would i hurt anything by towing a flat trailer (one big enough to fit a car on), but only hauling 2 ATVs on it? i have all performance tunes so im just curious

 

You shouldn't tow with perf tunes at all. If that's all you got then set your truck back to stock.

 

What's the weight of the thing with your ATVs? Bill Cohron at PHP says 2500# is a limit for using a "performance" tune when towing. I'd add in any junk you happen to throw into the bed of your truck and the weight of your passengers too, when you make decisions here.

Performance tunes are setup in a way that could cause things to run hot if you are pulling a lot of weight. If there's any doubt, in your case, I'd set the tune to stock.

- Jack

 

alright guys thanks for the info, appreciate it! i dont think it would weigh much, only 2 400ex's under 400lbs a piece, but i guess ill play it safe and switch to stock, only takes a minute to do so. thanks again

 

what did justin say?

 

took this off of VMP's website, "Towing Tunes are available for trucks, simply select a towing tune when picking the three custom tunes. Our performane and gas mileage tunes are safe to tow with, but our towing specific tunes are designed to reduce transmission temps and keep the trans from shifting in and out of fourth gear while cruising on the highway."

the thing i'd be worried about is the shift firmness, on performance tunes are typically abit firmer then towing tunes.

 

I'm surprised you didn't get a towing tune, with owning a truck and all?

Not trying to be smart, just the first I've seen of someone not getting at least one towing tune. What all types of performance tunes did you get?

 

I'm high jacking here sorry.

I actually have the same question and was going to post a thread anyways. I had a 93 tow tune that I never used that much that I'm changing to a 93 perf tune by bill for my gryphon. I also have an 87 perf and 87 tow tunes that I use regularly. Since i'm changing the 93 tune around and if I like it I just talked to php today about an hr ago and talked to Cody I think his name was, wasn't bill or corey, and he said that I could tow with my 93 perf tune and I have a 4k trailer. I use the 87 all the time and by some chance if I had been runnign the 93 perf and needed to pull my trailer and couldnt put it back into a tow mode if I could tow with it. I didn't get to talk to bill, so I don't know if that guy didn't know what he was talking about or what, but I was just wondering?

 

Bill@PHP has always stated that its 2500 lbs.
If you get a chance try to talk to Bill.
Link: http://forum.gopowerhungry.com/towin...rformance.html

 

I have a relative question to this thread. When towing with a tow tune...canned OR custom.....is there still the need to keep the vehicle out of overdrive?

This has been a huge discussion lately b/w myself, dealers, friends, etc. I have a pop-up camper that I tow to the mountains and/or beach a few times per year....might weigh 1800 lbs loaded. Ford has told me to NEVER pull in OD, and that goes for driving at 65 to 70 mph on the interstate as well. They told me the high rpms won't hurt anything.

What is you guy's take on this? Do you stay out of OD regardless of speed? And more importantly, is it now NOT necessary for me to stay out of OD simply due to having a programmer?

 

This has been discussed quite a lot on this forum. As I recall, the owner's manual for my truck says, "it may be better/necessary to lock out overdrive when towing", (or words to that effect).

I tow a 3600# trailer and ALWAYS leave the O/D on unless I start to see the Torque Converter repeatedly unlocking and locking back up or I find the transmission is frequently shifting between 3rd and 4th. I will also lock the transmission in 2nd gear when climbing or descending very steep mountain hills. In other words, I let the transmission tell me what to do.

I find the truck is quite happy pulling my trailer in O/D on relatively flat stretches of highway, so I'd rather save on gas. The Inst MPG feature of my Gryphon tells me I AM saving gas in O/D.

I can't imagine you'd need to worry about overdrive at all with your trailer, unless you were on steep hills. You don't even need a towing tune for that load.

- Jack

 

Thanks, that makes sense. In fact, some people can't believe I lock out OD for that little bit of load but I'm just doing what Ford told me. Why do you think they are so adament about "NO O/D EVER when towing, regardless of speed and load!!!""? Doesn't make common sense to me, especially if the load is low and the ground is flat. Am I really going to hurt something??

Last question of importance to me is this....if I decided at any point to lock out O/D on the interstate and I'm traveling at 70 mph or more...or pushing higher rpms.....is that okay? Ford said this will not hurt my engine and that it is the safer way to go.

 

First off, I'd like to apologize for my lack of knowledge on the subject. I was brought into the PHP family to assist with 7.3L questions and programming so Bill could focus a bit more on the gasoline tuning for your F-150 trucks. The only "training" I've had as far as the F-150 stuff goes is a combination of overhearing phone conversations that Corey and Bill have with customers and what I have learned from JackandJanet and 88Racing.

My mental resource library is growing but I am still learning so I am sorry for any confusion this has caused.

Just go with what these more knowledgeable people have said. They won't steer you wrong like some people I know will.

 

First, most trailer tires are speed limited to 65 mph. I would NOT exceed that speed. Heat will build up rapidly above their speed rating and you could easily have a blowout. I've had two trailer tires fail in their second year (always inflated properly) but probably because I tended to "average" about 70 mph. I am VERY careful about speed now.

Here's what MY owner's manual says about towing a trailer:It further says under the "Driving" section to operate with the O/D off when: "... driving conditions cause excessive shifting from O/D to other gears. Examples: city traffic, hilly terrain, heavy loads, trailer towing and when engine braking is required."

So, to me, the operative condition here is to avoid "excessive shifting" (or TC unlocking/locking). It doesn't say "Never tow in O/D" or that "towing in O/D will cause damage". If I don't have any transmission activity, I tow in O/D.

I think Ford also expects the average trailer weight to be in the 5000+# range, where you might well get a lot of transmission activity on level ground.

As far as the speed control goes, I use it! I think Ford is concerned that if it cuts off on a hill climb (and it will, if you let it control the speed without any help), you'll decelerate so suddenly that you will be a hazard to following traffic and, your sudden application of accelerator to regain the lost speed might cause a harsh downshift. In my case, I just anticipate the need for accelerator and apply it manually to MAINTAIN speed when climbing hills. Downshifting occurs more normally and the speed control never disengages.

Finally, RPMs at towing speeds in 3rd and 4th gear: My truck has a 3.73 axle and 32" tires. At 64 mph, my engine rpms in 3rd gear with the TC locked are 2582. In 4th, they are 1803. At 70 mph, the numbers would be 2824 and 1972. In the 2-3000 rpm range, you're really in a good torque producing condition, so, the TC should not have to go into an unlocked state so much (which heats up the transmission). This speed is not harmful to the engine, but neither is 18-2000 rpms, and if the TC can stay locked up there, everything will actually run cooler.

Hope all this helps.

- Jack

 

Thanx for the clarification PHPDiesel.
And
Welcome to the forum!