Hey all,
I'm new to this forum and I apologise if this question has been asked before but I didn't find it in any other thread. I recently purchased a 2015 F-250 6.2 gasser with 373 rear end. Love the truck so far! I have pulled my travel trailer (9900#) around Indiana with no problems. I will be heading to Myrtle Beach soon and just wondering what I should expect pulling through the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. I have pulled this route many times but I had a chipped 7.3 F-350. That truck never broke a sweat and I don't anticipate any problems with the 6.2 but I'm sure it will be different. What should I expect in general? What should I expect my rpm's to be running? Will shifting be different? (I have an automatic) What should my transmission temp be and at what temp should I be worried? Do any of you use your manual gears on downhill? Sorry for all the questions but any advice is greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

 

I have done a lot of mountain towing as I was from New England and gone out thru PA and the DE gap.
Everything I used was set up for pulling trailers but I pulled a open car trailer, 3000 car 2000 trailer & tools.
I drive by feel and sound. You know where the "sweet spot" is in the RPM range by both so when you hit a hill or a little before it you get above that sweet spot so when on the hill it will fall back into it.
If it drops below the sweet spot I would pull it down a gear or 2 if need be before the auto would as the RPM would be to low if the auto did the shifting.

1 truck was a 6.2 diesel 4.10 gears (not ford) with a gale banks turbo so I would also watch the EGT on the turbo and pull it down a gear if it got to high. Had 230+k when I sold it.
The truck I have now a 5.9 gas 3.92 gears (also not a ford) and a auto I also pull it down a gear before the trany does to keep it in the sweet spot. This truck has 230k on it now and I will drive it till there is nothing left of it.
Both of the above trucks had over drive autos and I would tow in OD.
The Ford I am rebuilding is an 81 F100 with a 300 six & T18 and will be the back up for pulling if need be. Will not be fast but will get the job done as larger trucks had the same power plant & trany.

With the 3.73 gear you will need to pull it down a gear or 2 as a 4.10 gear would be a little better but how much pulling to non-pulling do you do with the truck?
At this time I wish I did not have the 3.92 gear in this truck as I use it as my DD and the best it gets not towing is about 15 MPG on a good day.
Dave ----

 

The 6r140 transmission in my 2017 may be configured differently than prior years, so take this with a grain of salt.

My transmission will run up to about 232° F when pulling Rocky Mountain passes. This includes the ones that peak at 11,000'.

 

My advice on general expectations:

It's not a diesel so don't expect it to act or tow like one.

- The 6.2 is an oversquare engine that needs RPM's to make power. Let it rev and it will be happy.
- The 6.2 is thirsty! Expect 8 mpg. A recent, 1100 mile out and back trip from Seattle to Glacier National park towing the trailer in my sig dawned 8.4mpg doing 65 mph.
- It will be slower up hill but still very strong.

Running at 60-65mph on flat ground, expect around 2000 RPM in 5th gear. 6th gear is achievable but it happens few and far between. Climbing grades: take the cruise control off, use your foot and leave it in "D". Preparing for the hill, lockout 4th - 6th and to get in 3rd. Keep constant pressure on the pedal and the truck will climb at about 58 mph. While dropping even 1 mph ascending a hill is widely unacceptable to any diesel owners, 3rd gear and 58 mph really feels like a "sweet spot" for the truck. Doing so keeps the tranny at about 212-217 and allows it to cool quickly on the downhill side. If attempting to go faster, the truck will shift to 2nd gear and scream. This likely isn't bad but once above 60 mph in 2nd, you're close to redlining the engine and the tranny temps start to spike above 220.

Yes. It will shift....it will shift a lot! A diesel or Ecoboost uses the turbos to increase and reduce torque but maintains a gear longer. The 6.2 doesn't have the turbos so it needs RPM's and gearing to maintain the correct torque. Allow the transmission to shift. Towing your size trailer, it will likely be happy in 4th with an occasional jump to 5th.

The transmission should hang right around 205. On an uphill grade, it will increase but the truck really does to a good job of maintaining the tranny temps. When climbing, if the the tranny drops to 2nd gear, you may see 215ish or even upwards of the 220's. It will cool down quickly and these short bursts are not bad.

No. I do use Tow/Haul mode and apply the brakes as needed. If going downhill and you want to drop a gear, apply the brakes and the truck will downshift. On long grades, tap the brakes until it shifts into the gear you want and it will stay there. To upshift, it usually takes a bit of accelerating and steady RPM to get it to go.

 

Pretty recent thread on this very topic....check it out over in the 6.2 forum. 3.73's will shift more and need more RPM to keep things moving. 4.30's will do a much better job of holding gears and reduce shifting some....

