Mountain Towing Tips?

[dalamarjj78]

All of the trips we've taken since buying our travel trailer have been to state parks within an hour of where we live. Mainly because our F150 had issues with trailer sway when driving on the interstate so we only camped at places we could get to easily by sticking to back roads.

But we recently traded in our F150 for a 2022 7.3L F350 with 4.30 gears. While I haven't had a chance to tow the trailer with it yet, this should be way more than what we need for our 7600lb trailer.

We've started planning our summer trips and my wife really wants to either do some mountain camping here in NC or to head into TN. I like the idea, especially now that we have an adequate tow vehicle, but am anxious about towing in the mountains for the first time.

I've been watching videos on "tips for towing in the mountains" and most of them suggest the following:

• Drive slow.
• Use tow/haul mode.
• Don't ride your brakes.
• If you need to brake start with your trailer brakes first, then your tow vehicle.
• Use the manual shift mode to keep your vehicle in lower gears to manage your speed.

While I can drive a stick, I've never manually shifted gears in an automatic transmission so I may need to practice prior to our trip.

Do those suggestions sound accurate? Any other ideas or other things I should keep in mind? Or am I completely overthinking this?

[markcee]

Originally Posted by dalamarjj78

All of the trips we've taken since buying our travel trailer have been to state parks within an hour of where we live. Mainly because our F150 had issues with trailer sway when driving on the interstate so we only camped at places we could get to easily by sticking to back roads.

But we recently traded in our F150 for a 2022 7.3L F350 with 4.30 gears. While I haven't had a chance to tow the trailer with it yet, this should be way more than what we need for our 7600lb trailer.

We've started planning our summer trips and my wife really wants to either do some mountain camping here in NC or to head into TN. I like the idea, especially now that we have an adequate tow vehicle, but am anxious about towing in the mountains for the first time.

I've been watching videos on "tips for towing in the mountains" and most of them suggest the following:

• Drive slow.
• Use tow/haul mode.
• Don't ride your brakes.
• If you need to brake start with your trailer brakes first, then your tow vehicle.
• Use the manual shift mode to keep your vehicle in lower gears to manage your speed.

While I can drive a stick, I've never manually shifted gears in an automatic transmission so I may need to practice prior to our trip.

Do those suggestions sound accurate? Any other ideas or other things I should keep in mind? Or am I completely overthinking this?

Not a pro but here’s my .02. Put it in Tow/Haul and let the truck do its thing. I have the 6.2 with 4.30s and Tow/Haul mode does an excellent job of managing speed downhill. I have never read anything about applying trailer brakes manually as a normal course of action….unless it was to combat a severe sway situation….even then I believe the Ford manual recommends against the practice. Your trailer brakes are married to the braking system on your F350….the two work together seamlessly. As for brake application, Avoid riding the pedal. When you need to brake do so in firm few second bursts, this will brake you and signal Tow/Haul to downshift, slowing you further. Riding the brakes and overusing them can cause them to overheat and become less effective.

[RickV]

Originally Posted by markcee

Not a pro but here’s my .02. Put it in Tow/Haul and let the truck do its thing. I have the 6.2 with 4.30s and Tow/Haul mode does an excellent job of managing speed downhill. I have never read anything about applying trailer brakes manually as a normal course of action….unless it was to combat a severe sway situation….even then I believe the Ford manual recommends against the practice. Your trailer brakes are married to the braking system on your F350….the two work together seamlessly. As for brake application, Avoid riding the pedal. When you need to brake do so in firm few second bursts, this will brake you and signal Tow/Haul to downshift, slowing you further. Riding the brakes and overusing them can cause them to overheat and become less effective.

I have always had Tow Vehicles with an Exhaust Brake but, I agree with markcee to use firm braking to slow the vehicle down and force a downshift making your engine help slow you down. A rule of thumb too is to try and go downhill at the same speed you went up.

[chuckster57]

I have an older diesel, and no exhaust brake. I will use my trailer brakes to slow down, but I also alternate so I don’t get any set of brakes too hot. I’ve travelled across the country and up the hills in cal many times without any brake issues.

[flybouy]

I agree with most of the advice given. Do not drive down a mountian at the speed you drove up it in that rig. That's a good rule of thumb if you were using your 150 but the new truck will go up much faster. If your brake controller is properly set up you shouldn't have to manually downshift. Modern trucks will do the downshifting in tow hual mode.

If you've never driven in the mountians then GO SLOW. Even not towing you can burn othe brakes up playing "ralley driver" in a "sports car". First you need to define "mountian". A mountian highway may be 4 lanes with long sweeping turns and a 5% grade orthey can be single lane, no shoulder roads with tight turns or switch backs every couple of hundred feet with an 8% or greater grade.

Ideally, drive thru the mountians BEFORE towing or tavel with an experienced mountian driver if possible. Pay close attention to the brake lights of vehichles in front of you. The idea is to not let the speed "get away from you". Gravity is working against you. Once you begin excellerating it happens very rapidly and it becomes very difficult to arrest it. There are two ways to reduce speed or stop. One is obviously the brakes wich turn kinetic energy into heat energy. Obviously the more energy (speed and weight) the more heat. The second way is by hitting a solid object.

Don't make your first experience your last.

[hondapro87]

Use toe /haul when towing and let the transmission do it's thing. The Torqueshift transmission is very good. It will downshift for you as you are braking to slow down and hold that gear. Watch your speed and you will be fine.

