Towing in 5th and 6th gear

6970 Views 6 Replies 3 Participants Last post by broncobird, Jun 12, 2013

broncobird

Discussion Starter · Jun 10, 2013

Made my first tow this weekend with new ecoboost truck did ok but i have read on here so many time about people towing in 5th and 6th gear pulling hills and still able to maintain there speed. My camper is 5500lb dry and guessing 6500 loaded i was in tow haul mode and when i hit any kind of incline to maintain the same speed it would have to shift to 4th gear to keep same speed or to speed up.How are most of you towing in man. mode or in tow haul?Truck is FX4 with 3.73 gears does this sound normal or could there be something wrong with truck or setup think i many be a little low on my hitch but dont think that would make much difference.Have to say i think i was a little disappointed with performance with no more weight than i had.Have to say break controller work a lot better than the one i had in my Tundra.

Save

Status: Not open for further replies.

1 - 7 of 7 Posts

Yake Bait

· #2 · Jun 10, 2013 (Edited)

I have the same rear diff gear ratuo. Depends on the grade thar you are driving throuh. My truck does ocassionally go into 4th gear on the highway on a steeper grade. If you are going through big hills or pushing through a lot of wind I would think you are OK. On the highway I tow in "D" not "M". I lock out 6th if I a off the expressway or if there are hills.

If you are brand new and towing your shift points could still be a little off.

Save

broncobird

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jun 10, 2013

Yake Bait said:
I have the same rear diff gear ratuo. Depends on the grade thar you are driving throuh. My truck does ocassionally go into 4th gear on the highway on a steeper grade. If you are going through big hills or pushing through a lot of wind I would think you are OK. On the highway I tow in "D" not "M". I lock out 6th if I a off the expressway or if there are hills.

If you are brand new and towing your shift points could still be a little off.

I wouldnt consider it big hills nothing like if i was in the mountain really pretty flat with maybe 1/4 mile incline.Truck has about 1200 miles not sure how long it takes to learn driving habits.Do you us Tow Haul mode when you tow?

Save

AK-KingBoost

· #4 · Jun 10, 2013

Within 3k you should see a improvement... I live in a hill/mountain environment and tow big loads... Things I notice that causes the Beast to kick down a gear (Never below 4th) is head wind... if I have any cross wind or head wind the smallest of hills causes a kick down (which makes sense even at lightest of loads; think of your trailer as a wind sail light but once wind hits it trying to pull it threw the air becomes a major chore)... other than that it really just chugs along with ease... It’s just tough to tell if there is head wind sometime because the cab is so quiet LOL... And don't get to hung up on it 5th and 6th are massive overdrive gears. Were you might be singing in 4th other bigger V8s I have had and seen will kick it down to their 2nd and 3rd gear and scream at 4k plus on the rpm... The motor is not weak and the power train is wicked smart in how and when it shifts

Save

Yake Bait

· #5 · Jun 11, 2013

AK has a good point on the wind drag. Noticed today that my truck would not use 6th gear at all while driving 70 mph in crosswind. Slowed down to 60 mph and it would find 6th gear. It seems that my rig really plows at speeds above 65 mph. Mileage really tanks above this speed.

I used my off road screen to see what kind of hill triggers a 4th gear downshift. In general a 2 deg grade will trigger a downshift. . Can shift to 4th on an extended 1 deg grade.

Save

broncobird

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jun 12, 2013

AK-KingBoost said:
Within 3k you should see a improvement... I live in a hill/mountain environment and tow big loads... Things I notice that causes the Beast to kick down a gear (Never below 4th) is head wind... if I have any cross wind or head wind the smallest of hills causes a kick down (which makes sense even at lightest of loads; think of your trailer as a wind sail light but once wind hits it trying to pull it threw the air becomes a major chore)... other than that it really just chugs along with ease... It’s just tough to tell if there is head wind sometime because the cab is so quiet LOL... And don't get to hung up on it 5th and 6th are massive overdrive gears. Were you might be singing in 4th other bigger V8s I have had and seen will kick it down to their 2nd and 3rd gear and scream at 4k plus on the rpm... The motor is not weak and the the power train is wicked smart in how and when it shifts

THANKS FOR THE REPLIES !There was wind Sunday when I was on the way home and like you said about the V8 I was in 4th gear turning 2500 rpm and that is when you could feel the power come in I was just thinking from reading most post on here that it should pull a hill with out having to down shift and a lot could have been dew to the wind.In the future I plan to tow to the smokey mountains hauling a bronco or the camper and there are miles of steep inclines.Im just thinking if it is a load around here going to be a tough haul going up there which is the main reason for buying the Ecoboost.Thanks again for the help!

Save

broncobird

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jun 12, 2013

Yake Bait said:
AK has a good point on the wind drag. Noticed today that my truck would not use 6th gear at all while driving 70 mph in crosswind. Slowed down to 60 mph and it would find 6th gear. It seems that my rig really plows at speeds above 65 mph. Mileage really tanks above this speed.

I used my off road screen to see what kind of hill triggers a 4th gear downshift. In general a 2 deg grade will trigger a downshift. . Can shift to 4th on an extended 1 deg grade.

I think you could be right about the wind being most of my problem.Today i used the off road screen to see the deg of incline of some of the hills and they were 2 to 3degs my mileage was not good also about 9.5mpg .Thanks for the help!!

Save

1 - 7 of 7 Posts

Status: Not open for further replies.

Top Contributors this Month