just wondering what everyone else is doing? when should I use the tow/haul button? I have a travel trailer that about 4500lbs. and never use the tow/haul unless it seems to be shifting alot(which is never). But a guy at work says I'm crazy and I should be using the button when ever I'm pulling my camper, he drives a chevy.

well the tow/haul mode helps the tranny stay a little cooler i would say if you do alot of towing get a transmisson temp sensor and put it in then you'll be able to watch the temps a little better.

Not sure what year you have, but the tow / haul also helps increase your brake life, as it downshifts when you let of the go pedal... like downshifting in a manual trans...

well the tow/haul mode helps the tranny stay a little cooler i would say if you do alot of towing get a transmisson temp sensor and put it in then you'll be able to watch the temps a little better.

Tow/Haul will lock up the TC in 3rd, as low as 30mph. If you are easy on the go pedal. Once you lock up, roll into the throttle and the TC will stay locked.

Ditto the trans temp gauge.

Tony

I use it if I'm not up to a decent speed going up hills. If I'm up over 60mph its really not necessary. Lower than 60 and the egt's get too high. .02

I don't pull anything but this past week my commute has been 55 mi each way to work in pretty lousy traffic and I've come to realize tow/haul makes driving much easier.

For example on mine it will lockup in 3rd at ~35mph, once locked up it will stay engaged between ~25 and ~44 (light throttle) it will pull so much harder in lockup its not even funny (great for merging onto an open interstate, our tc's are crap). Also found putting it in 2nd usefull as it will lockup in 2nd in the very slow traffic, hardly need your brakes at all.

One other thing I've noticed and wondering if anyone elses truck does it too. If in tow/haul it will downshift to 3rd at about 40 but if driving not in tow/haul you put in tow/haul above 40 ,say 60 or so, it will downshift into 3rd and lockup which is great for those quick slowdowns. Anyone else do this?

For example on mine it will lockup in 3rd at ~35mph, once locked up it will stay engaged between ~25 and ~44 (light throttle) it will pull so much harder in lockup its not even funny (great for merging onto an open interstate, our tc's are crap). Also found putting it in 2nd usefull as it will lockup in 2nd in the very slow traffic, hardly need your brakes at all.

One other thing I've noticed and wondering if anyone elses truck does it too. If in tow/haul it will downshift to 3rd at about 40 but if driving not in tow/haul you put in tow/haul above 40 ,say 60 or so, it will downshift into 3rd and lockup which is great for those quick slowdowns. Anyone else do this?

Well, I leave the jake on all the time. Leaving the Jake on basically keeps the trans in T/H.
In traffic that is moving ~25-35mph it works great. I get above 30 for the tc to lock up, then back down to 25ish and try to throttle the truck easy 25-30 to keep the tc locked up. If I can keep the tc locked up, the trans will actually cool down. In 110F weather, I can keep the trans down to ~170-180F. If the TC unlocks, the trans will run up to 190-200F easily and spiking up to 210 if I have to idle in gear.

BTW...on deceleration, the TC unlocks at 22mph in T/H or with the jake on. With the Jake, you REALLY know wehn the TC unlocks.

HTH

Tony

I pulled my ski boat (about 4500lbs?) to Tri-cities,WA from Portland, OR and only had it in tow/haul. I noticed a wobble around 25-35 mph then it would stop. Then started again around 65-70 mph. Truck doesn't do this when not pulling the boat, but then again I don't keep it in tow/haul. Any thoughts?

this might sound stupid, but what do you mean by the tc?

torque converter, our trucks come with the best ones on the market fully billet monsters. hahaha[laugh]

just wondering what everyone else is doing? when should I use the tow/haul button? I have a travel trailer that about 4500lbs. and never use the tow/haul unless it seems to be shifting alot(which is never). But a guy at work says I'm crazy and I should be using the button when ever I'm pulling my camper, he drives a chevy. :cool: I go by the trans temp gauge (Isspro) and have found that using tow/haul around town keeps the temps down by about 10 to 15 degrees. I use tow/haul everywhere except freeway. Actually at around 49mph shes goes into overdrive anyway and the RPMs are the same as not using tow/haul.

While towing my 32' toyhauler I leave it on, while towing my 18' car hauler with cars or quads I use it in town or up steep hills but not on the freeway. I use it loaded and unloaded as a jake on steep hills under 50 mph and I use it as a jake while loaded in town. I click the button off then on quick and it will downshift so I don't have to brake, works great.

Now that I have the Commander I can use it to keep the temps down.

Just out of curiousity, would it hurt anythinhg to leave the tow/haul off when empty and daily driving?

Just out of curiousity, would it hurt anythinhg to leave the tow/haul off when empty and daily driving?

No...it won't hurt to keep T/H off. With tow/haul off, the TC will not lock up until 4th gear. The only benefit to T/H while empty is to keep the trans temps down by locking up the TC as early as 30mph.

HTH

Tony

I pulled my ski boat (about 4500lbs?) to Tri-cities,WA from Portland, OR and only had it in tow/haul. I noticed a wobble around 25-35 mph then it would stop. Then started again around 65-70 mph. Truck doesn't do this when not pulling the boat, but then again I don't keep it in tow/haul. Any thoughts?

Sounds like you might need your trailer tires balanced, trailer tires are not usually balanced. The wobble has nothing to do with the T/H mode. Also check the tires on your trailer. The last time I went camping I had a tire on my TT give me problems. It had the belts start to separate, nice that I caught it before it blowed up and took out the side of my TT.