Will a 3500 towing a 10,000 lbs 5er with 3.73 gears use about the same fuel as a 3500 towing a 14,000 lbs with 4.10 gears? Is the differance in gears for towing different loads.

 

If you were looking at towing the same weight the 3.73 will get the better milage. I have the 4.10 and towing my 20ft enclosed vs my buddy towing his 24ft loaded enclosed with 3.73 he gets an average of 2-3 mpg better.

 

A good general rule of thumb is that the heavier you tow, the worse the mileage - regardless of whether you have 3.73's or 4.10's. You may appreciate the 4.10's when towing heavy in regards to performance - but I doubt you should expect any type of measurable change in mileage between the different axle ratios when towing....for better or worse.

I don't have much to compare to but I tow 15K with 3.73's and pull of mileage numbers that are only slightly less than an 05 (also 3.73's) towing half of the weight.

 

As long as the truck with 3.73 can tow the load in OD it will do better then the truck with 4.10's
I would only get 4.10's if I was towing with a automatic.

 

If i was getting a 3500 I would get 4.10 gears, these trucks are made for towing and you want the lowest gear possible. Besides you could always go up a tire size or two to fill the wheel wells.

 

I have 4.10's, and love them for in town towing, (less than 65mph), but on the interstate... the fuel gauge drops a lot faster. If you're towing OTR, I'd go with the 3.73's.

The only real benefit that that the 4.10's have is the initial get up and go. The truck has enough power to have 3.73's, or even lower, and still have good response.

 

If you plan on towing 10,000 lbs, I would say the 3.73 would be fine. Like Madhat said, the 4.10 only really help on the initial start out and climbing hills. I test drove a 48re with 4.10 before I ordered my truck. I told myself no way would I drive a truck daily with 4.10 rears with an automatic. G56 maybe

 

I love driving my truck with the 4.10's and 48re... but I rarely see highway time.

It makes drag racing a lot more fun!

 

I'm surprised no one has thought of using a two speed rear end yet.

chaikwa.

 

I would agree with that. I however drive on average about 600+ miles a week at an average speed of 70+. My truck is a highway lover.

 

over road 3.73

in town, hilly, pulling equipment on construction sites, 4.10 even lower.
mileage sucks anyway on the new ones weither on the road or in town. my 4.88 5500 4x only gets 8.5 to 9.5 over the open road at 75mph (as fast as it can go) at 26k (14k trailer loaded) maybe 1mpg less than the 3.73 same load in the '05 4x.

 

1972 ihc gooseneck special 392 5spd 2 speed rear axle,only few made,bought one dealer had sitting for a couple years as ihc went out of small trucks,good truck .

 

I know a lot of user will disagree with me, but most of their data is based on the older year trucks.
With the new 68RFE auto 6.7L trucks, I would use the 3:73 gears for most towing applications. Dodge list a 3K difference in weight for towing and GCVW between the 3500 DRW with 3:73 and 4:10 gears. In fact the auto has a 1K advantage in towing and GCVW over the manual.
I am geting between 11 and 13 MPG when towing my 5er with my setup in my sig.
Just my $0.02

 

if i could figure out how to set it up i would. 4 10's are great for an auto if its stick stay with 3 73's. i avg 30k gross and never feel like my 3 73 are not enough

 

Thanks for all the replies, I have a 3500 MegaCab Dually Auto. on order and I ordered it with 4.10 gears, due to I will being towing a 13,000 - 14,000 lbs. 5er. I hope it will be reasonable, towing empty on the highway.