Towing with an automatic transmission

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Queen, did you ever find anything in your manual about tow mode?

Doing a little more research on my Ford, I discover that the engine compression braking when descending long hills works a lot better in Tow/Haul mode.  I've been told that this is because it locks the torque converter

 

[Queen]

Not yet, my beloved has the manual in her work bag to read at lunch... for the last two weeks. LOL

 

[travlinman and wife]

trans cooler on my 2000 f150 towing pack the trans cooler  runs the whole the whole length of radiator and takes 5gal to fill

 

[highdesertranger]

holy cow the cooler takes 5 gals or the whole system takes 5 gals. highdesertranger

 

[vanman2300]

High Desert Stranger said everything I would so IMO he's spot on. The only thing I can add in the way of advice is to get the sway bars for the trailer hitch.

If you would like to find out if you have the transmission cooler just check for what looks like a much smaller radiator in front of the engine's radiator.

 

[travlinman and wife]

HDR I was wrong it is  15 and 3/4 qt for the whole system. VANMAN2300 that may not be the case about the cooler siting in front of radiator. on my 2000 f150 it is in the  radiator and is the same size as radiator.

 

[wagoneer]

My starter repair replacement cost is nuts on the Toyota Tundra. It's like $500 just for labor. Some of these issues are getter so crazy expensive to fix.


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I would never pay that kinda money for a starter replacements, the real killer of starters is a bad battery and bad connections . Go to the source is it anymore than 2 bolts? Changed a few on the "side of the road"

 

[highdesertranger]

yeah that sounds more like it t&w.

here's some tips about trans coolers.
1. do not bypass your factory cooler when installing an aftermarket cooler. let the fluid run through the factory cooler first. then take the output from the factory cooler and run it though the aftermarket cooler.
2. get the largest cooler you can fit, this ups the total amount of fluid.
3. adding a aftermarket spin on filter will also help with cooling and add more fluid to the system. however it is not a substitute for a cooler.
4. the more fluid capacity you add it will help stabilize the temp. in other words the fluid will be able to absorb heat spikes better.
highdesertranger

 

[masterplumber]

x2 on running the lines through the factory cooler first. On my old Ford I had the trans rebuilt, and built up heavily. We added a large trans cooler and originally bypassed the original one built into the radiator. The fluid actually went through the cooler too fast and didn't cool. Once we reconnected the factory cooler in series it cooled better than new, which was the goal.

 

[[email protected]]

Just realized, I've never towed anything with an auto transmission, drove semis and smaller trucks hauling huge loads, but always with a stick.  

So, kinda wondered about the overdrive button... is it always off, of just in hills and mountains?  Do you actually use the 2 & 3 gears when towing, like on hills?  

I feel like a towing rookie, a manual is so much easier to figure out!

 At the moment I have a manual transmission and I cannot tell anything with it. All the information tells me that an automatic is the best to use for towing . Because it automatically compensates for going up and down hill

 

[29chico]

 At the moment I have a manual transmission and I cannot tell anything with it. All the information tells me that an automatic is the best to use for towing . Because it automatically compensates for going up and down hill

A highly skilled driver can anticipate an upcoming grade, be it up or down, and shift before the grade into the correct gear for the situation at hand.  This technique can be used with a manual or auto transmission and results in better mileage and an overall safer driving experience as the skilled driver is far lest likely to overheat the brakes as engine braking is being used to help slow the vehicle on downgrades.

Manual transmissions have an advantage of almost never overheating their gear oil.  They are also more efficient as auto transmissions have to use some of the engine's power to power the pump that actuates the transmission's internal functions.

 

[masterplumber]

29chico, on the older trucks that's spot on, but now with computer controls there are more variables. I was driving a 2012 Ram 2500 with a stick. I loved having a stick again after so many years of driving an auto in my last truck. The problem is, Ram now controls how much torque is delivered via the computer programing. My 2012 was slow off the line and didn't really get moving until 4th gear due to the torque limiting. It also only averaged 12.5 mpg.

