Hmmm... Ok well while not ideal, try taking it out of tow/haul when your done pulling the grade and you've started downhill and see if it comes out then. You should'nt "have" to do that but see if it helps. I wonder if the tranny is getting hot pulling the grade and its keeping that gear by mistake. I know you have a factory TRANS temp gauge but OEM gauges are notorious for not moving until well into the danger zone.

 

Thanks glc. It had dropped to the lowest gear and it was revving at 5000 rpms and when I accelerated it would not come out of it. I did not know where the redline was. Since this was my first time and I was towing 6300 pds, I found out that each time you tapped the brakes it downshifted another gear. I guess, if I were going to use the brakes, I needed to use them consistently and not tap them. This would have prevented it from downshifting too much. I worried about the rpms because I was afraid I had done damage to the engine, running it for a short period of time in first at 5000 rpms.

 

So yes.. The fact that you were in tow/haul and tapping the brakes caused it to downshift incrementally with each tap. Taking it out of tow/haul would have restored normal transmission function and it would have up shifted. As far as "hurting" the motor by revving it to 5k - you need not worry. As mentioned the redline is 7k and doing what you did will have no bearing on reliability. Just know at 6300lbs, you're over the Max tow rating for that truck, regardless of cab/gearing configuration. You stated you have the tow package but you didn't tel us what cab you have, 2wd or 4wd, and rear end ratio. That is good for us to know, but again, any model will the 3.7 has a max tow rating of 6k lbs. Asking that truck to tow 6300lbs is asking a lot. You'll hear people say they've towed that and more with that motor, but it's still a huge job that I'd want more truck to do

 

To the op, rear bags are great, here's mine in action. Not saying I'm not over payload, but it worked great. Have since upgraded to a second four wheeler and toy hauler style travel trailer. Yes, there is a four wheeler and dirtbike in the bed.

 

Jerry great to see you finally got gears in that thing! I've always liked the stance on your truck. The flush offset wheels are my style. I remember when you were wanting to gear it for your 33's and you were thinking about going to 315's and I always told you how nice my 4.10's were. Yeah Randy (the OP) would absolutely benefit from bags and gears

Randy: Jerry's truck is a great example of the things I was referring to about setting the truck up to tow. He went with gears, airbags, intake/exhaust and the tuner. I'm sure he can tell a HUGE difference in handling, power and road manners with his setup.

 

Indeed 7lug, the 33s and 3.55s were not great. Towed once with the 315s and 3.55s, truck downshifted to first on one of the steeper grades around here and I decided it's time for new gears. It does indeed make a huge difference.

 

Couple pics with the 315s, new trailer is a bit tongue heavy with the quads on front, but the bags are great. Fire wood in the bed as well.

 

Double post. Woops.

 

Hi Guy's Op here. First off thanks for all the help so far.

I have installed new 10 ply Cooper Discovery AT3 tires on my truck. One item down. I would like some recommendations for air bags as well as a tranny cooler. Only 5 months of snow until i can get out the toys.

Randy

 

7lug, You know your trucks well. It was a Supercab, two wheel drive, 3.73 rearend. You are right on the overload. It has a max of 5800 lbs and it was definitely overloaded. I was towing a 4100 lb Toyota 4Runner on a 2200 lb Uhaul car hauler. It is not something I will be doing on any consistent basis. I bought it used in Detroit and I brought it back to Nashville, TN for my son. I talked with a Ford dealer in Michigan before I brought it back. He said I would be OK. It really worked that motor. I would not want to do that on a regular basis.