3.73 or 4.10?
 

Planning to order a new ram dually with the heavy duty trans. I pull a nortech. And other odds an ends. Please help me make a ratio decision I won't regret.

i think 3:91 is the biggest for the 3500 series,,may have to go to a 4500 to get the bigger gear ratio which also had bigger brakes i think..

342 373 or 410. All three are available in the 3500.

if you are not going on long highway trips go with the 410, if you are going to do lots of highway then go with the 373

4.10 .. When in doubt gear down

How big is the Nortech incl weight?? and are you considering going bigger???

We have friends that have an older Mega Cab 3550 SRW 4x4 with the slightly smaller gear ( 3.73 or whatever it was a few years back) for hauling a big heavy 36' or 38' 5th wheel coach. On the big hills they are definitley on the right lane and the truck is working to reach the top - on the flats the economy is about the same as without the coach running around town. They have the truck figured out as they configured the package for running all over North America incl. up through Alaska so they were contending with the cost of MPG vs. brute pulling power

Running the 4.10's you will always have confidence in the pulling power but it will cost a bit more on longer runs. Come to a big hill or a steep ramp you will not be thinking about, "wish I had the 4.10's".

I hauled a few boats through the Carolina's -> Ohio and there were times I wish I had 4.56's over the 4.10's but that was with a 454 and didn't have the torque of the diesels

4.10. The 6 speed trans makes it a nice pairing. 3.73 puts too much strain the the drivedrain at lower speeds if you are towing heavy. Plus, from a resale standpoint, its a plus because most dealers stay with the 3.73's for the trucks they order for stock. Anybody that tows heavy gets 4.10's.

number one performance upgrade is gearing .. 410 all the way .. tuner maybe might come first .. plus if you step up to bigger shoes ... you got some gear .. i run 5.38 with my v10 gasser duelly with 35 toyos .. not to steep at all .. not a coal burner either .. though . thin to remember swapping to a steeper gear is not a cheap swap . go big and smile on every grade you climb . or descend ..

number one performance upgrade is gearing .. 410 all the way .. tuner maybe might come first .. plus if you step up to bigger shoes ... you got some gear .. i run 5.38 with my v10 gasser duelly with 35 toyos .. not to steep at all .. not a coal burner either .. though . thing to remember swapping to a steeper gear is not a cheap swap . go big and smile on every grade you climb . or descend ..

I can't argue that 4:10 is better for heavy hauling. The problem is if you're running a 4:10 geared diesel down the interstate at 80mph, you're generally revving the piss out of it.