3.42 Gears?

I had a 2008 Dodge Ram 2500, 4x4, 6.7 diesel, with 3.73 gears and now have traded to a 2013 Dodge Ram 3500, 4x4, 6.7 diesel, with 3.42 gears. I didn't know it at first that I didn't have the same gears until I noticed how bad my mileage was. Lower numbers are suppose to improve fuel economy. My 08 hardly ever got below 18 and my new one has a hard time getting 16 and it is suppose to be better because of the def fluid. When I would pull with my 08 most of the time my mileage was at least 10 mpg. I pulled yesterday a same load with my new truck and it never left 4 mpg. So that is when I pulled out my sticker and saw that I have 3.42 gears. I love my new truck except I am going to put new gears in a truck that should never have 3.42 gears!

I have a 13 2500 CTD 4x4, w/ the same gears. Pulling a 7500lbs toy hauler going 70 mph I get 11 - 12mpg, and the rig only has 2500 miles on it, mine is not even broke in yet. She sucks a ton of DEF while towing.

That's good info. I have been thinking about trading my 12 ram 1500 in on a 13 ctd. Hand calc towing my trailer and 12 challenger which is around 5000 lbs I get 13.2 mph around 70 mph.

I have a '13 1500 with 3.92 gears. I tow a 7500lb toy hauler & get between 10.5-13 mpg so far. I have 4500km on my truck. She pulls like a champ though! I'm very impressed.
Unfortunately 3.42 gears aren't good for towing. As you mentioned, they're supposed to be for fuel economy.

Rotzilla said:

I have a 13 2500 CTD 4x4, w/ the same gears. Pulling a 7500lbs toy hauler going 70 mph I get 11 - 12mpg, and the rig only has 2500 miles on it, mine is not even broke in yet. She sucks a ton of DEF while towing.

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These are the numbers I see towing my TT with my 2012.

Several of us were doing a comparison on another forum and we found that over 65 mph the gear ratio starts to come out of play and wind resistance takes over...

Farmboy72 said:

I had a 2008 Dodge Ram 2500, 4x4, 6.7 diesel, with 3.73 gears and now have traded to a 2013 Dodge Ram 3500, 4x4, 6.7 diesel, with 3.42 gears. I didn't know it at first that I didn't have the same gears until I noticed how bad my mileage was. Lower numbers are suppose to improve fuel economy. My 08 hardly ever got below 18 and my new one has a hard time getting 16 and it is suppose to be better because of the def fluid. When I would pull with my 08 most of the time my mileage was at least 10 mpg. I pulled yesterday a same load with my new truck and it never left 4 mpg. So that is when I pulled out my sticker and saw that I have 3.42 gears. I love my new truck except I am going to put new gears in a truck that should never have 3.42 gears!

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how many miles do you have on your new truck? the cummins tends to suck on fuel until its broken in, and you probably wont start seeing normal fuel averages until you hit about 7500-10000 miles. while 3.42's arent the most ideal gear for towing, they arent horrendous on the diesel either, and certainly are not the cause for a 6mpg loss.

It sounds like you might need to be a bit easier on the beast too.

4MPG holy ****-balls that's terrible!
What the devil are you towing? A 25,000# trachoe at 85 MPH?!

Haha, not bad.

our work 2500 HEMI with 3.73's only got 6-6.6 towing 6000 pounds.

We laughed and floored it as work pays fuel

powderbrad said:

Haha, not bad.

our work 2500 HEMI with 3.73's only got 6-6.6 towing 6000 pounds.

We laughed and floored it as work pays fuel

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That's crazy...my 97 3500 4x4 dually w/4.10s got 12 mpg towing ~ 13k behind it.

Worst I ever saw was 11 mpg and that was towing a large camper thru the mountains.

WhiteExpress said:

It sounds like you might need to be a bit easier on the beast too.

4MPG holy ****-balls that's terrible!
What the devil are you towing? A 25,000# trachoe at 85 MPH?!

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Yeah, I am just not buyin' it. I get 11.2mpg when pulling my 12,200lb 5th wheel, and about 12.2 pulling my 10,000lb boat.

And I got those almost from the start, about one mpg less actually when I first got it.

And I have 4.10s.

powderbrad said:

Haha, not bad.

our work 2500 HEMI with 3.73's only got 6-6.6 towing 6000 pounds.

We laughed and floored it as work pays fuel

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No offense, but I am not buying this either.

I pulled my boat with an '04 2500 HEMI and I used to get about 10-11 with that. Hell, I pulled my boat with a Durango HEMI a few times and got 11.

