Tow Haul Question

[nue2farm]

I have a 07 Dodge half ton. I tow a flatbed trailer or a two horse stock trailer.
Do I need to be in "tow" mode if the 18 ft flatbed trailer is empty?
What about OD? If I am in "tow haul" mode I also have a OD off on same switch. I have been just using "toe haul" mode, is this OK? Thanks for any and all replies and or comments.

 

[CAgnoli]

On my truck, tow haul mode changes the shift points, and enables the engine breaking. It still uses overdrive, just takes longer to shift into it.

When my 18' 3000 lbs equipment trailer is empty, I use the tow haul mode just to save my brakes.

 

[Dmace]

Tow/Haul mode will run the gears higher before shifting and firm up the shifts as well. Also while braking, it will downshift to use engine rpms to help slow the load. This is really only necessary when towing more than 50% of your tow capacity. The OD Off button will only stop the truck from shifting into Overdrive. The shifting will otherwise be normal. When I'm towing my atv's or snowmobiles (1500-2000lbs), I leave the OD on and wouldn't even use Tow/Haul if I had it.
When towing an empty trailer, even my 1870lb dump trailer, I don't even shut off the OD unless I'm on back roads driving under 45mph. Then I shut it off if it seems to be shifting into and out of OD a lot.

The only thing you'll harm using the Tow/Haul mode a lot is your fuel mileage. ;-)

 

[Diamondpilot]

Empty trailers I run my trucks normal. When I have any load on them I run in Tow Haul Mode.

Chris

 

[gengine]

Use the o/d off button if your doing a lot of little hills or one long hill where your tranny starts 'hunting' for gears. A good way to destroy a tranny is letting it shift to and from overdrive continuously. Turning o/d off stops the constant shifting. I really don't think an empty flatbed would be a big deal, although on those long hills, just the truck might be enough to warrant a push of the button.

 

[LD1]

Pretty much echo what others said here:thumbsup:

Everyones situation is different. Different vehichles, different engines (HP), different gears, different loads on the trailer, etc all come into play.

Pretty much ANY time I tow my trailer, I use Tow Haul mode. (trailer is 2700# empty). As others said, it waits a little longer before the shift (higher rpms), adds engine breaking, and on most, it bumps up the line pressure in the tranny and makes the shifts a little firmer. This gives you more holding power and less delay between gears. This saves on tranny clutch/band wear.

And if the trailer isnt that heavy, even running in T/H mode shouldnt cost you much MPG anyway. But it will certainly save on the tranny.

The O/D on/off is a new one to me. I didnt know they made one with both as an option. But if that is the case, wether in tow/haul or not (even if empty) use that button if the transmission constantly downshifting and upshifting with every liitle hill (hunting as its called and gengine already mentioned).

 

[timswi]

I use T/H whenever I have a tandem trailer or a heavy bed load and I run the truck in 5th or 4th gear. Just to go easy on the drive line..Brakes don't seem to be an issue as the OEM controller doesn't seem to stress the truck brakes at all..The T/H engine/trans braking is a beautiful thing.

 

[adjusterr]

The other posters have it right. Don't pull trailers, other than something very light, in O/D, it puts entirely too much strain on the engine. High gear is always direct drive, O/D is just what it says, over direct drive, it's good for higher gas mileage and less engine wear and tear but definately not for towing use. Use the tow mode, you will get far better performance plus you will get the benefit of the engine brake, that's what you paid so much money for. Good luck with your towing.

 

[jeffsw6]

On some vehicles it is actually recommended in the instruction manuals that you use O/D when towing, as opposed to defeating it by selecting a lower gear, because their transmissions have fancy computerization to manage heat and torque. I can't remember what vehicle I towed with that I first read this about but in that one I recall that the torque converter lock-up only worked in the highest gear and that is the reason it was recommended to allow the computer to use O/D when it wanted to.

 

[tcartwri]

The other posters have it right. Don't pull trailers, other than something very light, in O/D, it puts entirely too much strain on the engine. High gear is always direct drive, O/D is just what it says, over direct drive, it's good for higher gas mileage and less engine wear and tear but definately not for towing use. Use the tow mode, you will get far better performance plus you will get the benefit of the engine brake, that's what you paid so much money for. Good luck with your towing.

Modern transmissions are designed to pull in od. Our old ford would not even make it to hwy speed without it.