Ok, i have a 2002 4.6 liter extended cab Lariat, 3.55 l.s. with towing package. I plan on renting a pop-up for the weekend soon, a Fleetwood Yuma 10' box. The majority of our trip will be interstate, in Florida so it's all flat. Once on the highway, is it ok to tow with overdrive on? I would turn it off going thru traffic. My first time towing a trailer, but i grew up in the back of a big block Suburban towing a 20' t.t... that thing got the same mileage with a trailer as it did without! We camped all the time.. loved it and want to introduce my g.f. to something other than tent camping, which we both love, but Florida sucks!

Not sure yet if the pop-up has electronic brakes or not. Will check into that.
Anything else i should keep in mind?

 

As long as the torque convertor is not locking and unlocking or the the trannie is not shifting between 3rd and 4th, use OD.

 

I pulled a 4000 # Travel trailer 500miles through Texas and I had my truck in overdrive the whole time. It pulled fine. You will not even know you have something behind you.

 

How much can a 10' popup weigh? I'd think you could leave it in OD.

 

I believe the weight listed for the camper i am looking at renting is 2400 lbs, listed on the website. I figured adding another 300-400 lbs for equipment, max. I know it's well within range of the trucks capacity, just wan't sure how towing would be on the tranny.

 

Towing 3000# is child's play for a 4R70W. You only need to start watching it when you are over 5000# and/or you are pulling big mountains.

 

In general, the trans itself will let you know if it can hold OD or not. This will vary depending on road conditions and such, but the trans will not go into OD if all of it's various sensors tells it not to....

You also have to be a bit more 'aware of' and kinda already know or have a good idea of how your truck handles OD now, in order to really be sure when you are towing..

So, if you have OD 'on' and you are going up thru the gears (automatically) and you reach a speed where the trans goes into OD and the throttle position is right, it'll go into OD..

Now, if you notice that you are slowing down and you have to press more on the gas to maintain that speed, you might just want to keep it in 3rd..

If you notice the rpms rise just a little bit, but you are still in OD, you want to go into 3rd right away.. The TC is unlocked in this case and will generate a ton of heat before you know it!

I will only let my truck go into OD while towing if I know I will be able to maintain it in OD for a good amount of time.. If it shifts back out, or I have to press the gas pedal more, I just turn OD off and cruise... A "good amount of time" for me is over 5 minutes or at least 5 miles.. If I look out in the distance and see rolling rills, or curves, or traffic, I just leave it in 3rd..

This is just what "I" do, and is by no means a documented way or approved way of doing it.. I just know "my" truck and know what it can and can't do and also when it is or is not doing it...

If you want to just put the gear lever in D and forget about it, then turn off OD and cruise in 3rd. It won't hurt anything, and I'l bet you get the same MPG anyway... You would have to run in OD for 90% of your towing miles to see any kind of improvement in mpgs.. As far as 'wear and tear' goes, well, anytime you are towing anything, it's going to cause more 'wear and tear' then if you didn't, but it can be debated that even running in OD while towing is causing just as much 'wear and tear' as not, but then it would all be opinion for the most part anyway...

So, listen to your truck and don't try to make it do something it does not want to do and you will get many happy towing miles out of it! I have!!

Good luck,

Mitch

 

If the toque conconverter is kickin in and out alot on the hwy then you need to take it out of overdrive. Since FL is so flat it probably won't be a problem though.

Have fun, bring bug spray

 

Mitch150 is right on. I have a ScanGauge in my truck to monitor MPG, Trans Temp, Cylinder Head temp, etc. I have found no advantage in ANY of those readings between towing in O/D versus 3rd. They read pretty much the same. I often then leave it in 3rd as I feel letting the truck spin is better than lugging it. 60 mph in 3rd is only about 2,200 rpm anyway so not a big deal. SPEED is a big deal on fuel mileage however. I see a huge drop in mileage between 60 mph and 65 mph. 9 @ 60, 8 @ 65 (into the wind, pulling 5,000 pounds of TT) 55 mph only netted an additional .5 mpg. No difference in the trans temp or cylinder head temp. 3rd or Overdrive.

 

I just pulled about the same size pop-up over Memorial Day weekend and had no problems. I left the truck in OD for most of the trip except for a couple places in Lake County where there are actually decent size hills on the turnpike. Only surprise I got was the gas mileage....burned twice as much as I normally do.

Have fun and enjoy the a/c. Where are you guys going?

 

We want to go to Florida Caverns State Park.. it's just west of Tallahasse, i believe. She has been before years ago, but i have not. Seems like a cool place to get away for a weekend.. hopefully a little cooler underground!

 

The point is its fine to leave it in overdrive -as long as- the torque converter isn't engaging and unegaging. You will raise the tranny temps dramatically in a very short period of time if this happens. I've seen my tranny temps go from 165 cuising for over an hour up to 182 in under 5 minutes just by the converter kicking in and out. I quickly dropped it back into 3rd to get the temps back down and left it there.

Also, don't be afraid of 3rd if you do need to run it there. I haven't noticed much mpg difference cruising at 65 in 3rd or in overdrive.

 

Got it! Thanks guys!!

 

Just be smart about your towing, if you see its shifting in and out of OD alot, turn it off, if youre about to climb a big hill... turn it off. You should be fine..dont worry too much about it. have fun camping!

 

Alon is right-on with his reply. Just be smart and you'll have a great time! I'm an avid RV'er and I pull a 6,000lb travel trailer with not a single problem.

One word of caution ~ I live in Cali where CHP LOVE to ticket RV'ers for going over 55. Our speed limit signs here say 65, or 55 while towing ~ and they enforce it! Watch your signs, take your time, have fun.

Your truck will have no problems whatsoever with a small tent-trailer.