Differential swap

carringb wrote:
4.30 gears. Its worth it. Going from 3.73 gears to 4.30 gears raises your GCWR from 15,000 to 20,000 pounds.

I totally agree, the V-10 loves deeper gears. I had factory 3.73 hears in my EX towing a 9,500lb TH (stock 31.5" tires) and got 7 MPG on a round trip from Philly to SC. Swapped in a set of 4.88 gears and with slightly taller 32" tires made the same trip with the same TH (and load) and got 9 MPG. The big difference is that the extra revs from the deeper gears are also making more power and with that extra power the trans can hold onto OD more resulting in better MPG as well as much better towing performance. My deeper gears resulted in better towing MPGs and only cost me about 1 to 1.5 less MPG while running unloaded on the highway. Our EX is mainly used for towing and doesn't see much unloaded driving so it was a great upgrade for us.
Have since upgraded to 35" tires (netting an effective ratio of 4.39) and a longer heavier TT at 41' and 11,000lbs and still getting 8 to 9.25 MPG towing.

4.30 gears. Its worth it. Going from 3.73 gears to 4.30 gears raises your GCWR from 15,000 to 20,000 pounds.

3rd gear. Don't let it shift.. you shift it before it's under stress.

Your vehicle is doing exactly what it's supposed to do, maintain the rpm in the correct range. I have a 6.8L with the 4.10 and it will shift down on hills also but its supposed to. Don't worry over the little things and let it wind up and go.

Why does a tranny have gears... It's to change the gear ratios. Manually gear down and keep the RPMs up... Same going down the pass.

WyoTraveler wrote:
JMHO but I see it is a 4x4. You'll need to change out front and rear. You'll be a little slower on the grades with your present 373. I wouldn't worry much for one trip.

Ditto. Use the money you save on fuel, cause you'll use a lot of fuel. If you were moving out here I may have different advice, but for a trip or two you'll be fine.

See that 18 wheeler driving by. Built for towing. It has to change gears on "much of a grade" as well. I bet your truck will pass that big truck on the hill.

I don't understand why folks think the TV isn't supposed to change gears on hills. Shoot the new 6 speeds drop gears just going over an overpass, with NO trailer.

Stick with what you have and just be paitient. You'll be fine. It's not worth the cost...

Personally, I would not change the differentials (you are aware, I hope, that you have to change BOTH of them on a 4X4!). That 2 or 3 thousand dollars would be very nice to have on the trip!
You should be fine with your 3.73 ratios. I towed over the major mountain passes (on I-90, I-80, and I-15) in the Northwest with a 1994 Dodge 3500 CTD with a 4.10 ratio rear end. I still had to shift down frequently. My son towed the same trailer over some of the same passes with a 3/4 ton Dodge with 3.54 gearing, shifting frequently.
Shifting gears is a fact of life when towing in the mountains. There is no gearing that will get over Lookout or Snoqualmie without shifting!
Have a good trip.
For comparison, I drove a 2 1/2 ton truck over a pass in Hawaii, with 1200 gallons of Avgas aboard, with 5.88 gears, and still had to shift down frequently.

JMHO but I see it is a 4x4. You'll need to change out front and rear. You'll be a little slower on the grades with your present 373. I wouldn't worry much for one trip.