New Tow Vehicle - Montana Owners Club

Johnnyg · 11-21-2009, 09:40 AM

I've come across a 2008 F350 powerstroke I'm intrested in buying. It has a 3.55 gear ratio which I thought might be to high but I'm curious to hear some other opinions.
We will be pulling a 2010 Montana 3665RE. The truck will primarly be used for daily transportation since I still have the good fortune of having a job. Our travel schedule will probably be 8 to 10 trips per year for now, most within 150 miles from home.

exav8tr · 11-21-2009, 10:44 AM

Johnnyg, I would check the towing weights on that rig. Seems with those high gears you might run into some problems with weight. I had a 2001 Dodge 3500 Cummings DRW with a 3:55 rear end and its towing numbers were considerably less than the 3:73 and 4:10. Just something to think about....

Tom S. · 11-21-2009, 10:53 AM

Something in the 3:73 or even 4:10 range would be better. There's a couple of things to consider though. If you don't plan on going through any mountains, the 3:55 should still be ok. You didn't state whether it is a 2x4 or a 4x4, but a gear change on a 2x4 wouldn't be too expensive, under $1k I would think. A 4x4 would cost at least twice that, maybe more because of the front being a different design than the rear.

iowaone · 11-21-2009, 11:22 AM

According to the Ford Web site the O9 Fords are rated the same whether 3.55 or 3.73 about 15,500 for a 5th wheel. You should be ok.

Art-n-Marge · 11-21-2009, 12:17 PM

The 15,500 weight ratings assume very low pin weights. Montys do not have low pin weights. Check the pillar label for RAWR and GVWR. Is the truck a diesel? The gas engine has much lower tow ratings.

Good luck.

Johnnyg · 11-21-2009, 12:24 PM

The truck is a 6.4 Powerstroke 4x4. I see most of the towing limited to south central Pa, Maryland and Virginia, occasionally wanering into the mountains. I guess that means more shifting than usual when climbing the hills? Is there something I'm overlooking?

**Carl n Susan** · 11-21-2009, 12:41 PM

The 3.55 rear (and front if a 4X4) axle ratio is the new "standard" for Ford. I suspect it is an attempt to squeeze a tad more mileage out of these DPF constrained monsters. The towing capacity and load capacity is the same for a 3.55 or a 3.73.

The Ford website will provide everything you ever wanted to know about towing and load capabilities. Just remember, everyone (Ford, Montana) tend to understate their weight.

The F350 will be fine for towing a Montana.

iowaone · 11-21-2009, 02:00 PM

You might want to double check on that rear end. I have an 08 so I found my sales brochue for 08 and it does not list the 3.55 rear end for that model year. Maybe, they made them but it is not listed.

8e3k0 · 11-21-2009, 04:38 PM

A 08 F350 with the 6.4 and 3.55 gears will handle that Monty with no problem. My son has a 09 with the 3.55 gears and pulls a double dually 30 foot goose neck running as high as 25,000 lbs trailer and load; truck handles it well.

Art-n-Marge · 11-21-2009, 07:24 PM

I agree with others that it sounds like the truck should handle it. If it comes with the tow/haul mode, then you can go up and down the hills, just pay attention to the tach (keep it under 3600) and your speed (try to stay under 65)and if you are close to the weights for the rear axle (hopefully 11,200 or 11,500), gross truck and combined truck/trailer weight, then you should be fine.

The 3.55 diff might be an attempt by Ford to improve the gas mileage for the 6.4L motor. The older 6.0L got good MPGs with the 3.73, but there have been many complaints about the 6.4L with the 3.73 was much worse. It would be interesting to find the table that shows the ratio for each gear with the 3.55 and 3.73. I have a feeling they will start to get closer as the gear gets higher which is why the towing capacities might be the same for the 2008 model year.

