Pulling with an automatic

[CMast]

My dad is thinking about trading his 01 6 speed for an 06 automatic. He pulls a 30' 5th wheel camper around 11,000 pounds. His question is, will the automatic shift down constantly when pulling on an incline? We live in the mountains and he pulls alot in the mountains.

 

[MDietrich]

A lot of what your asking depends on numerus factors, such as the incline, how fast you want to go up and down it, and what gear ratios you have in the pumpkins.



I feel that if it was a situation where you'd shift out of o/d with a manual transmission, kick your auto out of o/d. It will pull better at higher rpm's with either transmission. 3rd in an auto is the same ratio as 5th in a stick.



Getting 4. 10's over 3. 73 ratio will help also.



Mine will drop down to 2nd if i'm going under 40 and get on the foot-feed, and usually I'll pull it into 2nd before it kicks down and keep the torque converter in lock up. (our trailer is about 8000#'s)



The '06's also have a tow/haul mode and o/d lockout, so they are better yet than my '03.



This is just how I feel. I'm sure others will offer their advice.



MD

 

[edgerat]

I can say without any hesitation that if he is pulling a load like that he would be best off with a 6spd. Less headaches less money spent on making an auto live with that kind of duty cycle.

 

[DPKetchum]

If going auto get 4. 10s !!!! Plus NOW you can get factory exhaust brake. Thats the ticket!

 

[KennethS]

Just got automatic with Jake brake

I will be pulling a enclose car trailer with a Model T In the trailer which should not be to heavy. I will be leaving Pa. to Iowa IN June. Will let you know how I make out. Always had a stick before IN the diesel. It will be no hills just flat running out there. Now the wife can help drive now. With the 6 speed all she did was ***** on how hard It shifts. Hope she happy now. :-{} Why she always wins????? :{

 

[CPG]

You can be sure that if you are hauling in real mountain country like we have out west here, the automatic will be constantly hunting & shifting down consistently to be in a lower gear. It is true that a 4:10 ratio is superior in the mountains over a higher ratio like my 3:73 as I have used both. With the tow/haul mode all this does is take it out of overdrive. You bet! an exhaust brake is a must and I intend to have one installed on our 04 as soon as possible as I miss the feeling of safety that we had on our old "93" truck. If you are in the mountains a lot, this will pay back for the brake wear involved and a good feeling of security.



Chuck

 

[betterthanstock]

His question is, will the automatic shift down constantly when pulling on an incline?

Not if you use the shifter to keep it in the lower gear. Unfortunately, you cannot apply full power (torque) at a lower RPM, like 1600-1800, without inducing a downshift, like you could with a stickshift.

Mine is a stick, but it would be great if the auto's had a manumatic, where you could force it to stay in gear at lower RPM.

 

[CMast]

We live in the nc mountains nothing as high as you guys out west but the inclines could be the same. He has a jake on his 01 and will get another one if he trades. On the 06 it has a o/d lockout and a tow/haul mode did i read that right. He also has 4:10 ratio. I was suprised on my 05 with 3:73 how much better his truck is on take off with a heavy load he never goes to first and I have to. So I should tell him if he gets an auto to get 4:10

 

[KennethS]

I got the 373 did I screw up?

It never cross my mind about the rear end when I ordered my truck. I only pull a enclose car trailer with a Model T which only weighs about 1800 loaded with tools and gas. I know value on my T depends on how much gas Is In the tank.

 

[DPKetchum]

The auto works much better with 4. 10s. The O. D. is taller then 6th with the manual. If pulling any kind of weight the auto is happier with 4. 10s

 

[CMast]

I'll tell him, thanks for the info

 

[KSHall]

There are advantages to each, sometimes I kick myself over not getting a 6-speed and sometimes I'm so glad I didn't get one. We just got back from Florida from vacation ,I have a 05 CTD w/ 3. 73 gears and a automatic, combined load of around 15500 with the 34' camper @ 7000lb ,truck @ 7000 people and all our junk 1500 lb. My truck pulls the load @ 70 mph and all the wind resistance of a tall trailer we got about 10 mpg. We ran I-77 so you know the type of grades we climbed, Fancy Gap , Flat Top and so on thru WV, VA, NC. Climbing Fancy Gap it would not stay in O/D. It would down shift to 3rd then back to 4th and so on. It would be nice to be able to lock it in 3rd and make it stay there, that is what you could with a 06 with the O/D lock out, just food for thought. Good luck.

 

[DPKetchum]

At speed pull it into 2nd and it will stay in THIRD!

 

[CMast]

So with an 06 auto you can keep it from shifting so much by locking it out of o/d. Also yes I do know that route we have been through there several times

 

[KSHall]

I didn't know you could do that and it not try to go to 2nd, gotta try it in the morning! Yes the shifter has a button on the end. On mine it is just for the tow/haul mode. On the 06 it does the tow/ haul mode and O/D lock out. Pretty cool huh. Now can anybody tell me why it took them so long to come up with that one? One more question, why can't they just do away with the button thing and puy how ever many gears the transmission has on the shifter. If it's a 3 speed give it a P-R-N-3-2-1 or a 4 speed give it a P-R-N-4-3-2-1 and so on?

 

[OT-OF-HERE!!]

Screwed up??

It never cross my mind about the rear end when I ordered my truck. I only pull a enclose car trailer with a Model T which only weighs about 1800 loaded with tools and gas. I know value on my T depends on how much gas Is In the tank.

Nope, no screw up. I've pulled up to 22k with my 3. 73's and others have pulled a lot more. I'd say if you have something hooked onto you on a daily basis then maybe go with 4. 10's. Get a built transmission and a lot of the time you can pull in OD. :-laf

 

[BHolm]

I just pulled a load through some of the bigger passes in Colorado with my '06 Mega, 3. 73/auto. I scaled at 23,900. I would say that ANY automatic is going to shift when you don't want it to at some point. That said I am pretty dang happy with how mine works in the mountains especially with the Jake Brake.



It will downshift when it needs to. You should not be trying to pull a big load in a higher gear at 1600-1800 rpm. If you have an EGT gauge hooked up, you know why. The auto downshifts to increase rpm, airflow and keep egts down. It is by far the best auto of the big three for holding OD in lock-up. On the '06s it will lock up in second and third gears too. I pulled up to the tunnel on I-70 with this load, at or above the speed limit right up until the very end. It was pushing 30 lbs of boost and nearly 1000* post turbo (truck is stock) the whole way. Did the same up Vail pass. The trucks have plenty of power and the trans is pretty smart. The '06 has T/H and OD lock-out so just by using the button you have pretty good control.



The only drawback to the auto is the loose convertor. The only time you notice this is at low speeds starting out, or backing a trailer into a parking space. You can heat it up FAST. Once moving though, no problems and I like the 3. 73s with the auto for travelling the western states where speed limits are higher.

 

[DPKetchum]

If your going to tow heavy and hilly its why 4. 10s are a option. Neighbor has a 05 dully 4x4 auto 3. 73s. Hauls horses for a part time job all ver the South and Northern states. Puls MAX about 9k. he says the auto and 3. 73s was a mistake. Dosent keep rpms in the SWEET SPOT unless towing at 71 mph PLUs. Its not HIS sweet spot. 68 or so is. Also said on roads with switch backs and hills its somewhat of a pain. Eaither lugs or trying to grab a lower gear and kinda screams. He has about 90k on his now.