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With 600 miles on the odometer I loaded up the family and hit the road to tour the UP of Michigan (Upper Peninsula). Tow rig is a 2018 F350 CCSWB, PSD with 3.55 gears. The camper is a Winnebago 2455BHS (7000 GVWR).
Comments/questions:
I upgraded from a F150 Ecoboost with max tow due to the cargo rating being too low. With my family and gear, a F250 would have barely cut it with regard to the cargo so I upgraded to the F350.
As a bonus in Minnesota, the F350 registration fees are significantly less than and F250, I didn't know that until I bought the truck. BONUS!
I am using a Equalizer hitch rated for the trailer.
Most of the speed limits were either 55 or 65, I set the cruise at 59 or 65 respectively (ST tires)
Mileage was 11.9mpg (lie-o-meter)/10.9 hand calculated over 1005 miles.
Annoyance...in tow/haul mode, I was surprised at how much the truck wanted to lug in sixth gear. Going up hills, the speed would drop 4-5 miles per hour before it would downshift. I have read repeatedly on this forum that people say their PSD never shifted out of 6th when towing, my experience says otherwise. I eventually locked out sixth and the problem was solved. I don't like slowing down that much on two lane roads in consideration for the people behind me.
Hitch reducer. (2.5" to 2") - pretty clanky when hitting the bumps.
The trucks air conditioning died 100 miles into the trip. It would work for 10 minutes then gradually warm up. Turn it off for 20 minutes and you would be rewarded with 10 minutes of cooling. I told my kids to pretend were riding in the 1981 F150 (see sig) we have and roll down the windows. It goes in for service tomorrow.
Exhaust brake in tow/haul mode - AWESOME, nuff said!
I know my trailer is light for the truck so I am not surprised it was so nice to drive. However, the lack of a quick down shift when in 6th gear and with cruise on was a surprise, nothing major though. The truck overall was awesome. Compared with my F150, the truck doesn't flex with the trailer, it just goes straight down the road.
I am very happy with our decision, Ford did very well.
With 600 miles on the odometer I loaded up the family and hit the road to tour the UP of Michigan (Upper Peninsula). Tow rig is a 2018 F350 CCSWB, PSD with 3.55 gears. The camper is a Winnebago 2455BHS (7000 GVWR).
Comments/questions:
I upgraded from a F150 Ecoboost with max tow due to the cargo rating being too low. With my family and gear, a F250 would have barely cut it with regard to the cargo so I upgraded to the F350.
As a bonus in Minnesota, the F350 registration fees are significantly less than and F250, I didn't know that until I bought the truck. BONUS!
I am using a Equalizer hitch rated for the trailer.
Most of the speed limits were either 55 or 65, I set the cruise at 59 or 65 respectively (ST tires)
Mileage was 11.9mpg over 1005 miles.
Annoyance...in tow/haul mode, I was surprised at how much the truck wanted to lug in sixth gear. Going up hills, the speed would drop 4-5 miles per hour before it would downshift. I have read repeatedly on this forum that people say their PSD never shifted out of 6th when towing, my experience says otherwise. I eventually locked out sixth and the problem was solved. I don't like slowing down that much on two lane roads in consideration for the people behind me.
Hitch reducer. (2.5" to 2") - pretty clanky when hitting the bumps.
The trucks air conditioning died 100 miles into the trip. It would work for 10 minutes then gradually warm up. Turn it off for 20 minutes and you would be rewarded with 10 minutes of cooling. I told my kids to pretend were riding in the 1981 F150 (see sig) we have and roll down the windows. It goes in for service tomorrow.
Exhaust brake in tow/haul mode - AWESOME, nuff said!
I know my trailer is light for the truck so I am not surprised it was so nice to drive. However, the lack of a quick down shift when in 6th gear and with cruise on was a surprise, nothing major though. The truck overall was awesome. Compared with my F150, the truck doesn't flex with the trailer, it just goes straight down the road.
