Just completed first tow....good and bad!,

What I meant was it shifts a lot in low rolling hills here in Nebraska. I bought the tt in davenport IA ( more hills) and on the way home it was shifting a lot so I used m4 and dropped to 55-60 mph and let it cruise at 3000 rpm all day, ( I have 4.10 gears ) and got a whopping 7 mpg which didnt bother me except for the fact that the 26 gal tank needed refilled every 200 miles.

MMarty wrote:
Well, I'm going to throw a stone here. I had a 05 dodge qq 4x4. cummins auto. Then I was towing a 11000lb 5er and the truck shifted all the time even on the smallest of inclines, got 10mpg towing. THEN I bought a 07 dodge mega cab 6.7 cummins auto, towed the same 5er and got 9mpg but not as much shifting. THEN I traded trucks and campers to a 7000lb tt and a 2010 chev 2500hd 6.0 auto. Truck shifts a lot and gets 7.8mpg at 60mpg BUT is a LOT cheaper and more conveinent to operate. It's a trade off since I only tow a few times a year.

I find that weird because I have the same truck. Mine very seldom shifts. Never on the interstate. The torque converter will unlock but it stays in OD down to about 42 MPH. This is with 18,000lb.

To OP, I have an '09 2500 Chev 6.0 gas, 3:73, 6 spd auto.
Mine performs just like yours. Nothing to worry about.
I also tow a TT that is just under 7000lbs.

It doesn't matter much weight wise. You are dragging an 11' high brick down the highway.

I can tow basically the same weight on my car hauler and my mileage goes down maybe 2 mpg's.
The TT, drops by half, especially if I am heading into the wind.

Well, I'm going to throw a stone here. I had a 05 dodge qq 4x4. cummins auto. Then I was towing a 11000lb 5er and the truck shifted all the time even on the smallest of inclines, got 10mpg towing. THEN I bought a 07 dodge mega cab 6.7 cummins auto, towed the same 5er and got 9mpg but not as much shifting. THEN I traded trucks and campers to a 7000lb tt and a 2010 chev 2500hd 6.0 auto. Truck shifts a lot and gets 7.8mpg at 60mpg BUT is a LOT cheaper and more conveinent to operate. It's a trade off since I only tow a few times a year.

Hannibal wrote:

nohurry wrote:
Not a gas vs. diesel or even big block vs small block issue here. I'm just sayin I know how to tow with a gas engine, and with today's trucks you can be pro-active enough so the trans isn't shifting too much. But when it needs to, it needs to, and that's how I get my engine turning in the optimum power range for the situation at hand. I have no beef with the diesel guys at all. I would own one, and may some day, but right now I'm not stressing at all when I tow up 6% at 4000k RPM, so i don't really understand people that say, "that's because you've never towed with a diesel". While that is true it doesn't mean I arrive at the campsite needing blood pressure medicine! I kinda like hearing that V8 sing!

I think they're the ones needing blood pressure medication because we're happy towing with our gassers. I've been there. Kinda frustrating trying to justify the diesel to the Mrs when others are happy towing with gassers.:p

X-3
We went from diesel to gas and are happy with our choice. We have 4 other diesel F-350 SRW available to us on the ranch and I will drive the Chevrolet with the 6.2L NHT package.

nohurry wrote:
Not a gas vs. diesel or even big block vs small block issue here. I'm just sayin I know how to tow with a gas engine, and with today's trucks you can be pro-active enough so the trans isn't shifting too much. But when it needs to, it needs to, and that's how I get my engine turning in the optimum power range for the situation at hand. I have no beef with the diesel guys at all. I would own one, and may some day, but right now I'm not stressing at all when I tow up 6% at 4000k RPM, so i don't really understand people that say, "that's because you've never towed with a diesel". While that is true it doesn't mean I arrive at the campsite needing blood pressure medicine! I kinda like hearing that V8 sing!

