I live on the western slope of the Rockies, and while on an outing this weekend in my wife's Expy I was thinking what it would be like be towing a TT behind my F150 down the same downgrade we were on.
For those of you who have towed on the downgrades before, what are you seeing performance wise from your truck. On a few of the downgrades I was in 2nd in the Expy, with about 2k-2.5k rpms. What is considered hard on the engine when gearing down?

 

Anything over redline.......

 

Are you saying you make it up these grades at less than 2500rpm? If so, that is doing good. Anyway, I'm with GLC. The engine rev limiter is in place to prevent engine damage. If it were not capable of handling 5000rpm, then the rev limiter would be lower. Just make sure the engine is at normal operating temperature.

 

I was more concerned about gearing down when going downhill, and what to expect.
I haven't purchased the TT yet, and my main concern is not plowing off the side of a mountian

 

I've drive cross country via Salt Lake, WY, etc and never had a down hill stretch that a touch on the brake controller wouldn't do the trick...and only then if needed. Never had a 'runaway' situation before, much less a situation that required me to be all the way down in 2nd to control the speed.

 

When going down the big grades, I keep it in "D" with OD off and let it run in third when the speed limit is 55 mph +.... If I get over 65 mph, I'll hit the brakes hard and slow down to 55 mph and then LET OFF THE BRAKES.. This lets the brakes 'cool' down as your speed is building back up again... If I find myself back up to 65 again, I'll 'stab' the brakes again in the same manner.. If I find myself gaining this speed faster and faster as I go down the grade, then it's time to downshift.... Get to a speed of around 50 mph and then pull the gear shift into second... It'll wind up to over 3 grand, but that's OKAY...

The very last thing you want to do is 'ride' the brakes for more then 30 seconds at a time... You'll kill them in no time and they'll start to burn at that point, then you'll have NOTHING...

Don't worry about the rpms... The computer will take care of that... If you are going too fast for a gear, it won't downshift to that gear....

You can also hit just the trailer brakes thru the brake controller to help slow down as well, alternating between the truck and trailer to keep your speed in check... Every minute you can spare on letting the brakes COOL down between applications, will extend your time of their effectiveness.... That's been what I've done over the course of my towing life and I'm still here!!

Good luck!

Mitch

Mitch

 

That's the way to do it for sure. I tow my TT throughout the lower mainland, Okanagan and Coquihala area here in BC. When going down a steep grade I'll often downshift to second anyway to minimize braking because as Mitch says, it pays to keep them cool. Definitely never ride the brakes.

Stay safe.

Kev.

 

That's why the new trannys with tow/haul mode will downshift with a tap on the brake.