Towing up grades with "M" and 1 gears
So I have several coaches, but this will be my first attempt pulling a TT up a steeper mountain grade. I'm towing with a 1 ton Chevy express 3500. I'm a bit "confused" on just how to use this tra...
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"M" for "manual mode"..
M mode is for those guys that want their "handshaker" back.
Just put it into to drive and enable the "towing/haul" mode and forget about that "M" mode.
I would recommend reading your specific owners manual first.
The general idea of the Tow/haul mode is the drive train will adjust the shift pattern strategy which tends to be very helpful while towing or hauling loads. This mode (at least on Fords) will also engage auto downshifting when descending hill or steep downgrades.
The auto downshift is a very handy feature, as you start down a hill, when you let off the gas pedal it should start downshifting to lower gear to maintain your speed without the need to stand on your brakes all the time. If you continue to gain speed, the transmission should automatically downshift to the next lower gear automatically.
This is the same idea as manually selecting a lower gear on older vehicles without Tow/haul but you do not typically need to do that with tow haul most of the time.
You should also be able to tap or lightly touch your brake pedal to override the current gear and drop to the next lowest gear if you feel you are needing to slow down further or not gain more speed (at least that is how Ford does theirs).
Tow/haul should also slow the upshifting some, holding gear upshifts out until engine is in the proper RPM for the load, this helps reduce constant upshift/downshift known as "gear hunting".
As far as your #1, Follow posted speed recommendations and do nothing, allow Tow/haul to manage your gear selection, that is what it was designed for. As you start down the hill, let off the gas and transmission should start downshifting for you. If you feel you are gaining too much speed, tap or touch the brakes lightly to downshift to the next lower gear. You can always add some brakes as needed if you feel too uncomfortable with the speed you are descending at.
Your #2 put it into Drive enable tow/haul and allow the drive train figure out what gear to use.. But if starting out from a dead stop on a steep grade, don't expect to win any races off the launch pad and you will be fine..
Towing really zaps how fast off the line you can go, you don't need to try to win any Nascar races and you aren't going to either.
Take your time, it isn't all that hard towing but it does take time to get used to the different feel.
I would suggest taking the rig out for a couple of test runs on some light grade hills before trying long steep grades if you can. This way you will get a feel for what the vehicle will do..
M mode is for those guys that want their "handshaker" back.
Just put it into to drive and enable the "towing/haul" mode and forget about that "M" mode.
I would recommend reading your specific owners manual first.
The general idea of the Tow/haul mode is the drive train will adjust the shift pattern strategy which tends to be very helpful while towing or hauling loads. This mode (at least on Fords) will also engage auto downshifting when descending hill or steep downgrades.
The auto downshift is a very handy feature, as you start down a hill, when you let off the gas pedal it should start downshifting to lower gear to maintain your speed without the need to stand on your brakes all the time. If you continue to gain speed, the transmission should automatically downshift to the next lower gear automatically.
This is the same idea as manually selecting a lower gear on older vehicles without Tow/haul but you do not typically need to do that with tow haul most of the time.
You should also be able to tap or lightly touch your brake pedal to override the current gear and drop to the next lowest gear if you feel you are needing to slow down further or not gain more speed (at least that is how Ford does theirs).
Tow/haul should also slow the upshifting some, holding gear upshifts out until engine is in the proper RPM for the load, this helps reduce constant upshift/downshift known as "gear hunting".
As far as your #1, Follow posted speed recommendations and do nothing, allow Tow/haul to manage your gear selection, that is what it was designed for. As you start down the hill, let off the gas and transmission should start downshifting for you. If you feel you are gaining too much speed, tap or touch the brakes lightly to downshift to the next lower gear. You can always add some brakes as needed if you feel too uncomfortable with the speed you are descending at.
Your #2 put it into Drive enable tow/haul and allow the drive train figure out what gear to use.. But if starting out from a dead stop on a steep grade, don't expect to win any races off the launch pad and you will be fine..
Towing really zaps how fast off the line you can go, you don't need to try to win any Nascar races and you aren't going to either.
Take your time, it isn't all that hard towing but it does take time to get used to the different feel.
I would suggest taking the rig out for a couple of test runs on some light grade hills before trying long steep grades if you can. This way you will get a feel for what the vehicle will do..
