Different axle ratios front/rear

[mrwhite2you]

Hello all, somewhat of a newbie here, so I figure I will introduce myself first and foremost. My name is Mike, I live in the Milwaukee area (WI) close to 3 of the Harley Davidson plants. Which works out well, because if I'm not wrenching my truck, I'm wrenching my bike. (no comments, please) I'm relatively new to the Chevy truck world... owned 4-cyl cars my whole life. After buying my house, I now have a need for a REAL vehicle. After about 6 months of shopping, I found a TX Suburban, very little rust, with new motor and trans. The price was perfect, so I snatched it up. Very few changes have been made, but many are planned.

Most recently, I got a good deal locally on a corporate 14 bolt FF with 3.73 gears. The truck came stock with 3.42's, and in WI the 4WD is a requirement in the winter, so now something else has to be figured out. I was planning on putting a plow on the front (got a used fischer for free from my brother) so a beefier front might not be a bad idea, but even if I keep the 10 bolt, I'll end up putting the 3/4 hubs on it just so I can have 8 lug axles all the way around.

In the meantime, I am wondering if I would be able to get around the difference in gear ratios simply by running 2 different tire sizes. Right now, I have 3.42 front and rear, and 27.5" diameter tires front/rear. If I up the rear to a 3.73 (with the new axle) and the rear tire to a 30"... would this work? I know the downside with this idea is now I have to start carrying two spares... 1 6 and 1 8. but this may be the most cost effective solution for now. That way, when I change the front axle/hubs to be 8 bolt and re-gear to 3.73, I can up the front tires to be 30" as well.

Or... if there is anyone out there with 2 3/4 ton rotor/hubs/spindles for a 10 bolt/D44 that they are looking to part with cheap...