I am very happy with our decision, Ford did very well.
Eric
Interesting experience you are having with 6th and towing. I have a DRW with 4.10s and tow 20k + frequently; running up grades on the highway I never drop more than 1 or 2 mph before the turbo boost kicks in to bring me back to cruising speed - I very very rarely downshift to 5th (a huge plus IMO).
Just got back from a 2k miles loop from S Fla to Tennessee towing my 5th wheel. Even the hills of Tenn just west of the Smokies was no real issue. Didn't notice any lugging issues and don't recall it having to down shift. I usually had the CC set at 65mph+.
I'm longer then you but same GVWR in my travel trailer. It has to be steep for mine to downshift. Most times the boost jumps and it just climbs. No big drop in speed either. Was it real windy? Also I assume you are using tow/haul mode?
I never used cruise in my PSD on hilly terrain for that reason. Too much lag in response time. By the time the cruise would react to the hill and boost pressure would climb, it was too late to prevent the downshift. And if I was rolling down a hill and then immediately climbing another it was even worse because the thing would be completely off the throttle and as it coasted up the beginning of the next hill it would lose speed rapidly until the cruise woke up and stomped on it. By that time it was in such a tizzy to get back to the set speed it would drop down two gears and scream back up to speed. Very annoying so I just let my foot do the work. By anticipating the hill I could build boost just before starting the climb and keep the speed exactly where I wanted it without a downshift no matter how steep the hill was.
That truck and heavy trailer are gone now and I’ve got a new 6.2 with only 5000 lbs behind it so it’s a completely different driving experience altogether!
...Annoyance...in tow/haul mode, I was surprised at how much the truck wanted to lug in sixth gear. Going up hills, the speed would drop 4-5 miles per hour before it would downshift. I have read repeatedly on this forum that people say their PSD never shifted out of 6th when towing, my experience says otherwise. I eventually locked out sixth and the problem was solved. I don't like slowing down that much on two lane roads in consideration for the people behind me...
Originally Posted by PentaPop
I never used cruise in my PSD on hilly terrain for that reason. Too much lag in response time. By the time the cruise would react to the hill and boost pressure would climb, it was too late to prevent the downshift. And if I was rolling down a hill and then immediately climbing another it was even worse because the thing would be completely off the throttle and as it coasted up the beginning of the next hill it would lose speed rapidly until the cruise woke up and stomped on it. By that time it was in such a tizzy to get back to the set speed it would drop down two gears and scream back up to speed. Very annoying so I just let my foot do the work. By anticipating the hill I could build boost just before starting the climb and keep the speed exactly where I wanted it without a downshift no matter how steep the hill was.
I have the same experience/gripe. The only difference is the speed limit for me 70 mph so, with the 3.55 gears and my tires that puts me right at 1800 rpm so, the "lugging" was actually at peak torque. The truck could keep its legs under itself for the most part. I think on the hills I'll use the manual mode and keep it in the gear I want and then use the auto function on the less challenging terrain.
Interesting experience you are having with 6th and towing. I have a DRW with 4.10s and tow 20k + frequently; running up grades on the highway I never drop more than 1 or 2 mph before the turbo boost kicks in to bring me back to cruising speed - I very very rarely downshift to 5th (a huge plus IMO).
That is what the 4.10s do for you, the trade off is less MPG unloaded.
I tow a lot between 5-10,000# and notice the same problem with th CC. I’ve just gotten used to keeping an eye on speed up the hills and dropping it into 5th when needed. I immediately reselect 6th after it shifts Dow; it holds 5th as long as necessary, then shifts back to 6th as the grade levels out. It’s a bit annoying, but the othe 99% of the time so much more than makes up for it.
I tow a 24' car hauler that is in the 8-9K lbs range. Probably close to your trailer in profile. I have not noticed the lugging problem. In fact, mine is particularly well behaved unless using the cruise control in some situations. Were you using cruise control? I find the cruise doesn't work that well in varying terrain at lower speeds when towing. It does seem to wait too long to downshift and then works too hard to make the speed back up. I suppose locking out 6th would fix that but I just cancel the cruise and the problem is gone.
