Wrong TV Rig??? RESOLVED

[Roadventure]

Okay so I didn't totally do my homework as well as I should have back when I bought my 5th wheel I think its too heavy for my TV.

I have a 2012 Ram 3500 SRW Long Bed. I input my VIN into the VIN decoder on the dodge owner's forum.

Under specs it says I have a 3.42 gear ratio.

When I look up that year and gear ratio for SRW it is pretty **** poor on the GCWR of 17,000 and a max trailer of 9400.

Optimally for this TV I should have 4.10. I need to figure out a few things before I go fulltime and pull a trailer with a GVWR of 18K fully loaded and burn out my transmission or worse.

I'd like to know if I can upgrade my rear differential gear ratio?

or

Would it be better to sell and get a DRW with a 4:10 gear ratio?

or

Should I be just fine?

Am I just fine as long as I keep the trailer on the lighter side?

I'm all sorts of worried now.

 

[MTPockets]

Re: Wrong TV Rig???

You can change the gear set for the rear diff.. Not if 4WD... Are you looking at specs for 5th wheel towing? You'll get different limits for conventional trailer towing.

 

[Roadventure]

Re: Wrong TV Rig???

I do have 4x4 so there goes that idea.

I'm having a tough time finding the right #s... Using data provided by http://fifthwheelst.com/

- - - Updated - - -

The VIN decoder tool gives this: 16400, 13400, 9400, 13300, 11300, 19900, 13050, 9050, 13000, 11000 lbs 9050.0 min 19900.0 max

For the distributed weight max trailer weight. so not a solid answer there.

 

[avvidclif]

Re: Wrong TV Rig???

For an 18k trailer a dually would be almost mandatory and it would have to be set up right.

 

[Pizzaguy]

Re: Wrong TV Rig???

You can change the gear set for the rear diff.. Not if 4WD... Are you looking at specs for 5th wheel towing? You'll get different limits for conventional trailer towing.

MTPockets nailed it here. Make sure you are looking up specs for fifth wheel towing.

 

[Roadventure]

Re: Wrong TV Rig???

For an 18k trailer a dually would be almost mandatory and it would have to be set up right.

Note: 18K is the Max GVWR on the trailer. Dry weight is 13,750

 

[Aandaar]

Re: Wrong TV Rig???

Also you can swap out your gears in a 4wd. You just have to do both ends. That would help your max towing. But your LIMFACT is your payload capacity in the SRW.

My 2014 SRW payload is 4200 pounds and Max tow is 16500pounds with the 3:42 gears.

My 5er is max at 16200. I currently keep ours below 15800 and my payload weight is sitting about 3800 pounds with the trailer and us the dog and stuff in truck.

Yes I am close but I am below my limits and I feel comfortable and stable going down the road.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Chuck, Victoria, and Miss Callie

 

[Roadventure]

Re: Wrong TV Rig???

Knowledge is power and finding out the facts before learning the hard way is preferable. Is there a way to find out my gear ratio other than vin #? Is it stamped somewhere? Or does somebody have to pull it apart to look at it?

I am at least the second owner on this truck. The previous owner was pretty rough on it, but its possible he upgraded gear ratios or had it custom ordered - no clue.

 

[SNOKING]

Re: Wrong TV Rig???

I am confused, I thought the Aisin in pickups started with the 2013 3500's. Is the tranny dip stick on drivers side of engine (Aisin) or passengers side (68RFE)?


At anyrate 18k is beyound the tow rating and you will run into rear axle/tire capacity.

Chris

 

[Roadventure]

Re: Wrong TV Rig???

I'm probably wrong and assuming too much re: Aisin transmission. *removing from profile until I know for sure.

 

[SNOKING]

Re: Wrong TV Rig???

I'm probably wrong and assuming too much re: Aisin transmission. *removing from profile until I know for sure.

Researched it. Aisin in a 3500 pickup was a mid year 2013 addition along with the frame upgrades and came with the HO CUMMINS.

Ours is a 2015, Aisin SB and rated to tow 17050 5th wheel. It has a 7k RGAWR and a 11700 GVWR., and would still be the wrong tool.

Dually time! Chris

 

[Roadventure]

Re: Wrong TV Rig???


So it looks like my Payload is only 2630 lbs. The tongue weight of the trailer is actually 3600 based on: RVGuide

Looks like I have NO business towing this trailer with this truck. Especially fulltime! DW is not going to like that news.

 

[JWalker]

Re: Wrong TV Rig???

Here is the 2016 ratings for the different configurations. Hopefully you can make them out. If you need anymore info, let me know. I can look it up.

 

[Roadventure]

Re: Wrong TV Rig???

Its discouraging to see that the payloads and capacities are almost double what they were for the similar model from 2012 - I guess that much does change my situation much.

 

[Bohemian]

Re: Wrong TV Rig???

https://heartlandowners.org/showthr...ights-and-Truck-Payloads?highlight=Pin+weight


In the 2015 models the differential casing is smaller for the 3.42 than the casing for the 3.73 and tge 4.10.

Also ,it looks like you have the 68rfe transmission which has a lower tow rating.

 

[Genxrainman]

Re: Wrong TV Rig???

Wow your numbers sound really low for a newer 3500, not to make you feel bad but my 2010 Tundra has 16000 lb GCWR and Max tow of 10,300 lbs. I'm only sharing these numbers as a comparison to make sure your vin checker is working correctly. I would hope even with your gears it would have 12,000-14,000 fifth wheel towing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Roadventure]

Re: Wrong TV Rig???

It would seem that my TV looks the part but can't play the part. Even with the higher gear ratio, I'd still be way outside payload limits. Pulling my data from here

 

[jmgratz]

Re: Wrong TV Rig???

Before you bite the bullet and buy a new tow vehicle please research the tow rating on the Big 3, Chevy, Dodge and Ford. When checking look at them similarily outfitted. Our 2012 Ford F350 FX4 Dually has a 6.7 Liter Diesel with the 3.73 rear end. It is rated to securely tow our 16500 Landmark. The Dodge trucks of the 2012 vintage had tow ratings much lower than Ford or Chevy, although they did have the Cummings Diesel.

 

[Roadventure]

Re: Wrong TV Rig???

Yeah, seems like 2012 is a bum year for SRW. Good to see they improved. Just stinks to be on the wrong side of the equation.

 

[Roadventure]

Re: Wrong TV Rig???

Update: Dropped the news on my DW. She isn't happy about it but we are looking into DRW now. Amazing how much improvement there was from 2012 to 2014 and 2015 with just payload capacities alone. Makes the stats from 2012 seem like a fluke.