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Old 07-05-2014, 08:14 PM   #1
Montana Sky
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2014 Ram 3500 SRW Clearance??

Is anyone towing with a new 2014 Ram 3500 SRW? If so, any clearance issues wit the new deeper bed? I have a '14 Ram 3500 Longhorn, SRW, crew-cab, longbed, with the Aisin tranny and the 3.42 rear end on hold with deposit at the dealership. After a bit of research, I found the top of the bed rail on the 2014 to be 59.4" tall. My current 2012 Ram 3500 DRW Longhorn is only 57" tall to the top of the bed rail. I realize the SRW will squat a little bit more so the 2" might not impact the overall clearance, but I'd rather know now than after I sign the deal.

I currently have the Pullrite 20.5k Super 5th hitch and will be having that mounted into the bed of the new truck this week once I finalize the deal Monday. I have also listed the trucks specs below in case anyone is interest:

GVWR - 12,300lbs
Payload - 4,270lbs
Base Weight - 8,028lbs
Axle ratings - Front 6k Rear 7k
GCWR - 25k
Max Trailer - 16,800lbs
 
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Old 07-06-2014, 02:27 AM   #2
vangoes
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I tow my 3455 with a 2013 3500 Longhorn. I have a Reese hitch mounted in the next to top hole. I have no issues with bed clearance although I had to "nip" the rear of the long mor-ryde king pin to prevent damage to my tonneau cover rails.
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Old 07-06-2014, 04:32 AM   #3
steelpony5555
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My 2010, which is the same body style, is a lot deeper then my 07 was, and it is on the top holes too. But I still have plenty of clearance. You will need to get a step stool lol lol ....I'm 6'2" and have trouble reaching the lock and break away brake cable lol lol I keep a 2 step step stool in the bed now.
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Old 07-06-2014, 07:10 AM   #4
jlb27537
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Hello, Same concern I had when I bought my '12 new. I was about 59" at the tail gate.

After I hauled it a couple of times it dropped almost 2". The spring pack has 2-3 spacers that can be removed and re-positioned in the spring pack if you need to lower the back.

Why are you going to a '14 when you have a '12. If I was doing a SRW I would save my $$ on the Aisian and just get a 68RFE. I have a good friend that just got his '14 DRW Ram. Got the 3.42 and he is finding he spends a lot of time in 5th gear. Fine for a empty 2500/3500, not a towing gear.

Jim
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2012 Ram Laramie 3500 DRW 4x4 3.73 Tow Max Pkg B&W Companion 60 gal RDS aux fuel tank. 2014 Montana 3150RL, 2 A/C's, Leather, 6 Point Jacks, Splendede WD2100XC, Mor/ryde X-Factor, Duravis 250 tires with TST 507RV monitors. 2 x Honda EU2000's
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Old 07-06-2014, 10:13 AM   #5
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I am thinking about trading my 09 for a 14. I got bit by the bug. Any suggestions or comments are welcome
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Old 07-06-2014, 01:35 PM   #6
Montana Sky
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Jim,

I am going from the '12 DRW to the '14 SRW as my needs have changed. While I am still full timing, I am not going to be traveling on a daily/monthly basis. It looks like I will be spending the warm months in the north and then heading to the south during the winter. I'd estimate I will be towing maybe 6k - 8k a year and the truck is my only rig - which needs to be able to fit into a parking garage at the airports anywhere I go. I have chosen the Aisin as it has additional torque and it also had additional coolers on it and the oil that the 68RFE does not. These will be helpful being the 3.42 will create additional heat loads on the truck due to the RPM's being lower. I admit I would much rather keep my DRW with the 3.73 and max tow package, but it is becoming too much truck for where I need to go every week. I also believe that the Ford SRW comes in the 3.42 and so far I have not seen many folks complaining about those truck.

