Cory:
Those 31" tires in combination with the 3.55 gears give an "effective"
gear ratio of 3.22, as compared with the standard size of 235/70 tires and a
3.55 ratio. If you changed to 3.90 gears, that would give an evvective ratio
of 3.56, which would be very close to the standard setup of 235/70's and the
3.55 ratio. It seems to me that the combination of the large tires and 3.55
gears are what is causing you the majority of the problems when towing large
loads. I currently have 3.55's and 225/70 tires. This gives me an
"effective" ratio of 3.58.
Example - if you and I were pulling identical trailers, both with our
current setups, your truck would be acting like it has 3.22 gears, and mine
like it has 3.58 gears. It's not difficult to see that the 3.58 effective
ratio is the preferred one for towing. As far as the manual/automatic, many
people prefer automatics for towing, especially when equipped with a shift
kit and/or heavy duty transmission cooler.
IMHO, the best thing you could do to improve towing performance would be
to get a set of 3.90's for the front and rear. 4.10's would be even better
if they are available.
SteveM.
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