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Old 03-01-2018, 12:22 AM   #1
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Tow Mode or Manual Shifting

I have a 2014 Four Winds 22E Chevy chassis. I have been reading a bunch about towing. A lot of people either have tow mode on when going uphill and down hill, some have it on all the time and some use manual shift mode when in the hills. I am curious to hear what people in this forum do.

THanks

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Old 03-01-2018, 12:32 AM   #2
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My 2018 Outlaw 29H has it, and I use it when descending steep hills.
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Old 03-01-2018, 01:44 AM   #3
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had 1 ton chevy 6.0 and 4l80 pulling a heavy trailer, leave tow mode on all the time, 210k miles no trans problems, let the trans do the shifting. except going up a very long grade drop to 1;1 ration hit the torque peak on the motor, let the converter lock up and you will go up the hill with ease
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Old 03-01-2018, 04:38 AM   #4
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Don't have a MH, but always towing my 5er in tow/haul mode & can still do the manual shifts if necessary. The advantage of the exhaust brake on the diesel is with it engaged, tow/haul mode on very rarely do I have to do more than tap the brake pedal to activate both when going down a steep grade.
In my opinion if you're cruising on a long relatively flat stretch of highway no tow/haul needed, if in heavy traffic or up/down terrain turn it on.
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Old 03-01-2018, 05:02 AM   #5
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I use tow/haul in the hills. I don’t use it on long flat roads.
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Old 03-01-2018, 12:01 PM   #6
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I use Tow mode when hilly of city driving. On flat roads I turn it off. I also have 5 Star Tuning, this helps the shifting.
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Old 03-01-2018, 01:03 PM   #7
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I live in mountainous area. I use tow/haul but no cruise control when climbing. I do use the cruise sometime descending. I use em both in level or rolling terrain.
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Old 03-02-2018, 02:27 AM   #8
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You didn't say what you were towing. If you are pulling weight near your capacity, leaving the Tow mode on might be a good idea. I use Tow/Haul only on bigger hills up and more often on steeper or longer hills down. Using that feature cuts down on riding the brakes. Those brake pads won't overheat and they'll last longer.
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Old 03-02-2018, 02:54 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by Mr Sunshine View Post
You didn't say what you were towing. If you are pulling weight near your capacity, leaving the Tow mode on might be a good idea. I use Tow/Haul only on bigger hills up and more often on steeper or longer hills down. Using that feature cuts down on riding the brakes. Those brake pads won't overheat and they'll last longer.
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Old 03-02-2018, 04:28 AM   #10
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also dump the dex-cool and add regular antifreeze, the dex-col plugs the radiator,
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Old 03-02-2018, 11:53 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by captmetal View Post
also dump the dex-cool and add regular antifreeze, the dex-col plugs the radiator,
Where did that come from????
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Old 03-02-2018, 03:38 PM   #12
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Not sure on your chevy but on the new ford E series at least 2016 and newer the tow mode is great for hills. If you tap the break petal it will down shift 1 gear. tap again down another gear..... Also very helpful for stopping as well because you use your breaks and engine to slow down. I would use it all the time but my MPG suffers with it on.

My 2011 F250 does the same.
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Old 03-02-2018, 06:06 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tfryman View Post
Where did that come from????
He must know something that we don't...
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Old 03-02-2018, 06:15 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by gentilebrian View Post
Not sure on your chevy but on the new ford E series at least 2016 and newer the tow mode is great for hills. If you tap the break petal it will down shift 1 gear. tap again down another gear..... Also very helpful for stopping as well because you use your breaks and engine to slow down. I would use it all the time but my MPG suffers with it on.

My 2011 F250 does the same.
That would be brakes and pedal. No broken flowers around here.
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Old 03-02-2018, 07:11 PM   #15
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"Spill Czech" isn't really all that smart; is it?
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Old 03-02-2018, 08:38 PM   #16
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I don't think I have ever used tow/haul for uphill grades (Usually find the gear that keeps me in the powerband because I don't like to really wind it out), even when towing my boat that is significantly heavier than the toad (Jeep 2 door) but I use it all the time when going down steep grades, the brake and downshift is nice. Try them both ways and use what you the mode you like best.
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