Tom S. · 11-22-2009, 12:55 AM

It's possible that Ford changed the low gear ratio of the trans to make up for the rear end change. It's my understanding that was done with the Allison/Duramax combo to make the 3:73 acceptable.

richfaa · 11-22-2009, 02:27 AM

Hummmmm. The stated GVWR of the 3665 is 15,545 The stated Tow capacity of the Ford is 15,500 so you have 5 lbs to play with..no problem

Note the weight of my 08 F-350 ready for towing as of 9/30/2009 was 9250lbs. Pin weight of a 06 3400 was 2915 lbs.
Add the 9250 to the stated 15,545 and that is way over the GCVW of My 08 Ford 4:10 diff. So..The numbers may not add up......But....as folks like to say.....it will pull it fine... As for MPG.. I am not so sure...In the real world of towing out here we all seem to get about the same MPG.

TLightning · 11-22-2009, 07:26 AM

Most tow capacities are based on EMPTY truck weights. My tow capacity out of the book is 16,400...when that weight is subtracted from the GCWR of 23,500 it equals my empty truck weight of 7,100. Added to that 7,100 are the goodies I have added...larger fuel tank and fuel, Rhino liner, etc.

As has been stated on here many times, find the GCWR and subtract the weight of the truck when ready to tow and that is your tow capacity.

Montana Sky · 11-22-2009, 08:35 AM

I bought an 09 F350 SRW back in Sept. I drove both the 3:55 and 3:73 and chose the 3:73 as I felt the 3:55 was just a tad too weak for the weight I tow. My opinion would be to go with the 3:73 or 4:10.

TLightning · 11-22-2009, 09:54 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Montana Sky

I bought an 09 F350 SRW back in Sept. I drove both the 3:55 and 3:73 and chose the 3:73 as I felt the 3:55 was just a tad too weak for the weight I tow. My opinion would be to go with the 3:73 or 4:10.

With three different rear ends, there should have been three different GCWRs. Unless Ford figured they would all tow the same.

richfaa · 11-22-2009, 12:43 PM

As Tom says...our GCWR is 23,500lbs..the truck ready to tow was 9250lbs..the difference is 14,250lbs which is the max we can tow,not the stated 15,500lbs... The 3400 weighed in at 15,300lbs at the fall rally....hey that's under 15,500lbs ..we are good....wrong..we had to lose a lot of weight... We did have over 60 gallons of liquid aboard since we had been.on the road.. and we dumped a lot of tools we never used plus a bunch of other "why do we have this" stuff. Just for the fun of it get your rig "properly" weighed.. you may be surprised.. If I had a GM or Dodge truck we would be in good shape as they are 600/800lbs lighter than the anchor Ford.

Montana Sky · 11-22-2009, 12:45 PM

Numbers dont change, but the lower rear end will show its weakness in the hills and the head winds. The 3:55 is more likely to lug the powerband on the Powerstroke and start the tranny "hunting" game under heavy loads. I'd rather not over work the tranny to keep the load moving. Will the 3:55 tow the load, yes. I chose the 3:73 as pulling power was more of a concern to me vs. fuel economy.

Johnnyg · 11-22-2009, 01:44 PM

Thanks for all the input. This is going to be tough decision for me. The price is slightly lower than trade-in value and has less than 10,000 miles on it. Seems like a good deal from what I've come across so far.
I'm sure the lower ratio would be a better choice given the weight we'll be towing. Will I notice the difference? Probably. Will it ruin my weekend? Hopefully not. I plan to make a decision tomorrow. We'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again.

clutch · 11-22-2009, 03:44 PM

With 3:55's you should be just fine. I have found that my old Dodge with 3:54's has the same RPM's when in direct as my newer Dodge with 3:73's and bigger tires. Just don't put bigger tires on it.

richfaa · 11-23-2009, 02:51 AM

I think that in the manner you are going to use it you will be OK. It would not work for us as we pull a lot of good grades and the 4:10 was a bettter choice for the way we use or truck..

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