Cr250Ram1500
Junior Member
I decided to make this post to share my extensive time and research into towing and axle ratios. My backstory; I didn’t know about axle ratios and ended up buying a Silverado with the dreaded, and all too common, 3.08 axle ratio. The BEST tow rating you could get was 6,100 pounds with 12,000 combined. It was horrible!!! Not only that but I learned the advertised “max tow” ratings are unattainable for how most people use their trucks. This lead me down a path of “enlightenment” about towing and I’ve learned A LOT. *this thread is about *legal* tow ratings, we all know the truck can exceed these ratings, however you run the risk of legal/civil liability and denied warranty claims when exceeding the ratings.
I recently ended up deciding to buy a 19’ Ram 1500 with the 3.21 axle ratio despite my past experience with the 3.08s. I am sharing my research on why the 3.21 ratio isn’t bad, compared to the 3.92, and WHY in most cases you will never even be able to access the additional towing ability with the 3.92s. Sure the 3.92s look good on paper with their “max trailer weight number”, but when you crunch the numbers it is really *only* better if you are driving solo with nothing else in your truck. This is due to the rams payload.
The chart below is a direct comparison of the 3.21 vs 3.92 ratio for MY SPECIFIC truck, and what I believe to be one of rams most common configurations, obviously other models (single cab) will produce much different results! If you look at the very bottom you will see what the truck is capable of towing with a family of 4 (600lbs) in the truck and NOTHING else in the bed.
***As you can see the 3.92 can really only tow 1,300 more pounds than the 3.21 when traveling with a family of 4, and ONLY if the trailers tongue weight is at 10%.**** This is due to the Rams payload of 1,505 pounds (configuration specific).
***The 3.92 and 3.21 have the SAME towing abilitywhen towing at 15% tongue weight with people riding in the truck****
10% tongue weight is often only obtained with things like a boat.
Closer to 15% tongue weight is often encountered with heavier things such as cargo trailers and travel trailers. Those batteries and propane weight A LOT.
I hope this helps someone out there shopping. I WAS dead set on 3.92s until I got the same truck for $5,000 less but with 3.21s. I did the math below and discovered the 3.21s will work good for my individual needs. With this said the 3.92 will provide a more comfortable tow than the 3.21 even with the same weight, again this data strictly looks at legal ratings. Please tow safe so everyone can get to their destination safely. I am nervous for those I see towing 30’+ travel trailers at 8k+ with their half tons because “max tow” is over 10,000...
I recently ended up deciding to buy a 19’ Ram 1500 with the 3.21 axle ratio despite my past experience with the 3.08s. I am sharing my research on why the 3.21 ratio isn’t bad, compared to the 3.92, and WHY in most cases you will never even be able to access the additional towing ability with the 3.92s. Sure the 3.92s look good on paper with their “max trailer weight number”, but when you crunch the numbers it is really *only* better if you are driving solo with nothing else in your truck. This is due to the rams payload.
The chart below is a direct comparison of the 3.21 vs 3.92 ratio for MY SPECIFIC truck, and what I believe to be one of rams most common configurations, obviously other models (single cab) will produce much different results! If you look at the very bottom you will see what the truck is capable of towing with a family of 4 (600lbs) in the truck and NOTHING else in the bed.
***As you can see the 3.92 can really only tow 1,300 more pounds than the 3.21 when traveling with a family of 4, and ONLY if the trailers tongue weight is at 10%.**** This is due to the Rams payload of 1,505 pounds (configuration specific).
***The 3.92 and 3.21 have the SAME towing abilitywhen towing at 15% tongue weight with people riding in the truck****
10% tongue weight is often only obtained with things like a boat.
Closer to 15% tongue weight is often encountered with heavier things such as cargo trailers and travel trailers. Those batteries and propane weight A LOT.
I hope this helps someone out there shopping. I WAS dead set on 3.92s until I got the same truck for $5,000 less but with 3.21s. I did the math below and discovered the 3.21s will work good for my individual needs. With this said the 3.92 will provide a more comfortable tow than the 3.21 even with the same weight, again this data strictly looks at legal ratings. Please tow safe so everyone can get to their destination safely. I am nervous for those I see towing 30’+ travel trailers at 8k+ with their half tons because “max tow” is over 10,000...
