Cruise control or not?

[JTCooper]

I tow a 27.5RLTS EagleHT with a 2012 F250 6.7PSD, i always use my haul/tow mode, but have been experimenting with the cruise control especially when on flat roads or interstates. Seems to work ok but wanted some others input on it. Usually set cruise at 70mph on Iowa interstates. Any input will be nice.

[jlechmanik]

I use my cruise control on flat roads. But 65mph max. Usually 62 or 63.... My driving is between Oregon, Wyoming and Colorado. Cruise off on hills....

[RogerR]

I have tried cruise on hills and it over revs the engine. So only on flat, light traffic areas at 65 or so. Much better mpg than 70 and only adds a few minutes a day.

[ttavasc]

With our smaller, lighter camper cruise control works great in conjunction with Tow/Haul. I just set it at 62 and let it go. On the flats it will yield around 12-12.5mpg. It will solidly downshift for hills and at times I'll lock the gear in until cresting the hill. On the steeper down hill sections I set it 5mph below the desired speed and the engine pretty much holds it to the desired speed without having to hit the brakes.

I do avoid it if there is heavier traffic or other conditions where it makes sense to leave it off. Just got back from a shorter mid-week trip where I didn't use it due to recall notification I got earlier in the week. Hard to say whether or not it affected mpg but I did miss it... Hopefully I can get it run through the dealer for the remediation before our next trip as it's a long one.

[oldmanAZ]

Like the previous posters, I use cruise control in tow/haul when towing at about 62mph on flat stretches. If I go faster, then the mpg suffers.

I really try to take it out of cruise control before a trans downshift - I cringe when the trans down shifts when towing. Of course my trans has over 350,000mi and I try to be kind to it.

[2edgesword]

I didn’t use cruise control with my 1/2 ton truck because we were towing near the limit of its capacity and it struggled under the load. With my F-250 pulling a TT significant below its maximum capacity I use cruise control all the time.

[John from Central Florida]

I use tow/haul mode always when towing; cruise control always as well, except in the mountains.

[DonaandDon]

Pretty sure the owners manual will warn you not to use cruse control on hills and wet roads. Yes it will over rev your engine and possibly cause the compressor to max out and "power down" the engine. Don't ask me how I know this...

[Mustang65]

Originally Posted by JTCooper

Usually set cruise at 70mph on Iowa interstates. Any input will be nice.

My first question is what is the MAX speed indicated on the TT tires you have? Mine are rated at 65MPH. Odds are it is 65, unless you upgraded and I would actually verify that.

As for cruise control, I put it in Tow-Haul mode and cruise at 62, with the 3:73 axle ratio it hums along at about 1500RPMS.

Don

My Registry

RVing with SOLAR

[norty1]

Every truck will perform differently depending on many factors. When you tow a lot, you will soon know how your truck wants to do it's best.

We often take ours out of tow/haul when stuck on a flat back road where we can't get up enough speed to get it to upshift from lower gears. Same when in hilly country with cruise. I can tell when to get out of cruise when it starts down shifting.

Going uphill when the turbo kicks in, one of our dogs start howling.

[Kim Gass]

Originally Posted by DonaandDon

Pretty sure the owners manual will warn you not to use cruse control on hills and wet roads. Yes it will over rev your engine and possibly cause the compressor to max out and "power down" the engine. Don't ask me how I know this...

Cruise control use on wet surfaces is deadly.. And it does cause over revving. Because its often wet here even from fog and its is hilly we never use it.

[01tundra]

Unless it's raining our cruise control is typically always in use while travelling on the interstate or highways.

Hit the tow/haul mode, engage the exhaust brake, set the cruise control and let the truck do its thing, keeps us dead on set speed on flat ground, pulling steep grades and descending steep grades. No high revs and typically no downshifting.

[01tundra]

Originally Posted by DonaandDon

Pretty sure the owners manual will warn you not to use cruse control on hills and wet roads. Yes it will over rev your engine and possibly cause the compressor to max out and "power down" the engine. Don't ask me how I know this...

Depends on the vehicle, our owner's manual encourages using cruise control when conditions allow to take advantage of grade braking and it works really good. It does warn against using CC on wet roads.

"Vehicles with a diesel engine have Cruise Grade Braking enabled when Tow/Haul Mode is on, the exhaust brake is on,or both are on"

[Siamese]

With our rig, a '17 Ford F-150, 3.5 EcoBoost and 10 speed transmission towing a 26BH TT, cruise control in tow mode is the way to go. The transmission makes excellent decisions, and never forgets. On downgrades, it will downshift appropriately to provide some engine braking. All in all, a brilliant system that we use regularly.

The only time I'll override it is in hilly country with no traffic behind me. Instead of maintaining my 62mph, I may let the truck slow down to mid or lower 50's toward the crest of a hill, and pick it's speed back up as we go down the other side of the hill. That's just to save on fuel.

[sasiki]

My 2010 F-150 5.4L seems to downshift less at highway speed when using cruise control so I do use it when conditions allow me to hold 62-65 mph for extended periods of time.

[DNelson]

I always use Tow Haul (isn't that we are doing with a trailer???) and have cruise control on except when wet or hills that cause too much downshifting. LIke Siamese if traffic allows it I just hold the throttle steady and let the truck/trailer slow down. My 6.4 Ram 2500 likes either 62 mph or 27 mph. I mostly run 62.

[SOMBATFAMILY]

Cruise control on anytime I can go at a steady speed without running into another vehicle, towing or not. I also have 6 speed automatic transmission so I never have to change gears. Set it on D and good to go. 65mph towing RPM is between 1800 and 4200.

[Bassdogs]

Originally Posted by 2edgesword

I didn’t use cruise control with my 1/2 ton truck because we were towing near the limit of its capacity and it struggled under the load. With my F-250 pulling a TT significant below its maximum capacity I use cruise control all the time.

X2. We upgraded from a 1500 to a 2500HD and are well under the max capacities. 70 is too fast to pull an RV unless you have tires that are graded at that speed. I tow at 60 and get to my destination in plenty of time.

[Vaquero]

The Detroit engineers are way smarter than me.
They can't see the downhill run, nor the uphill climb in front of me.
I use cruise and love it.
I give it some help too.

[Chet & Marie]

We have a 2014 Silverado 2wd 5.3 V8 pulling a 23 rlsw Jay Feather. We use the tow/haul mode, turn of the traction control(2 chev dealer's advice) and use cruise control on long flat hauls. No problems at 60-62mph for two years and 11,000 miles. About 10-12 mpg depending upon winds.