I have a '07 5.9 4x4 and plan on taking it on vacation next week. I am traveling from south Louisiana to St. Augustine Florida (about 650 miles). I am planning on bringing my 22ft bay boat with us. My truck only has 1300 miles on it. Is it broken in good enough for such a long haul? What is the best method for twoing down the interstate--- tow haul mode on? And by the way my boat weighs about 3500 lbs. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

I think most people here will say that towing is the best way to break in your truck. 3500lbs is not very much at all for these trucks to pull. I would put it in tow/haul and almost forget about it. I don't think you will even notice it back there too much!

 

Yes, it's broken in enough. Book says 500 miles no towing, and then 500 miles light throttle. That is to allow the differentials to seat and tranny to seat if std. After that just drive it, and yes I'd use tow/haul as it alters lockup and shift points in a good way.

Enjoy it and go....

 

You're gonna burn up alot of fuel using the tow/haul mode. With that little weight, 3500 lbs. you don't really need to use tow/haul. I consistently haul alot heavier than that and hardly ever use the tow/haul.

 

I get better mileage using T/H when empty? No tranny slippage due to lock-ups, right?

 

Once you get up to speed enough whether in tow/haul or not, your transmission characteristics are the same after that...i.e. at 65mph, my torque converter will NOT unlock and kick down no matter if I am in tow/haul or not and acceleration and RPMs are the same as well. As stated, the only thing that tow/haul DOES alter is torque converter lock up points (makes it lock earlier) and makes FIRMER shift and downshifts...I would set tow/haul just for that early lock up when towing. Just my two cents.

 

I towed a 6k lb cargo trailer 800 miles with only 500 miles on my truck. It should be fine.

 

TOW AND GO

You can pull that light load across that flat stretch in regular ol' drive.....get in and go......

 

If you have tow haul you might as well use it, as stated when you get up to speed, rpm's are the same anyway. However, also as stated, with that light a load it won't matter which you choose. There was no " tow-haul" until 05, and a lot of people towed waayyyy more than that without any problem . If you're towing up a steep long grade, you may want to lock out overdrive.

 

I towed a 5000 lb camper and with the tow/haul ingauged it seemed like it shifted way out of wack but was fine with out it. I only towed it once and that was to the RV dealer to trade in in on a 5th wheel (the reason I got the truck) the 5th wheel at 10000lbs and the tow/haul seemed to be right on with the shift points, I guess what I am saying you probably won't need the button.

 

Hey beck.. why not just put the boat in the Gulf and drive it over to Florida???... You could keep the miles of the CTD!!... hahaha... JK. I pulled about 5k last weekend from East Texas to Monroe La. and back and forgot the trailer was even back there...... Just hook up and go.
I can't wait to haul hay this year... We usually get 17-19 round bales on the trailer. Last year we took my bro-n-laws Ford..... What should have been a 4-5 hour trip back was about 8 hours!. We couldn't even blame it on a flat or breakdown.. Thats just as fast as the PSD would pull it. We actually got PASSED by a work-over rig on flat ground!. Things are gonna be different with the CTD this year.....

 

I just brought my new truck home an hour ago so this thread really caught my attention: When do I need to change the tranny mode when pulling my ~6000lb t/t? It's fairly level up & down I-5 north of Albany, Ore to the northern border but we're headin' over to YellowStone soon from Seattle over a few passes....

 

Just play with it as you go. You'll get the feel for when you want Tow/Haul or not. Everyone has their own preferences about shift points, etc. and the only way you develop them is by experience. With fairly light loads of 5 or 6K you won't hurt anything either way.

Dan

 

On mostly flat land you can leave it in OD (unless the trans wants to hunt for gears alot then use T/H) but when you head up the pass switch it in to T/H mode. Also I would all most bet you will need to use T/H mode when you go over the hill just south of Salem if traffic gets in your way. Between Portland and Seattle you may or may not need to use T/H, it will depend on if you give it fuel before you go up the hills and or traffic speed.

I've drove the road (I-90) between Seattle and Yellowstone many times so make sure you use the T/H when you you get ready to climb and leave it there until your all the way over it and stopped. FYI, If you try to put it back in OD from T/H while still moving it will shift in to OD off/OD Lock out before it will shift back in to OD. Also being the speed limit in Yellowstone is 25 MPH and they do have some nice (6-10% grade) hills in the park use T/H mode when going up and down them as they are steeper then they look. Also the roads are not very wide so be careful not to break your Mirrors if they stick out very far.

Enjoy your time in Yellowstone Park.

 

Drive it like you stole it. I like towing with T/H. 3500# won't hardly phase it, should pull like a tank.