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
3 tons wrote:
“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
Yes, there is engineering behind it but nothing magical. Overdrive is just another gear ratio. The engine doesn't know if it's overdrive with a 4.x rear end or a drive with a 3.X rear end if the overall gear ratio from crank shaft to wheels is the same.
Marketing more than anything for the average owner. "Overdrive" sounded more cool than "4th gear" when they switched from 3 speed to 4 speed transmissions.
As far as choosing a rear-end ratio, the modern trucks with 8/10speed transmissions they simply pick a gear that gets the correct overall gear ratio.
Maybe it's an old timer thing where you felt the truck was less capable if it had to downshift. Odds are towing or carrying a large truck camper you will rarely be running in top gear with the new transmissions...and it's designed to be that way.
