agreed! especially if your running 3.55s (which are worthless on these trucks) youll want like a 3.92 or 4.10 ratio imo..should solve your problem

 

I am running 3.55's and I plan to regear to 4.10 in the very near future. My camper only weights 3,600 lbs dry but I've also got a CJ7 crawler that I haul alot as well. With trailer it pushes the 5,000 lbs mark.
Any idea how my mileage will suffer when I go from 3.55's to 4.10's? I get around 15.5 mpg now.

 

This what you are going to really like. Your mileage will improve. The Dodge engineers just plain got it wrong when they used the 3:55 gear. Depending on your tire size you may want to go to 4:56 instead of the 4:10. If your tires are 33" or bigger no doubt you want 4:56. I'll get outta the way so everyone else can tell you the samething I just did.. Good luck

 

I'm 2wd and running a 295/50R20 tire.

 

I have 3:92's with 33" rubber (275/60/20) and I can tell you for one that the 3:92's aren't even enough for the 20" wheels. I regularly tow, actually is all i currently do with my truck and it does lag a bit off the line and up hills with weight.

and 15.5mpg with a 5.9L?? ohh, you got a 2wd.....yeah so, I would go for 4:56's for pulling power and happy medium of 4:10's for power and best MPG's. i think the 4:56's will run you slightly lower mpg's than the 4:10's with that trans/engine combo but i could be wrong???

 

i would go with the 4:10's i think 4:56's would be too much for what you are looking for as far as towing and mpgs

 

I would get one of these:
http://www.protorque.com/ExtremeXHD.html

and throw in a set of 4.56's. They wont hurt your mpg's, or at least they have not on mine, my mpgs went up after installing them. You also want that low end grunt that they'll give you. The 4.10's would be better than the 3.55's too but IMO the 4.56's are what you are going to want. The less strain on the engine the better the mpg's are going to be since it is not going to be working as hard. With that said I can only vouch for what my truck has done, I have know idea what it will do with yours.

 

yeah, with those 31" tires/wheels, i would say 4.10s would be the way to go. if you plan on going bigger in the future though, might as well get 4.56's. i have 4.56's and 33"s, and i just got 17.3 mpg hand calculated on a long trip. so as said by numerous other members, dont fear the gear. it wont hurt your mpg's, and it will make driving so much more fun.

 

Another question, Just say my camper weights in at 4,500 lbs ready to go, If I did the 4.10 gears, would you tow in Drive or OD?

 

Coupe, I'm using 285/50-20 (30.25") tire and I'm turning 2000 rpm at 65 mph. If I was carrying that kind of wieght I'd opt for the 4:56 gear just to reduce engine/drivetrain strain. And then I'd tow in OD. Good luck