Tow/Haul Mode?

[houstonshark]

Both my 2011 Supercrew F150 Ecoboost and my 2008 Escalade 6.2L (403hp) have a tow/haul mode. Both seem to tow my new RZR without struggling at all with the tow/haul off. The Escalade especially holds the gears for a really long time in tow/haul mode.

Am I causing a lot of stress on the tranny and/or torque convertor if I pull my boat with the tow/haul off?

[bspot]

For the Denali,Not at all, just watch your tranmission temps. You will probably not find much difference in tow/haul and out. As for the Ford, I hope you bought the extended warranty

[tnvolgrad]

I have a 2011 Escalade and a 2011 F-150 Platinum with the 5.4L - for the Escalade the only value I have found in tow mode is the ease on the brakes. The brakes seem a little soft and undersizes for 22" wheel number one and for towing 6000 lbs.+ of weight number two. I barely feel the boat behind me from a powertrain perspective.

The tow mode on the F-150 actually works pretty well especially when descending. As far as the transmission goes I would agree you have nothing to worry about on the Escalade. For the Ford - well it is a Ford and if you are traveling up and down hills/tow alot it certainly does not extend the life of the tranny. You are way under the tow rating of the vehicle to begin with, so I would say it is probably not that big of a deal unless you tow up and down hills the majority of your travels.

[bman-]

I have noticed with my Ford (2011 with Eccoboost) that it will not drop into 6th gear very often. Prefers to stay in 5th up to 65 MPH or so. I don't tow the boat any faster.

I have had three F250's (1 x 7.3, 2 x 6.0) and one F350 6.4L, and although those trucks towed a lot heavier weight, I have been truly impressed with the towing ability of that 3.5L Eccoboost.

[Wakeman22]

You should be able to feel how the trans is doing. With tow/haul on the gear will hold longer before shifting and will also work as a brake to help slow down the vehicle and load. That is the way it is designed. Now if when not engaged the trans shifts up and down a lot or you feel the engine is bogging down then you should engage it.

Glad to hear you drive and love your Fords.

[What she said]

Your trans will run cooler in tow/haul. I always towed in tow/haul with half tons, but not so much in my Diesel- unless towing over 10k lbs

[Dave S]

HoustonShark, I have an 11' EB 4x4 3.73 gears. I rarely use tow/haul when towing around houston or to Texas Tige. When we go north to the Trinity or out west to Lake Travis I use it in the hills. We towed 3,000 miles last summer on a cross-country trip and I only used tow/haul mode in the mountains of Tenn. Va. and Pa. Mainly, tow/haul will let your engine rev higher before shifting and then also implements a trans brake when slowing. I drive fairly conservative for Hosuton when towing so the higher shifts don't seem to be needed in the flat lands. Then with the trans brake on in tow/haul mode, you also lose the coasting feature which helps with mpg's if you care about that?