Fast forward to 3 weeks ago. I traded the 2012 in for a 2016 Ram 3500 dually. It is an auto as that is all they had left on the lot which is what they were willing to deal drastically on to get rid of "last years model". Both trucks have the same 3.73 rear end gears (they're both diesels so this gearing works well). They 2016 takes off much much faster and gets much better mileage - I just averaged 17.4 mpg calculated on a 530 mile round trip through the mountains including crossing the continental divide at over 11,000 feet. Other than the transmission and the fact that the 2016 has duals so is heavier and has more rolling resistance, the trucks are pretty much the same. I miss my stick, but this new truck so far is costing me less to operate, and seems to pull better with the trans in tow/haul mode. Surprisingly, the exhaust brake even seems more effective than on the stick when in tow/haul mode.

 

[29chico]

29chico, on the older trucks that's spot on, but now with computer controls there are more variables. I was driving a 2012 Ram 2500 with a stick. I loved having a stick again after so many years of driving an auto in my last truck. The problem is, Ram now controls how much torque is delivered via the computer programing. My 2012 was slow off the line and didn't really get moving until 4th gear due to the torque limiting. It also only averaged 12.5 mpg.

Fast forward to 3 weeks ago. I traded the 2012 in for a 2016 Ram 3500 dually. It is an auto as that is all they had left on the lot which is what they were willing to deal drastically on to get rid of "last years model". Both trucks have the same 3.73 rear end gears (they're both diesels so this gearing works well). They 2016 takes off much much faster and gets much better mileage - I just averaged 17.4 mpg calculated on a 530 mile round trip through the mountains including crossing the continental divide at over 11,000 feet. Other than the transmission and the fact that the 2016 has duals so is heavier and has more rolling resistance, the trucks are pretty much the same. I miss my stick, but this new truck so far is costing me less to operate, and seems to pull better with the trans in tow/haul mode. Surprisingly, the exhaust brake even seems more effective than on the stick w hen in tow/haul mode.

Interesting. 

How many forwards gears did the 2012 manual transmission have?   How many of those forward gears are overdrives?

Does the 2016 have the 8 speed ZF transmission?  If IIRC the 8 speed ZF trans has 3 overdrives.

I am wondering if the difference in mileage between the two trucks is more related to the number of gears, and possibly even more important might be how many of those gears are overdrives, than the manual vs automatic issue.

My 2012 Savana G3500 extended cargo van with the 4.8L and 6 speed trans gets great fuel economy when I use manual mode to select the needed gear before getting to a grade as described in my previous post.

 

[masterplumber]

Both trucks had/have 6 forward gears with one overdrive. I'm 90% positive the 8 speed is only in the 1500 with the ECO Diesel. The 2500 and up with the 6.7 diesel is available with 3 transmissions, and the 3 power outputs. No, we don't get to pick and choose. There is the 6 speed manual made by Mercedes - not nearly as strong as the old 5 and 6 speeds. Most Hot Shot haulers are phasing them out as they've had issues with not just the clutches and multi mass flywheels, but also with the transmissions themselves warping under heavy loads. If you get this transmission, which is what my 2012 had, you get the least horsepower and torque, and it's held back even more by the computer as you go through the first few gears. Then there is the standard 6 speed auto - which is what my 2016 has. That gets you the midrange power output which is fine for my needs. I run heavy, but 400+ horsepower and over 800 ft pounds of torque is plenty, especially when is seems the computer lets me use it just a few feet off the line. Then there is the Aisen 6 speed auto. It's supposed to be indestructible, and gets you the highest power output. I've heard through the grapevine though that a big chunk of that extra power gets eaten up by the high pressure pump in that trans. Still, if I were to spec a hot shot truck that would be the way to go. It would be interesting to compare mileage figures between 2 similarly equip trucks with the 2 different automatics. The only 2016 dually they had left on the lot with an Aisen auto was a cab and chassis model and it was the same price as my pickup, as they don't have as many incentives on those. And I would have had to spend another $11,000 on top of that for the utility bed I wanted. By buying a pickup I can transfer my rack and topper over after painting and be done.