[16WhiteColly]

Have anyone tried this towing combination on the highway, in order to cut down on the downshift/upshifts? Thanks for you input.

 

[CaryBosse]

Have anyone tried this towing combination on the highway, in order to cut down on the downshift/upshifts? Thanks for you input.

First off, in your sig line you say you have a 7,700 pound hitch, but recognize that you are only rated for 7k.

I am only towing ~3k when I tow usually. The one time I towed closer to 4500 pounds, I saw similar results. I don't feel like I am getting that many downshifts/upshifts. I never tow with cruise control, I let my foot control the shifting and float my speed to try to minimize the shifting. It does seem in Tow/Haul mode I fight the shifting a bit less still.

I know most of Texas is pretty flat, but East Texas has some pretty good hills.

I wouldn't do it cuz I know limiting myself to 4th gear for my typical tow would hurt my gas mileage. Two weeks ago towing my popup out to the State Park and back, I know I saw 6th gear at many points in the drive.

All of this might be different decision with a heavier load, perhaps in city driving.

 

[boborc]

Im pulling just under 5k and i use m5 without trailer mode unless in traffic or on hilly back roads. Trans temps generally in the 170 to 180's

 

[Janster]

Why do you need to limit the upshifts/downshifts?

Just put it in Auto and/or Tow/haul mode and let the truck do whatever it thinks it needs to do.

We only tow about 3,000lbs and almost always use tow/haul mode in Auto. Seems to work just fine for what it was designed for. With 3,000lbs, without tow/haul mode, the truck just doesn't downshift soon enough for the power to get moving or go uphills & such.

 

[16WhiteColly]

First off, in your sig line you say you have a 7,700 pound hitch, but recognize that you are only rated for 7k.

I am only towing ~3k when I tow usually. The one time I towed closer to 4500 pounds, I saw similar results. I don't feel like I am getting that many downshifts/upshifts. I never tow with cruise control, I let my foot control the shifting and float my speed to try to minimize the shifting. It does seem in Tow/Haul mode I fight the shifting a bit less still.

I know most of Texas is pretty flat, but East Texas has some pretty good hills.

I wouldn't do it cuz I know limiting myself to 4th gear for my typical tow would hurt my gas mileage. Two weeks ago towing my popup out to the State Park and back, I know I saw 6th gear at many points in the drive.

All of this might be different decision with a heavier load, perhaps in city driving.

Just looked at the label on the hitch and states 7,700 lbs. Max. Tow vehicle may be rated less. I know it is rated at 7,000 lbs.

 

[16WhiteColly]

I Tow a lot in East Texas and even in M5 with Tow/Haul, it still constantly shifts up/down on the hills. That really changes the Trans. Temps.

 

[16WhiteColly]

I only get about 11.5-13.5 in M5 with Tow/Haul. It was about 14.5 when the truck was new. Only about 8,000 miles on the truck now.

 

[CaryBosse]

I Tow a lot in East Texas and even in M5 with Tow/Haul, it still constantly shifts up/down on the hills. That really changes the Trans. Temps.

I only get about 11.5-13.5 in M5 with Tow/Haul. It was about 14.5 when the truck was new. Only about 8,000 miles on the truck now.

What are you towing? A small utility trailer, that is awful. A large travel trailer at 6000 pounds and lots of air resistance, not so bad.

I towed a 4500 pound tow dolly and vehicle at about 8k miles from DFW to Shreveport, got 16 to 17 as I remember, at 55-60 MPH.

Yes, the more the transmission has to shift, higher the temps. I could watch the temps go up in stop & go traffic, and as soon as I hot a few blocks without any traffic lights, it came right back down.

 

[DrewNJ]

I tow a 16' enclosed trailer at over 6k lbs quite a bit. I use M5, and on the highway when I loose speed, manually shift to M4 and back up as needed. This reduces the double downshift and reving way up on hills.

Sent from my VS988 using Tapatalk

 

[MoseMan]

Last spring I towed a 16' tandem axle trailer weighing about 4500 into a constant 10-15 mph head wind. Had to run in M4 at 60 MPH on the freeway. Sometimes I had to drop to 3rd on moderate uphill grades. The squirrels where really rockin'. I wish my Canyon had some more torque then. Before I bought my Canyon I tested and F-150 with the 2.7l eco-boost. Man that engine could pull.