crawl ratio....whats useful on this side of the country

tacoma87

New Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2005
Location
Charlotte (UNCC)
I have a 98 tacoma that i am about to put a doubler in front of the stock case. its a 5 speed 4cyl with a solid front 4.88s and 37s...

now on with the question...

What is the "useful" crawl ratio to have here in our NC and TN trails. i have a 5.70 doubler coming from inchworm which will put me at about 282:1 in first gear but i am wondering if thats going to be useless over here. my original outlook was i couldnt have to low of gearing because i will still have a ton of options to use with the doubler so why not go all out but now i am afraid that it will be useless and i will never even use 1st gear. so i am looking for opinions from folks who are runnin crawler gears in their rigs and can tell me if that gearing is going to be useful or not. thanks for the help....
 
I am assuming that you are not from around here.

A super low crawl ratio is good.....sometimes. Most of the time around here, you are going to end up needing some wheel spin, because of wet rocks, mud, loose dirt, etc. There really aren't too many super traction areas like moab in NC / TN.

That being said, it kind of depends on the driver. I think a 100:1 to 150:1 is about perfect for around here, of course there are always places where more gear would be great. Until my recent drivetrain swap, mine was about 133:1 too low for good wheel spin so I ended up in 2nd most of the time to bump over a ledge, or climb loose stuff.
 
That is a little excessive, and you will not likely use 1st/2nd much, but that's fine. There will be times when you will lekely be able to use that extra low gearing, dry days at URE and other places it could come in handy. When it's wet you probably won't use it much. Either way, you will be OK with it. I have 4.10's, 39.5's, and dual cases. I plan to regear the axles to 5.13 or so, and eventually get a 4.1 gearset for the front t-case.
 
it'll be fine.. you just won't use it alot. you'll probably leave your front case in hi range most of the time, and then if you have to go slow, snick it into low. ;)

Tacoma747 said:
dry days at URE
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If you need 282:1 at Uwharrie, you really need to re-think your hobby. :flipoff2:
 
Alot too depends on your driving style. I like to slowly crawl up (or TRY to crawl up) obstacles after all the other rigs have beat on it with the skinny pedal and broke something :) When it's real wet it may not be happening but I like to try anyway. I like the feel thing, working the tires and the line, feeling the lugs trying to find a grip, the fuel injection feeding just enough fuel to keep the motor idling. Requires patience too and lots of guys are anxious just to get up and get going so it's not for them. I do have the 4 banger also and find myself using low/low a lot (201/1) trying to crawl things like the Callalantee waterfall & Pull Cable, Tellico's Guardrail & Helicopter Pad and Harlan's Lower Damnation and Lion's Den. Most of the time I run in low range second gear which is around 103/1. I have been toying with the idea of installing the DD 231 crawl box for a 546/1 crawl :) There are times when you need wheel speed of course, but if you have the crawl capabilities it's lots of fun and chances of breakage are less also.
 
Better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it, you'll like it i bet esp with the 3rz. May not use it too much but if you want to be techincal its great, its definitly not going to hurt anything, esp your front driveshaft angle.
 
Rich said:
If you need 282:1 at Uwharrie, you really need to re-think your hobby. :flipoff2:
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Well, you could put it in low at the bottom of Kodak, you wouldn't have to touch the gas till you got to the top :)

I know mine with just dual cases isn't low enough to idle up most things.
 
i guess i will just keep the setup i originally ordered...like some have stated if i never use it but once every couple trips it will be worth it to have it....its not like i am losing anything by having extra gearing...
 
Tacoma747 said:
Well, you could put it in low at the bottom of Kodak, you wouldn't have to touch the gas till you got to the top :)
I know mine with just dual cases isn't low enough to idle up most things.
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that also reminds me Michael that i will need a long front drive shaft wont i? i cant remember if you said it worked on ur truck as it was or if you would need to build a longer smaller shaft.
 
I'm at about 200:1 and there is an every once and a while, I would like to be at about 250 or so. Driving a straight drive, I hate feathering a clutch. I'd rather just be in gear.
 
I say DO IT! I'm at 225:1 with dual cases and 5.29's in the axles. I love being able to put it in low/low and just creep on the technical obstacles. For general trail riding, I keep the front case in hi. 2nd gear/hi/low is almost perfect for Uwharrie-type trails.
 
I keep seeing theads on Crawl ratio. I am trying to figure out how to calculate them. I have used the calculators I find on Google and I dont see how you get such High numbers. I put mine in with cherokee automatic, 5:13's,dual cases with 4:1 each(total 8:1): and it comes up at like 110. I know because of the automatic it is a liitle lower but shouldnt be that much. I just want to know what people are running to get in the 200's+
 
bluecrawler said:
I keep seeing theads on Crawl ratio. I am trying to figure out how to calculate them. I have used the calculators I find on Google and I dont see how you get such High numbers. I put mine in with cherokee automatic, 5:13's,dual cases with 4:1 each(total 8:1): and it comes up at like 110. I know because of the automatic it is a liitle lower but shouldnt be that much. I just want to know what people are running to get in the 200's+
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With an automatic your crawl ratio will varry since you have torque converter slippage. So your actual crawl ratio is higher than the calculator will show. Some people have said to multiply your first gear in your auto trans by two.
 
for me:

Tranny 1st gear = 3.93:1
T-case w/doubler = 2.28:1 x 4.70:1
Axles = 5.29:1

3.93 x 2.28 x 4.70 x 5.29 = 222.78
 
lbyota85 said:
Some food for thought.. http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=4310.msg38627#msg38627
Not to burst your buble but you'll more than likley strip them out.:shaking:
Not to mention the coulpler if they still use the single row bearing. Thats just my thoughts.
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i have read all the marlin posts debating between the two....the only thing i dont like about marlins board is their obvious bias....i prefer the threads on pirate where mike from marlin, and jim from inchworm battle it out. no one comes to a definative answer and i know of countless tacoms runnin inchworm stuff that is top notch and never had an issue. Jim himself runs 5.70s in his built truck and has flogged on it to no failure. i appreciate your concern but this is not a thread of brand loyalty because obviously their are not enough toyotas on this board to get a good answer. it was simply a question of useful crawl ratio on this side of the country, but thanks for your concern.

well to anyone who cares the 5.70 doubler is in the mail and should be here next thurs so i will hopefully be installing that, building a new crossmember, adding twin sticks to my existing case, and getting my rear driveshaft shortened the weekend that follows. thanks for the advice and even if i rarely use 1st gear in compound low it will be nice to have for those rare occurances where i had wished i had a bit more control. thanks for all the advice guys....
 
Tacoma747 said:
Well, you could put it in low at the bottom of Kodak, you wouldn't have to touch the gas till you got to the top :)
I know mine with just dual cases isn't low enough to idle up most things.
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you could put it in low at the bottom...get out and eat lunch...and jump back in it at the top...:D

Greg
 
I see. With The doubler I multiply each transfer case. 4:1 X 4:1 = 16:1 not 8:1. That would put me around 250 and if I multiplied my transmission by two because of it being a Auto it would put me around 489. I am not sure about the auto being double that seems steep.
 
Why do you think so many people run automatics for crawling? It's all about the slow! :beer:
 
Have not got to run it yet. Going from a 4 cylinder with a 5 speed and 231 to the 6 cylinder , auto and 231/205 doubler with 4:1 kits in both. I am anxious to see how it works. That is why I have been asking about the crawl ratio. I just wanted to know what kind of difference to expect. When I get back from TX I am looking to take it on a good shake down run.
 
That will be a world of a difference! What size tires are you going to run?
 
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