anyone tow with a 6.8 v-10?

carringb wrote:

DB Cooper wrote:
I tow a 9k trailer with an '02 that I bought new. 7-8 mpg towing, 8 mpg around town and 11 mpg highway. I wish it had a manual trans and maybe some gears lower than 3.73 (35 in tires). Over the Cascade Mountains max speed is 50 at around 3500 rpm. With only 85,000 miles, I worry about the transmission but it has only got warm once.

Most of my towing is mountain towing. Coming up on 370,000 and transmission still shifts like new. I change all the fluid every 100k, and installed a MagnaFine filter so I don't have to drop the pan anymore. Lower gears are a huge help for the V10. Also nothing wrong with letting it rev. I raised my rev limiter so I can cruise up grades at 5,000+ RPM.

I've heard the trans is the weak link but that definitely hasn't been your experience. I do try to keep the RPMs up but sometimes I have to shift manually because it doesn't want to drop down a gear. I've changed the oil and filter every two years. You probably cross the mountain at the same place I do - Santiam Pass.