First mountain coming up

[SleepyBadger]

Will be hittin g the Bighorns soon and am still a bit confused about gears. I'm in a class c gas and it has a way to shift into m1 to m6. Owner said to keep it around 2500 rpm. So going uphill do I shift down from m6 to a lower gear m5/4/3/2/1 and the reverse it going downhill (shift up to 2/3/4/5/6)? Sorry, been manual transmission in a car my whole life.


Will be going eastbound on 16 through the Bighorns.


Thanks

[dodge_guy]

SleepyBadger wrote:
2012 Coachmen Freelander. Looks like a chevy 4500?

Probably has the 6.0 Chevy gas motor and I assume with the 6 speed auto. Put it in Tow/Haul (I would always turn it on, they turn off every time you turn off the motor). Then just let the computer shift it for you. If it hunts for a gear then manually select one. That has more will need to be turning 3k+ rpm going up a mountain. Let it do it, that's where its power band is! And coming down keep it in a gear that let's the engine hold it at a safe speed.

Good luck!

[sch911]

Turn on tow/haul and let it downshift all by itself. Going down you may need to manually downshift to maintain speed too.

[Lwiddis]

Tow haul is your friend...use it.

[kerrlakeRoo]

SleepyBadger wrote:
Yes. It has tow haul mode. Turn it on?

And shift down means go from 6 to 5/4/3/2/1. Correct?

Yes, let it do the work.It should handle the downshifts about 90% of the time.

[SleepyBadger]

2012 Coachmen Freelander. Looks like a chevy 4500?

[SleepyBadger]

Yes. It has tow haul mode. Turn it on?

And shift down means go from 6 to 5/4/3/2/1. Correct?

[Steeljag]

X2 on the Tow / Haul if equipped both up and down !

[kerrlakeRoo]

Does the unit have a "Tow/haul" mode?

[Mandalay_Parr]

Manually shift down to maintain rpm just like a stick.
Same for going down. Let the engine/tranny do the work and don't ride the service brakes.
You can shift your automatic transmission just as you would a stick.
I do it all the time even on my car. My brakes last for a very long time and never any tranny problems.

[donn0128]

What chassis and drive train?
Generally speaking, manually shift the transmission to maintain speed at the 2500 RPM number you were told. Going down hills the general truckers rule is go down in the same geat you used going up. DO NOT ride the brakes going down. If you do you will find yourself with no brakes. Instead, brake hard to bring yourself to 10-15 MPH below your desired speed, get off the brakes and let it coast using engine compression braking to help hold speed. Once you get above the posted speed, brake hard again. Repeat as necessary.