Trade 2015 for 2016??

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jasonw

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If it is a 4x4, he cannot swap gears so easily or cheaply. As others mentioned, the front gears are welded in. If he has a 4x4, he'd have to swap the front axle pretty much entirely to switch gears.

Take a nice, extended test drive of a Big Horn with the 6.4L/3.92 combo, as others suggested. Make sure you would be completely happy with the the trade. If I were you, I'd keep the Laramie until its time to trade it in for other reasons (age, mileage, or whatever), and get the gear ratio you want on your next Ram.
 

TestPilot57

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I think no manufacturer should ever put anything less than a 3.92 or something close in any truck.

There's the rub. Most people use them as cars, not trucks. That's why they put P tires on them from the factory.

What they need to do is train their sales people to understand trucks, and make sure they are serving the customer by providing the information necessary to make an informed decision.

I haven't taken the time to research it, but I bet that even with 3.21s, a 4G Ram with 8 speed will have lower final drive gearing at the tires than your average 60s/70s truck with 4.10s and three on the tree. Nevertheless, I still would have gotten 4.10s or 4.56 if available from the factory.
 

SirMarco

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Keep what you have like everyone is saying.
Do a gear swap and be happy. The slightly larger bed might be nice, but is it really worth the "down grade". Also how often would you need that extra bed space? If it's just to have "in case" it's not worth it...
 

schul788

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Good read by allpar: News | Does Ram need lower axle ratios?

The 3.21 with the 8 speed will have a much lower gear than the 3.92 or 4.1 with a 5 or 6 speed, even the modern ones. There really is absolutely no need to get a 3.92 unless you tow very heavy loads a lot (8000 vs 10,000 tow capacity 3.21 vs 3.92) or just love the feeling of a sh*t ton of power every time you hit the pedal. I drove both before deciding and the 3.21 had plenty of power for everything I could need (tow boats and wheelers mostly) and still felt powerful of the line. I would definitely keep the Laramie and save your money and get a tuner instead of swapping gears.
 

Grunt4Life

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Having the same issue... I want to have more towing capacity. My local dealer sent me an estimate stating it would be $3,000 at a minimum and could be MUCH more depending on what other parts are needed.
 

smurfs_of_war

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The governed speed (here in Canada) meaning there will still be tons of tach left by the time you hit that speed limiter in the programming.
 

StoneDude76

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I have mine raised to 130. I hit 131 on a nice straight away fairly quick with 3.21 gears.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk
 

Treburkulosis

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Are you towing a heavy load? The gears can be swapped. I have hauled some super heavy loads in the bed of my 3.21 geared 12 hemi quad cab. The only reason for a 2500 is to tow imo. My neighbor has a 08 diesel 2500 and all he has is a little 16ft bumper pull trailer and never hauls anything more then a two story ladder. I vote just swap your gears. That is going to be my first big mod.
 

dRAMbuie

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There really is absolutely no need to get a 3.92 unless you tow very heavy loads a lot (8000 vs 10,000 tow capacity 3.21 vs 3.92) or just love the feeling of a sh*t ton of power every time you hit the pedal. I drove both before deciding and the 3.21 had plenty of power for everything I could need (tow boats and wheelers mostly) and still felt powerful of the line. I would definitely keep the Laramie and save your money and get a tuner instead of swapping gears.

My vote goes to "sh*t ton of power"!
 

HemiPower36

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What they need to do is train their sales people to understand trucks, and make sure they are serving the customer by providing the information necessary to make an informed decision.

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Bingo. The sales staff really are clueless about the Ram Brand. Glad I learned from a previous mistake and did an ass load of research. I Walked around the lot, pointed to the truck that had my top 5 (4x4, 3.92, crew cab, laramie, white), signed.... And left. All the sales dude did was haggle.
 
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