3.42 gears for TC
Hello, Just looking for some thoughts on pulling hills with 3.42 gears. I'm going back to a pop-up TC @ 1800 lbs dry weight. The trucks I'm looking at are the Chevy and GMC 3500's SRW 4x4...
Forum Discussion
“There's nothing magical about overdrive. It's just another gear ratio.”
Except, fact is that it reduces engine speed which helps compensate for numerically high rear axle - No magic is involved, just engineering and this is why overdrive exist, ‘nowadays’ there’s multiple overdrive ratios…
However, much of this depends on where and if something is being towed - for a flatlander grocery-getter I’d easily go with the 3:42, but this is a slide-in camper forum and some campers (loaded…) are nearing 5k#, and some folks tow in the mountains…When crossing the Sierra’s on hwy 80 (not towing, but 5k Camper), even with a Dsl (800lb torque) I find myself occasionally downshifting from 6th to 5th overdrive - but that’s just me and I feel it’s negligent to make an engine lug…
3 tons
Except, fact is that it reduces engine speed which helps compensate for numerically high rear axle - No magic is involved, just engineering and this is why overdrive exist, ‘nowadays’ there’s multiple overdrive ratios…
However, much of this depends on where and if something is being towed - for a flatlander grocery-getter I’d easily go with the 3:42, but this is a slide-in camper forum and some campers (loaded…) are nearing 5k#, and some folks tow in the mountains…When crossing the Sierra’s on hwy 80 (not towing, but 5k Camper), even with a Dsl (800lb torque) I find myself occasionally downshifting from 6th to 5th overdrive - but that’s just me and I feel it’s negligent to make an engine lug…
3 tons
