I've found tow/haul to be very helpful in braking...while towing or not. Coming from a 6.7 Cummins, it pleasantly surprised me at how well it holds me back on a downhill. You can initiate downshifts with a solid push on the brake pedal. To shift more than once just press the brake again. To make it upshift then, just apply a bit of throttle.

 

My experience with tow/haul is under heavy load is it changes the shift points and tends to hold the gears longer (to long) but the most noticeable thing is the downshifting when coming to a stop but I only have limited experience with lighter trailers mostly with our 16K trailer so I can really feel what's happening with that kind of weight.
Denny

 

rvpuller, any issues pulling 16K 5'er with the 6.2 4.30 combo? I'm looking to pull 14.5-15K with the same setup but an srw that I just ordered.

 

What you have on order is a newer model with upgraded power ratings so there will be a difference in the performance. I'm also have a DRW with 17" tires and that will make a difference in your final pulling power, I'm talking about power available at the pavement not the end of crankshaft, that's why I put more trust in dyno outcomes than reading published HP & Torque specs.

To your guestion we have no problem pulling our truck trailer combination that scales at 24.4K loaded going down the road but what we consider acceptable may be different to others. To give you a example this spring we pulled from Alamogorda to Cloudcroft NM on hwy 82 and it's one long hard pull with a continuous grade, we pulled it locked in 2nd gear with the CC set at 45 mph, that's also the speed limit on most of it. On flat ground we pull in 6th most of the time and down to 4th in very very high winds. We do travel a lot with other couples that mostly run Cummings, Duramax and Power Strokes and we don't get left in thier dust, yes they will pull a grade faster than we can if I let them but we keep our trucks for a long time so I don't beat them up just to win a drag race up a grade.

If something happened to it today I would have one on order just like it the next day unless it happened after the new 7.3 came out

Denny

 

Thanks for the info rvpuller! I feel much better about my setup now, accept less stability with the SRW of course. I just couldn't bring myself to get the CCLB DRW and the length that comes with it as my daily driver.

 

I understand the CCLB problem because I had a few F350 CCLB SRW trucks with a 8.5 utility box and it's one long truck, that's why we have SCLB truck to pull our trailer. My DRW is only use to pull our trailer and our only transportation when we are on the road which is Oct to May, we have a older F150 to use when we are at our home base for the summer.

Denny

 

I am also super curious to see how my '18 F-250, ccsb, 3.73, 6.2l will pull my toy hauler as compaired to my '14 Toyota tundra with a 4.30 that i traded in. I also generally travel with diesel guys that never drop below 65mph on grades and hills. my toyhauler sits right at 10k lbs and the Tundra pulled it pretty well but would drop down to about 60mph in 4th and 55mph in 3rd on most hills. After a few of these hills i would start to fall behind the pack. I have only had the F-250 for 3 weeks so far, also noticed the tow/haul doesnt seem to change very much other than some downshifting. I really like the truck and am prepared to put gears in it if it comes to that, but i am hoping it wont. Horse power and torque are pretty close on the F250 and Tundra but the rest of my research suggests the F250 will still pull better.... fingers crossed. i have also made the trip up to Cloudcroft, truly a beautiful area.

 

Well I hate to be the barer of bad news but the diesel guys are still going to leave you behind in the hills. You may have a little more power and a lot more stability than the Tundra, but you F250 weighs more so its probably going to be close to a wash pulling hills.
Mark

 

Was stationed at Holloman AFB for 5 years in the 80's, been up and down that highway many, many times, and we lived in High Rolls, NM for a time (about half way up, just above the tunnel). Beautiful area for sure, but that road COMMANDS constant focus when pulling a load. Did they ever improve/widen that highway? Back when I lived there, that stretch of road was one of the deadliest highways in the country. Haven't been back that way since we left in '90. Made the mistake of taking "the back way" from Cloudcroft to Ruidoso once in an 18 wheeler. THAT was an attention getter, at least back then.

 

I keep forgetting about tow haul I'll have to try it sometime but the only thing I pull is a 24' pontoon boat and my 1980 Bronco handles it with ease.

 

No a don't believe it has been widened but it was the first time we have been on it. It is one road that you better not plan on pulling off if you are pulling anything of any length but it is a scenic drive, we are 53ft long when towing our trailer. We tend to be off the beaten path during a lot of our travels. I think 199 going from Grants Pass OR rates as one of the most intetesting roads we have pulled on.

Denny

 

We drove 199 from Crescent City to Grants pass a couple of years ago. Beautiful drive, but you sure do not want to take your eyes off of the road to sight see if you are driving.

 

There are some subtle things that are not immediately noticeable when using tow/haul. Examples that I have noticed: The torque converter locks in 4th gear rather than 3rd. When pulling in 6th and demand increases, it will shift to 5th and keep the converter locked vs staying in 6th and unlocking the torque converter. Gears hold longer/higher RPM shift points.