Silverado Gear Ratios (3.73 vs 3.23 or 3.42)

Bail me out if you can,
I did a search to see if this topic has been discussed, but nothing came up.

I have a 99 Silverado Z71 with 3.73 rear end and pull a 4500# boat in Tow/Haul. It pulls okay at about 65 mph average and I've never had to use the 4WD to pull the boat our of water. Actually only used 4Wd to keep it from locking up or whatever.

Question:
I'm thinking about buying another Silverado, but a Crew Cab without the 4WD. I've actually test-driven one, pulled my boat and the ride seems to be almost the same as my 99, but just a slight bit of struggling / downshifting up hills. I was told the reason is because the newer trucks have a 3.23 rear end in them now. So will a 3.73 provide a better pull over the 3.23 or 3.42?

Ready to buy, but afraid to make a mistake,
Bernard

personally, I don't believe I would want 3.23s when I'm planning on towing anything decently heavy. I would go with 3.73. It's easier on the tranny and motor. Also will keep your transmission from gear searching going uphill.

That's kind of what I was thinking, but didn't really know of any personal experiences.

Do you know how to tell what rear end is actually in them these days? One guy said it is in the glove box. Another guy showed me a number on my rear axle that was 746. (He said you divide by 2 - 3.73) Is there any truth to these 2 stories?

mine was on the window sticker.

There should be a tag on the rear end... should be.

I think they've quit putting them on the rear. You can either find it on the window sticker, or take the vin to the dealer and you may find a nice service worker to run it for you for free to find it.

We use a 1999 silverado to pull all of or customers cars we've even used it to tow a front loader with backscoop. It has 4.11 gears in it even on the highway it's great the truck doesn't struggle at all.

Thanks for the replies. I will go by a dealership and see what they can tell me. (From the vin# or whatever other way)
Stay Tuned!
Bernard

I went by the dealership today and they say the only way these days is through the vin#. They looked me up and I have a 3.73.

Live and ask questions to learn.