What happens if you tow in overdrive

In the absence of upgrades to a vehicle trans, take the work load down a notch and drive in a lower gear. Often it takes more throttle input, especially on rises to maintain say 90kph in overdrive on a slight rise than if in a lower gear.

When the series Landcruiser hit the market with their 6 speed auto, many people complained about the constant changing from 6 th to 5 th on every rise. Its not that the big V8 twin turbo was struggling for power on hills, its just that Toyota had calculated the lesser effort of the lower gear was resulting in better economy. So often some savings can be made from working the vehicle less and pushing the engine less with leaner AFRs, noticeable by less black smoke on the front of the van.

My view in a nutshell? A transmission in Overdrive is running thru a jackshaft to achieve overdrive.. That builds Massive amounts of Heat In Direct, it's running Straight thru the box, Joined Sep 29, Messages No engine braking in OD. Bond-o said:. Click to expand Joined Nov 17, Messages 2, The no tow in overdrive is with an automatic trans, you will destroy the transmission.

If you have a manual transmission and engine enough to haul the load without lugging I think you can tow in any gear you want to. The newer vehicles say do not do it at all, newer engines develop more torque than the older ones and will destroy the trans. Joined May 31, Messages 2, Joined Dec 3, Messages 9, It also depends greatly on the vehicle I have just over , miles on it and am on the second transmission I can live with those numbers.

Joined Apr 16, Messages 6, I pull my boat to Florida with my Buick Roadmaster and it's in overdrive most all the way, unless it shifts to 3rd gear going up a hill. My transmission has an auxiliary cooling radiator up front, part of the "towing package" that came on the car. It's no problem at all, engine temperature never even rises. Maybe you refer to a smaller front wheel drive vehicle?

Joined Feb 11, Messages SuperNova Lieutenant. Joined Mar 16, Messages 1, After all these guesses, do you want to know the real reason why? The engine will be in a higher gear, providing less torque. The transmission will be overtaxed, using fewer revolutions per minute.

As a result, the truck or RV will have more difficulty towing cargo uphill or downshifting to go downhill. Pro Tip: Before you go, make sure you are ready to tow. However, you need to be on a flat highway at higher speeds with light torque demand. You can cruise in overdrive while increasing your fuel efficiency.

Once you encounter varying terrain and slower speeds, take your vehicle out of overdrive. This allows the engine and transmission to take over. They can move to lower gears more quickly and provide torque to pull the load. The biggest benefit of using overdrive while towing is increased gas mileage.

Placing less stress on the engine at higher speeds will also reduce maintenance and repair costs in the long run. Pro Tip: Wear and tear is bound to happen so we spoke to an RV mechanic, these are the RV systems he says will break first. You could bog down or even kill the engine entirely. Using overdrive on steep terrain can overheat your transmission, as well. Straight from the Expy manual. I tow with a 5. I will use 5 if I am on a long level or downgrade. Rig is much more responsive in 4th at On a recent mile trip my lie o meter gave me.

Like I said: Quote:. I had no idea how our truck was going to pull in the hills let alone on the flats. After a couple hours pulling on our first trip I figured out that 5th worked best no shifting up or down and this kept the tranny temp the same as if I wasn't pulling.

Daytripper quoted the manual and that's the best guide, after that you just have to pull your TT and see how your vehicle does. I tow with a Expedition and it depends on the speed, hills and head winds. At mph I turn it off. From I turn it back on. The torque peak is at on the 5. Do you have the towing package? If not you may have the 3.

Use OD with tow haul engaged IF the transmission starts to hunt for a gear.. THEN manually downshift it,. You may also like:. BB code is On. Smilies are On. Trackbacks are Off.

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