4.10 or 4.30 gears?? any opinions!

[BSDually]

Hello all! I am interested in buying a new 2008 F350 DRW PSD 4x4. Pulling a 15,000 + lb fifth wheel, plus I guess the weight of the new duallie, say 9000 lbs loaded gas me and the wife, firewood, dog. doing the math 15000 + 9000 = 24,000 which is over the 23,500 4.10 gear PSD 2008 GCWR. So I guess I answered my own question 4.30 would be safer for towing this kind of load.
** Gas milage I know will suck, but what are some opinions. What do the new F350 Duallies weigh from the factory? Again is it worth it to get 4.30 gears or the 4.10 they'll both do the job towing, is the gas milage that musch different.

Thanks for inputs.
Bob

[BIGBEN2004]

Another thing to look at would be the F-450 with the 4.30 rears. It would have the same 26,000 GCVWR but it will stop like no other with the size brakes that are on those things. It will also allow you to not have to worry about too much pin weight from your Fiver and overloading your trucks GVWR or the trucks rear GAWR witch can happen easy on some of the Fivers out their. Some of those things shift allot of weight on the truck. I know it is more money for the 450 but it might be worth it once you pull a trailer with it and try to stop. They seem to handle loads allot better. It will get about the same mileage too.

[SmokeyWren]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: PSF350</div><div class="ubbcode-body">... doing the math 15000 + 9000 = 24,000 which is over the 23,500 4.10 gear PSD 2008 GCWR. So I guess I answered my own question 4.30 would be safer for towing this kind of load.</div></div>

Perhaps not any "safer", but certainly a more pleasant driving experience. Having "almost enough truck" is frustrating for me, especially when crossing the hill country or mountain ranges.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">** Gas milage I know will suck, but what are some opinions. </div></div>

Luck of the draw has a lot to do with fuel mileage, but in general the 4.30 rear would probably get slightly better fuel mileage when grossing 24,000 pounds than the 4.10 would get. But when unloaded, the 4.10 would get better mileage.

So if you are buying it primarily as a tow vehicle, then get the TowBoss pkg. But if you plan to use it primarily as a daily driver or commuter car, then get the 4.10 or even the 3.73.

If you want your cake and eat it too, then get the 4.30 for towing, and install a Gear Venders or U.S.Gear overdrive for unloaded commuting. The 20% overdrive when in "double overdrive" will change the 4.30 to an effective 3.44, which would be wonderful for unloaded cruising. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif[/img]

But not cheap. Plan over $3,000 for the auxiliary transmission with 20 percent overdrive.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What do the new F350 Duallies weigh from the factory? </div></div>

Depends on options. The most common would be a CrewCab 4x4 PSD Lariat. When loaded for a trip with driver, one passenger, full of fuel, toolbox with normal tools and extra fluids, 5er hitch installed, spray-in bedliner installed, normal stuff behind the back seat, cooler full of cool, then count on around 9,000 pounds. Add more passengers or heavy junk in the bed and you can easily reach 9,500 pounds or more. Only the CAT scale knows for sure, so pay your $10 scale ticket with various loads in the truck and then you'll know.

And speaking of the CAT scale, most of them will give you a second weighing free if you arrange it with the desk clerk and do it within a half-hour or so. So when on the road with the 5er, plan to stop at a truckstop that has a CAT scale, fill up with fuel, and weight the wet and loaded rig. Then drop the trailer in the parking lot and weight the truck without the trailer. Then you can compute trailer gross weight, trailer hitch weight, and tow vehicle GVW with and without the trailer connected.

[Super Duty John]

I just did this research and went with the 3.73 gears in my 2008 4x4 dually short bed. I will occasionally pull my 14,000# (trailer weighs 4,000# empty and the mini excavator is just 10,000#) trailer and hate the thought of screaming down the highway empty with those 4.10 gears. I've done it before and I think the slower ride pulling the heavy load very occasionally is well worth having highway gears the rest of the time.

[SmokeyWren]

Hey, John - Have you weighed your new truck yet?

Somehow your dually shorty doesn't look as wierd as I expected. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/crazy.gif[/img]

[E6BaldEagle]

We have the 08 F350 Lariat, LB, CC, tow boss, 5 spd auto, 4X4, 4.30 rear, Reese 20K. Getting 14+MPG in various types of traffic and terrain, unloaded. Keep our interstate speed just under 65 and right at 2K on the tach. Mileage is 5200. Keep your RPM below 2K and speed 55 or less whenever possible and you will do well on mileage. By the time we pick our fiver up in May, expect milage to be around 16MPG. Anticipate milage with 7.5 ton 5th will be 11-13MPG depending on traffic and terrain. Great truck. Easy to drive and very comfortable on long trips.

[titaniumfan]

The F450 with 4.88 has enough GVWR/GCWR/GAWR margin when towing my 5th wheel that I put a 98 gallon Transfer Flow tank in the bed so that I wouldn't have to stop as often (besides, not all places have ULSD fuel). When full it adds another 1000 lbs or so in the bed but as others have mentioned the massive brakes don't mind.