Mork

How does this rear end ratio work for trailer hauling? Is it considered a good towing differential?
Thanks.

bigfry

Hey, as far as the differential goes, its a fairly reliable rearend with stock or close to stock size tires. the 3.73 with stock tire height is right in the middle of the factory gearing options. I just bought a 04 silverado friday. It has the 5.3 vortec with 3.73 gearing and is 4wd and has the heavy hauling package along with a class 5 hitch. Its rated to tow I believe just over 8000. Its really got a lot of pep I feel. I test drove it, titan, tundra, new F150 not heritage, and dodge hemi. I feel it was right in the top power wise and the new f150 was a little sluggish. As far as being a good towing diff, with proper maintenance and stock tires it should hold up well. That is as long as you dont overload it. I have a Bronco 2 I am building up as well as a huge toyota. I have a 78 Chevy 2.5 ton truck for a tow rig but it only gets 4 mpg. so if I am just taking one toy out, I can throw it on my 16 foot trailer and take off with my silverado, with no problems. If you start stepping up to bigger tires you will definately want to regear if you plan on towing. It will keep you in your engines powerband and keep the stress on the tranny and engine down. Downside is that there will be more stress placed on the differential and axles and I would personally downgrade the towing ability depending on how big of tires you might go. Like I would say the biggest tire I'd put on and tow with might be a 35. Then I wouldn't tow more than 4 to 5 thousand pounds. I would also make sure the brakes are adequate for the larger tires. Sorry for rambling. Hope it helped.