3.73 or 4.10 with 68RE for towing?

3.73 or 4.10 with 68RE for towing?

04-09-2007, 02:26 PM

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klenger

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Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Tucson AZ 85747 Posts: 6,327 Old Reader's Rigs Gallery

3.73 or 4.10 with 68RE for towing?

I've been doing some "what if" thinking (my wife hates it when I do that) regarding a new truck and was wondering what the sweet spot gearing would be with the 68RE 6 speed auto for towing heavy. I'm thinking a 3500 SRW SWB 2WD to get the max payload w/o going dually, and towing a 5er in the 12-13k catagory (Hitchhiker class). With the double overdrive with the 68RE, some interesting possibilities are available. If you look at the RPM vs Speed numbers on the worksheet on my website ( http://www.klenger.net/dodge/general...calculator.xls ), for the 3.73s, it looks like you could tow in 5th gear at 2100 RPM at 65 MPH all day and use 6th gear only when empty. With the 4.10s, you're at 1800 RPM (too low?) at 65 MPH in 6th or 2300 RPM (too high?) at 65 MPH in 5th.

While the 4.10s should be a better choice for towing, the 3.73's are an interesting possibility if you consider 6th gear a non-towing gear only.

What say you?

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Last edited by klenger; 04-09-2007 at 02:29 PM..

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