What gear to tow in

[Snoopwagon]

INTERESTING TOPIC! listen to the folks for your transmissions sake and only tow with your in 4th gear or not in overdrive it will destroy your tranny, the internals of the transmission are not beefy enough in the lower gear portion of the trans/ components in the overdrive section or low gear portion of the unit period. It may work for awhile then get ready to fork out the $ hopfulley we can save some trannys! 😃

[Jon in AZ]

Jim, that is simply not true for all transmissions, especially newer ones with sophisticated electronic controls.

Instead of listening to generic internet advice, listen to the manufacturer of your vehicle. The owner's manual has the scoop.

My previous tow vehicle said exactly what you advise, but my current tug says to leave it in OD on flats and lock out OD on grades. I have done that for 4 years, and regular fluid checks/changes show that all is well. It is a double overdrive- 4th and 5th are both overdrive ratios- so locking out OD drops the transmission to 3rd and limits towing speed to 50-55 mph.

[rbryan]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Instead of listening to generic internet advice, listen to the manufacturer of your vehicle. The owner's manual has the scoop.

[emoji106] [emoji106] [emoji106]

[Snoopwagon]

After going through my manuel front to back on my 2012 Nissan it does not say any where to tow a trailer either way and no warnings so? Pretty gray area dont you think? I would prefer it be as you say the mileage is certainly more efficient 😃

[Snoopwagon]

Thanks guys!

[Mike_L]

I would have to agree that automatic transmissions are better for some folks, usually the ones that don't really know when to shift gears for optimum performance. The reason for shifting, with either option, is to select the gear that gives the right amount of torque so that engine speed can be best matched to the force required to move the tow vehicle/trailer combination without providing an excessive amount and wasting fuel.
The newer transmissions, with their multiple speeds and much better than the older ones which only had three, sometimes only two, gear speed ratios.
A gear box transmits the engines power to the rear end. It is a very efficient transfer system with minimal power loss. An auto tranny is somewhat less of an efficient energy transfer mechanism.
If the driver isn't proficient with a gear box, the auto tranny may be the best option. When the driver is good with the gear box, fuel consumption can be less.
Convenience is another consideration!

[Borden]

Originally Posted by Connie Estep

My Subaru dealer told me to tow in 2nd gear instead of drive when I had my 13’ Boler. (The Subaru was rated to pull 2000# max and the 1980 Boler was around 800#dry.)⌈ Am wondering if I should still tow in 2nd gear to pull my 16 ft Scamp with a Honda Pilot rated for towing 4500#. Any thoughts??

Sounds silly just ignore the dealer lol : Mr transmission has a sweet trans-axle cooler if you like to play it ultra safe.

When did they down grade the Subaru from 2500 lbs to 2000 lbs ?

[redbarron55]

I may be wrong, but I assume that the manufacturer's engineers have a little idea how to tow, but often they don't bother to tell us.
For my Chrysler Town and Country with the towing package they have included heavy duty engine cooling oil cooling and transmission cooling along with self leveling suspension and that trailer module for the ESP.
With all of that the owner's manual is silent on using any different technique on towing and the automatic transmission.
The weak point in previous T&C was the transmission and the six speed is not "heavier" than it's 4 speed predecessors.
With great trepidation I just let the transmission take care of itself while I concentrate on driving etc.
Since the top two gears are overdrive I kinda hate to give those up.
I do preselect the lower gears when going down steep grades, however.
There is a selection for ECONOMY that changes the torque converter lockup and keeps from changing gears as often, but I have found no data that indicated that it's use would provide better service or longevity of the tranny.
The 2016 T&C gets ~ 18 mpg towing a heavy 16' Scamp and on the highway without the trailer we get as high as 28 MPG (If I drive, If Connie drives all bets are off)

[Mike Magee]

What gear to tow in is a matter of personal preference; my usual towing gear is jeans and a t-shirt....

[Snoopwagon]

Jeans and t shirt 😂

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

What gear to tow in is a matter of personal preference; my usual towing gear is jeans and a t-shirt....

Dang I really wish we had a "like" button. Jeans and a T shirt have been my choice for years...but I do have the dress up jeans and T shirts for going out.
Just as a side note for higher rpms, when we were younger, didn't we always say we were just blowing the carbon out? I've never had a motor give up from high rpms but there was one tranny that I blew up...I was 17 and I'm not going to explain how it happened .
As far as a gear or rpms, with manual trannys you choose, with autos they pretty much pick the right one depending on where you have the selector sitting. One poster mentioned being a bit un nerved with hearing the revs higher than in normal driving. A normal response until you have some road miles behind you towing a ton or more over long uphill pulls. Coming up out of the SoCal desert on I8 into SD county is a 10 + mile 6% or so grade. My Ranger, 4.0 v6 auto pulls my SD17 up it at 3700 RPMS & 55 mph just fine and I was only using about half of my gas peddles full travel. Yes, it is a bit strange to hear the engine pulling like that but that was a long way from it's red line. Jon from AZ comes up that way every year for his beach trip, maybe he will chime in to how many rpms he's at with his tug.
Bottom line is it's way better to run the rpms up than lug your engine and possibly cause damage.

[k0wtz]

here is what I do with my edge maybe I am right maybe I am wrong. After driving several million miles try 60k for 35 years I know transmission fluid heat will destroy one.

I have paddle shifting leval ground with the Scamp 13 I am in o/d but when I see a hill coming I build up my speed somewhat and when I see a slowing down I go to 5th but as soon as I crest I am back to o/d

for some reason I take a big hit when driving full time in 5th gear!

