Operating a van vs a car

[citytravelfotos]

I've traveled from Tucson to Los Angeles to San Francisco in the van I bought. &nbsp;I'm worried though that my inexperience with vans may make me to not correctly operate the vehicle. &nbsp;I'm concerned about a few things:<br><br><br>- Second gear braking: &nbsp;not exclusive to vans, but I never had a problem just braking with my car when going downhill. &nbsp;Seems to me that the brakes are more sluggish on a van, so I did this a few times, especially on the tejon pass (the grapevine in California) while going down the steep pass on I-5 (5 1/2 miles of 5 to 6% grade), but I'm concerned that this may damage the engine or transmission.<br><br>- Overdrive: &nbsp;I never worried about overdrive in my car, Now I'm worried about when to use and not use overdriving. &nbsp;I left it on overdrive until the past few days, including using it to drive the mountains around California, but now I'm concerned that I may hurt the engine. &nbsp;<br><br>- transmission shifting: &nbsp;I'm not used to using the transmission shift on vans (or any american automobile for that matter), on this one in particular I'm wondering if I ended up hurting the transmission when I accidentally shifted from first gear onto reverse when slowly going up a hill, and another time earlier when I accidentally shifted the van into second gear instead of drive, and drove the van for 10 miles on second gear at highway speeds.

 

[cyndi]

CTF, here's what I've been told. Use Overdrive (OD) when going faster than 65. Don't use overdrive on hills or when driving in hilly terrain. <br><br>I don't, very often, have to brake when going down hills. I just lay off the gas.<br>&nbsp;I've made the mistake of manually shifting into reverse or 1st or second at the wrong time, a time or two. It hasn't hurt any of my vehicles. Sounds like hell, though. I sure wouldn't make a habit of it and am more careful, at least for awhile.

 

[gymrat]

I've never worried about using OD in mountains with 2 different vans and a B+ rv built on a chevy cutaway chassis. The only thing I do is to manually shift down to help slow down instead of using brakes too much and overheating them. Going uphill the trans will shift out of OD when it needs to.

 

[Seraphim]

I generally just drive as normal and never had an issue. Going on steep downhills, I slowed my speed and use short frequent applications of the brake to keep the speed under control. Slow accelerations uphill tend to keep the OD from kicking in - again, often depends on the speed you are trying to maintain IMO. Slower speeds and slow accelerations keep the rpms - and fuel consumption - down, so I drive by the tachometer.

 

[Ballenxj]

A van is much heavier than a car, therefore will act more sluggish than a car. More weight equals more pressure on the brake pedal to stop, and more distance as well. <br>As far as what gear to keep it in when going down a steep grade, any truck driver will tell you to use the same gear going down a hill in that you would need to go up it. (I have friends that drove truck)<br>Using overdrive in hilly country? From what I've been researching you want to use drive as opposed to overdrive so it doesn't keep banging the overdrive gear as you go up and down the hills. I've been told that the OD is the weakest link in the transmission. <br>-Bruce

 

[Les H]

Having driven many pickups and trucks, plus my van cross country (3x) north to south, and even towed my backhoe on a 18' tandem axle trailer that weighed 3000 obser empty, here is what I do... I put it into o/d and drive it. That's it. The computer was designed to decide what range it should be in. Engineers developed it, tested it for years and then produced it. On VERY long grades (5 miles qualifies) I MAY manually side it down a gear... but usually not. Your van has MUCH larger brakes than a car to compensate for the heavier weight. Keep in mind all brake boosters are not the same and your little car will most definatly feel crisper, but that doesn't mean your van brakes are sloppy or sluggish. If they are, have them checked. More everyday experiance driving your van will have you miuch more comfortable with it, and soon you will be zippng in and out of traffic and reacting with vmconfidence instead of questioning everything. Don't expect your van to handle like a small foriegn car, because it can't. It was never built or designed to, and its an unfair comparison.

 

[peacetara]

I have zero mechanical knowledge pretty much.&nbsp;&nbsp; It's what I was taught to do when I first was learning how to drive.&nbsp; I haven't had any reason to change <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"><br><br>Not clue if what I do is 'correct', but I do pretty much what Les H does.&nbsp; Except on downhills that go for a while, instead of using the brakes all the time, I just let my foot off the gas, and let the engine slow me down. If I'm still going to fast, I'll change down a gear, and make the engine do more work.&nbsp; I tend to go super slow downhills anyways, because I'm lazy and I get tired of my foot on the brake, so I make the engine do the work, and not use my brakes so much.<br><br>Again, not a clue if that's 'good' or 'bad' or whatever for the engine, it's just what I do..&nbsp; and again, I have zero mechanical knowledge.<br><br>I'd suggest next time you have it in the shop for some work, ask the mechanic. It's their job to know these things.<br><br>With Love,<br>Tara

 

[wrcsixeight]

