New Member with Tow/Haul Mode question

[MikeMM]

Hello Everyone,

My name is Mike.
My wife and I just Retired and purchased a 2016 Winnebago Vista. We plan to use it for short and long trips, visiting the various a State Parks, Car Shows, Air Shows and fishing holes.

We have owned a 29ft Class C since '96, so I am comfortable/confident driving it. I have always used the "same gear downhill as uphill" Rule of Thumb for tackling the hills out here in the West, and it has served me well.

I had expected the Tow/Haul Mode to assist with downhill speed control by downshifting the Transmission (as stated on page 33 of the Ford Owner's Manual), but is does not work. There is no difference in the way the RV performs with the Tow/Haul on or off. It just keeps picking up speed until I apply the brakes and manually downshift, (just like the old days).

We also have a 2013 F150 with the Tow Package, so I am familiar with it's function. I simply turn on Tow/Haul and tap the brakes. The transmission downshifts and controls downhill speed. Works great.

Ford Tech Support says the new 6 speed Transmission does not work the same as previous  transmissions. The shift points are not controlled by braking, but by monitoring engine parameters which show the load on the engine. Since there is no load on the engine when going downhill, I do not see how the Tow/Haul would "know" to downshift. Ford had not supplied a satisfactory answer, as yet.

Now that I have been long-winded, here is my question:
    Has anyone tried setting the Speed Control and turning on Tow/Haul prior to starting downhill?
      Would this cause the system to sense a load, and therefore downshift and control downhill speed?

I would appreciate any help you folks can provide. We are leaving on a Coast-to-Coast trip May 1st, so I'm running out of time to get this resolved.

Thanks in advance.

Mike

edited to remove empty space in post      -scottydl

 

[Bobmws]

I can't speak for the Winnebago unit, but my 2015 F150 (6 speeed-electronic control) works like your 2013. It most assuredly downshifts to control speed when I'm towing. I pulled my 23' toyhauler home (unloaded when purchased) 50 miles without trailer brakes (flat Florida!) and it downshifted noticeably when stopping/applying the truck brakes. I don't recall if the downshift was activated with brake application or pushed load.
What does Winebago say?

 

[massspike]

The F150's software definitely has some quirks (bugs?). I have the 2016 F150 and basically don't trust its computer going downhill anymore. I switch to manual and the electronic shifting works works just fine (I have the Sport). When I was in 'D' and out of cruise control it would drop into 2nd gear on the descent and rev the engine to 4-5K even though it had no idea what speed I wanted. It would then stay in 2nd gear at the bottom of the hill.

 

[kcgrant43]

On my 2015 Winnebago Vista 35F, I push in the Tow/Haul button and then push firmly on the brake pedal to get the transmission to downshift. Simply tapping on the pedal doesn?t make it downshift.