Towing up the mountains

I never run it WOT up the hills. There's no reason to hammer it that hard.

coolbreeze01 wrote:
Towing in the mountains is where the new diesels shine.

Diesels do shine in the mountains, but I would add that any turbocharged engine will tow well in the mountains. I have been very happy towing through the mountains of Oregon with my 3.5L EcoBoost. Ascending the mountains seems effortless for the truck. When descending, I rarely use the brakes. In tow mode, just tapping the brake will cause the transmission to downshift. The engine braking will maintain a comfortable speed while descending.

Up is no big deal for anything but coming down stay in lower gears use tow haul if you have and or engine break and little braking as possible. Lived in Colorado all my life and I have seen a lot of people white knuckling it down the hills take it slow and easy just like most of the big rigs do.

remember it's not how fast you make it up and down in the mountains but how safe you make it up and down. It amazes me how some people think they have to up and down at the same speed as they can drive on the flats.

Engine braking has never been an issue for me. The 3.5L eco shines pretty good in the mountains. The turbo doesn't lose power at high elevations like a naturally aspirated engine. It'll also lug where other gas engines scream.

Towing in the mountains is where the new diesels shine.

Enough power to go up hill at whatever speed you are comfortable with, and combined with downshifting and the exhaust brake, a safe and comfortable descent with little to zero need to use your service brakes.

Have fun.

evanrem wrote:
I'm in the middle of purchasing a new truck and came across this website and watched a few of videos testing trucks on the IKE Gauntlet (A long steep Mtn grade):
TFL Truck

I have only been in the Mountains towing once and was a bit freaked out my first time taking it very easy going up and down. Once I got used to it all it was not so bad but still took it pretty slow.
These guys just floor it in Drive and go.

For those who trailer through the Mountains is this how you do it?

Also they do a test pulling 10k trailer up the same stretch and the 3.5 Eco Boost beats the Chevy 6.0 and Dodge or Nissan fairly easy. There is a point were they have to slow the ECO Boost down because they are gaining to much speed. They did mention that the Chevy goes down the hill the best with engine braking which is just as important as going up.

The first time I took my trailer into the mountains, I was timid and took it "very slow" ... worrying about taking it slow actually was more stress than just driving normally... so that's what I did the rest of the trip. My truck didn't seem to mind either way, readings from the on board computer were the same crawling up at 35 mph with the 5th wheels and semis as was maintaining 55-60 mph passing the crawlers with ease.

Ok, so my trailer is tiny, only 20 ft, and weighs < 4000 lbs so it's no match for my Ram... the guys with their 2500 and 3500 series diesels crawling up the grades had trailers much nicer than mine, and a lot heavier I imagine.

Going down was also very easy... again in part to having such a light trailer. Often times I found the cruise-control would down shift correctly, as needed to maintain the speed I set. Sometimes the downhill grades were also very curvy, and a speed slower than what the cruise could maintain was needed. I used the electronic shift to go into the lower gears and the transmission would shift down as it reached a safe speed for the progressively lower gears. Only time I needed brakes was when the person in front of me would panic brake - they would continually slow waaaaaay down and then speed up again, over and over.

Edit: oh btw, the Ike has nothing on the grades you can face depending on the route you choose driving to Alaska. Ike is impressive I guess for a commercial expressway, but pales by comparison to what smaller secondary roads will throw at you.

PAAK wrote:
I have a Ford F250 with the 6.7 diesel, when I am going up and down the mountain, I take it easy, and I use the engine brake when going down. The TV goes up really well without any issues. I just use my head and be safe. They are trying to sell a vehicle so they take risks, I am not going to risk DW or the furkid, family is first.

"furkid" i'm going to use that

I have a Ford F250 with the 6.7 diesel, when I am going up and down the mountain, I take it easy, and I use the engine brake when going down. The TV goes up really well without any issues. I just use my head and be safe. They are trying to sell a vehicle so they take risks, I am not going to risk DW or the furkid, family is first.