Colorado trip - gearing questions

[the spindoctor]

Hey guys, I am planning a trip to Colorado this summer from here in Dallas. 2003 DC Tacoma, stock 4.10's with 3.4 auto and 33's.

How painful will highway mountain passes be at altitude? Not really concerned about off-road ability, just wanting to get to some of the 4wd trailheads to hike.

Cash is kind of tight right now, so 4.88's are out of the question at the moment. We don't have hills around here, so being under geared is a nuisance at most.

 

[TernOverland]

Well, altitude is going to slow you down and force you into lower transmission gears. No way around that. I don't know that lower axle gears would really matter much. You will still have to find the final ratio that allows you to keep going. Pack as light as you can, and just let the truck work at it's own pace.

 

[KelticXJ]

^^2nd

You should be OK. I used to have a XJ on 33's with 3.55's and I was in the CO mountains with it regularly, it was a dog. Just let your truck do its thing and have fun

 

[The_Dude]

Don’t regear for that. The passes are steep but totally doable. Did them at 45mph in a but 80 with 4:10s and 33s and 6k lbs


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[roving1]

You'll be fine but it is a night and day difference after regearing.

I have a 2.7 1st Gen. In stock 30.5 tires and 4:10 constantly down shifting out of 5th, even just for headwinds often. Big passes in 3rd gear with no hope of 4th at all. After going to 32" tires and 4:56 I almost never need to shift out of 5th on hills. Big grade in 3rd or 4th but not trapped in 3rd right away for the whole grade now. Worth doing.

 

[tacollie]

You'll be able to get over passes fine. Be sure to turn off OD the down shift when necessary. The 3.4 did fine at higher rpms. I used to push 4k regularly.

 

[the spindoctor]

Alright, thanks for the input. Can't wait to head out there and enjoy the scenery!

 

[tatanka48]

having been up there by 2, 4, 6, 8, & 18 wheel rigs powered by 1, 2, 4, 6 & 8 cylinders i would advise against re-gearing unless you just love wrapping your tach out going up & back AND you are ready to re-gear back to stock for the other 50 weeks of the year

the highway passes will slow you down some butt not enough to be overly concerned

if you are planning on staying on pavement you'll be just fine

if you are looking for a really cool way to hike the back country look into taking the train out of durango up about 1/2 way to silverton where there is a whistle stop where they will let you off and let you back on(baggage car) when you're done abusing your feet n lungs

http://www.durangotrain.com

there is lotsa accessible National Forest land up there where camping is free and you can drive back down into several towns where you can snag a shower at some of the commercial campgrounds

also rememberize that most reputable truck stops(usually on major highways) have showers for chump change and anyone can buy one and some accommodate couples

good on you for planning ahead

if you have any more questions PM me

T

 

[roving1]

having been up there by 2, 4, 6, 8, & 18 wheel rigs powered by 1, 2, 4, 6 & 8 cylinders i would advise against re-gearing unless you just love wrapping your tach out going up & back AND you are ready to re-gear back to stock for the other 50 weeks of the year

He has 33" tires. He needs to re-gear to even be stock.

 

[tatanka48]

He has 33" tires. He needs to re-gear to even be stock.

R, that plumb evaded me

you're correct

going back to stock would be wise

T

 

[redthies]

Seriously? Re-gear for a single trip?? I drove my BJ60 all over western Colorado years ago on 33” MTS. It weigh 5,900 lbs and had a whopping 90 hp! You’ll be fine. Don’t even bother thinking about it!

 

[Clutch]

Colorado is a beautiful state. Going slow is good thing, lets you enjoy the view.

 

[2025 deleted member]

I wouldnt regear for Colorado. I would plan on it in the future if you dont like how your truck drives though.

 

[DaveInDenver]

I have a pretty good idea now of what ratio I will use eventually when I get up to 33" (255/85R16) tires but it's taken me two trucks and about half a dozen iterations of tire & ratios to figure out how to gear my truck's engine & transmission for Colorado. Trying to nail it down with no experience or trial and error is like throwing darts. The charts don't fully cover it trying to shoot for stock. You might not like the tranny gear, RPM or speed that ends up being. I find I like to pick either 3rd or 4th gear, shoot for 3,200 RPM sustained. In the old truck that meant about 45 MPH and in the new one it's about 60. This RPM gives me some room to accelerate without screaming at >4500 RPM but not dog the engine too much if I have to let off to position for a pass of very slow traffic. The worst thing you can do at elevation is let off completely to shift, that has to be a last option and even with the 4.0L V6 I have now it takes some serious pushing to get back your speed when at 10,000'.

 

[perterra]

Tight gears can be a PIA on long stretches of Texas interstate where speed limits are 75 mph (in some cases 80 and in one case 85 mph). You're going to spend a lot more time droning at 70-75 mph than you will spend on mountain passes. Just drop a gear (or two) and let it run where it's comfortable. Nothing says you have to maintain 10 mph over on mountain grades. I had a 4 cylinder S-10 that I had to drop all the way to 2nd gear to make Wolf Creek Pass, and I had a CJ-7 that I never had to drop a gear anywhere. But it hit redline at 75 mph, honestly it was more comfortable to just drop a gear.