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05-03-2014, 05:00 AM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 227
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Overdrive on or off?
When pulling the TT, should the "Overdrive" be on or off? Thank you!
FYI....2003 Ford Expedition
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05-03-2014, 05:58 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 9,770
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Off. OD does not allow enough torque to be used to pull your trailer. You will put a lot of strain on the transmission and engine and over heating them resulting in premature failures. OD is for everyday driving not towing. If your transmission is searching for the right gear, then you need to manually downshift and limit the use of the top gears.
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05-03-2014, 07:54 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Southern Indiana
Posts: 3,208
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Meadows11
When pulling the TT, should the "Overdrive" be on or off? Thank you!
FYI....2003 Ford Expedition
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If your Expedition has the tow/haul feature I would suggest using that. If not, no OD except on flat terrain with the wind at your back. The 6 speed transmission in my F-250 will shift into 6th gear on flat terrain while in tow/haul above 60mph.
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2012 Eagle 320 RLDS
2017 Ford F-250 FX4 Crew STX 6.2l
3.73 E-locker
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05-03-2014, 11:27 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: da U.P.
Posts: 352
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It depends on the vehicle, there really isn't a clear cut answer.
Since you have a gas engine, I'd have to say at least leave the OD off in hilly terrain. If you are driving on flatter terrain, you may be able to use OD. The truck will tell you to use a lower gear by wanting to 'hunt' between a lower gear and OD. If it wants to hunt, then hold it to the lower gear manually.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TCNASHVILLE
If your Expedition has the tow/haul feature I would suggest using that. If not, no OD except on flat terrain with the wind at your back. The 6 speed transmission in my F-250 will shift into 6th gear on flat terrain while in tow/haul above 60mph.
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The 6 speed Allison in my 2011 GMC Duramax also will not shift to and stay in 6th gear OD while in tow mode until 60 mph or so. But it will hold 6th gear OD below 60 mph while not on tow mode.
What I do is get the rig rolling in tow mode. Towing mode on my truck locks the torque converter sooner than normal. Once my Edge Insight CTS tells me the torque converter is locked (about 20 mph), I take it out of tow mode so the gears shift sooner. The engine makes gobs o' torque and has no problem pulling my 8000ish lbs loaded trailer. The Edge Insight also will monitor trans fluid temp and instantaneous mpg. The trans fluid temps stay low and the mph is better when I drop out of tow mode and use 6th gear OD at highway speed. If I encounter a uphill grade where the transmission does want to downshift or hunt between 5th & 6th, I can manually hold it in 5th gear which also is an OD gear.
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Kent
FAA licensed A&P aircraft mechanic, ex-RV dealer parts dept
Retired B-52 Gunner/Flight Examiner, B-52 Crew Chief
2016 Jayco Eagle HT 29.5 FBDS w/ 15,000 BTU AC, 50 amp service, upgraded counter top, thermal pane windows, elec. stab jacks, outside grill, backup camera and MORryde pin box.
2011 GMC 2500HD DURAMAX/ ALLISON
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05-03-2014, 11:59 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: SW Ontario
Posts: 1,393
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The bottom line is, you must be in a gear which allows the engine to be turning at sufficient RPM to avoid "lugging" or laboring the engine. Lugging will blow up your engine real quick. The tow-haul mode keeps the engine in this slightly higher rpm range. If you don't have tow-haul, then yes avoid OD.
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2013 Jayco Eagle 31.5RLDS
2018 Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
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05-03-2014, 11:02 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: North Idaho/Arizona
Posts: 5,446
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My Dodge will tow in 6th gear with tow/haul engaged. I usually tow in 5th which is also an OD gear. I get better fuel mileage in 5th gear and the engine runs cooler on the pyrometer. When towing I always use tow/haul. Unless I am going down hill, 6th gear just seems to make the engine work harder. I have 3:73 gears.
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2011 Eagle 330RLTS with just about every option.
2017 Silverado 1500 4x4 5.3 with tow package. (no, we don't tow the Jayco with it.)
2018 Surveyor 265RLDS well equipped.
Life in the slow lane is still life.
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05-04-2014, 06:59 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Forest
Posts: 634
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Mine is off unless in the flatlands.
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05-05-2014, 08:07 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: SE Wisconsin
Posts: 3,431
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No overdrive. Ever. The little bit of fuel you save isn't going to pay for a rebuilt transmission. If your TV has a trans temp gauge keep an eye on it. If not, its a cheap mod that may save you money in the future.
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Chuck
2013 Jayco Jayfeather X20 E (sold)
2016 Chevy Silverado LTZ 2 Z71 Crew Cab (sold, and dearly missed)
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05-05-2014, 09:28 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Ortonville, MI
Posts: 123
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If you have a tow haul put it there and forget about it. That's what it is there for. If you don't have a tow/haul mode then no OD.
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2018 GMC 2500 Duramax
2014 White hawk 28DSBH
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05-05-2014, 10:27 AM
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#10
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Johnsonville
Posts: 56
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There is no reason you can't tow in overdrive, unless it is frequently shifting in and out of overdrive.
