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Elite Veteran
Posts: 762
  
Location: NC | How do people use the tow/haul button on their trucks when hauling?
Back info: 2 weeks ago while hauling home from a clinic my trucks transmission went. (would not shift, and tranny temp kept going up) Thankfully had a friend ahead of me with room on her trailer and she took my horses home. We then waited 4 hours for tow truck (think he wanted to miss NYC traffic, but thats another story LOL). Anyway tow truck driver made a comment that whenever we were hauling to put tow/haul on. I was always taught that tow/haul went on when climbing a hill/mountain and i was heavy, not driving down the interstate. So figured I would ask.
Oh and its a 2006 chevy silverado 3500 dually that was pulling a 2 horse aluminum bp with 2 horses. 2 people in truck, and minimal clothes. 1 bale of hay in back and 2 saddles and accessories
Thank you! |
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 I Want a "MAN"
Posts: 3610
 
Location: MD | It's there to help your truck out. Use it always when your trailer is hooked up not just for mountains and hills. Your story is the exact reason why you use tow haul. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 617
Location: London Ontario | I agree, we always use it. The hubby is a diesel mechanic and is very particular about "procedures" when we haul. We always use tow/haul, we make sure to let the truck warm up at least 20 minutes before leaving, as well as letting the truck cool down when stopping. We also try not to shut the truck off if we are just stopping for fuel or food. We also make sure not to let it go under 1/4 if at all possible. He is also pretty good at checking the truck and trailer over before I leave no matter the distance. If the brakes/tires/anything looks like they are wearing down, he fixes/changes it for me. He also makes sure I am topped up on all fluid. They are expensive toys along with our horses so we try to take care of them as much as possible. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 762
Location: NC | CE's wrapn3 - 2015-05-04 1:42 PM
It's there to help your truck out. Use it always when your trailer is hooked up not just for mountains and hills. Your story is the exact reason why you use tow haul.
Not to be rude, but I've only had this truck a year. It was bought used. Have no idea what it did before i bought it. This was the 1st time it had been anywhere other then local (40 miles and less) with 2 horses. My other truck I never had an issue and it to was bought used and was driven up and down from NY to Tn and back twice, plus ton of other adventures. But thank you for your response. |
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Location: Texas | I always use the tow/haul button when I'm pulling any kind of trailer, cattle trailer or LQ horse trailer, loaded and unloaded, which is 99% of the time.
You are right though, it should also be used with or without a trailer in higher altitudes. |
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Location: Texas | MC1993 - 2015-05-04 12:47 PM I agree, we always use it. The hubby is a diesel mechanic and is very particular about "procedures" when we haul. We always use tow/haul, we make sure to let the truck warm up at least 20 minutes before leaving, as well as letting the truck cool down when stopping. We also try not to shut the truck off if we are just stopping for fuel or food. We also make sure not to let it go under 1/4 if at all possible. He is also pretty good at checking the truck and trailer over before I leave no matter the distance. If the brakes/tires/anything looks like they are wearing down, he fixes/changes it for me. He also makes sure I am topped up on all fluid. They are expensive toys along with our horses so we try to take care of them as much as possible.
Honestly those are great tips for any type of vehicle, especially diesels.
We always give our pickup trucks and big trucks plenty of time to warm up, we also don't turn the pickups off until we reach out destination. The big trucks on the other hand will run for days without being turned off. Air filters are another small thing that can help or hurt your trucks a lot! |
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 Cute Little Imp
Posts: 2747
Location: N Texas | If there is a trailer on my truck, tow/haul is on. The only time I've left it off is when I have a TINY cargo trailer. Even then, I've only done that a couple of times. |
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 Veteran
Posts: 212
| I have always wondered about this too... I had friends that tell me its only for city driving, ones that said uphill, ones that said never... I finally realized my new truck gets better gas mileage with it on, so I guess its a win win  |
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Location: Texas | It doesn't hurt to have it on at all... |
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 Leggs
Posts: 4680
Location: lexington KY | If there is trailer hooked to my truck, the tow/haul is on. |
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 Undercover Amish Mafia Member
Posts: 9992
Location: Kansas | I have a chip in my truck, so I just use the performance hauling mode with the chip. I don't use towhaul on the truck. |
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 Good Grief!