I think they're the ones needing blood pressure medication because we're happy towing with our gassers. I've been there. Kinda frustrating trying to justify the diesel to the Mrs when others are happy towing with gassers.:p

Umm, no.

Diesels are great. I have one. I'd like another in my tow vehicle too. But you don't quite understand how transmissions and torque multiplication work.

65mph, 1800rpm in a diesel with say 750lb-ft on tap. That's in 5th gear at 0.71 reduction, making 532lb-ft of torque at the wheels (times 3.73 for differential) before drivetrain losses.

65mph, 2300rpm in a gasser with maybe 350lb-ft on tap. That's 5th gear at 0.85 reduction making 297lb-ft (times 3.73 for differential). Downshift to 3rd, 4230rpm, peak 380lb-ft times 1.53 gear improvement is 581 lb-ft at the wheels (times 3.73 for differential).

Compare the towing acceleration tests. The times and speeds are not that far apart @ WOT between gas and diesel.

However, it takes a couple seconds longer to downshift and reach that peak torque over a diesel. The engine gets louder that many people don't like hearing. That tachometer goes into a range that few owners of pickups like to see. It's a physiological problem. Gas will use more fuel doing to it too. I agree diesel is great and most people would prefer it's power delivery over a naturally aspirated gas engine.

This is a nice discussion and I understand multiplication of torque through a transmission. What is missing is that fact that the towing guides don't agree with you. In all three domestic engines the diesel puts out about twice the torque in the towing guides then the gasser. It is now around 800 foot pounds for the diesel and about 400 for the gasser. And that does not take into consideration Ford's guide that deducts two percent per 1000 feet elevation from the normally aspirated gasser engine and no deduct for the turbo diesel. When the tow guides agree with your analysis, then I will be a believer. Until then the seat of the pants driving between the two engines towing tells me all I need to know about which works better and has more usable power. And I agree that the diesel is not as fast off the line and think most RVers would have purchased a BMW or Porsche if 0 to 60 was more important then towing 9000 pounds over Donner Pass or anywhere else.

My point is that I don't care if you drive a gasser or a diesel, the aggravating constant shifting all the time gets real old after a few minutes. And the diesel typically does far less shifting than the gasser. Maybe the big block gassers are more 'diesel like' in that they can handle the load and hills without constant shifting.

Living in the mountains where I do the gasser works OK for trailers under 7500 pounds, the diesel for trailers over around 10,000 pounds. The OP's trailer is probably near 8500 pounds and has an unknown amount of weight in the tow vehicle that could put his total weight closer to maybe 9000 pounds. For that engine he is at the ragged edge of towing his trailer, people and other stuff. No wonder it is shifting every time a puff or air or a small hill comes up. The OP would be much happier with a diesel for towing; perhaps not for daily driving. But this is a towing forum not a daily driver forum.

For some folks an engine screaming at 5000 rpm's might be a physiological issue. For me it is a 'not necessary' issue as there are better solutions.

Allworth wrote:
It is interesting that so many people who post on this forum have not had the time to create a signature so we can see what they are towing with and how big their trailer is.

Or, maybe, they are ashamed of something! Hummmm??????

Why do you need a profile? Pretty obvious that whatever the contributor has is what they think is best for the other guy.

Not a gas vs. diesel or even big block vs small block issue here. I'm just sayin I know how to tow with a gas engine, and with today's trucks you can be pro-active enough so the trans isn't shifting too much. But when it needs to, it needs to, and that's how I get my engine turning in the optimum power range for the situation at hand. I have no beef with the diesel guys at all. I would own one, and may some day, but right now I'm not stressing at all when I tow up 6% at 4000k RPM, so i don't really understand people that say, "that's because you've never towed with a diesel". While that is true it doesn't mean I arrive at the campsite needing blood pressure medicine! I kinda like hearing that V8 sing!

Psst! Allworth! Real trucks don't have glow plugs either!