At what GCWR do you guys start using the tow haul mode? I have an F350 CC Dually FX4

 

I used it this weekend towing my 5th wheel. I'm not sure what weight my total GCW is, but with the old truck it was right at 20k (probably close to the same with this one). I towed with the truck for the first time this weekend. I was impressed with tow/haul. I really liked the engine braking/downshifts while driving in traffic. I am thoroughly impressed with how the truck towed overall.

 

I use it when I need it...completely doesn't answer your question, but that's an honest answer. If I'm towing a load that requires some help stopping (like a trailer without brakes or a heavy trailer), I'll use it. Any time I'm towing our enclosed four wheeler trailer unloaded, no, I won't use it. Loaded with wheelers, yes, I do use it. 5th wheel or loads over 7500 pounds are all the time. You will get a feel for when you use it and for me it is wanting the engine braking that will prompt me to use it.

 

somewhat like savage - but I RARELY use it for any towing, even heavy on grades...

Will punch it on when I want to use the turbo backpressure to slow me down and save the brake pads for both the truck, and when towing, the 5th wheel... but turn it right back off as all it seems to do for me is make for more drama by staying in gear longer to higher rpms and eating up mpg ...

remember, our trucks have peak 800 lbft of torque at 1600 rpm, so high rpms are not tugging betta

IMHO, our trucks have enough oomph to pull without towhaul,
if it is straining without it, you are towing too much for the vehicle
consider a larger truck !

 

I'd agree with that for a stock truck...H&S fixes a lot of that crap if you use their tranny tuning

 

If I hook up a trailer, I push the T/H button.

I find that it will hold the gears a little longer, Which I like if I'm passing thru a 25 mph speed limit, it stays in 2nd gear instead of upshifting to 3rd or 4th, then lugging when I ask for a little pick up in speed.

Anything I do. It could do in normal mode. But I like the shift points that the T/H uses when I have something hooked up. But then again, Everything I hook up is 10,000lbs or more.

 

What's the issue with the trannies? I just bought a fw and weighs around 12k and only pulled it a short distance to get it home. What should I be looking for the tranny to do? Shifting in and out of gears to much, rough shifting, not shifting when it needs to?

 

The stock tranny is programmed to shift to the highest gear possible to keep the engine RPM's as low as possible. I assume for fuel economy and low engine noise. It works fine and is totally acceptable. H&S doesn't shift into higher gears all the time and holds gears when it makes sense to hold them. It doesn't shift until you need to shift and it's not uncommon to hold 2nd or 3rd gear running through a slow street or slow cruising through town. It's mainly personal preference, but I'd rather be in the right gear when I need more power rather than have to wait for the tranny to shift from 6th to 4th cause I'm ready to get up to highway speeds or whatever.

 

I'm with Painted Horse any trailer I engage tow/haul. Stupid little things like it automatically turning off the backup sensors are my reason even on the smallest of trailers.

 

i use tow/haul for light or empty trailers. Manual mode for heavey trailers. IMO i think the manual mode out performs the the tow/haul on these trucks.

 

hooked to a trailer, i'm in manual mode...come to think of it, I'm in manual mode with nothing hooked up also...

 

I'm with PH. When I hook up I push T/H.

 

I use manual mode, a lot; towing or not.
If I'm on rolling hills, I set it to M5 and focus on driving.
In auto mode on hills, it's 6,5,6,5,6,5,6,5 and eventually irritates me.

 

I use the T/H mode for pulling my 5th Wheel @ 12000 lbs, however my boat weighs 5500 and I see no need for T/H. When empty I will use manual to lock out 6th or 5th on very windy roads with hills where the trans shifts back and forth between 5 / 6.

 

When hooked up to our 8Klb TT. Just took a 450 mile trip with our trailer and experimented both with and without Tow Haul Mode. My opinion: Put it in Tow Haul and forget it. Yea, it revs a bit more, but who cares? It does a great job mating the right gear for the demand at the time. The cab is quite that it's not a nuisance and the extra braking power when going downhill is great. Just think, there was an entire department full of very smart engineers choosing the algorithms programmed into this great truck and its all designed to work together. The engine and tranny in this one is far superior to my '04 F-350 6.0 PSD. I love it. No drama towing. Set it and forget it.