03 cobra sb
Well-known member
New to this site: A question:
Do most of the class C owners tow in 3-4 gear or overdrive?
Do most of the class C owners tow in 3-4 gear or overdrive?
overdrive and towing
- Thread starter 03 cobra sb
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
R
rockin rockwood
Guest
i currently have a 34' class A, but started out with class C's. The only reason to keep it out of overdrive is if you're towing a load, such as a car,and/or you're in mountainous terrain. Otherwise keep it in O/D
R
rockin rockwood
Guest
Yes
COMer
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2009
- Posts
- 1,663
If it is a Chevy, the factory specs say that "it depends on the weight of what is being towed." I assume you are towing a toad and can't imagine that it would weigh enough to require the tow/haul but it is addressed in your manual. With pickups, it is 60% of towing capacity. The general rule seems to be that if the transmission is not hunting back and forth, you are OK. You just don't want the tranny to heat up.
goldwingerx2
Well-known member
We have an 06 Ford F53 Class A and tow an enclosed trailer using a Trailer Toad which weighs about 10,000 lbs. I leave it in overdrive and use tow/haul. The tow/haul on the Ford just changes your shift points so to speak.
Molaker
Well-known member
I tow a Jeep with my Ford E450 class C in overdrive unless it begins hunting a lot. My MH is old enough so it does not have "tow/haul" mode per se. It does have an overdrive in/out control. I use the overdrive manually much of the time and often do not wait for the system to downshift on its own. This helps keep the RPM from dropping too much when tackling a steep grade.
Bob Buchanan
Well-known member
03 cobra sb said:
When this issue came up with me, I installed a transmission gauge to let me know the temps in different gears on different terrain. And was especially concerned with OD. Seems that when on level ground in OD or just a slight grade the temps stayed normal - whereas much more than a slight grade caused the temps to steadily rise.
Sometimes it's hard to tell whether you are going up or down so an altitude gauge is nice -- however, with the transmission gauge, I would know right away and shift out of OD if necessary.
