Tow Haul
Just wondering when to use Tow Haul? I know down hill is the best but any thoughts on the flat or uphill or just all the time?
Forum Discussion
You need to get past this, "OMG, if I don't use it exactly right, my truck is going to explode into a million pieces!" thing in your head.
It doesn't hurt to experiment, and figure out what works best for you. With a little knowledge you will know if you're "hurting" your truck.
Learn to hear/feel when your truck's torque converter is locked up. Count the "bumps" in your butt as it shifts up, then watch the tachometer for a ~300RPM drop a few seconds after the truck shifts into overdrive. Depending on how loud the radio is or how bad the kids are fighting in back, you may even be able to tell by sound.
You want that lockup for best transmission longevity and fuel economy. If you are towing in normal mode and you don't hear that lockup, you need to engage tow/haul mode and possibly run in the next lower gear. Tow/haul mode will lock up the torque converter in lower gears as well as overdrive on many/most trucks.
Listen for lots of shifting. You want to avoid that also. Tow/haul does not necessarily cure this issue either. You may need to manually lock out overdrive. If you do, definitely engage tow/haul so that the torque converter will lock up in lower gears.
Also get past the, "OMG, it's running at more than 2000RPMs! The engine is going to blow up!" thing in your head.
You'll likely be running at 2800-3100RPM in the next gear down, but it isn't a problem. Running 300 miles at 5000RPM... maybe you'll have issues, but not at 3000RPM. Trucks in the 1970's used to do that for 100,000 miles+ because they didn't have overdrive, and things have only improved in the last 40 years.
It doesn't hurt to experiment, and figure out what works best for you. With a little knowledge you will know if you're "hurting" your truck.
Learn to hear/feel when your truck's torque converter is locked up. Count the "bumps" in your butt as it shifts up, then watch the tachometer for a ~300RPM drop a few seconds after the truck shifts into overdrive. Depending on how loud the radio is or how bad the kids are fighting in back, you may even be able to tell by sound.
You want that lockup for best transmission longevity and fuel economy. If you are towing in normal mode and you don't hear that lockup, you need to engage tow/haul mode and possibly run in the next lower gear. Tow/haul mode will lock up the torque converter in lower gears as well as overdrive on many/most trucks.
Listen for lots of shifting. You want to avoid that also. Tow/haul does not necessarily cure this issue either. You may need to manually lock out overdrive. If you do, definitely engage tow/haul so that the torque converter will lock up in lower gears.
Also get past the, "OMG, it's running at more than 2000RPMs! The engine is going to blow up!" thing in your head.
You'll likely be running at 2800-3100RPM in the next gear down, but it isn't a problem. Running 300 miles at 5000RPM... maybe you'll have issues, but not at 3000RPM. Trucks in the 1970's used to do that for 100,000 miles+ because they didn't have overdrive, and things have only improved in the last 40 years.
