2012 1500, 5.7 2 wheel drive. Was not familiar with Dodge gear ratios so to dealer to make sure he did NOT sell me the high geared rear end for highway use. That I wanted a lower gear for towing. He goes to computer and says it LOOKS like the BIGHORN has 4.11 gears. I said well thats a little lower than i was thinking but it darn sure should tow good. I get the truck, fantastic gas mileage, I think but either lugs in 5 0r 6 or screams in 4. Terrible towing mileage, MAYBE 11 MPG towing 4000 lbs. Find out you can email Dodge and they will send you the build sheet. It has the 3.56 gears, the highest they make. Dealer just says "sorry buddy, it should be o'k" I would think they would at least offer to change gears to 3.92 at cost. Oh well, 1st and last RAM from that dealer.

 

Oh, customer service said the dealership is a privately owned business and they can do anything they want, to go to a different dealer next time!!

 

Sadly, I've met not only salesmen but SALES MANAGERS who didn't know their product from a toaster oven. There is NO training process in the auto sales industry. I went with a friend to help her buy a car a couple of months ago and the salesman couldn't answer a single question I asked - one of which was whether the car had a 4 or 6 cylinder engine. He finally fessed up that he was laid-off computer tech from NASA and pretty much just took the job selling cars until something better came along.

4.10s would be a nice upgrade for towing (3.55s suck *****), but the dealer probably doesn't have a decent axle/diff guy and you'll probably have a nightmare on your hands when they're done...

 

All they look at is the price of the truck and how much they will get if you walk off the lot with the truck...Every so often you run into a guy who is interested in selling vehicles, and interested in the vehicles he sells. He might not know all the little details, like does the vehicle have a power inverter, or where are each of the storage areas. But that's something that he could physically find out himself. He know most of the BIG options, and has the ability to walk out to the vehicle and look.

I purchased my 07 2.5 years ago, he was was a good salesman. I asked he knew, or found out. It did help that he used to own a brand new 08 at the time. Parents bought a new van so I took them to the same guy (I get $$ for it haha) The guy did not know too much about the vans, but he went out of his way to find out. He found out the different options, and what "package" they needed to be in to get them. Very good, until the parents mentioned the air canada deal. He pretty much stopped dead in his tracks and left them be. Same thing happened when I upgraded to my 2011. I told him what I wanted, and he got it. But basically thats it, didn't talk to me about any options or anything. He knew that because of the air Canada deal, he was loosing money right away and the end result was lower.

So granted next time I will be finding a dealer where the employees are paid by the hour and not on commission (I heard they do exist!). And if he/she does not help, I demand a new one. It's all coming down to money these days, which is sad. Not to mention I know people that will work at a dealership just because it gets them into a brand new vehicle at cheap rates. What they don't realize is now most dealers are demanding that they have to sell a certain number of vehicles to keep their job, (of course) BUT they must be at the dealer now for a certain time to retain the employee pricing. So they suck it up, tell people what they want to know, and sell vehicles.

 

OH and as far as the gear ratios, If I remember right you can only get into the 4.10s ones you get into the 2500s...The highest is the 3.92, which is amazing. For anyone who reads this it does make a difference. Also the anti spin rear diff...MUST!...but again something the salesman does not know if he doesn't care...

 

I would think the 3.92 would be o'k. I'm just thankful it has the 6 speed because I can lock it in 5th instead of 4th. It pulls pretty good with 5th locked as highest gear . Live and learn.

 

1500s have 3.21/3.55 and 3.92. No 3.56 or 4.11. 3.92 with 17 inch tire/wheel is the best tow combination. 3.92 with 20 inch tire/wheel is effectively 3.71 I believe. 3.92 with 17 inch tire/wheel is 3.92. Diameter of tire/wheel makes a difference also.

 

not being a wise guy but do people actually buy a pair of 17" tires and wheels just to tow their boat maybe once a month?? Not only that, most only tow their boat 4-5 miles each way. When I tow I do go a min 175 miles each way but I seriously doubt I'll change rear tires and wheels every time, maybe I'm just lazy. Now that tranny DOES lock in 5th, or 4th it tows fine and the 3.55 (not 3.56) gives me great mileage empty on the highway, especially at 80-85 mph. But my point is the dealer didn't give me what I asked for in gears OR their customer service. I.E. Calling me back when I AND Dodge customer service asked them to 3-4 times each. But hey, there's at least hundreds of Dodge dealers right??? They are only ON off my list.

 

Sounds like your driving sucks. I get 15mpg towing 4-5K with 3.21's. Is that 11mpg city?

OUt of curiosity, what are you getting for milage when not towing?

 

And the gear ratio is on the window sticker