Towing in 3rd gear on a 1300 mile trip

For kicks and giggles. Here my C2500 350 rpm at 60, running at around 14000-14500 lbs total.yesterday.......
In directionality.4.10 gears, 2600 t.v. locked, 3000 unlocked
In OD, final ratio 3.08, 1900.
Assuming OP has typical 3.42 or 373 gears, they will be about 2200 3rd direct or 2400. I did level reasonably in OD. But it did.shift into.direct on grades above 2-3%. I would assume a 3.42 geared rig would shift sooner yet.
As.noted.by many, if the.trans is shifting gears lot, or unlocking and locking TC, probably better to shift lever down. Be it od to direct, or direct into 2nd on steeper free at grades etc.

Marty

Don't know your transmission, but if it's a 4sp, then 1300 miles in 3rd shouldn't hurt it at all. Most 4 sp automatic transmissions that I know, 4th is OD, and 3rd gear ratio is 1:1.

A 700R4 or 4L60 transmission is just a Turbo Hydra-Matic 350 with an overdrive scabbed on.

Those old Turbo 350's went MILLIONS of miles in 3rd gear, because that's all they had.

mkirsch wrote:
A 700R4 or 4L60 transmission is just a Turbo Hydra-Matic 350 with an overdrive scabbed on.

Those old Turbo 350's went MILLIONS of miles in 3rd gear, because that's all they had.

Good to know!

Won't hurt a thing. I have a small 17 foot 3500 lb RV, and my 2006 with a 5.3L pulls it in 3rd all day long. Setting cruise at 65-68mph, and using tow/haul mode, it drops into 4th (OD) but loses speed and then downshifts to 3rd (direct - meaning 1:1) and stays there @ about 2700-2800 RPM. It's the wind resistance of the 8' wide RV more than the weight when towing on flat terrain. The weight has a greater effect in the hills.

Just as an FYI, in previous vehicles that had an "instant" mpg readout, while towing, using one lower gear and higher RPM gave roughly the same mpg as one gear up at lower RPM. The vehicle I'm referring to is my previous 2014 RAM 2500/6.4L Hemi. It would tow in 4th (out of 6) or 5th. The RPM was lower in 5th obviously, but the mpg was the same in both gears.

I used to tow with my '96 Buick Roadmaster wagon when I had a "lighter" 5600 lb trailer. It only had 2.93 rear gears (which were better than the standard 2.56 gears). It was always in 3rd and at 65 that was about 2500 rpm. I towed about 8,000 miles that way over 5-6 years. The main thing I would notice if I tried to tow in OD, the torque converter would unlock a LOT and the tranny temp would climb.

I just finished a 5300 mile trip to the far side of the rockies and back towing my current trailer (nearly 8,000 lbs) with my 2500 8.1L Suburban with 4.10 gears and a 4-speed. Due to a lot of windy days, much of the trip was in 3rd gear which is over 3,000 rpms a the speed I was going. No problem.

Do what works best for your vehicle, trailer and current conditions. If it is towing easily in 4th with the torque converter locked up, you are fine. If it is unlocking much at all, keep it in 3rd. Due to the spacing of the gearing in my wagon, it spent 90% of its time in 3rd with the TC locked up and any hill put in 3rd with the TC unlocked. I was pretty much never in 2nd unless I was below highway speeds or going over a mountain pass (also going slower).