Not a fan of the hitch reducer either. I will likely order a 2.5" ball mount soon.
I get about that same mileage at that same speed. 11 or so towing at 55 to 65. I typically tow on the interstate at 75 and get about 10.
I presently live in West Virginia and the registration fee for a truck with a GVWR of 10,001 to 11,000 lbs is less than any vehicle with a GVWR of under 10K lbs.
Thanks for all of the replies. I edited my original post to include hand calculated mpg (10.9), I should have done that from the initial post.
Towards the end of the trip I got good at recognizing grades that would lug the motor - i would manually lock out 6th gear and no issues. My F150 hauling the same trailer was gear hunting all of the time so I am still better off.
I should have noted: I really don't like using the tow/haul mode towing anything less than about 12-13K lbs. For my sub 9K lbs trailer the tow/haul mode is overkill.
I use ACC for towing my 14k fiver with no issues. Will slow to speed of traffic and return to set speed. Even on mountains of East Tennessee and up thru Virginia and Kentucky.
With 600 miles on the odometer I loaded up the family and hit the road to tour the UP of Michigan (Upper Peninsula). Tow rig is a 2018 F350 CCSWB, PSD with 3.55 gears. The camper is a Winnebago 2455BHS (7000 GVWR).
Comments/questions:
I upgraded from a F150 Ecoboost with max tow due to the cargo rating being too low. With my family and gear, a F250 would have barely cut it with regard to the cargo so I upgraded to the F350.
As a bonus in Minnesota, the F350 registration fees are significantly less than and F250, I didn't know that until I bought the truck. BONUS!
I am using a Equalizer hitch rated for the trailer.
Most of the speed limits were either 55 or 65, I set the cruise at 59 or 65 respectively (ST tires)
Mileage was 11.9mpg (lie-o-meter)/10.9 hand calculated over 1005 miles.
Annoyance...in tow/haul mode, I was surprised at how much the truck wanted to lug in sixth gear. Going up hills, the speed would drop 4-5 miles per hour before it would downshift. I have read repeatedly on this forum that people say their PSD never shifted out of 6th when towing, my experience says otherwise. I eventually locked out sixth and the problem was solved. I don't like slowing down that much on two lane roads in consideration for the people behind me.
Hitch reducer. (2.5" to 2") - pretty clanky when hitting the bumps.
The trucks air conditioning died 100 miles into the trip. It would work for 10 minutes then gradually warm up. Turn it off for 20 minutes and you would be rewarded with 10 minutes of cooling. I told my kids to pretend were riding in the 1981 F150 (see sig) we have and roll down the windows. It goes in for service tomorrow.
Exhaust brake in tow/haul mode - AWESOME, nuff said!
I know my trailer is light for the truck so I am not surprised it was so nice to drive. However, the lack of a quick down shift when in 6th gear and with cruise on was a surprise, nothing major though. The truck overall was awesome. Compared with my F150, the truck doesn't flex with the trailer, it just goes straight down the road.
I am very happy with our decision, Ford did very well.
Eric
Same trailer (but blue); Same truck (but 2017 but in the slightly classier no longer available Bronze Fire )
1. 2000 F-350 7.3l PSD extended cab; kids refused to travel in the back
2. no luxury tax on 1-ton trucks; luxury tax on pricey F-250s 3/4 tons; very few top end F-250s in BC
3. 2.5" receiver with about a 4" rise; once the trailer is on, the truck and trailer are both level to one another; tows beautifully;
4. Perhaps a top speed of 70mph
5. similar mpg
6. locking out 6th helps
7. see 3
8. AC works!
9. agreed!
"I am very happy with our decision, Ford did very well." Yep
08-14-2018, 12:39 PM
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