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Anyone running 4.10 gears for heavy towing?

25K views 60 replies 16 participants last post by  jdwarren 
#1 ·
I have an '07 LBZ crew cab 2wd dually that I tow a 48' race car trailer with living quarters with, usually weighing in the 29,500 range total. I was putting brakes on it this past weekend and saw that the pinion had a little movement in it. Pulled the rear end apart and one of the bolts that holds the spanner locks in had backed out, and the bolt and spanner lock got thrown up into the pinion bearings and the front pinion bearing ended up tearing up the pinion, and wore it down. So there's no interference fit at all. It'll flop around on there. So I need to buy a ring and pinion.


I run Michelin 235/85-16 LTX M/S2 tires which are a little bigger than stock at 31.7", stock being roughly 30.3". I travel all over the place doing 75mph plus or minus a little most of the time.


Can anyone speak from experience on switching to a 4.10 gear in a similar situation? A 4.10 would put me at ~1920rpm at 72mph, where as 3.73s and stock tires would have been ~1830. My fuel mileage ranges around high sevens to low and mid eights most of the time. Most of the routes I travel are hilly, and thinking the gears may help keep it in it's happy power range better. If I'm running 80, it'll definitely hold speed better on hills than it will at 70 with the RPM being higher. Seems to me like a 4.10 would be the right move.


I do run a PPE handheld on economy mode. EGR delete, Pro Fab Y bridge, down pipe, 5" straight exhaust, ARP head studs, etc.
 
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#41 ·
An example;
Engineers that built the road, install a 45mph curve sign. In your car or truck, you easily plow thru it @60mph, and wonder what the caution was all about.

However, go thru that curve with a heavy/high load and you're thankful that someone warned you with 45mph. :howdy
 
#48 ·
When not towing our 35' 12, 300 lb 5er I dont pay much attention to the speed signs on the curves. ;angel

When I am towing it I find they are right on the money as far as a safe speed goes. :smile2:
 
#42 ·
80 mph is the posted limit on a lot of highways here in Texas. There is no provision for heavy trucks or semi’s.

6686L your opinions really don’t count for much on this forum. That is apparent by the cynicism and derision lobbed at you because of your ridiculous posts. Any vehicle, at almost any speed can cause a fatality accident because of a mechanical failure. Knowing your vehicle, it’s capabilities, and driving to that limit on a regular basis makes you understand how to drive it. Someone that doesn’t, will be frightened by someone who does.

I would bet that if you decided to leave this great forum there would be not one person who would miss you. Your posts seem to always be of an inflammatory nature and come off like you know better than the rest of us as to what we should and should not do with the trucks that we have spent our hard earned money on. But go on and insult all of us with your superiority and unfounded opinions. I am sure by now or the very near future there will be an epic meme of you.

As for everyone else, I am sorry to all of y’all for my outburst. I just can’t stand a know it all.
 
#45 ·
regarding 80 mph....

Yes, I have driven where there are 80 mph speed limits, both in my passenger cars and in trucks carrying varying loads. Yes, on some stretches, in a well-maintained passenger car or unloaded modern Duramax, I have cruised at 80 mph.

Yes, I understand the psychology of some folks who feel the laws of physics don't apply to them. The big difference is, unlike some in here, I have had experience in rescue organizations.

Failing to comprehend the laws of physics when operating motor vehicles can make quite a mess for others to clean up.

I have no objection to those whose driving habits help the world-s over-population problem. I just don't want their solution to be practiced around me!
 
#46 ·
regarding 80 mph....



Yes, I have driven where there are 80 mph speed limits, both in my passenger cars and in trucks carrying varying loads. Yes, on some stretches, in a well-maintained passenger car or unloaded modern Duramax, I have cruised at 80 mph.



Yes, I understand the psychology of some folks who feel the laws of physics don't apply to them. The big difference is, unlike some in here, I have had experience in rescue organizations.



Failing to comprehend the laws of physics when operating motor vehicles can make quite a mess for others to clean up.



I have no objection to those whose driving habits help the world-s over-population problem. I just don't want their solution to be practiced around me!


I generally don’t go fast loaded. Especially when heavy. But honestly if you knew how good electric over hydraulic disk brakes worked, I think you’d be a lot less concerned about it.
You also have to take into account location and traffic levels. 80mph in some places is like 50mph in others.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#47 ·
You also have to take into account location and traffic levels
When off the main drags (State hwy, RR, FM, etc) and all the small towns along the way, I respect their 'suggestions' for max speed/step down in speeds, thru their little hamlets.

They know their roads and town populace conditions better than I do.
A few minutes powered down, then back on the throttle and cruise set. :howdy
 
#49 ·
I think that perhaps there may be an apples to oranges discussion going on here.

