i want to change the rear end gear and was wondering what would be the best gear for both rock crawling and towing and im going to put a locker in.
thank you.

 

You need to change both the front and rear gears otherwise when you use 4wd you will happily kill both gear sets.

If your gonna run 33-35" tires and have a stick shift 4cyl, 4.88 maybe ok for you, got an automatic then you need 5.29 gearing.

 

whats the stock gears and yes its a stick

 

If it came with 31's, you likely have 4.56, otherwise, probably 4.10. You can find out from the tag in the door jamb
http://www.off-road.com/trucks4x4/ar....jsp?id=274535

Going from 4.56 to 4.88 is a BIG difference, definitely noticeable. On my truck it was night and day. With the way you use your truck, I would think about 5.29's though.

 

what the biggest difference

 

Going down a ratio will have you tach like 200 more RPM on the highway.

So for me, (4.88's, 33's) 70 MPH is 3000 RPM, if I were to go to 5.29, I would be at like 3200 RPM.

It's not like you used to tach 1500 RPM and are now redlined, but with the steep power curve of our engines, that 200 RPM can make a big difference from being out of the curve into the sweetspot!

 

sounds like 488s would work best for you