When climbing a hill in overdrive, try turning the overdrive off while keeping the gas pedal at the same level. &nbsp;If you start gaining speed in this lower gear, then you should have not been in overdrive.<br><br>I do not agree that the vehicle knows which gear is always best for it, but that is my opinion and no disrespect intended to those with the opposite view.<br><br>Having engine bog down when climbing a hill in overdrive, then having an abrupt downshift is not good for the drivetrain. &nbsp;If the transmission is searching for the right gear, just take it out of overdrive and go a little slower, and keep the speed steady. &nbsp;Minimize the gear changes. &nbsp;They create a lot of heat in the transmission and wear and tear, especially when climbing grades.<br><br>I Use my OD OFF button often, and recommend anyone with a Dodge Van do so as well. &nbsp;Under 45mph,I only allow OD when on level road and when I do not need to accelerate. &nbsp;In General I will not exceed 65 mph in 3rd as 3000 rpm is pretty loud. &nbsp;Some hills I could power up at 75mph in overdrive with my foot 3/4 the way to the floor, but I'll just slow to 60 and take it out of overdrive and use 1/3 the gas pedal.<br><br>One other thing is hard braking. &nbsp;I notice many people, and a good percentage of them women, will brake late and hard at a traffic light. &nbsp;This can cause brake pedal pulsing as the super hot brake pad can leave deposits on the super hot rotor. &nbsp;It might even warp it. &nbsp;This pulsing, if left unattended will increase the stress and wear on all the suspension components as well as wheel bearings and tires, so it is best avoided in the first place. &nbsp;Also hitting a puddle after hard braking is a good way to warp or even crack rotors.<br><br>Brake earlier, try to keep rolling, and if you have to fully stop use just enough brake pressure to keep from rolling into the car in front of you. &nbsp;Don't keep a huge amount of pressure on the brake pedal when stopped, and you are much less likely to develop the pulsing brake pedal.<br><br>In my area, I have a lot of redlights at the bottom of steep hills. &nbsp;Rather than irritate those who have zippy little cars, or even overpowered SUV's and want to drive fast, I also drive fast, and brake harder later than I normally would, but when I am sitting at the red arrow/ light, I use my parking brake as the rear drums are not as susceptible to the pad deposits/ warping as the front rotors.<br><br>And keep right except to pass, even if it is not a law in whatever state you are driving in. &nbsp;Last thing you want is a bunch of angry drivers &nbsp;in speedy sedans wanting to pass you as you dawdle along in the left lane.<br><br>I have gotten so ridiculously angry at left lane dawdlers holding up hundreds of cars when driving a faster &nbsp;vehicle than my van, I actually ran one of them off the road onto the shoulder. &nbsp;I am not proud of this.<br><br>Just get out of the fast lane. &nbsp;The highways work so much better when those who need/want to drive fast, can do so. &nbsp;It's common courtesy, that is less and less common unfortunately.<br><br><br>

 

[gymrat]

one thing i have noticed in my gulfstream B+ is when using engine compression to slow me down going downhill is that my temp gauge reads lower temperatures. I got to agree with WRCSIXEIGHT on the fast lane issue, I think no one teaches " slower traffic keep right " anymore. this came up on a harley-davidson motorcycle forum a while back and someone posted asking what we were talking about !!

 

[Ballenxj]

Yeah, The fast lane thing ticks me off too. Even if I'm driving a fast car I only use the far left lane to pass&nbsp; somebody, and once passed, I get back into either the center or right hand lane. <br>I have a friend that is a bit (ahem) older than I, and I find myself constantly asking him why we are in the left lane? He thinks nobody should be doing a mile over the speed limit, but he hardly ever comes up to speed. Drives me absolutely Bat Nutz! Then again, I like to drive fast when I can, and have a car worthy of going fast. <img src="/images/boards/smilies/wink.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img"> <br>-Bruce

 

[caseyc]

I almost feel schitzo (sp?) for having 2 completely different driving styles depending on which vehicle I'm driving. My every day driving vehicle is a flaming red BMW 325ci convertible which I routinely speed between 65 to 80 mph on the left lane. &nbsp;I also do fast cornering and pass others routinely, especially with uphill acceleration. &nbsp;However, when I'm driving my van which is much larger and heavier, I do everything the opposite. &nbsp;I drive no faster than 65 mph, and usually a bit slower than everyone else, and usually drive 1 lane left of far right. &nbsp;I give extra space for the vehicle in front of me because I know my van requires more braking distance, plus I go much slower for making turns especially because I don't want all my interior stuff flying around! &nbsp;My van is a joke for doing uphill acceleration, so I usually try to gun it just before going up a hill knowing I will lose at least 15 mph as I get near the top of the hill. &nbsp;Anyway, it took me awhile to adjust to this "grandpa" still of driving with my van versus my everyday car. &nbsp;It took me a good couple months before I felt completely comfortable driving a van, having never owned a van previously. &nbsp;If you think this is bad, my previous recreational vehicle was a Class C RV, and that was truly a pain to drive around and especially for parking! &nbsp;That was a mistake getting a Class C RV, but I learned some expensive lessons along the way. &nbsp;Anyway, driving a van feels "normal" to me now, and I can drive it pretty easily now.<br><br><br>

 

[Cubey]

ommon curiously is especially lacking in faster (speeding) drivers. You can be doing the limit, having just passed a semi going about 5 under. Some moron behind you floors it and passes you on the right before you can even turn your blinker on.. or in spite of it being on.

