I moved three fifth wheels with my dad's 2010 F-450 this weekend. We put the Spartan DPF & Cat delete on in April and it has the 210 tune loaded on at the moment. It has been by far the best thing we've done to it. The trailers were 37, 38, and almost 40' in length and probably 15k, 17k, and 19k in weight roughly.

I moved all three about 15 miles one way on some somewhat open country roads (55). The trips involved a couple stops/start ups. I had the truck in tow/haul the entire time.

Going slow, everything is fine. When I went to pull out onto the main road and do a startup from 0-55, the shifts were incredibly harsh. The biggest trailer was first, and pulling out I was pushing it but not super hard and backed off a little when I got around 1200 degree EGTs. When it shifted from usually 1-2 and again from 2-3, it would jerk into gear very rough, especially 2-3. I mean, I'd be on it maybe 1/2-5/8 throttle and it would start bucking and just jerking horribly. The big trailer was done Saturday afternoon and then the 37 and 38 were done today, and it happened with all three. We've pulled these before with the Spartan on the truck, but I don't remember it this violent.

I'm just looking for someone to tell me if this seems somewhat normal for this size load or not. If I backed off to very little throttle at shift time (which I did toward the end), it would shift smooth. The truck has done great otherwise and shifts smooth unloaded. I just want to catch this early if it is a trans problem while we still have a warranty (and the DPF in the garage...)

Oh yes, truck only has just over 12,000 miles. Actually, it was at 12000.9 when I was hooking up to #2 (the 37' trailer). It has been babied a lot and the majority of the miles are highway. The Spartan was put on around 8500 miles.

I should note, even if this is a somewhat typical behavior with this size load and a custom tune, I would still absolutely recommend the system with absolutely no hesitation. The exhaust sound and especially the turbo sound is just so much better, not to mention the performance and mileage increases.

Thanks!

 

I understand the 210 is a tow tune but you might want to check with Spartan on that issue.

I run mine in stock power when pulling anything over 10K.

 

Spartan has a 210hp tune, and a 210hp Tow performance tune. The Tow tune shifts much harder due to increased line pressures (to prevent tranny wear). If you are using that tune, try the regular 210hp tune. You should still be fine pulling that weight.

 

Thanks guys. I'm not sure which one it is, because my dad did the programming part while I got to bolt up the pipe section... The harsh shifts didn't really bother me, I just got concerned that it would be doing some damage.

I do have another question. What types of changes does the tow/haul make when activated now? I know before it seemed to change a lot, but with the tune, it seems to me that it just involves a slight change in shift points and then the engine braking. My dad thinks it changes engine things too and tried to argue that I'd get better mileage with the tow/haul off. I sometimes will roll with the tow/haul on, especially on the highway, after I'm up to speed to give me that engine braking capability in a panic situation. Does it hurt anything to turn tow/haul on and off all the time?

 

No changes to engine settings and the mileage with the tow/haul off ,will only change getting you up to final drive. It Does not hurt anything to turn tow/haul on and off all the time? Main change on take off is RPM's to shifts and braking.

 

I like the tow haul because it will hold the gears longer and then you don't have any gear hunting which creates heat.

 

Thanks guys! I ALWAYS leave it in tow haul, even with the smallest trailer, but I do have a tendency to turn it on and off just rolling solo. I'll turn it off for accelerations but turn it on when I'm slowing down, to save the brakes. I try to turn it on when I'm just rolling (so it doesn't try to shift differently midstream) and then I try to turn it off once I'm stopped or slow enough where the gear unlocks.