I have an 03 dodge 1500 4.7L that I take out often. Living out west there can be a lot of hills to climb. I’ve only had this truck for about a year and I am curious as to how hard is too hard to push the truck going up hill. When it downshifts and hits 4000 rpm I try not to let it stay that high for too long. Am I being too much of a pus with this engine? Growing up I used my dads power stroke and never though twice about how hard I was pushing the engine uphill.

 

It won't hurt it. Mine does this while towing uphill. Stays at 4000+ if heavily loaded with no issues.

 

The only way you can get issues is by not taking care of your vehicle. Simply keep your oil changed and just have the routine things done to it.

 

I used to tow smaller tractors all over California in my 04. Granted, its a Hemi. But it would climb hills with a load at about 4k or even higher just chugging along. Like mentioned if you keep up on maintenance then your engine should be just fine.