 

[Cubey]

You need to have your licenses revoked if you are driving that excessively fast.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Cops are far too lenient when it comes to speeding.

 

[Ballenxj]

m, Are you serious? For one thing, you have no idea how I drive. For another, I usually have the cruise set at the posted speed limit. When I drive a fast car, I do so where no one else will be involved. &lt;br&gt;Yes, I like to drive fast. No, I do not drive reckless. &lt;img src="/images/boards/smilies/rolleyes.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img"&gt; &lt;br&gt;-Bruce

 

[rokguy]

<EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">Hi citytravelfotos,</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">&nbsp;Don't worry to much about your vans quirks, you'll soon get the hang of it. I take it you guys are mainly driving autos from the posted comments. I haven't driven an automatic transmission in years but I think gearing down on big decends in a good idea if your weighed, (using your auto like a manual)&nbsp;you don't want to overheat&nbsp;and loose&nbsp;those brakes.</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">The vehicles I drive are all Diesels which give you natural compression braking down long decends. The two smaller trucks are 10 speed split shift (5 low, 5 high range) gearboxes equipped with exhaust braking. This&nbsp;is a butterfly valve to close some of the exhaust pipe off, raising backpressure to the engine which slows the vehicle (great in city traffic as there is no wear on the service brakes)</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">My other vehicle which weighs in at 9 tons tare (empty, prime mover) has a 15 speed roadranger gearbox, (this is effectively a 3 split 5 speed gearbox which takes some getting use to) it doesn't have syncromesh in the gearing which means you double clutch on every down shift when your slowing, using your engine revs to shift it also has a "Jake brake" which is a engine compression brake, these are really effective when decending.</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">The drive back you did should show up any niggling mechanical doubts you need to get fixed before long terming.<BR>&nbsp;On the driving in the fast lane thing........................ in Australia you are fined and&nbsp;loose points off your licence for doing that, there are signs posted all along the superslabs (fwy) "Keep left unless overtaking" and its enforced.<BR><BR>Geoff</SPAN></STRONG></EM>

 

[caseyc]

In case some of you might not know, many California freeways have raised the limit to 65 mph. There are certain freeways that are even faster.&nbsp; Doing up to 80 mph is routine because all the other vehicles are doing the same, therefore it's keeping up with the flow of traffic.&nbsp; "Real" speeding would be doing say 90 to 100+ mph in my opinion.&nbsp; Anyone ever drive i5 freeway going to Los Angeles, especially at night?&nbsp; Cars and 18 wheelers are doing well over 80 mph.&nbsp;

 

[owl]

&nbsp;&nbsp; Listen to les on this one. Put the van in gear and go. The transmission has all the engineering it needs to do the job. Don't overthink it.

 

[idn88]

I would generically say that the engineers that designed that van and its overdrive did not design it to maximize its life expectancy, they designed it to use the overdrive to meet their CAFE requirements of their fleet from the govt.<br><br>I would see if I could find the owners manual and see what it says about coming out of overdrive, because I do believe the manufacturers do put some thought into that manual and its vehicle specific.<br><br>Your more likely to kill an engine continually lugging it than from running at a higher rpm (although you will use more fuel). &nbsp;Also, when you shift the torque converter unlocks for a while, which heats up the fluid which is the biggest issue with killing a AT. &nbsp;<br><br>If it seems to be lugging, or shifting frequently, I personally would pull it out of overdrive. &nbsp;If not, then I wouldn't worry. &nbsp;It depends on your weight, speed, grade, and driving style.

 

[MK7]

&nbsp;&nbsp; Listen to les on this one. Put the van in gear and go. The transmission has all the engineering it needs to do the job. Don't overthink it.

<br><br>You can manually shift an AT for many reasons.&nbsp; It's not just P, D and R.&nbsp; <br><br>OD is always the weak spot of the tranny because it merely piggybacks off of 3rd gear. You should never drive around in stop &amp; go, city traffic in OD. Especially if you get up to enough speeds where it keeps hunting between 3rd and OD. Up and down steep hills, definitely not in OD. There will be more straining on the motor if you lock out OD in such conditions, but it's much better than burning up the tranny. The motor can take it. <br><br>Also a trans cooler is a good idea. <br><br><br>

 

[Ballenxj]

I'm with MK7 on this. There is a reason they put those extra gear selections on the shifter. <img src="/images/boards/smilies/wink.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img"> <br>-Bruce