gears are still working great. towed 3500lb boat and it stays in 6th gear at 1900 rpm around 65-70mph, never down shifts.

also it pulls hills in V4 modes unloaded. ive been tuning abunch on it trying to maximize the AFM. so far im close to having it done,

 

if you change the gears and have a dealer do it, its under warantee. if an outside shop does it. the rear end is voided. you have to tune the trans for shift points so they WILL positively know you tuned it, so that opens up another bag of questions with the drive train.

fyi, i swapped my gears with 6,000 miles on mine, the 3.08s were horrible

 

2011 5.3 w/afm 3.42r 24in wheels
{I never tow anything over 1000 pounds really}

Ive read this whole thing now i want 24ish mpg and more v4 mode

So doing 4.10 gears is the general consensus
then i need to get the trans and engine tuned?

 

yea the lower gear makes it easier for the engine to move the weight, allowing it to have enought power to pull you truck around in V4 mode. at a point around 70mph the truck is just too heavy to move and it needs V8 mode. 24inch rims wont be too easy to turn, my 22s made is worse than the factory 20s.

 

Very nice which tonneau cover is that?

 

its a trifold. tonneaucovers.com i think has them.

 

I ordered this one, it should be arriving today. We've got a vacation coming up and it will be nice to be able to lock up our stuff in the bed. I won't be able to install it until I get back in town from my business trip.

 

Is that a Fold-A-Cover?

 

BakFlip G2 (hardtop tri-fold, 300-pound weight-bearing rating)

 

It's sittin in my garage back home, waiting for me to come back and install it