I just ordered a new F350 asked about pulling my 14K 5th wheel with 3.55 gears. I was told it would pull fine. He called me back and told me he could not get me 3.55's and my truck would come with 3.31 gears instead. I expressed concerns and he checked with Ford and was told that 3.31's were fine for my application. Can anyone verify this????

 

Did he explain why you could not get the 3:55 ratio?
Do you care to share some details about your truck on order so we can attempt to figure out why if he didn't?
There should be no reason why you can't choose 3:55 for an SRW.
If 3:31, I know you won't have 20" wheels.

 

Ford F350 lariat SRW crew cab. All the Ford literature says I can order a 3.55 but Ford says it is not available. I want to pull my 5th wheel and have decent fuel mileage.

 

You will be fine with the 3.31gearing. Ford rates the entire line of SRW trucks with the same capacities. If you have a 4x4, your GVW will be 11500 pounds regardless of which wheels and tires you order.

Again assuming 4x4, your GCVWR for the truck and the fiver will be 23500 pounds regardless of wheel and tire size.

A more complete listing of what you have tried to order would enable us to further clarify why the dealer is telling you that the 3.55 is unavailable. I am a little baffled though. Like Kper said, unless you are getting 20 inch wheels, most other combinations are available with the 3.55 gears. More info please????

Regards

 

I am getting 18" wheels and Ford says the 3.55 gears are unavailable. I don't know why, all I know is I am getting 3.31's.

 

That's strange, but like it was mentioned above you should have no trouble with 3.31 gears.

Tonight I tried a WOT start in 2nd gear, and once the turbo lit the rear tires spun and TCS kicked in. This was on dry pavement. I have 3.55 gears, but my point stands. You will have no trouble with towing power with this engine regardless of which rear gears you choose.

 

My understanding is 18" wheels are only available with a 3.31 gears and to get 3.55 gears you must go to 20" wheels. When you take the wheel/tire size into account the 18" 3.31 are only about 4% higher overall gearing than the 20" 3.55

 

From the order guide the 3.31 Axle ratio is standard on 18” wheels.
So if I understand this chart correctly, the 3.55 is an option.



The [1] note means:

 

I bought an F250 4x4 with the 3.55 E locking and just for grins I had them spec it as a F350 equiped exactly the same to see what the price difference was and it can certainly be ordered with option X3J which is the 3.55EL for an additional $390 (retail).

 

Unless Ford has changed the options recently without publicizing it, it sounds like you've got a dealer who's not very creative in manipulating the options and packages while building the order.

Lots of guys here have the 3.31 axle and pull heavy trailers, so you'll be fine, and when you're not pulling the trailer, you might get a tad better fuel mileage than those of us with the 3.55.

Joe

 

Is it a 4X4, as has to be a 4X4 to get a 3.55 rear axle.

 

... unless its a gas motor

I have the 18" Wheels and 3.55EL, but I have the Camper Package as stated as one of the requirements above, (note 1)

 

I've tried to go the other way - 20" wheels with 3.31's. No dealer I've run across says this is possible. Thats OK - 3.55's will be fine with the 20's. It doesn't make any sense to me why you can't get 3.55's with 18" wheels though - especially if you are equipping the truck to pull the 5ver. That should bump you to a 3.55 as being reccomended.

In any event, I don't think you'll have any issues at all with the 3.31's. These trucks make so much power its not going to matter. Order it with confidence and enjoy!

On a side note, the only reasoning I can fathom as to why the 3.55's are said to be unavailable is that there is a shortage. The 20" wheels are spec'd with 3.55's, no two ways about it (you might be able to go 3.73 as an option, but not the other way). So if there is a shortage they may just hold the 3.55's for the 20" wheel orders only.

 

no 3.73 gearing available in diesel SRW trucks...

 

Correct, only 3.31 and 3.55 for diesel SRW trucks.