Posts: 6343
Location: Cap'n Joan Rotgut.....alberta | Mine doesnt have tow haul..;)M |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 600
Location: Oklahoma & Texas | I always use it.. regardless but i have a 3h w/an 8 ft LQ... that being said.. your bumper pull w/2horses and aluminum at that - shouldn't have stressed the tranny much.. even if doing a lot of up and down shifting.. sooo yea thats odd.. but you're right buying used there's no telling what happened to the tranny before you had it - howeve ryou would have noticed something before now if something was wrong with it.. best thing you can do for your engine and trans - is allow proper warm up time - dont put it in gear til its done warming up when the engine down cycles and then dont change gears without being completely stopped nor take off until your trans has had a time to engage so you know when you move the shifter from park to drive and you hear/feel it change - wait until that is completely done before pressing the gas pedal... cause otherwise parts are moving inside and if you hit the gas they are not fully in place.. a transmission is a seriest of teeth basically like gears and they thread together - so the more you shift or move w/o it being ready the moer they grind down til eventually they dont work no more.. or they get so thin from grinding they break off and hence you cannot shift to either a specifc gear or any gear. usually a gear or two will go out before they all will.. OH and dont ever shift into reverse while moving forward.. get to a complete stop before reversing and vice versa if you are moving backward do not shift to a forward gear til you are completely stopped.
If you have any sort of extended warranty you may be covered - also make sure you didn't hit anything - sometimes you can hit something w/your driveshaft or undercarriage or bottom out maybe if you get stuck and because the lower portions of transmissions tend to be aluminum they can break easy and dmg that way.. or driveshafts can be jammed up into them... just a thought.. |
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What Name?
Posts: 1994
| Funny story. I actually hauled with my brothers big new dodge yesterday. He never mentioned the tow/haul button to me. I noticed about halfway through the haul it was having a hard time changing gears ( i've driven mostly manual trans vehicles so its very noticeable to me ) ... lol my co-pilot was like.. you have the T/H button on.? I was like.oooops. |
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 Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | I have a manual trasmission on my 96 7.3L F250 and she has over 250k miles so I don't have tow/haul on my personal truck when hauling to local events lol. But my SO rebuilt the transmission/engine when we got her to prevent it from having any major issues. When I tow farther out I use my dad's truck. It's a fully deleted 2013 F250 6.4L with 120k+ miles on the engine/tranny and a programmer so I don't use tow/haul on it either. I never haul on performance tho. Dad does but I'm always scared to turn it all the way up since his trucks head isn't studded yet. I haul one click down from performance mode and it does just fine for me. SO said it was safe to do so I can always blame him if anything happens to my Dad's truck while hauling haha.
I pull a 32ft aluminum shell stock trailer with one or two horses plus hay/feed/water/clothing. Never had a problem yet.
When my SO (Heavy diesel mechanic) pulls anything with his 2014 dodge 1500 he uses tow/haul all the time when pulling. He pulls his dirtbikes a lot and car hauler a lot too. His truck is bagged for a bumper pull horse trailer but he's yet to pull the horses with it. But I guarentee he will always have it in tow/haul mode if he ever pulls the horses for me.
It gives the truck extra gears from what I understand about his hour long description about tow/haul LOL
But at the same time, tow/haul being on or off won't save a transmission that has a certain amount of miles/wear and tear/ and lack of general maint. or one that is overheating from going out. Transmissions need general service just like engines:) Not saying you neglected it by any means please don't misunderstand me!! I simply mean, if it's an older truck, the previous owners didn't take care of it, or it has a certain amount of miles, nothing will stop it from giving out. Unless you have it serviced for preventative measures:)
Good luck to you!! |
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 Expert
Posts: 1395
Location: Missouri | We use tow/haul all the time, anytime a trailer is hooked to the truck. Save for like a teeny tiny trailer hauling a ride in mower or something. |
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 Tough Patooty
Posts: 2615
Location: Sperry, OK | Any time my truck is hooked to anything, trailer, boat, camper .... anything no matter how light/heavy, my tow haul is on. If it is heavy enough, I can turn my overdrive all the way off on mine, so that is what I do when warrented. |
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Tough Patooty
Posts: 2615
Location: Sperry, OK | IRunOnFaith - 2015-05-04 4:01 PM I have a manual trasmission on my 96 7.3L F250 and she has over 250k miles so I don't have tow/haul on my personal truck when hauling to local events lol. But my SO rebuilt the transmission/engine when we got her to prevent it from having any major issues. When I tow farther out I use my dad's truck. It's a fully deleted 2013 F250 6.4L with 120k+ miles on the engine/tranny and a programmer so I don't use tow/haul on it either. I never haul on performance tho. Dad does but I'm always scared to turn it all the way up since his trucks head isn't studded yet. I haul one click down from performance mode and it does just fine for me. SO said it was safe to do so I can always blame him if anything happens to my Dad's truck while hauling haha.
