Light load towing ?
- Thread starter Falls
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Camprunner
New member
This is a good question Falls ........ If you ask my dealer the service dept will say "YES!!" ....... But if you are doing 70 on the hiway on flat road I say put the thing in 5th. I put mine in fifth on the flat roads and im pulling aprox 4,500lbs.
TheBlueWave
New member
Falls said:
I would say, play it by ear. If you see the rpm fluctuate to indicate the torque converter is unlocking in 5th, keep it in 4th. Wind and hills make a difference here. Being an experienced driver, I'm sure you'll make the right move.
Towing my buddy's boat up to Lake of the Woods was a mixed bag. It weighs about 2000 lbs, I used OD on flat roads going as slow as 60 with no downshifting, but there were times I used 4th on flat roads going 65 because of headwinds. I also have a v6 and I know the v8 has better low end power and torque.
Northof49
New member
Use your judgement and you'll be fine....there's no black/white answers to these questions really. I used OD pulling my 21' boat in flat, no-wind situations where I was barely on the gas. And that was over double the weight.
If it's constantly shifting in and out, or locking/unlocking because of conditions, simpy knock it down a gear....towing or not. That's when you're straining things, not simply because you're towing something.
If it's constantly shifting in and out, or locking/unlocking because of conditions, simpy knock it down a gear....towing or not. That's when you're straining things, not simply because you're towing something.
charlier180
New member
Falls said:
What is a light load???
Even with my car trailer empty, it is just over 3K pounds.Flat roads, what are they??? Here in Pennsylvania there are not a lot of them.
Seriously though, this summer I have a longer than normal tow for me to Michigan in July (about 1300 miles round trip).
Should be interesting to see my MPG and if there are any flat roads out in Ohio.
One trip a couple of years ago I did get 2more MPG on the return trip towing my loaded car trailer.
Then again the return trip was downhill and I had a 30mph tail wind.
Nothing like the weird sensation of a good tailwind when towing except for maybe the sensation when one's trailer starts hydro-planeing.
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