Tow Haul Mode

You got it right Dave, my 5th is your 6th. I could pull my rig in 6th on the flat, no wind, but still tows the best in 5th.

Jerry

I bet you have a 3.73 diffy. I have 4.30's in mine and it will hold 6th on the flat on I 20 pulling a 11.5 K fifth wheel.

if you have the 3.73 diffy, 5th in yours will be like 6th in mine.

How close did I come to hitting the target? :h

If I had a 3.73 rear, I doubt I would ever get into 6th.

Another 6.2 owner here. I turn on tow haul and lock put 6th. It seldom shifts out of 5th.

I use tow/haul, but normally lock out 6th gear, rather than have it shifting back/forth.

My TV is also a 13 250 6.2 with 3.73 ratio.

Jerry

Some transmissions will hunt more than others, but weight, terrain, grade, etc all factor in. Using a manual mode will also allow you to limit your transmission to say, 4th or 5th gear so it won't drop into the next higher gear, which may not allow the vehicle to hold speed.

I lock out 6th gear when towing as well. Tow haul/5th gear tops. GM calls it Manual mode which it isn't. Ford and Ram call is electronic range select.

If you have the Select Shift on your Ford like my 13 F150 has, and I'm in T/H and it can't decide to stay in 6th or 5th, I'll use the Select Shift to lock out 6th. (it even has the "M" mode, so you can manually select and hold any gear you want regardless of the engines rpms)

The biggest thing that T/H does is it tries to keep the torque converter locked in whatever gear it's in.. That's huge in keeping the trans temps down.

So, it'll hold the lower gear longer to achieve that.

Good luck!

Mitch

Tow/haul changes shift points....stays in each gear longer.

When it was hunting between 6th & 5th gears what kind of terrain (flat/hilly)?
How long would it stay in 6th before downshifting to 5th?

Can you 'lock out 6th gear while in tow/haul mode?

I guess you found out your tow/haul mode is quite different than your old overdrive off system.

The shifting will 'hunt' if tow/haul is engaged on the flats.

The tow/haul is mainly for helping you to go down hills by slowing the rig without having to ride your brakes on the way down.

Interesting...I guess I'll have to disagree. True, tow haul does have a grade braking feature, but it does more than that. It also changes the shift points and helps keep the tranny cooler. It does not change the gear ratios. Ours doesn't "hunt" either. Our trailer is around 9K loaded and I always use T/H....and am very happy with how it functions.

I guess you found out your tow/haul mode is quite different than your old overdrive off system.

The shifting will 'hunt' if tow/haul is engaged on the flats.

The tow/haul is mainly for helping you to go down hills by slowing the rig without having to ride your brakes on the way down.

We only use tow/haul when in the mountains/hills.