The definitions as given to me by the Minnesota State Patrol office in Duluth, Mn was "The Manufacturers' Combined Gross Vehicle Rating is the figure given to you by the manufacturer. If you do not know the number, you need to find out on your own". The combined gross vehicle rating is in my owner's manual on page 132. It states that if I have a 3.45 final gear ratio my CGVW is 16k. If I have 4.10 gears my CGVW is 18k. The Minnesota State Patrol can and will enforce the CGVW. Do they carry a list of all mfg's? I doubt it. The point I am trying to make is not what the truck is capable of, just the way the law would view things if they are required to. Like I was told off the record by the officer I was talking to "If you don't do anything that will make you look illegal we won't look at you. Do something foolish and we will be all over you".
Look at it like this: If you went to Sears and bought a Craftsman 3/4" deep well standard socket and took it home at which time you decided to put a breaker bar and a 4' cheater pipe on it. The socket shattered and you got a piece of socket in your eye. Who would be liable because you decided to exceed the manufacturers' rating? Just like if you exceed the CGVW and someone gets hurt. Who is liable? The point is, no matter what you do to the truck, you cannot increase the Mfgs' rating. That is what the law looks at.
You can do whatever you want with this info, I am just trying to point out that yes, we do have issues with weight and there are state laws governing us.

 

Again how does 4.10s make you any safer? It doesn't. This shows you how much sense the tow ratings make.

Your owner's manual is not law unless it pertains to DC warrantying your vehicle but what is on the plated door tag next to your VIN is.

 

I am not saying the 4:10 is a safer gear. I did not make the laws and was not privvy to the making of such laws. All I did was state the particular law pertaining to the situation. The Minnesota Legislature are ones that made the numbers in my owners manual law.

 

There are zillions of emotional threads on this site about towing heavy, and too-heavy. We don't need yet another .....

MnTom, what does your vehicle registraton list as your trucks GVWR? Does it list a weight? Just curious on how MN does it WRT to Maryland.

For the first guy, there are many things that can help your truck handle more weight, but not many low dollar options when it comes to altering that little plate in the doorjam.

Such is life with those of us with lightweight 2500's....

 

If I had a 3500 the state would automatically give me commercial plates. I used to have one but don't remember what it said. The only thing the weight on my registeration would be good for is how much the state could charge me for the plates. It could also lead to another weight ticket for being over what you are licensed for.
The bottom line is that you cannot get DC to issue a new sticker or weight rating for a Dodge truck. The law I quoted "Minnesota staute 169.81 Subd.3c (1) :the combination does not consist of more than three vehicles,and the towing rating of the pickup truck is equal to or geater than the total weight of all vehicles being towed;" is part of the RV laws here. You can look it up here: www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/stats/169/81.html
Tom

 

make your own sticker up on the door

 

Well RV laws, looks like a normal setup except for the weight restriction on the pickup truck for RV use. That's a good deal for safety. I can still run my rig, 75 feet long and 33,000 pounds on any road, and any length with a 53 foot trailer on the interstates and designated highways. And.... its a 2500. Read your law, thats what it says, same as the rest of the 48 contingent states.

 

check out www.MrTruck.com and look at their "super springs" looks like a good product , easy to install , ( takes more time to pull the tire off than put the spring on) i don't know about the legal aspect of it but they will give you an additional 1000lbs box weight

 

Haulin' you need to keep in mind that the laws for RVs are different than commercial. Most people pulling RVs do not have the experience OR the expertise to handle what you are. Just as an example, commercial length for doubles is 75', private doubles are 60'.

 

Tom, yes I got that and I also agree with it. I like the law as it is written, needs to be in other states too. That is the one you cited. It allows the use of the heavier weight and length, legally and still restricts the 35 foot tag along RV with a 20 foot boat in tow. Did you ever get to see one of them start wagging?

 

4.10's can be safer in certain situations.

A.) more engine braking power could help you slow down faster than the same truck with 3.73's.

B.) more torque available to the wheels could help you merge into hwy traffic more safely when that semi can't get over to let you in.

You could weld the spring perch from the SRW 3500 onto your frame and add the extra aux spring. I find it interesting that so many people order the 2500 when the 3500 is a $200 dollar option. you can easily remove the extra aux. leaf from a SRW 3500, but its a lot harder to weld on the perch and add the aux spring to a 2500.

I think people feel the 2500 will offer a softer ride, but it doesn't.

Same shocks, same spring rate in the main leaf pack, same axle.

 

This is the biggest misconception of lower gearing that is commonly accepted. "certail situations" may be accurate but that is only in certain situations at the expense of not as good in other situations.

You have a transmission that effectively keeps the engine within operating rpm's. First gear is affected by the roll off rpm, this is sure. A 4.11 will leave from a stop easier than a 3.55, but from there a properly shifted transmission makes it all the same, once rolling.

Once rolling you have the same spread of power band that you have with any gear in the rear. With a 4.11 you will have to shift down less often on a minor grade but the power within the rpm range is the same.

With the lower numerical gear ratios you will cruise at higher speeds at a lower rpm at the expense of roll off torque. With the higher numerical gears you will have better roll off torque at the expense of high speed ratio. Everything in between is the same.

If we had a transmission that had 300 rpm gear splits as a bigger 13 speed roadranger does, there would effectively be no difference between the lower rear and the higher rear, you would just ride in a differen gear.

The automatics seem to be more affected by the gearing due to less roll off rear wheel torque. A manual trans Cummins with a good clutch will roll off with 3.55 gears and 34,000 pounds on a hill just fine. So there is no benefit to 411 gears on a manual for hauling loads. On a manual it means that at cruise you are in od down to 65 or so and then shift to direct. With the 4.11 gears you could go down to a lesser speed before shifting to direct. That change is at the expense of economy at the higher speeds.

Engine braking I personally think is better in the 3.55 gears due to the speed relitave to the engine rpms. While the 4.11 would be more effective on od with no shifting at freeway speeds, to hold back on any real hill, you would downshift to direct and this will take the rpms up in the 3000 rpm range with holds back better than a lower rpm in od at the same speed. You can wind that sucker up to 3300 with no problems down a hill, that is in excess of 70 mph in direct with the 3.55 gears.

With an automatic you may have an advantage with the 4.11 gears, once again at the expense of mpg, but with the manual, on the highway, the 3.55 is a very effective gear that gives better mpg on average.

To sum up, the difference between what is generally accepted and what is fact, once an engine is within operating range with a flat torque curve, the rear gearing is not a big factor. The only difference is roll off torque and high speed rpms.

Many years ago, I had a big truck running 4.11 gears with a 13 speed trans and spent a fortune regearing and three days work. I accomplished nothing at all. Experience is the best teacher.

 

We can split hairs all we want to. A 4.10 will out pull a 3.55 or 3.73 anyday with any transmission.

 

That is what everyone likes to think, but only in your highest gear at the expense of economy and first gear for a higher roll off torque. The rest is all the same, just different shift points.

 

Possibly it will help if you get past the rear axle ratio and go for the actual gearing that hits the rear wheels. You multiply the rear axle ratio by the transmission ratio in any gear that you are in. The truck does not care at all what gears are in the train, just so the ratio is at the rear wheels. You can use a 250:1 rear axle with a transmission with a lot of gears and do the same job as a 4.11:1 using a different transmission gear.