With three high functioning ASD children under the age of 6, a wife in grad school, and a live in mom who is needing more and more assistance as time passes I am quickly learning that sometimes things really don't need doing. :laughing: I like having the lawn mowed, but at 3-4 acres sometimes there are more important things in life.... and sometimes that may just be sleep.
In regards to the original question about the gearing, if I can get the 4.73 with the other options I would like and without paying through the nose then I'll take it. If not its certainly not a deal breaker. GMC website MSRP for what I would ideally like ranges from 44,900 down to 41,430. Actually my low end is lower if I drop back to 2WD. To that end, here is what I am looking at:
Paint - (I'm flexible, and there are at least 3-4 colors I am willing to work with although the stealth metallic gray is my preference)
Crew Cab - (Required, 3 child seats - this is non-negotiable. And yes I realize a crew cab is not "ideal" for kid transport, but its a trade off b/c I'm not doing a suburban)
4WD - (Strongly preferred, but not required)
Standard Box - (Nice to have, but may likely have to go with short box due to regional availability)
5.3L V8 - (Required)
Max Tow Package with 4.73 - (Nice to have, but would trade off for other options)
Camper Mirrors - (Preferred, but not required)
Cloth Bucket Seats - (Required, the bench seats even with the 10-way adjustment just weren't comfortable for me)
Integrated Brake Controller - (Strongly preferred, but I do have P3 if need be)
SLE Value Package Bells and Whistles - (Would like, but not essential. Current rebate on this option fully offsets cost)
RollingFarms, I've sat in about 5 so far and test drove the configuration that was closest to the configuration that I wanted. Its kinda funny you mentioned how things that you might not perceive as being beneficial can be very useful and vice versa.
One of the problems we are constantly dealing with is charging electronic devices on trips. Ipods/Ipads have been a godsend for us both as learning tools for our children and as way to keep them entertained. I think I counted at least 4 USB ports and one 3 prong outlet in the model that I test drove. Two years ago I would have never looked at that and said to myself "that's a darned useful thing". Now, it almost makes me drool.
Similarly prior to driving my wife's Sienna I would have taken leather bench seats over cloth bucket seats. Neither the bench seats in the 1500 nor the seats in the Sienna are comfortable for me for long distances. The 1500's cloth bucket seats feel the best on my back.
Another thing I liked about the crew cab is the flip up rear seats. We have four dogs, one of whom is Puzzle, our middle child's service dog. Being able to quickly eliminate some of the seating is going to make it a lot more comfortable for Puzzle to travel in the truck.
In truth I am fortunate to be able to afford something like this, as well as being take care of 3 kids and send my wife to graduate school. One of the reason's for upgrading from the Heep is that I spend so much time on the road as is driving kids to therapy, school, as well running around taking care of everything that any vehicle I drive automatically becomes a mobile office. It doesn't help that we chose to live 30 minutes out of town either
:thumbsup:
For grins and giggles let me see if I can visualize what you are saying... Assuming shift points are constant for the 3.42 and 4.73 you end up running through to the top end of each gear more quickly with the 4.73. Plotting the performance of the 4.73 on a graph (Y-axis MPH, X-axis RPM) should generally produce a curve that falls under that of the 3.42 indicating lower efficiency in terms of mpg's.
*Yes, I am generalizing and very badly given that I am thinking of nice smooth trend lines. I apologize if I goofed that up. My background is in biology and when you started talking graph's I started thinking population curves and I started playing graphs in my head.