[Raspy]

Heat buildup comes from an unlocked torque converter. Different manufacturers have different strategies for locking, some at certain speeds, some only at light throttle, some at every shift or a combination of all the above. It seems the newer the car the more the tranny wants to lock and that's good thing. Done right, it's hardly noticeable. In older designs it was just like shifting into another gear. The older ones are the ones that make too much heat.

Whatever gear you are in while towing, try to make sure it is locked. This reduces the heat buildup to a minimal amount and it increases economy, two great benefits. I'd rather be in a lower gear locked than a higher gear unlocked.

One thing I don't think we can do much about is that trannies are programmed to unlock whenever you let off the throttle and coast. It's immediate. You might feel a slight jerk, but it lets go quickly. If it would stay locked it would hold back better in the mountains and drive more like a stick when towing. It would also make less heat. I modified my old Ram to manually lock the torque converter with a switch and it drove very well while towing.

So, don't worry too much about using a lower gear to make less heat, try to keep it locked to make less heat. Locked will also give better mileage.

[k0wtz]

Raspy here is something about hill climbing and shifting I learned driving my 40f Eagle bus you know the one with the old d/diesel 8v71. I had to learn to d/clutch scarey even more scarey learning how to handle shifting up and down hills mountains included.


this bus weighed 26,000lbs I had to learn to anticipate, learn how to prepare to shift and hit the shift points. in addition going down as per instruction per the pros the gear you went up the mountain was the gear you came down in no playing around!


Automatics are no different you just don't have a clutch overtax that automatic and you get to have a rebuild done! The same rules apply I just listed tugging a tt. Going up the mountain you learn your shifts and if you went up in low or second you better lock that baby in or you are in for a real ride. I suppose you could ride your brakes but you know how that will end up!


we don't need more and more power just better thinking watch those truckers with their huge loads. We wonder how they do it they have learned to match everything going up and going down!!

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by Borrego Dave

...Coming up out of the SoCal desert on I8 into SD county is a 10 + mile 6% or so grade. My Ranger, 4.0 v6 auto pulls my SD17 up it at 3700 RPMS & 55 mph just fine and I was only using about half of my gas peddles full travel. Yes, it is a bit strange to hear the engine pulling like that but that was a long way from it's red line. Jon from AZ comes up that way every year for his beach trip, maybe he will chime in to how many rpms he's at with his tug.

We gave up going that way a long time ago. The grade combined with typical strong headwinds was one reason. I-10 has shorter and gentler grades (but lots more truck traffic). Landing in evening rush hour on I-5 north was another. Last week we went via I-10 to Beaumont, then south and west through Hemet, Temecula, and Oceanside. Never touched I-5, and avoided Riverside as well, another bottleneck.

On the steepest interstate grades, OD off and running in 3rd gear, 3500-3700 rpm at around 55 mph sounds about right. Honda's 3.5L V6 reaches peak torque at just under 5000 rpm, and at 3500-4000 rpm you enter the flatish part of the curve near the peak. Somewhere in there feels like its happy spot (at least as happy as an engine under load can be!).

[k0wtz]

Jon I agree with you I never run 3500rpm I just crawl to get there sometime I will tell you how I drive!

[k0wtz]

Jon one of the big problems with drivers is many of them develop tunnel vision you know not reacting until they are right on top of the problem My wife drives like that drives me up the wall braking at the last minute!

[floyd]

Originally Posted by k0wtz

Jon I agree with you I never run 3500rpm I just crawl to get there sometime I will tell you how I drive!

Generally the shorter the stroke the more sustainable RPM.
Twice the stroke is twice the piston speed at the same RPM.
That along with other variables means every engine has its own maximum sustainable RPM.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Raspy

Heat buildup comes from an unlocked torque converter. Different manufacturers have different strategies for locking, some at certain speeds, some only at light throttle, some at every shift or a combination of all the above. It seems the newer the car the more the tranny wants to lock and that's good thing. Done right, it's hardly noticeable. In older designs it was just like shifting into another gear. The older ones are the ones that make too much heat.

Whatever gear you are in while towing, try to make sure it is locked. This reduces the heat buildup to a minimal amount and it increases economy, two great benefits. I'd rather be in a lower gear locked than a higher gear unlocked.

One thing I don't think we can do much about is that trannies are programmed to unlock whenever you let off the throttle and coast. It's immediate. You might feel a slight jerk, but it lets go quickly. If it would stay locked it would hold back better in the mountains and drive more like a stick when towing. It would also make less heat. I modified my old Ram to manually lock the torque converter with a switch and it drove very well while towing.

So, don't worry too much about using a lower gear to make less heat, try to keep it locked to make less heat. Locked will also give better mileage.

[Mike_L]

Raspy, you seem to know trannies. I'm more of a gear box man. Your thoughts on this please.
I bought an F250 diesel from an very good buddy who bought it new to pull a 35 ft. fifth wheel through the mountains between Alberta and BC. It has a 7.3 International diesel with a 3 speed Ford OEM auto tranny and a Gear Vendors high/low range attachment on the end of the tranny.
I tow a 26 ft 3500 lb TT with a class 5 WDH. I also carry two ATVs on a deck in the box.
I boondock a lot in the foothills on steep dirt roads. The truck never labors or heats up. When the tranny shifts it shifts solid, kind of like dropping the clutch on a manual. My buddy says it did this from new.
Should this be happening? Is it bad for the tranny?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Mike