I believe the offroad edition half tons usually came with 3.92 gears but I could be wrong... 4.55 gears and 35" tires would give the closest performance to 3.55 and stock sized tires for the non offroad edition or closest to the 3.92 gears and slightly larger tires that are stock on the offroad edition...

You have to think of the differential gears and overall tire diameter as two gears working together to deliver a sweet spot as far as load and rpm level on the rest of the drivetrain....
when in 4th gear on a stick ram with 3.55 gears and 35" tires your closer to what 5th gear would be with stock tires... and you lose the low end first gear...Its almost like always starting in second... with an automatic you cant easily adjust those shift points if at all so the truck is shifting all wrong and it makes the tranny and engine constantly work harder bogging it down.

 

It's a great looking rig, especially at that price.

I can't tell, but is it a Long Bed? Angle kinda looks like it.

 

OREs afaik have always been 4.10s. Have you gotten a build sheet yet?

Look for a tag on the diff, usually on a bolt.

O/D is for cruising relatively flat, slow rises. Actual hills its normal to drop down. A tuner can remove or change the shift points.

 

Thanks and it is a long bed. The price was right even though it had been wrecked a few times. PO did a good job fixing it back up with the excepting of a little bit of a rough paint job. It works well for hauling wood to my outdoor wood boiler stove but I'd love to have an extended cab to haul the three kids around in too. Someday! One thing is for sure, I'll never be able to go back to the 1/2 tons that I drove for 10 years before I got this one!

 

Just cut the back open and build an exo cage with seats. Box it up and DONE!

 

I was thinking of bolting down some seats from a brat in the back. Seatbelts and all!

 

I wish that were legal in New York...

 

4.10's......

 

FSM will provide alot of info you are looking for.
Build sheet from the dealer parts dept (free) will provide info on what came on truck,
you need to have your vin number handy.

Dave

 

I hear ya, im 16 and ive been sellin a lot of wood. I have a 1/2 ton and it handles it pretty good but when i get a good trailer load on the back of it i wish i had a 3/4 ton. And definitely with the 3.55s sometimes takin off is hard too