Why is gear ratio so important

[TOO LONG]

Originally Posted by WillT

As pointed out there is much more to it than just the ratio. I have a 19 year old 1 ton gas old truck with a 3.73 and a 3 or 4 speed transmission, I think. It is really slow down pulling up long mountain passes. It will do it all day but at 35 to 40 mph and I added an oversized transmission cooler to keep temps down. On the other hand I have talked to people at campgrounds with similar sized TTs as me and they are towing with a new gas 1/2 or 3/4 truck and go up whatever they want at whatever speed they want. But I would not want to tow our TT with a 1/2 ton even if it would pull it fine.

Thanks for the help