I am amazed at that the bed rails in the 2014 SRW are 2.4" taller than my current dually. Guess the only real way to find out if I will have trouble will be after I sign the papers and hand over the money.... then it will be too late to change my mind.
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Old 07-06-2014, 04:48 PM   #7
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The way I looked at it is lots of people are towing lots of different trailers with 2014 trucks so they have to be able to be set up to do the job.......
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Old 07-06-2014, 05:04 PM   #8
Carl n Susan
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Montana Sky

.....I also believe that the Ford SRW comes in the 3.42 and so far I have not seen many folks complaining about those truck....
Actually the new Ford SRW typically come with a 3.55 rear end. There are 3.31 and 3.73 options but standard is 3.55. But just looking at the axle ratio gives only part of the story. The Ford has a super "short" 1st and 2nd gear set which counteracts the effect on the "tall" rear end ratio and allows it to get off the line quickly.
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Old 07-06-2014, 05:17 PM   #9
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Dave
Your dually has 17 inch wheels on it and the srw will have 18's or possibly 20 inch wheels. I believe the tires are larger on the srw's also. The suspension will sack during the course of break-in also.
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Old 07-06-2014, 06:12 PM   #10
Montana Sky
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Dennis,

The truck had 18" on it, but I had the dealer swap them out with the Ram 20" wheels. I am anticipating that the suspension sag will give me the clearance I need...or at least I hope.

Carl,
Thanks for clarifying the gears. I knew Ford had a lower gear, but obviously had the wrong number in my head. I also noted that on the '15 Super Duty one can only get the 3.31 or the 3.55 rear end. If you want to step up to the 3.73, Ford makes you get the DRW - Same as Ram. I like the King Ranch, but ruled that out after not being able to get the 3.73 rear end in a SRW. I also ruled it out due to my trading the Ram in for another Ram made the numbers work much easier (I have bought 5 trucks from this dealer) and they sell both Ram and GM. The Ford shop was not so willing to talk real values on the trade of my Ram which made the decision even easier.
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Old 07-06-2014, 08:44 PM   #11
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Since you are buying A Doge it doesn't really matter, but you don't need 3.73s on a Ford SRW. The gearset is designed for the 3.55 rear end. The dually gets 3.73s for the increased load capacity. But I recently towed some grades (the big ones were 7 miles at 6% and another one of 5 miles of 6%) with a friend driving a F450 (4.11) gears. We both held 50 MPH, with pedal still left, and towing similar weight RVs (15,500 lbs.) Both of us were running around 2,200 RPM. The only difference was I was in 3rd gear and he was in 4th.

Different tire sizes have little affect on the final drive ratio as the tire aspect ratio changes to keep the tire diameter withing 1/2 - 3/4" of one another. My tires on 20" rims are effectively the same height (and therefore the same circumference) as tires on 16", 17" and 18" rims. The shorter sidewall height of the larger tires does marginally affect the softness of the ride due to reduced flex area. But they look good.
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Old 07-07-2014, 04:14 AM   #12
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Yes my dually has 17's but I also have tires that are 2 sizes bigger then stock. It does change the drive ratio. If I remember I looked it up cause my 3.73 rear was not acting like my old one but I found somewhere that my tire size changed it to like 3.60's. Not a big change but I think it was enough to mess with where I should be rpm wise in high gear....But either way there's lots of 2014 Fords out there towing lots of different trailers so there has to be a way to set it up. I don't think Ford would make a truck that could not tow a 5er. Oh wait a minute, lets just hope the same engineers that designed our Montana's didn't work for Ford...lol lol lol
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Old 07-12-2014, 08:15 PM   #13
Montana Sky
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Well I picked up my new Ram today at the dealer - this truck is so much more truck than the 2012 it replaced. Have to wait a few weeks to get some miles on it before hooking up the coach to give it a workout.
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Old 07-13-2014, 02:54 AM   #14
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I traded for a new 2014 last week. It has the 342 gears and new style bed. I never had a problem towing from SE Missouri to north of Kansas City. The hills in Missouri didn't cause any problems and I averaged over 10 miles to the gallon.
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Old 07-13-2014, 04:34 AM   #15
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No problems with mine. I have the B&W in it's highest position. I also have larger tires (285's that are 34.8" dia). Towing is 5th gear max as I don't tow over 65mph. I also have Firestone rideright air bags that keep it level at about 25psi. Estimate bed clearance at about 6".
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