Truck owner

I had a Super Duty before and never had any issue towing my bass boat and every now and then on occasion would put in OD lockout or Tow/Haul mode. This new 2013 Ecoboost with the Max Tow 3.73 rear. This can tow 11,100 pounds. My bass boat is around 3,000lbs+, mainly on flat terrain, and occasional small hill. For those guys who tow alot do you push the tow/haul button for this kind of load or do you just drive normally and let the low end torque and transmission do the work? I havent hooked boat up yet (too cold) But will be on the next warm spell. Any thoughts on towing with this truck?

Centexguy

Tow/haul and leave it alone. That's why it's there.

jcain

its a preference. i never t/h`d till i was 5k plus and felt the shifting was too lazy for tugging the load

Buck50HD

Haven't used tow/haul yet and I tow an 8k 5th. I just lock it out of 6th and go. Manual says not to use tow/haul unless you are in really hilly terrain or mountains. When I head out west, I'll give it a try.

Edit: forgot to say that you won't need to lock out 6th. It might downshift to 5th on a hill but that's it. Just let it do it's thing.

brucesears

Mine doesn't have the max tow, I've used both the T/H mode and and normal mode and can't tell any difference other than it stays in one gear a little longer before it upshifts to the next in T/H. My boat is only 18.5 ft and not that heavy. I have used the T/H in Colorado mountains and it does keep it from shifting a little.

Kenneth Forbus

Personally would not use tow/haul unless transmission was having issues keeping up. Usually you'll notice the transmission keep unlocking the torque converter to build rpms. If it starts doing that then I would push it. I tow a similar weight bass boat in South Georgia which has flat terrain and have never had to use it.

EcoboostKev

Not sure where you read in the owners manual about not using tow/haul unless in hilly terrain or mountains? My manual says to use it whenever towing. It reads and i quote- Improves transmission operation when towing a trailer or heavy load. Tow/Haul delays upshifts which assists in transmission cooling and also to reduce frequency of transmission shifting. Tow/haul also provides engine breaking in all forward gears.
I'm towing about the same weight as you and I use tow/ haul everytime i hook up. I also lockout 6th gear when I'm in hilly terrain. I will admit since it's just a little V6 the engine breaking is a joke when descending down a steep grade. Just out of curiosity what temp does your trans run at while towing if your not using tow/haul?? The hottest my trans has seen is 203 degrees on a long 6-7% climb. Most of the time its right at 195 degrees.
Kevin

Truck owner

so some use tow/haul and some dont. If things are flat shouldnt the truck know when to shift. I had OD lockout on my 02 SD but it had a 4 sp trans and only locked out 4th gear and made truck run higher rpms and drank fuel. If i hit the tow/haul on this ecoboost will i notice it run different and same engine high rpms between shifts or does it just lock out 6th gear?

Buck50HD

I thought it said it wasn't necessary if on flat terrain. Guess I'll have to check out the manual again. The benefits of tow/haul are aimed more toward constant up and down.

EcoboostKev

If you use the tow/haul it will hold gears longer before shifting so the engine will less likely bog down and have to downshift to try and maintain speed. Using tow/haul will not lockout 6th gear and with your boat not being all that heavy you have no reason to lock out 6th gear anyway. The way i look at it the tow/haul button is there so why not use it..