Why 4.1 axle?
I tow an 8000 pound trailer with a GMC 2500 with 6.0l engine, 4 speed transmission, and 4.1 axle ratio. I rarely need 3rd gear on the highway; only on steep hills. For my next truck, why not get si...
Forum Discussion
valhalla360 wrote:JRscooby wrote:valhalla360 wrote:
If you tow within the manufacturer's ratings, you shouldn't have an issue blowing apart the diff due to overloading.
Yes, true dat. But if you do a little research on picking the equipment you want to do the job you will see that higher speed rearend will reduce the manufacturer's rating.
If you plan to tow over the ratings...the manufacturer is going to point to the ratings and tell you it's your problem.
I think the basic assumption we have to work from is you aren't exceeding the truck ratings. Of course, if you look at my first post, needing a higher rating is one of the reasons to consider a different rear end...about the only good reason with modern trucks.
Are we discussing why somebody would pick a given rear ratio, in this case 4.1 to 1, right? I don't have much experience with light duty stuff like what RVs use. What I have done is decide how much weight I need to move to make it pay, then try put the gears and axles under the frame to get the job done. If you got 50,000 lbs on your back, and the customer says "Take it across that bean field, dump at the tree line" You are going to grab a double handful of seat with both hands on the wheel. If you thought the 4.1s could save you fuel over the 4.44s you start counting how many gallons you could buy for the cost of the power divider. That old Pete with the 1693 Cat, 2 stick 5X4, and 5.56 was the best I ever had for that kind of work, but hard to feed on a lot of other jobs...
