Dodge Ram diesel?

[Marvin willis]

I just traded my Chevy 2500 6.0 for a new dodge 2500 diesel and wondering if I even need tow haul to pull my AR230. I brought the new truck home and my wife stole it.

 

[bronze_10]

No u do not.. My 06 f250 pulled my 230 through the west Virginia turn pike with out even breaking a sweat..

 

[kyle]

not even close. I have a 2012 and a 2018 with the Cummins. It wont even kick out of overdrive towing that boat.

 

[Sbrown]

All the tow/haul button does is adjust the transmission programming somewhat. It increases the line pressure to increase clutch holding power and it raises the shift points about 500 rpm along with speeding up the clutch apply timing. It also changes the logic for the torque converter clutch apply. Do you need to use it to tow that boat? No. Will it help reduce wear and tear on your transmission? in my opinion, yes.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

I don't even use tow mode in my 1500 lol. I think the truck does better with out.

 

[F.M.]

All the tow/haul button does is adjust the transmission programming somewhat. It increases the line pressure to increase clutch holding power and it raises the shift points about 500 rpm along with speeding up the clutch apply timing. It also changes the logic for the torque converter clutch apply. Do you need to use it to tow that boat? No. Will it help reduce wear and tear on your transmission? in my opinion, yes.

What he said. You can get by without it, but why not use it since you have it.

 

[bronze_10]

I can't remember right off the tip of my head (I'm not a numbers guy, or a name guy, or a math guy) but my old 3/4 ton can tow in excess of 15000 pounds. A 6000 pound boat is like its not there. When I towed with my old durango with the HEMI I would not use tow haul mode on flat ground. If it became hilly and was in and out of gears too much i would use it then.

 

[MIDLIFECRISIS]

If you are using the exhaust brake and tow at the same time it will help with the wear on your brakes. On another note, at about 100000 to 150000 miles change your crank case breather filter. don't take it to the dealership to get it done they charge entirely too much for a 10 to 15 min task. the filters are a little pricey but worth letting your engine breath better.

 

[Sbrown]

Just out of curiosity and not being a smartass; What would the reasoning be behind not using it?

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

Just out of curiosity and not being a smartass; What would the reasoning be behind not using it?

I just feel the truck runs smoother with it not in tow mode, it holds the gears too long in my opinion. Of course with my 1500 I have the 8spd where the 2500 have 6. It also can be annoying with my exhaust if it is holding gear at a higher RPM.

 

[swatski]

All the tow/haul button does is adjust the transmission programming somewhat. It increases the line pressure to increase clutch holding power and it raises the shift points about 500 rpm along with speeding up the clutch apply timing. It also changes the logic for the torque converter clutch apply. Do you need to use it to tow that boat? No. Will it help reduce wear and tear on your transmission? in my opinion, yes.

I have a question about the ECT (AKA power mode) in a Toyota - would that be a similar deal to what you are describing for tow/haul mode in a Dodge? I have not had the Toyota truck (w/the 5.7l tundra engine) long enough to know for sure but the ECT thingy seems to work well when towing - the revs may be higher but the engine sounds like it does not need to labor as much. (I think)
My question is if there would be any significant/obvious long term penalties for using that ECT mode? - in terms of wear and tear.
As far as fuel usage, if the ECT mode holds the engine in a power band better - the fuel consumption should not suffer much. Just wondering...


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[Sbrown]

I have a question about the ECT (AKA power mode) in a Toyota - would that be a similar deal to what you are describing for tow/haul mode in a Dodge? I have not had the Toyota truck (w/the 5.7l tundra engine) long enough to know for sure but the ECT thingy seems to work well when towing - the revs may be higher but the engine sounds like it does not need to labor as much. (I think)
My question is if there would be any significant/obvious long term penalties for using that ECT mode? - in terms of wear and tear.
As far as fuel usage, if the ECT mode holds the engine in a power band better - the fuel consumption should not suffer much. Just wondering...


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I'm not 100% up on the Toyota system, but yes I believe it does the same thing. The ECT stands for Electronically Controlled Transmission and when you press that button you are changing the control mode of the transmission to a more performance oriented mode (higher line pressure, higher shift points and faster, firmer shifts) I think.

 

[2kwik4u]

I know on the GM products the Tow/Haul mode is 100% transmission related with ZERO changes in the timing/fueling/cam phasing of the engine itself. It is WELL worth the use for no other reason than to keep heat out of the transmission. The Torque Converter in a stock GM vehicle is a giant heat generator. They are wildly ineffecient when the lockup clutch is not engaged. Using the Tow/Haul mode will lock the converter sooner, and during shifts (both up and down).

