally Posted by riciren

I found a 2016 Ram 3500 longhorn edition with 13,000 miles for a great price. It has the 3.42 gears with aisin transmission. Is anyone towing with this combination? Would like your thoughts good or bad. I currently own a 2013 36FL.

I tow with this exact combo and will be upgrading my trailer to a RW 340RL end of January
I have 36000 (30,000 of which have been towing miles) miles on my truck and my current 5th wheel is roughly 14,000lbs
No issues at all
I did put mag hytech front and rear diff covers on in the hopes of keeping my rear gears cooler as I will be keeping this truck for a long time...
I lock out my transmission in 5th gear and have not had any issues pulling my current trailer
If I end up having rearend issues, I’ll replace my 3:42’s with 3:73 gears

[riciren]

The ram 3500 tows way much better than my old ram 2500 there is a noticeable positive difference, and the mpg is way better also.

[rob_fla]

Towing our Redwood 38FL with our 2018 RAM 3500 with the Aisin Transmission and 4.10 axle ratio has been a pleasure, no transmission hunting and handles the hills and mountains with ease.
Really like the factory Air Ride on the rear suspension, when getting the factory air rear suspension, the leaf spring stack is less due to the air system thus the ride is a little smoother unloaded and very smooth loaded. (although it is still a 1 Ton Truck so it does not ride like a car)
Hope this truck gives us many years of service.

[woodman1]

Interesting and no, I don't want to get hate mail for reprinting this. It is what it is. Found this on the news headlines, "listed as the worst 10 vehicles for 2018". Makes you want to re-think getting a Dodge Ram. For those of you that like the Sierra, it came in at #6. Yeah, I know it's just someone's opinion and it won't really change anyone's mindset. There are always a number of variables not considered when making these profile lists. You never know though, next year, one of these may just end up being Motor Trends Truck of the Year. lol







The Least Reliable Cars in America
Jeremy Korzeniewski 3 Days Ago


Ram 3500 HD,


"The Ram 3500 HD is ranked dead last on Consumer Reports' list of the most unreliable vehicles in America for 2018. Owners say they've had issues with the truck's steering and suspension, fuel and emissions systems, engine cooling, while noting strange noises and leaks."

[Goat]

Whenever I consider a vehicle purchase, I talk to folks that I actually see using that model. I feel I get better info doing that as opposed to reading something written by someone trying to get a paycheck. They can quote all the sources they want, but if the sources skew the data, it's useless.

[travelin' texans]

Originally Posted by woodman1

Interesting and no, I don't want to get hate mail for reprinting this. It is what it is. Found this on the news headlines, "listed as the worst 10 vehicles for 2018". Makes you want to re-think getting a Dodge Ram. For those of you that like the Sierra, it came in at #6. Yeah, I know it's just someone's opinion and it won't really change anyone's mindset. There are always a number of variables not considered when making these profile lists. You never know though, next year, one of these may just end up being Motor Trends Truck of the Year. lol







The Least Reliable Cars in America
Jeremy Korzeniewski 3 Days Ago


Ram 3500 HD,


"The Ram 3500 HD is ranked dead last on Consumer Reports' list of the most unreliable vehicles in America for 2018. Owners say they've had issues with the truck's steering and suspension, fuel and emissions systems, engine cooling, while noting strange noises and leaks."

Ram is dead last, GM at #6 in this survey. So where did Ford come in??

[woodman1]

There weren't any Ford's in this group. Here's the link:


https://www.consumerreports.org/car-...reliable-cars/