Is it worth regearing my tow rig?
I recently bought a new travel trailer and a used truck to use as the tow vehicle. When I bought the truck I was told it had a 3.73 rear diff... anyhow after some investigation it has the 3.42. That...
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You are looking at a 20% difference in the ratios. Changing ratios will help you in first and reverse gears then just trigger earlier shifts to the other gears. You would be coming close to trading overdrive for better low end power. It would help when pulling but then you would be running about 2300rpm on the highway empty. It comes down to how often you tow, would you be happy with that engine speed empty and how important is $1,000 to you. It sounds like you bought the truck just for towing the trailer so empty running may not even be a factor.
On the level highway it is more about frontal area than weight so I wouldn't get too wound up over that and you have improved transmission cooling. Just watch for situations that cause your transmission to slip and keep them to a minimum. When climbing steep hills I will often force a downshift to take some of the torque off of the transmission.
With a 4 speed transmission you could end up in a situation where with the new rear end you will get 2000rpm in 4th and 2800rpm in 3rd at highway speeds and neither one is really comfortable. You may want to evaluate that before making a decision. "Never downshifts unless it's a very steep hill. Acceleration is slow but acceptable." You may already be in your sweet spot.
On the level highway it is more about frontal area than weight so I wouldn't get too wound up over that and you have improved transmission cooling. Just watch for situations that cause your transmission to slip and keep them to a minimum. When climbing steep hills I will often force a downshift to take some of the torque off of the transmission.
With a 4 speed transmission you could end up in a situation where with the new rear end you will get 2000rpm in 4th and 2800rpm in 3rd at highway speeds and neither one is really comfortable. You may want to evaluate that before making a decision. "Never downshifts unless it's a very steep hill. Acceleration is slow but acceptable." You may already be in your sweet spot.
