Tow Haul Mode
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,815
Likes: 24
From: Houston
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.
Fleet Owner
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 20,155
Likes: 15,949
From: Wisconsin
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.
Post Fiend
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 11,314
Likes: 4
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 !
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 !
Fleet Owner
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 20,155
Likes: 15,949
From: Wisconsin
Lead Driver
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 5,231
Likes: 4,247
From: Kaysville Utah
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.
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.
Thread Starter
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Senior User
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 151
Likes: 0
From: Terrell, Texas
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?
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Fleet Owner
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 20,155
Likes: 15,949
From: Wisconsin
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.
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 217
Likes: 0
From: Washington State
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.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 113
Likes: 6
From: Pacific Northwest
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.