fireman962003

I am in the market to buy a new Dodge 3500 dually and to be honest this will be my first Dodge. I am not wanting a truck with all the bells and whistles on it, I am looking at the 4X4 ST model. I will be using this truck mainly to pull a 4 horse slant load trailer with a 10 foot short wall in it, the trailer is right at 35 feet from neck to end of the trailer. I am thinking that this trailer is some were in the 12000 to 13000lb range dry and will be carrying 4 1500lb horses in it when its on the road. I live in the north Ga. mountains so it will see its fair share of hills along with moderate highway time. I am looking for imput on transmissions auto vs stick, and also what kinda gear to get under it. I am not looking to put a bunch of after market stuff on it because I wanna keep my warranty. Also if you can tell me some fuel millage I can expect to see and any problems there having with these new trucks. So come on Dodge guys help convert this Ford guy.

HOTSHOT11

i own an '11 3500 4x4 cc lb srw with 3.73 gears. I use this truck for hot shot service weekly i haul loads that heavy around houston and all over the east and west coast. I can say that sometimes i wish i would have bought a stick because with my mileage maintenace on the auto is kinda high$$ truck pulls awesome mileage is better in the mountains.. Ave loaded mpg 10-12 empty 16-22 oh and my truck is all stock no deletes

fireman962003

Thanks for the reply Hotshot,,, come on people where are the rest of you, there has got to be more than 1 person out there that has these trucks, help a guy out.

SOhappy

Sounds like the bolt-action is your best bet- plus you'll save about $3k over the auto if I remember correctly.

Also, you sure about that empty weight of the trailer? Sounds kind of high to me.... Puts you right close to GVWR with the horses, tack, feed, etc... The nicest Trailswest 6-horse GN is at 6,700 lbs empty. http://www.trailswesttrailers.com/tr...=59&view=Specs I think you'll be closer to 11-12k lbs.

Busboy

My son and I have 3500 CC SRW 4X4 his a long box manual and mine a short box auto. The auto is nice for around town but buy the manual, you may have to put a real clutch into it but you will be miles ahead. I'm sorry I compromised and bought the auto, there wasn't another manual 3500 truck in Canada at the time. My son drags things way beyond the tucks ability a lot of the time in places you wouldn't think of walking, he does break things but he has a real truck under him. WE both have 3.73 gears. You may want to consider a FACTORY Nav and bluetooth I know those are a couple of things he regrets not getting, and a factory back up camera is just a huge bonus when hooking up a trailer to the rear hitch, I wouldn't be without one now. The bucket seats are nice but only seat 5 as opposed to 6 with a bench.

Yeti41

Have a 3500 chassis cab they are detuned down to 300 HP and have a 4.10 rear with auto transmission. Pulled a 34 foot work and play 5th wheel to california last year and was very pleased with the truck's performance. I got 11-12 mpg on the trip those W&P trailers aren't the most aerodynamic, empty mpg is around 18. The most I pulled with the truck was 17000 pound gooseneck loaded and the truck handled it very well.

Ahlkey

With the manual transmission on the 3500 ST your trailer capacity is 15,550 and 21,000 GCWR with the 3.73. It does sound like your trailer is much lighter than your estimate so you might be ok. If not and you want to go larger the only other option is the 4.10 but then you have to go with the automatic transmission. However, with the heavy duty tow option the GN towing trailer goes up to 22,150 and 30,000 GWVR.

I tow typically over 20,000 lbs and even though the 3500 with 4.10 appeared to do the job I actually bought a 4500 chassis. They are rated basically the same but with the added weight, axle at 4.88, bigger transmission and better brakes I felt more comfortable with the 4500. It also really didn't price out for the regular cab ST automatic as much more than the 3500 pickup. MPG might be an issue but I wanted the right truck to do the job and the flatbed will come in handy as well. Good luck on your purchase.

fireman962003

After looking at the trailer I beleive all you guys are right, the trailer has two 7000lb axles under it. Thanks a lot for the info and keep it coming.

ArkCivEngr

Can someone explain why 4.10 ratio can't be put with a manual?

Blake Clark

Because, really, you dont need it.

I have the G56 and 3.73

My effective final drive ratio is just as low, if not a tad lower, than the 68RE trucks with the 4.10 ratio.

The G56 with 4.10 would have an comparable final drive ratio of a 68RE with 4.5X gears.

The G56 with 3.73 is plenty low enough. Trust me.

Outwest

With 3.73's and the manual I turn about 2100 rpm's at 70 mph. I've owned Auto's in the past and they are constantly shifting to a higher/lower gear or the converter is locking and unlocking on grades (Like they should) With the manual only on the steeper grades do I have to shift to a lower gear. The clutch is the weak link though and on my 2007 I replaced it at 98,000 miles. I have 84,000 on my 2010 and so far so good. I pull a 28' 5ver all over the country and get between 9 and 11 mpg. Love the truck...