(true story- I used my '07 Durango with 3.92 gears to pull my 10,000 boat a few times. Have a photo to prove it.)

New to the truck, ?? about gears!

Hello guys and gals, my name is Joe, I'm new to the forum and new to owning a RAM Turbo Diesel.
I have a serious question about the gear ratios, and I found this forum.
My BRAND New 2015 RAM 2500 4X2 Turbo Diesel apparently has 3.42 Gears in it, instead of the Std 3.73 Gears and I'm trying to figure out why?
It sounds like, from what I have been reading, that the 3.73 Gears are better for both all around driving AND Towing. So I'm trying to figure out why RAM put an upgrade package in this truck that appears to have changed the rear end.
When I asked the Customer Service guys at the dealer where I bought it, they said the New Tradesman 2FA Optional Package also changes the gears because it adds the 6.7L Diesel Engine.
I'm hoping someone here can help me out, because this bad boy is certainly new enough for me to take it back into them and start demanding they to put the 3.73 gears back in it!!
I will say, we took it out driving the other day, in the mountains North of Phoenix, put about 400 miles on it, and I was averaging over 16 MPG up and down some twisty roads, without pulling anything.
thanks

GIJoeJarhead said:

I'm hoping someone here can help me out, because this bad boy is certainly new enough for me to take it back into them and start demanding they to put the 3.73 gears back in it!!

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i dont think you can blame the dealer for your failure to read the build sheet. 3.42 gears are standard for the cummins now.

Gee, thanks Danny for the personal attack, nice to know you too!!

The salesperson/dealer had already taken the "Build Sheet" out of the window. The only thing I knew for sure, based on a conversation with someone who had a RAM with the 4.10 gears, was that I didn't want that gear setup in the back. So I asked my salesperson if this truck had the 3.73 gears in it, and he told me "Yes."
Apparently he was reading the left side of the build sheet as well!

I have called them back again and a different salesperson told me that 2FA Diesel Upgrade package for the 2015 Tradesman DOES include changing the gears to 3.42. He said he believes that set up gives the best towing as well as all around better gas mileage than the 3.73. The 3.73 is GREAT for towing, but doesn't get as good of MPG's . . .
. . . and again, in case I wasn't clear before, FIRST RAM Truck, FIRST Diesel Truck. Yes I did a ton of research on the front end, and Yes I asked about the gears!!

3.42 gears is the only option available for a SRW 6.7 Cummins from 2013 and up. 3.73's or 4.10's are no longer offered in SRW 6.7 trucks, only DRW. So as soon as the Cummins was added to the truck the 3.73's (standard for a 6.4 hemi) were removed from the build sheet and 3.42's were put on it. So to put it simply, you have exactly what you're supposed to have. The dealership is not going to change the gears for you if that's what you're thinking.

As others mentioned, you need to let the engine break in. A Cummins never gets good mileage right off the bat. I believe it even says in the manual that they have a 10,000 mile break in period. As time moves on you'll probably start to see some better numbers out of it.
Also, if you're going solely off the EVIC your numbers are credible anyways. The EVIC is known to be wrong even on completely stock trucks. If you really want to know what your fuel mileage is you need to hand calculate at every fill up.

GIJoeJarhead said:

Gee, thanks Danny for the personal attack, nice to know you too!!

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that was far from a personal attack.

you cant trust salesmen. sorry you found that out the hard way. on the plus side, gears for a 2wd 2500 are relatively inexpensive and easy enough to have done so if you are truly unhappy with them, swapping them out isnt a big deal. if you do a lot of highway driving, you'll be happy with 3.42's.

There are guys towing sizeable loads in gas powered Rams with 3.21; your diesel should be fine with 3.42. I have to admit, you can't trust anyone with facts. Unless you have the dealer saying 'yes' on tape it doesn't mean anything. Items like that are up to us to be informed consumers.

Thanks for the replies guys, I appreciate it. OK, so it sounds like the 3.42's are all I'm going to get, unless I do my own swap, but we'll see what time will tell us. It sounds like this truck needs a few more miles on it to be certain of what I have . . . both towing MPG's and MPG's without. I can tell you that without the trailer on the back I'm getting North of 15.5 MPG's, which is better than my Ford Expedition was getting just regular driving. I took the 5th wheel out this weekend after putting about 600 miles on the truck and I was getting between 9 and 12 MPG's depending on the road, wind, and whether I pushed it to 70 or stayed closer to 60. Obviously hills make a difference, I expected that.
I'll put a few more miles on it before I begin to worry . . . only have 1200 on it right now!
Thanks again
Joe