6 Cylinder Towing Review

If I'm not mistaken, you will still have to tow in 4, because that enables the torque converter to lock.
I don't think the torque converter is able to lock up while overdrive (D) is engaged.

I could be wrong, so I welcome corrections to this statement.

 

You are incorrect, the torque converter locks in both 4 and 5.

 

RE-GEAR!! no problem towing, even with this setup

 

Setup looks good man! Just got the SC on so I'm pumped to try it out. I gotta let the sting of this purchase go away first then do gears. How do the gears affect daily driving when you're not towing? I need to learn more about them. I read some saying the rpms were higher when towing, is that what you gain out of regearing? Sorry if my questions seem really noob lol

Here's a pic of my setup

 

If you've ever ridden a bicycle with multiple speeds, just think about shifting to an easier gear. It's easier to pedal, but you have to pedal faster to maintain the same speed. Pedaling faster equates to higher RPMs for the engine, but it also means the engine isn't working as hard. Driving without the trailer or load makes the truck feel super quick getting up to speed (at least compared to stock gears). But yes, driving down the freeway at 70, I'm going to be burning through more gas since the RPMs are much higher than when stock. HOWEVER, you appear to have larger tires than stock, so it's very possible you gain some MPG back since the truck isn't working so hard to turn those big tires.

Nice setup. Looks like you must be a mud guy. I hate having to clean up afterwards, so I usually steer clear of the thick stuff! lol. Sand doesn't get stuff dirty, it cleans it instead

 

Thank you for that explanation that makes perfect sense for me. We'll see how this thing does towing soon and I'm gonna start looking at some gearing options. Thanks again.

And yea, we're about the mudlife over here. Washing is a pain. I've learned all sorts of chemical concoctions to make it easier lol but I'm either in something muddy or underwater haha

 

I just made the maiden voyage with my new horse trailer and 1000 pounds of lambs, trailer empty 2300, so around 3300 pounds. 300 km and up and down some pretty good hills. I knew the lambs were back there, but it was not unstable at all with the straight hitch. I spent a month obsessing over weight distribution and sway control, and nothing would work with the trailer because it's so low and the coupler is on top of the A frame. In the end I just went with the Toyota 10,000 pound straight hitch that came with the truck. My 2017 with the towing package only dropped about 1-1/2 inches and nose was not up at all with lambs in and a tongue weight of around 500 lbs (got a scale from Princess Auto, nifty little thing). On steeper grades going up (7%) I was in 3rd at about 3000 to 3500 revs. Going down I never had to use 3rd, locked it in 4th with the manual mode the whole trip. Even on a flat stretch it's working to maintain 5th so I leave it locked to 4th. Met some big trucks and had some squally winds, no sway at all. Wind resistance helped a lot on the downhills to hold us back. Didn't seem to be a lot different loaded or empty. Only thing I noticed empty was a vibration around 70 km/hr under load that went away if I slowed down or sped up. Like driving on fine corrugations. Wondering if the tandem axels set up a bit of a bounce at a certain speed or road condition. Did not feel like it was anything the truck was doing. Gas mileage was just over 15 L/100 km (sorry I'm in Canada). Wasn't a lot different loaded or not. Up to 20 briefly with a head wind.

 

I found that unless I'm on VERY flat land towing in 4th to be best. When I try 5th (with ECT for both 4th and 5th) it keeps locking and unlocking and the trans temp goes up... and will still shift to 4th fairly often... 4th gives me a nice smooth tow... usually go 62-65.

 

I agree, having read a lot here about staying in 4th, I didn't try to go for 5th more than a couple times. It becomes obvious that it's not a good plan. Truck does not seem to mind doing 90 to 100 km/h in 4th. Now I need to get a horse!