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...in-towing.html

 

I finally have enough miles on my 4.30 gear swap that I pulled my Momentum 25G (10.5K) for the first time today, 2017 F250 2WD. Those on the fence...don't waste your money for a gear swap! I had an Eaton TrueTrac installed, so the 4.30 gears we a no brainer since the rear end was already disassembled. In SoCal, I have found 4WD to be a waste of gas mileage, extra insurance, and upfront purchase cost. You ain't mud bogging out here! At the same time, I wanted a locker for the little bit of off asphalt that I do drive. That said, if I would have paid just to have the gears installed, I'd be kicking myself in the butt! There is a little more grunt off the line, and maybe a little less shifting on the freeway, but unless you are towing all of the time, spend your money on other cool things, because the 3.73's are fine!!! If you need gears to stretch the truck to the 15K limit...then you would be better served with the diesel anyways. Again, I did it because it was ony $400 to add them with the locker install, but don't believe the hype that 4.30's by themselves are worth the coin. Honestly, they're not. I don't have a million miles of towing under my belt, but I have enough seat time pulling up to 20K trailers to know what I'm talking about. The best deal for 4.30's is to buy your truck new/used with them. If you have 3.73's behind you, and are towing 13.5K or less, and not more than 10-12 times a year, buy a lot of beer and don't allow yourself to believe for one more second that 4.30's make the truck much more than it already is. It's a gas powered brute with either set. Anyone saying it is a substancial difference, probably also has a "turbo" whistle in the exaust pipe as swaers it's good for 20 hp too. Bottom line, unless you have a compelling reason to take the rear end apart, don't let anybody fool you that 4.30's are worth the expense.

P.S. Any body that needs 3.73 gears and and open diff....I have a set...for CHEAP!!! 20K miles on bearings.

 

I don't want to get into a peeing match, but I don't even use cruise control in my cars while in the mountains or canyons. The aggressive downshifting on any up grade change drives me nuts. I don't mind dropping a few MPH on a hill, but the cruise control won't accept that.

 

I had an '18 and a '19 6.2, 3.73, CC 4wd and towed a travel trailer through the mountain areas in New England. I generally agree with what's been said above. I would typically use cruise control but put the truck in manual mode. I would pre-emptively shift the truck to 4th at the start of a hill and it would generally hold 4th the whole way. On long, steep grades, I'd take it off of cruise control, lose a little speed and let it use 3rd. If you keep it it in D and keep cruise control on, it will hold it's speed but it will downshift to 3rd or even 2nd and let the engine scream trying to maintain a speed. The 6.2 is a strong engine but does need some RPMs to make power. I found it was a fine line between elevated RPMs to make power and obnoxious screaming trying to make it hold a speed that's too fast for the hill.

 

I tend to agree with clarkbre above ^^^^^^^

. . . and: I'd climb hills around 4,000RPM and descend them, shifting down as needed for the long hills, at 4,000RPM as well. The 6.2 needs to rev to climb and also needs to rev to supply much engine braking. Let tow/haul do it for you, or do it yourself. That's personal preference. If you're climbing and it shifts down and is way above 4,000 , back off a little until it gets down to 4,000 and let it do its thing. If your climb starts leveling out and it grabs the next gear, fine. Today's transmissions are a lot smarter than yesterday's.

You can shift down in advance of a hill, however, in my opinion it's not necessary. Torque-managed transmissions like yours have just as easy of a time shifting when it's needed as they do before it's needed. In the olden days, the automatics would let the engine bog down a bunch then finally shift down, never having backed the throttle off. The new ones don't have that issue.

 

Clarkbre nailed it. I just came back from Badlands, Black Hills, Yellowstone, Tetons loop from Central IL. The 6.2 got it done and the 250 was WAY more stable than my previous 150. Be prepared for Aux fan if tranny temp gets over 217ish....first time scared the bejeebus out of me!

 

You just can't prepare a driver for that first time roaring noise, when you're 2/3 of the way up the grade and you think you have it nailed and suddenly you're wondering why it sound like your engine would like to depart the Earth's surface.

The newer transmissions are designed to operate at higher temps. What would kill a 4R100 is normal in a 6R140.

 

100% agree. First time I heard it, I thought the truck I was passing hit the rumble strip, it was loud!

 

Yep! I thought I broke something for a second. Then I remembered the manual saying an aux fan would kick in if necessary....they skipped the part about it sounding like a Blackhawk landing on you!

 

Sounded more like an H2 coming on the destroyer for fuel. Even the fan for the 6.7 is super loud when it engages.