Hey everyone,

I'm new to the RAM world Just got a 2010 Ram 1500 SLT 4x4 Hemi Quad Cab with 3.55:1 gears. I love the truck so far. My only thing is, I want to tow a camper. From what I have read my truck will only tow 7,500lbs? I was wondering for one if that is correct and two, is it hard to change out the gears in this truck and what I may need to do it? It has an auto transmission also.

Thanks
Jason

 

I think I found another chart and with my truck, tires, engine, quad cab, and gears it says it will tow 8,500lbs. Does anyone know if this is correct?

I'm thinking it will cost too much to change the gears to 3.92 so I will just go with the 8,500lbs if this is correct info.

 

Well i'm reading its 5,000Lbs standard, and 10,250 Lbs max. Getting 3.92s from 3.55s wont do you much good a the difference is only .37. You should get 4.10(.55) or 4.56(1.01) and it'll really help you out with towing.

Oh and doing a gear swap in a 4x4 is very expensive. You obviously have to do front AND back unless you don't want to use 4x4.

 

I have a PDF copy of the 2010 dealer Glossy Brochure and it says for your truck with a GCWR of 13,000 lbs, the tow rating is 7,550 lbs. No mention of tires. The 3.92 goes to 10,050 lbs.

About the tires, I don't remember where I saw it but the difference between the 17" wheels (31.6" tires) and the 20" wheels (33" tires) is 1000 lbs. It's just not mentioned in the brochure.

 

That's what I've read too (8550) on the Ram towing site. How heavy a trailer are you towing?

As for changing the gears I've done it in the past and honestly the difference in power wise isn't that much and you'll take a hit in the gas milage department as well.

 

I think I will stick with the 8,500lbs towing. I'm pretty certain with what I have that is the right number after searching for awhile. The trailer is undecided at the moment but we have a big family so I will need a camper that is big enough for all of us and just wanted to make sure I didn't go over the suggested ratings with the truck.

Thanks everyone for the replys.

 

I pull around a 7x14 enclosed trailer quite often and I started with 3.55 gears and swapped to 3.92 gears and have been very happy. I didn't have a big problem pulling the trailer with stock gears but my truck didn't want to get into 5th gear in tow/haul mode for very long. With the 3.92 gears I noticed a difference right away. It will stay in 5th gear now in tow/haul mode and has raised my mpg from 9.5 to 11 while pulling the trailer. Just giving you my opinion since I was in your exact same boat about two years ago. As far as getting my gear swap goes I went with my dealer and they treated me very well for price and install. Also my mpg without the trailer stayed the same for me when I swapped gears but I don't do a lot of highway miles.

 

If the Superchips Trans tune supports the 2010 model year, keep your stock gears and go that route. My towing has dramatically increased with the Advanced Trans tune option from Superchips. Allows you to hold onto the gear longer at specific pedal positions, wont alow truck to upshift if going up a slight grade and will allow you to set the downshifts the way you want so there's no need for 3/4throttle to pass or pick up speed. You can also have it set to downshift while slowing down so to use the engine as a brake(like tow/haul mode) rather than regular brakeing. Helps out alot. see my sig link for more info..

As far as the gear change.. NO, you cannot do it yourself! You need special tools and most of all Knowledge! 4x4 gear swap costs upwards of $1500 parts included. Labor is about $3-400 per axle. I'd run far away from any garage charging you half that amount because they clearly don't know what they are doing. It's a 3-4hr min job per axle with all the correct tools and knowledge

 

I have a 34' travel trailer with a dry weight of 6006lbs. I towed it with my '08 Hemi (rated to tow 8650), I didn't have any trouble towing it. I have a family of 6, so it is plenty big. I just bought a '12 Hemi, but haven't towed the trailer yet. I wanted to get the 3.92, but opted to stay with the 3.55. Will update after I pull the trailer.