Towing Question: O/D or not?

[TroutBum]

My TV has a selector button to turn the overdrive on or off.  What is the rule of thumb when to turn off O/D?  I have played around with it, and don't notice a difference.  Should I?

Thanks

[TheViking]

My TV has a selector button to turn the overdrive on or off. What is the rule of thumb when to turn off O/D? I have played around with it, and don't notice a difference. Should I?
 
Thanks

If it has Overdrive you should always tow with it off.  If you tow with it on you may find that your transmission will "Search for Gears" and that is a bad thing.

[ColemanDude]

Actually - you should read your owners manual.  Your dodge is most likely a three speed with overdrive being fourth gear.  The reason the switch is there is for city driving.  Stop and go driving has the car running through all four gears when 1 through 3 would do.  The O/D off switch keeps the vehicle from constantly shifting from 3rd to 4th and back.  Do you really want to eat up that much fuel and run at a higher rpm drivng on the highway just because you are pulling your trailer in 3rd gear when 4th is just sitting there begging to get in the game?

[CAPEd CODger]

A lot depends on how much weight you are towing, and how fast you want to go. Not to mention terrain.
The Idea behind turning it off is to prevent the trans from going in and out of O/D. That would generate excess heat.
Consult your owners manual.

If I'm on level ground, I'll leave the O/D on. If it's hilly, I turn it off.

Happy Camping

[mike4947]

When all else fails read the directions. Your owners manual is the best source of whether to tow using overdrive.

[flyfisherman]

My TV has a selector button to turn the overdrive on or off.  What is the rule of thumb when to turn off O/D?  I have played around with it, and don't notice a difference.  Should I?

Thanks

Not too sure I understand your "selector button", I guess what's on your Dodge. I have a GMC Sierra and it has a tow/haul mode selector button on the end of the shifting lever for use when hauling heavy loads/and/or when towing a trailer. It's primary use is for stop and go traffic and going through rolling terrain so that the frequency of transmission shifts will be reduced. GM says it is most effective when the truck and trailer combined weight is at least 75% of the vehicle's GCWR.

Usually I pull the camper (small Starcraft, GVWR 2090 lbs) in the regular O/D selection in reasonably flat country. If I get caught in some stop & go traffic (highway repair traffic and such), I'll use the tow/haul mode, same for towing in the foothills and just leave it in (D) drive. When I start into some serious mountain country then I drop it back into 3rd and leave it there. The advantage of 3rd is the truck has excellent torque ascending mountain roads and at the usual max highway speeds of 55 & 60 MPH; likewise, helps slow the truck and camper when descending these steep grades.

I need a truck for all the junk I tote around, plus the camper is usually right close to max, especially when I've got both canoes lashed on! Still have towing capacity to spare, but that's the way I like it; the mountains always have a way of sperating the wheat from the shaft, i.e., marginal TV's will start to display their inadequacies real quick like!


Fly

[zamboni]

We just went through this dilemma this past weekend.

First weekend towing our new Jayco 23B (hybrid) with my V8 Explorer.  Very hilly terrain.

Manual says that when towing, turn O/D off only if:
a) You need engine braking (downhill)
b) You are frequently changing gears (4th to O/D) due to load

Otherwise, leave it on.

Given that our first campout was 90 miles away, through very hilly 2-lane driving (end elevation 5,000 feet higher - but we went up, down, up, down, up, down (etc)), I did have O/D off going there.  Coming home, I frequently enabled O/D when I did not need engine power or braking and it definitely helped the economy a tad.

[tlhdoc]

If your vehicle drops in and out of overdrive, don't use it.  If you can tow in OD without much shifting do so.

[cyclone]

Like someone said - consult your owners manual.  The Tribute manual says never tow in overdrive.  Never.

[Old Goat]

I have towed a Coleman Niagara over 30,000 miles with the same truck and same transmission...Most of these miles have been in overdrive. Only punch out of OD in hills and mountains...Have never had a transmission problem of any kind.......

[Scamper]

I tow with a '99 Dodge Ram.  It has the overdrive button.  Basically, if I am on a section of road that causes the trans to keep shifting out of overdrive, or I am not driving over about 50 mph (hills, tight curves, etc...), then I turn it off.  If it is flat or down hill stretches, I leave overdrive on.

When I am not towing, I leave overdrive off in town and on hilly/curvy sections of road, and only use overdrive on the highway when it is flat.

[cremevette]

I'm not sure what my manual would say for my Grand Cherokee, but I know that unless I'm traveling on nearly flat highways, I have to take my OD off.  If I forget, it isn't long before it's kicking in and out of OD.  Some of these PA hills are pretty doggone serious!

[brainpause]

I tow with a '99 Dodge Ram.  It has the overdrive button.  Basically, if I am on a section of road that causes the trans to keep shifting out of overdrive, or I am not driving over about 50 mph (hills, tight curves, etc...), then I turn it off.  If it is flat or down hill stretches, I leave overdrive on.

When I am not towing, I leave overdrive off in town and on hilly/curvy sections of road, and only use overdrive on the highway when it is flat.

My TV for our camper is a 5speed, so I don't really worry about OD, obviously.

However, I did just drive to Gulfport, MS and back for disaster relief, driving a full-size Ford van, towing a large Uhaul trailer (loaded with equipment). I noticed that while another driver was driving, there was a whole lotta shiftin' goin' on! So, when I got into the driver's seat (for 330 miles, mind you, on unfamiliar roads, at night), I used the same rule as in the above Quote. The rig definitely held its speed better in the hillier terrain, which was better in the heavy traffic. Of course, the tranny did much less searching.

Larry

[SpeakEasy]

Troutbum,

What does YOUR owner's manual say about this?

SE