There are many on this board that tow for a living. As such, with many, many miles under their belts while towing heavy these folks have figured out what is safe for them and their equipment under the conditions that they may find themselves in.

When I see these types of folks on the road, I rarely pay much attention to them as in all likelihood they have figured out what they are doing and doing it safely.

What concerns me above all others is when I see 2500 series trucks towing 40' campers going 80 MPH. In most of those cases I consider that there is most likely someone operating their equipment well beyond their skill set and the equipment that they are operating. I always give those folks a very wide berth as personally I consider them unsafe at any speed.
 
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#50 ·
........................What concerns me above all others is when I see 2500 series trucks towing 40' campers going 80 MPH. In most of those cases I consider that there is most likely someone operating their equipment well beyond their skill set and the equipment that they are operating. I always give those folks a very wide berth as personally I consider them unsafe at any speed.
Whenever I see someone driving doing something grossly unsafe I do my best to just get in front of them............

That way I won't ever run into the "debris field" 0:)
 
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#53 ·
Why the hell would someone use an 18 wheeler to haul half of their capacity?!?

18 wheelers have an average max load capacity of 80000 lbs. The max load we have seen is a little more than half of that. You are talking about crappy mileage, super expensive tires, and insurance that is through the roof to use half of its capacity.

6686L, you are posting , yet again, about something that you are seriously uneducated about. A 1 ton Dually, properly equipped and driven by an experienced driver is not anymore dangerous that that 18 wheeler that you keep on and on about. That 1 ton is going to be more maneuverable, get better mileage, and be safer than that 18 wheeler rolling down the road at 80k lbs. Ever seen a car rear ended by a semi? Ever have to clean out the mess that used to be a person who was rear ended by that semi? I have and I’ll tell you that it is something that you never forget. Now shut the hell up and let these people talk about what they want to. It is not your damn place to tell ANYONE what they should and should not do. You want to change the damn world, then get yourself elected and run your mouth to people who care. Btw, I don’t really care if I get banned for saying what EVERYONE IS THINKING. At least then I won’t have to read your mindless drivel when I am interested in a post.

Again, sorry to everyone else. This guy just makes my blood pressure go up.
 
#54 ·
A 1 ton Dually, properly equipped and driven by an experienced driver is not anymore dangerous ...…..That 1 ton is going to be more maneuverable, get better mileage, and be safer than that 18 wheeler rolling down the road at 80k lbs...…... Now shut the hell up and let these people talk about what they want to. It is not your damn place to tell ANYONE what they should and should not do. ….. I don’t really care if I get banned for saying what EVERYONE IS THINKING. At least then I won’t have to read your mindless drivel when I am interested in a post. Again, sorry to everyone else. This guy just makes my blood pressure go up.
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To some extent, I agree with this fellow - as the owner-operator of a 3500 crew-cab long bed, of course when responsibly driven it is reasonably safe.

I certainly hope this fellow is not censored or banned in any way. Obviously, this "thread" is performing a valuable service in letting this person "blow off steam".

I certainly hope I am reading this guy wrong - hope he is not advocating or suggesting that my 1 ton Duramax or anyone else's is safe pulling heavier loads at 80 mph. Let's hope this is just "teen-age bravado", and if he or anyone else actually does this, law enforcement will get his vehicle impounded and off public streets, thus not a danger to the rest of us.
 
#55 ·
40 mph can kill and has. So, there's that.
If it's your time, it's your time.
 
#56 ·
40 mph can kill and has. So, there's that.If it's your time, it's your time.
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Of course I agree that ANY speed is dangerous if one is not operating ANY vehicle responsibly.

I disagree about "if it's your time". There's something called "defensive driving" - which goes nicely with good road manners.

For example, the left lane should primarily be for passing people like me, who use the speed limit as a MAX guide ('cept when in Californicated on the I-40 between Barstow and the Ariz./Calif. state line....! ), judging our cruising speed by what is safe for any given road condition.
 
#57 ·
Meh....maybe some of us are just lucky. :howdy

 
#58 ·
Geez I am a former motocross racer, now drag racer, who has briefly gone 80 going down a hill to begin up another, and80 on flat ass interstate 80 through the midwest... 6686L probably thinks I'm a wild ass dare devil.
 
#59 ·
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Wrong - 80 mph, while 5 mph over many state's speed limit, while a little more than I care to drive, is reasonably safe in some places...in a well-maintained passenger car or truck like ours - obviously assuming they are not pulling a trailer/heavily loaded.
 
#61 ·
The change in final drive ratio is a simple ratio of tire diameters (or radii, or circumferences...), i.e., it's linear. The mathematically exact solution is one call to "calc.exe" away.
 
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