I pull a 32ft aluminum shell stock trailer with one or two horses plus hay/feed/water/clothing. Never had a problem yet.
When my SO (Heavy diesel mechanic) pulls anything with his 2014 dodge 1500 he uses tow/haul all the time when pulling. He pulls his dirtbikes a lot and car hauler a lot too. His truck is bagged for a bumper pull horse trailer but he's yet to pull the horses with it. But I guarentee he will always have it in tow/haul mode if he ever pulls the horses for me.
It gives the truck extra gears from what I understand about his hour long description about tow/haul LOL
But at the same time, tow/haul being on or off won't save a transmission that has a certain amount of miles/wear and tear/ and lack of general maint. or one that is overheating from going out. Transmissions need general service just like engines:) Not saying you neglected it by any means please don't misunderstand me!! I simply mean, if it's an older truck, the previous owners didn't take care of it, or it has a certain amount of miles, nothing will stop it from giving out. Unless you have it serviced for preventative measures:)
Good luck to you!!
It doesn't give it extra gears, just lowers your gear ratio so it pulls longer in each gear before shifting, to not wear out the bands in the transmission. |
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 Total Germophobe
Posts: 6443
Location: Montana | On an automatic, ALWAYS put it on. You will (as it appear have learned ) burn up a transmission eventually, and usually sooner than later (our friend did it on a SINGLE trip by not pulling his rig out of over-drive...never hauled before and never had a problem). That is why they put that button on there. Another person we know had to put a new transmission in their 2006 Dodge Cummins 3/4 ton because of the same reason...it is a very exspensive for such an easy little button to push. |
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Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | ACEINTHEHOLE - 2015-05-04 4:07 PM IRunOnFaith - 2015-05-04 4:01 PM I have a manual trasmission on my 96 7.3L F250 and she has over 250k miles so I don't have tow/haul on my personal truck when hauling to local events lol. But my SO rebuilt the transmission/engine when we got her to prevent it from having any major issues. When I tow farther out I use my dad's truck. It's a fully deleted 2013 F250 6.4L with 120k+ miles on the engine/tranny and a programmer so I don't use tow/haul on it either. I never haul on performance tho. Dad does but I'm always scared to turn it all the way up since his trucks head isn't studded yet. I haul one click down from performance mode and it does just fine for me. SO said it was safe to do so I can always blame him if anything happens to my Dad's truck while hauling haha.
I pull a 32ft aluminum shell stock trailer with one or two horses plus hay/feed/water/clothing. Never had a problem yet.
When my SO (Heavy diesel mechanic) pulls anything with his 2014 dodge 1500 he uses tow/haul all the time when pulling. He pulls his dirtbikes a lot and car hauler a lot too. His truck is bagged for a bumper pull horse trailer but he's yet to pull the horses with it. But I guarentee he will always have it in tow/haul mode if he ever pulls the horses for me.
It gives the truck extra gears from what I understand about his hour long description about tow/haul LOL
But at the same time, tow/haul being on or off won't save a transmission that has a certain amount of miles/wear and tear/ and lack of general maint. or one that is overheating from going out. Transmissions need general service just like engines:) Not saying you neglected it by any means please don't misunderstand me!! I simply mean, if it's an older truck, the previous owners didn't take care of it, or it has a certain amount of miles, nothing will stop it from giving out. Unless you have it serviced for preventative measures:)
Good luck to you!!
Thank you! I only halfway paid attention to his answer lol |
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