FourSeasons1

Hey folks, the 2014 is a new truck to me and I'm about to pull a trailer through Wyoming and CO. The trailer weight will be about 4700 lbs fully loaded and wet. I know I'm well within the towing capacity, but I'm unsure about the best way to run the vehicle when going up and down mountains in elevation. I will be using the Tow/Haul mode, I do have trailer brakes, but have any of you had experience with locking out gears? I'm guessing 6th, and even possibly 5th. I understand a good rule of thumb is that you lose 2% of power for every 1,000 feet of elevation so my 5.0 may be down 20% on power in addition to the steep hills.

Any experience anyone? Any recommendations? Thx.

redranger04g

Tow/Haul Mode and lockout 6th. Should be good to go.

BeerCan

I never towed with the 5.0 so take this with a grain of salt.
I'm not even sure you will have to lock out 6th. That is not a very heavy trailer and the truck should handle it with ease. Best to just try it and see.

redranger04g

IMO, I would definitely lock out 6th if you are towing at high altitudes with lots of hills.

BeerCan

yeah I forgot to factor in the altitude. Living in FL I tend to forget.

BRUTE448

i pulled 2K lbs or so over santiam pass in OR. i locked out 5 and 6 and let'er go in 4th as that kept me in the meat of the tq range and I could accelerate effortlessly as it was already primed to boot/ scoot and boogy in 4th gear. i probably could have let it lug in 5th gear but having the avil power on tap in 4th was nice. 3rd in a 5.0 will take you to 70mph or so, just let er' rev thats what shes made for.

Trailbreak74

Tow/haul mode for sure. Get the feel for it. Is it downshifting from 6th too often? If so lock it out. Not like the truck is going to explode if you don't preemptively lock out high gear. that's what I would do anyway.

ModelAMike

Arrived home today, We just towed a 6k trailer to Maine and back from Jupiter, Fl - 3400 miles. We had some steep hills but nothing like yours. Tow Haul proved smarter than I and on the road normal tranny position was awesome. I got tied and used speed control which was marvelous at choosing gear and maintaining speed. 2014 F150 XLT 5.0 3.31 rear....

BRUTE448

you ahould throw your input into the 15'+ sec. seems as though the 15+ guys with 5.0 and 3.31's are havin probs with pulling rated loads. seems like a factory issue , but nice to hear the prev gen can do good with the same combo

5.0GN tow

Lock out 6th for the mountain section of your trip and let the trasmission do its job. My 13 with 3.55s and the 5.0 has done very well in the steeper grades here in the east pulling 8 to 9k. The elevation out west will get you, but just let the transmission find the gear it wants.