Towing enclose car trailer what gear?

[KennethS]

I have a 2006 Dodge 3/4 ton 2 wheel drive with a Cummins and a Jake brake. My question is when towing the car trailer with my 50 Ford in the trailer should I leave it in the tow mode or will it just leave it on normal drive when on level? I have a transmission gauge to see if the transmission heats up.

 

[Wertles]

Put it in tow/haul mode, turn on the brake and drive. It will lock up the TC in both 3rd and 4th gear along with changing the shift points a little that are better for towing. If you forget, don't worry about it. The truck will do just fine.

 

[MChrist]

Tow/haul. You may not see any increase in transmission temps while towing, but stop/go traffic will raise it some. I pulled our 30' camper from Chicago to South Dakota and back last summer and never noticed a difference in transmission temp.

 

[KennethS]

City traffic raises the temp I have found. If you are in steep mountains by watching the temp you can keep it down by backing off some and that helps a lot. Glad I put a transmission temp gauge on my truck.

 

[AEdelheit]

I would turn the OD off before as you approach a incline, easier on the engine and transmission to run in 3rd then OD and a forced downshift to 3rd halfway up a hill when your already loosing momentum.

 

[AEdelheit]

What tire size do you have , gear ratio and what speed will you be towing at? Those will all be factors aswell

 

[Mark31]

What does your load weigh? 5000? With 373 gears, let 'er go in OD when you hit 55 and go. Some of the 06 owners run in tow haul most of the time. That's not enough load to cause any special concerns. Your 06 has more/better trans controls than my 04, so this may not apply to you: For the trans,I don't want to pull anything heavier than a lawn mower trailer in OD without the torque converter locked up. For the engine, just listen to your Cummins. It will tell you if its not happy. Go and enjoy and, if you feel like being politically correct, wipe that smirk off your face knowing that you've THE engine/truck for the job. Mark

 

[Mark31]

I would turn the OD off before as you approach a incline, easier on the engine and transmission to run in 3rd then OD and a forced downshift to 3rd halfway up a hill when your already loosing momentum.

Hey Cally phone ya! I had to laugh:-laf I took my tractor up to camp for work day Saturday. It's 50 or so miles up there with a few good "flatland" type grades on it. Even weighing over 23000, my po little underpowered 305/555 Cummins (in OD) didn't drop even to 58 from 60 on one decent grade. I just get the boost up before the grade and listen to the Cummins music play! It's hard to imagine a 5k load making a powerhouse 06 downshift on a "grade"! Have a good 'un!! Mark

 

[Wertles]

I pull 18k through the PA mountains quite often and the truck rarely shiftds out of OD. If the cruise is set at 68 it will down shift more than if I am using my foot. 5k is more like a flea on an elephants back.

 

[AEdelheit]

Hey Cally phone ya! I had to laugh:-laf I took my tractor up to camp for work day Saturday. It's 50 or so miles up there with a few good "flatland" type grades on it. Even weighing over 23000, my po little underpowered 305/555 Cummins (in OD) didn't drop even to 58 from 60 on one decent grade. I just get the boost up before the grade and listen to the Cummins music play! It's hard to imagine a 5k load making a powerhouse 06 downshift on a "grade"! Have a good 'un!! Mark

I'm sure it will pull it in OD just fine but the clutch pack is small and I'm

Used to that 55mph when towing so I would personally drop to 3rd for a grade, but that's just me. If I'm going 70 then no, that's why my next post asked about speed

 

[KennethS]

Tires are what came on the Dodge when new. I tow about 65 most of the time sometimes 60. I have a transmission heat gauge on it and it usually runs cold except in town on heave traffic. I only have 35000 on the truck. Its sits in the garage most of the time only use to tow with to car meets.

 

[BIGNASTY]

In town and in the mountains I run in TH when on the flats in the west its in OD I just watch the road and see a hill I gain speed so the trans wont down shift over the rise then drop down to normal highway speed again. Like you I usually run 65 mph when I tow our TT. I think the worst thing is the constant up and down shifting when in OD so if I know its going to do it I take it out of OD and most of the time in the mountains I drop the trans into 2ond if not going to pull the hills and curves to fast. I dont think the motor is going to have any problems your trans will give up before you hurt the motor.