Tow/haul mode

Desert Captain wrote:
Not using Tow Haul when appropriate is a great way to slowly but surely cook your transmission. If you are wise enough to have a Scan Gauge or other display of your transmission fluid temperatures you will quickly confirm the damage that is being done. Once in a while I forget to engage TH but the trans fluid display of my Scan Gauge quickly shows me the error of my ways. When I engage TH the trans temps quickly drop 12 - 15 degrees.

Most motorhome over about 27' have enough weight to warrant the use of TH 100 percent of the time. Any motorhome that is towing or loaded heavy also should always be in TH. If you are on a flat road with no headwind or a slight downhill grade turning TH off will work but why would you want to? :h

Sorry folks but the computer is smarter and more capable of getting maximum efficiency out of your coach than you are... get over it. :B On long and steep downhill grades just select a safe speed, engage both cruise control and TH and sit back and enjoy the ride. It will hold you at that speed and for most of the descent you will not burn a drop of fuel, now that is efficiency. Most of the time in so doing I never even have to touch my brakes much less hit them hard or worst case scenario ride them to the bottom but you see this behavior all of the time {those pesky brake lights give you folks away}. :S

:C

I have a readout on my dash that shows trans temps in digital. My trans hardly ever goes over 170. Normal is around 168. This is on my gas 6.4. My 12 CTD was the same way. Same trans in both. Biggest factor is ambient temps. It will run a little warmer on real hot days but the increase is the same at just a few degrees.
Maybe towing really heavy would change things. I'd be more inclined to use TH if I were towing north of 12,000 all the time.

Now my 08 F150 5.4 was a different story. The trans temps would really go up on long climbs. Seems the newer trans have much better cooling.