I have a 99 powerstroke with auto transmition and need to know if I should use overdrive to tow a 32 ft. camper. it is about
7000 lb. Please respond asap as we are leaving Wednesday morning.

 

If it's not hunting for gears then I wouldn't worry about it. If it is then I would take it out of OD.

Les

 

If your out in the middle of nowehere(like me:-)) with no trees/hills/curves/whatever for miles, then use OD. If your around mountains, then I'd suggest not using OD.

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 10-Jul-01 AT 06:02 PM (EST)[/font][p]I tow a 29' 5th wheel Wilderness, unloaded weight in the 6500# range. I live in central Pa and when I get out on the Interstate I just let in OD and cruise. I have had no problems with this on the hills. On secondary roads I have seen my tranny hunt and then just simply take it out of OD and run it in 3rd. On the bigger hills, longer and steeper grade, I have found that when my 5th is fully loaded I need to drop it into 3rd to pull these grades.



Hope this helps

 

Thanks a lot, I will be on flat land in Texas so overdrive will work fine. This is a great forum.

 

I regularly tow a 12,000# fire truck on a 4,000# trailer all over the midwest. (The fire truck is a classic 1926 Ariens Fox pumper truck.) I only shut off the overdrive when I am climbing a relatively steep hill. Even then, the trans shifts before I get the thought to turn it off manually.

 

My camper is 8000lb empty and the truck did great. Thanks for the information.

 

Just bought my 1st PSD(2001). Regarding the towing question: everyone talks of how great the PSD is. Does anyone have an opinion on the auto tranny that comes with it?Is it up to the task of lasting as long as the motor?