I've logged as much as a 40 degF difference in transmission temperatures in both my old Yukon (2003), my ZR5 (2004), my wifes Traverse (2010), and my TBSS (2006 with custom tune to enable T/H mode). Those were all 4L60E family transmissions, except the Traverse which is a 6T80E I think. The new Sierra 1500 (2015) shows about a 10deg change in trans temp between the two modes on the same day. My Yukon showed me clearly that this was worthwhile on a trip to TN with a race car in an enclosed 24ft trailer behind it heading down I75S. Ran for about an hour with Tow/Haul Mode disabled on the interstate climbing hills, trans temp went into the high 190's. Engaged Tow/Haul mode and watched it drop back into the 150's over the next hour or so. Obviously no mechanical changes, just a shifting logic change. That was on the edge of that trucks rating though (6.5k out of 7.4k rated).

IMO, heat it the #1 killer of transmissions, and the cooler you keep the fluid, the longer the transmission will last, so any opportunity to use Tow/Haul Mode is worthwhile. I will also employ the manual shifting function if available (even though GM does a piss poor job of implementing it) to keep the transmission from hunting for gears during normal driving. Usually this is at odd speeds with changing traffic patterns where I'm on/off the gas more than I would like, so I lock it down a gear and just use a few more revs for a bit.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

I know on the GM products the Tow/Haul mode is 100% transmission related with ZERO changes in the timing/fueling/cam phasing of the engine itself. It is WELL worth the use for no other reason than to keep heat out of the transmission. The Torque Converter in a stock GM vehicle is a giant heat generator. They are wildly ineffecient when the lockup clutch is not engaged. Using the Tow/Haul mode will lock the converter sooner, and during shifts (both up and down).

I've logged as much as a 40 degF difference in transmission temperatures in both my old Yukon (2003), my ZR5 (2004), my wifes Traverse (2010), and my TBSS (2006 with custom tune to enable T/H mode). Those were all 4L60E family transmissions, except the Traverse which is a 6T80E I think. The new Sierra 1500 (2015) shows about a 10deg change in trans temp between the two modes on the same day. My Yukon showed me clearly that this was worthwhile on a trip to TN with a race car in an enclosed 24ft trailer behind it heading down I75S. Ran for about an hour with Tow/Haul Mode disabled on the interstate climbing hills, trans temp went into the high 190's. Engaged Tow/Haul mode and watched it drop back into the 150's over the next hour or so. Obviously no mechanical changes, just a shifting logic change. That was on the edge of that trucks rating though (6.5k out of 7.4k rated).

IMO, heat it the #1 killer of transmissions, and the cooler you keep the fluid, the longer the transmission will last, so any opportunity to use Tow/Haul Mode is worthwhile. I will also employ the manual shifting function if available (even though GM does a piss poor job of implementing it) to keep the transmission from hunting for gears during normal driving. Usually this is at odd speeds with changing traffic patterns where I'm on/off the gas more than I would like, so I lock it down a gear and just use a few more revs for a bit.

I will keep an eye on the transmission temp next time I tow. When I towed the jet skis 3500 miles, I watched it for a little and stopped caring when I realized I could do 90mph and nothing changed temp wise lol.

 

[2kwik4u]

I will keep an eye on the transmission temp next time I tow. When I towed the jet skis 3500 miles, I watched it for a little and stopped caring when I realized I could do 90mph and nothing changed temp wise lol.

Towing Jet Ski's with a 1/2 ton pickup......I see why nothing changed. Hope you checked the trailer bearing temp periodically though.

I think the Tow/Haul Mode works better the closer you get to the rated capacity iof the tow vehicle. Probably why the Yukon showed me such a big difference (6.5k of 7.4k rated) vs the Sierra with the AR190 (3.5k of 9.1k rated). The Yukon showed little difference as well when pulling our old Rinker 182 (4.0k of 7.4k rating).

Still worthwhile to monitor temps, until you're comfortable with the setup I think. I no longer monitor the temps on the Sierra when towing. It sits around 180 or so all the time loaded or not. Just a cursory check every so often to make sure nothings wrong.

 

[Marvin willis]

I used it on my old Chevy 2500 but hated the 7 mpg towing. That’s why I bought a diesel.

 

[F.M.]

I pull a 10k enclosed trailer for work weekly. I use tow/haul when doing so. I typically lose 2-3 mpg, but the trans temp stays constant whether it's the dead of winter or the middle of the summer. Occasionally I forget to reach over to poke the button and don't notice until climbing a hill or something. When that happens the trans temp is usually 10 degrees or so higher. I assume from clutch slippage or torque converter lock up or something technical that I don't fully understand. If using it keeps the temps down and adds some mileage to the life of the trans, that's a plus.

 

[Marvin willis]

Definitely no need for tow haul. It’s embarrassing how much better this truck pulls compared to my old 6.0 2500 Chevy.

 

[PEARCE]

You think it tows our little boats around well now. Delete it and put some real weight and wind resistance like a camper and you'll be absolutely blown away by how well they work. These trucks love to run!

 

[Marvin willis]

When I first bought my boat I had a Chevy 1500 with 37s and 513 gears. I thought it was a beast til I hooked up to my boat. I was humbled. So I bought the Chevy 2500 and thought it was great until I got the new dodge. Trucks have come a long way. I’m super happy.