Downhill Towing

[MTR20]

So I have a trip coming up. This trip has a pretty good up hill climb so on the way back I'm going have to come down that same grade. So I'm looking for advise. It has been a long time since I have towed downhill so I need some advise I have a 2020 F350 10 speed. Do I lock out my gears or let the exhaust breaking do it all. I want to stay off brakes as much as possible. I would like to go as slow down the grade as I went up the grade.

[Jagiven]

That F350's exhaust brake should do a great job slowing you down.

Make sure to have the trailer brake controller setting, set so the trailer slows you down when you are on the brakes.

[Marcm157]

Absolutely Exhaust brake is the way to go.

[TxLoser]

What trailer, what kind of hill? Are we talking a highway hill or a really steep hill on a secondary road. I’ve got a Chevy but on the interstate I let the transmission and exhaust brake do their thing.

On slow steep 10 mph downhill hairpins, I’ll shift manually and keep it in 1st-2nd. Requires very little braking. It really just depends on the situation.

Don’t overthink it, but be ready to intercede if the transmission and engine aren’t doing what you want. These trucks are pretty smart but they can’t see what’s ahead. They react to what’s happening now vs being proactive. As the driver, you can be proactive and set yourself up for the climb or descent ahead of time.

[Tunce the traveler]

Originally Posted by Jagiven

Make sure to have the trailer brake controller setting, set so the trailer slows you down when you are on the brakes.

X2

[NorCal Eagle]

Yep. Set the trailer brake controller appropriately before you leave. Use Tow/haul mode on the trans, exhaust brake active and let the truck do the rest.

On my 2016 I just have to tap the brake once on the downhill and the truck will downshift and get the RPMs up to get the exhaust brake effective. Works like a charm!

Probably even better on the 2020 with all those gears.

[CAG]

I can only guess with the Ford but with my Duramax I would set the cruise for 5mph less than what I wanted as a maximum speed downhill, engage the Turbo Brake (they are turbo now not exhaust brakes) and let it do it’s thing. I never had to touch anything from there on.

Mine would allow the speed to go about 5 mph above what I set so I would set it 5 below to keep from approaching a “scare” speed.

[67L48]

I can advise you by giving you advice, but nobody can give you advise.

For your 6.7 PSD, there will be an exhaust brake button on the dash. It will have two settings that you can use. One just slows you down and the other "Automatic" setting will engage as a reverse cruise control with your exhaust brake.

The exhaust brake uses gearing and back pressure to slow you down. When I go up and down the Ike Guantlet on I-70, I think I might touch my brakes once.

The Automatic setting is a tad finicky to set, but it works incredibly well. However, if there's a bunch of traffic, then I just use the normal setting. It will just slow you down gradually and will sometimes slow you down further than you wanted. Either setting will do excellent on downgrades. As I mentioned, I rarely used my brakes going down some pretty hairy 7% grades.

Don't use the cruise control, though. Cruise control will help control your speed, but it will do so by using a healthy amount of regular brakes (in conjunction with a little bit of engine braking). This is covered in your user manual.

You also don't have to lock out any gears. Your exhaust brake will do this automatically on your behalf. Super easy, barely an inconvenience.

Locking out gears is really for climbing, if you get caught in one of those tweener speeds where your transmission is searching too frequently for your liking.

(Note: I may have used exhaust brake and engine brake interchangeably above. I realize they're technically different. I can't remember what Ford calls it, but it might actually call it diesel engine-exhaust braking.)

[RogerR]

On the way up watch for good pullouts and try to mark them in advance. If you feel you might be getting towards hot brakes take a break and let them cool.

[Shokyle1]

What ever you call it. The turbo is closed down to create back pressure in the exhaust system to slow the engine. Fun fact semis also use the turbo in conjunction with the engine brakes.

[Hman0109]

You have a 2020 truck. Exhaust brake system in auto will do the trick. Technology these days is waaaaaaaaay ahead of us!
Enjoy it!

[RichCarter]

I assume you have the same transmission that my F150 has. I find that if you put it in tow-haul mode, the transmission is smart enough to downshift on the downhill grades. I was quite surprised and pleased the first time I went down a mountain road. I assumed that I'd have to manually shift to a lower gear number but there was no need to intervene.

[norty1]

This new to us 2017 we just drove on our first trip with 7% grades. It was a joy to drive downhill using the exhaust brake. I experimented with it several times and did not have to use brakes.

Of course the trailer brake controller was doing it's thing to stop the trailer.

What used to be a chore became a pleasure on this last trip.

[Silvernelle]

That was one of the things I had to learn about. I agree with all of the above recommendations, and just in case you didn't know..when letting the truck do the work to keep your speed under control the engine can sound frightfully loud. I have been assured this is normal, and today's engines can do that all day long.



I noticed one reference to I70. That one has some interesting ups then downs, real fast. My transmission got stuck there once. Nowhere else though. Love that tow/haul feature!!


Just thought I'd mention it.


Happy trails!!