Ford says you can tow in overdrive. It's in the owner's manual for the 99-03 4r100 tranny, others use tow/haul if available
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Jayco 32bhds
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05-05-2014, 10:29 AM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Los Lunas, New Mexico
Posts: 3,766
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Lots of opinions on this one. So what I am gleaning from all this is OD is okay if you have it in tow/haul.
Or... is it never use OD when you are towing?? Hard on tranny.
Or...
Now I'm really confused.
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2018 Eagle HT 26.5 RLDS. SOLD
2009 F150 Supercab UNICORN, 5.4L ,3.73, HD and Max Tow Packages, Timbrens, Bilstein shocks.
Wet bolt kit. Andersen Ultimate 20K hitch. TST 507RV TPMS. Hydro Life HL-200. 16" Goodyear Endurance. Progressive EMS. SteadyFast Stabilizers. Furion backup camera.
Best friend wife, Di, and dog Cooper. RETIRED
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05-05-2014, 10:34 AM
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#12
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Johnsonville
Posts: 56
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Use OD unless tranny is hunting for gears.
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Jayco 32bhds
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05-05-2014, 11:43 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: NC
Posts: 974
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When I pulled with gas I never used OD. On many newer trucks you have a transmission temp gage. If you have that gage it will help you decide how to use your rpm's to keep things cooler. When I was towing with my F150 I would program out 6'th gear and put it in tow/haul and go. Watching the trans temp in gage mode convinced me that was a good decision.
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2016 36FBTS Pinnacle
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05-05-2014, 02:46 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 968
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1wayhighway
If you have a tow haul put it there and forget about it. That's what it is there for. If you don't have a tow/haul mode then no OD.
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This! ^^^
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05-05-2014, 02:56 PM
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#15
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Johnsonville
Posts: 56
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Driving With An Automatic
Overdrive Transmission
With certain automatic overdrive transmissions,
towing – especially in hilly areas – may cause
excessive shifting between overdrive and the next
lower gear.
– To eliminate this condition and achieve steadier
performance, overdrive can be locked out (see
vehicle Owner's Manual)
– If excessive shifting does not occur, use overdrive
to optimize fuel economy
– Overdrive may also be locked out to obtain
engine braking on downgrades
– When available, select Tow/Haul Mode to
automatically eliminate unwanted gear search
and help control vehicle speed when going downhill.
Straight from the Expy manual.
http://www.ford.com/resources/ford/g...expedition.pdf
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Jayco 32bhds
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05-05-2014, 06:50 PM
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#16
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Finger Lakes of NY
Posts: 89
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I tow 5000# with a 5.7 ram. 5 and 6 are both overdrive gears. I will use 5 if I am on a long level or downgrade. I most often just use Tow/Haul and 4th gear.
5th gear at 62MPH I turn about 1900 RPMs, 4th gear about 2200. Rig is much more responsive in 4th at 2200.
On a recent 1800 mile trip my lie o meter gave me .2 better mileage in 4th and the tranny ran 10 to 15 degrees cooler.
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05-05-2014, 08:03 PM
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#17
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: da U.P.
Posts: 352
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Like I said:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tail_gunner
It depends on the vehicle, there really isn't a clear cut answer.
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I think the closer you are to the towing limit of your tow vehicle the greater chance of having to be in tow mode or lock out OD. In my case, I am only a little more than halfway to my towing capacity. So I can tow in 6th gear/OD all day without the truck breaking a sweat. But a half ton truck truck pulling near it's towing limit will have to work harder.
__________________
Kent
FAA licensed A&P aircraft mechanic, ex-RV dealer parts dept
Retired B-52 Gunner/Flight Examiner, B-52 Crew Chief
2016 Jayco Eagle HT 29.5 FBDS w/ 15,000 BTU AC, 50 amp service, upgraded counter top, thermal pane windows, elec. stab jacks, outside grill, backup camera and MORryde pin box.
2011 GMC 2500HD DURAMAX/ ALLISON
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05-05-2014, 08:26 PM
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#18
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Ortonville, MI
Posts: 123
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I had no idea how our truck was going to pull in the hills let alone on the flats. After a couple hours pulling on our first trip I figured out that 5th worked best (no shifting up or down) and this kept the tranny temp the same as if I wasn't pulling. Daytripper quoted the manual and that's the best guide, after that you just have to pull your TT and see how your vehicle does.
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2018 GMC 2500 Duramax
2014 White hawk 28DSBH
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05-07-2014, 09:23 PM
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#19
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: White Rock, BC. Canada
Posts: 374
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I tow with a 2003 Expedition and it depends on the speed, hills and head winds. At 50-60 mph I turn it off. From 60-65 I turn it back on. The torque peak is at 2500 on the 5.4 so the closer you are to that the better it pulls.
Do you have the towing package? If not you may have the 3.55 gears instead of the 3.73 which means you'll definitely want it off.
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]2013 Jay Feather X213
2003 Ford Expedition
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05-11-2014, 06:58 PM
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#20
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Saskatoon Sask Canada
Posts: 10,726
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Use OD with tow haul engaged... IF the transmission starts to hunt for a gear.. shifting up and down.. THEN manually downshift it,
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Seann
2004 Chev Silverado Duramax optioned past the max. 2009 Jayco Eagle 308 RLS 900watts of solar, Lithium batteries (400amp hour), 2000 watt (4000 surge) whole house inverter.
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