Make sure to get your w/d hitch set up properly with your new truck before you tow your camper, you will still feel the push-pull effect when trucks pass you on the interstate but it should be better than your f-150 was.
You will never completely get rid of the push/pull that is the air pushing on the side of your camper, alot of people consider that sway but it is really just normal when towing a travel trailer.

If that is what you were feeling when towing it is still going to be there with the new truck. The Hensley or propride hitches are said to eliminate it but I have not ever tried then to know for sure.

I know with my old travel trailer no matter what I did with the hitch I never got rid of it.

[dalamarjj78]

Thanks for everyone's input. Definitely a ton of useful information here. So it sounds like I don't need to worry about manually shifting (which is a bit of a relief) and to brake in short bursts to maintain the speed I want.

Ideally we'd start off travelling wider roads with minimal grades before heading into anything too crazy. I like my life and I'd rather not end up down the side of a mountain from biting off more than I can chew.

The hitch we're using is the equalizer e4 so hopefully between that and the upgraded truck (along with the camper package we included when we ordered it) towing will be a more pleasant experience than it was with the F150.

I do need to upgrade to a 2.5" shank before any mountain trip. I bought an insert to handle the difference in truck receiver but figured that's more of a temporary solution.

[markcee]

Originally Posted by dalamarjj78

Thanks for everyone's input. Definitely a ton of useful information here. So it sounds like I don't need to worry about manually shifting (which is a bit of a relief) and to brake in short bursts to maintain the speed I want.

Ideally we'd start off travelling wider roads with minimal grades before heading into anything too crazy. I like my life and I'd rather not end up down the side of a mountain from biting off more than I can chew.

The hitch we're using is the equalizer e4 so hopefully between that and the upgraded truck (along with the camper package we included when we ordered it) towing will be a more pleasant experience than it was with the F150.

I do need to upgrade to a 2.5" shank before any mountain trip. I bought an insert to handle the difference in truck receiver but figured that's more of a temporary solution.

I used a good quality shank reducer for several months and a few thousand miles before moving up from a 12K E4 to a 14K. I had zero issues, except the extra few seconds in lining up the holes. I didn't have to get the new shank, but figured since I was upgrading the entire hitch, I may as well get a 2.5" shank as well. At any rate, I don't think it's a must have change. The shank on the E4 is not rated any less in 2" vs. 2.5". It's the hitch head itself that's beefier as you move up.

[slow]

Not mentioned yet is that while going down hill in tow / haul mode, applying your TV brakes for a few seconds will result in a down shift. If you continue to pick up speed, reapply the brake pedal and it will down shift again. Check your owners manual for details.

Also not mentioned, lockout the top, or top few gears (if more than a six speed). If the TV does not go into them when on flats or climbing, lock them out so they do not let your rig “run free” down hill. With our six speed I lock out 6th, and if steep, also 5th.

If the road is narrow with tight turns, pay attention to how the trailer wheels are tracking so you do not have the inside TT tires coming off the road surface.

In mountains, you can have sudden very high gusts of wind, be sure to have your hitch set up properly to prevent sway. Now that you have a TV with more payload capacity, there may be a temptation not to load the bars as much. That would be a mistake since it is the loading of the bars that creates friction and helps prevent sway. (This may be why you had issues with your F150 as a tow vehicle.)

As for the ProPride hitch, having owned one, it is awesome. Coming out of the Rockies a few years back, I did not even realize there were wind gusts until I noticed the rig travelling behind us had its TT swaying the rig to each side of the highway when we came around a bend downhill into a valley. The driver was able to salvage it somehow, but I thought we were going to witness a recovery operation. Well worth the cost if in your budget.

BTW: be prepared to open the wallet more often for gas.

[dalamarjj78]

Originally Posted by markcee

I used a good quality shank reducer for several months and a few thousand miles before moving up from a 12K E4 to a 14K. I had zero issues, except the extra few seconds in lining up the holes. I didn't have to get the new shank, but figured since I was upgrading the entire hitch, I may as well get a 2.5" shank as well. At any rate, I don't think it's a must have change. The shank on the E4 is not rated any less in 2" vs. 2.5". It's the hitch head itself that's beefier as you move up.

Good to know. We plan on doing a few regular trips before making an attempt at mountain towing so I'll see how it does with the reducer before making the decision. The price of a new shank was more than expected so it would be nice to not have to invest in one asap.

Originally Posted by slow

Not mentioned yet is that while going down hill in tow / haul mode, applying your TV brakes for a few seconds will result in a down shift. If you continue to pick up speed, reapply the brake pedal and it will down shift again. Check your owners manual for details.

Also not mentioned, lockout the top, or top few gears (if more than a six speed). If the TV does not go into them when on flats or climbing, lock them out so they do not let your rig “run free” down hill. With our six speed I lock out 6th, and if steep, also 5th.

I'm glad you brought this up as I meant to ask about it. Our truck has the 10 speed transmission and I saw in the owners manual how you can lock out gears. I'm just not sure how many to lock out without overdoing it. Maybe lock out 9 and 10th gear and see how that goes?

[sourdough]

You're going to have a very nice rig for towing. As for mountains, the problem is usually getting up them; coming down can be quite an experience if you don't pay attention. Not meant to put you off as there isn't much to towing in the mountains other than knowing your rig and paying attention.

I'm not familiar with the workings of the Ford 10 speed but I'm sure it's quite similar to the Ram 8 speed. Get familiar with it and how to operate it. I'm not one that puts my faith in a computer operated transmission so I use my shift selector on the steering wheel (would feel better with a stick stuck in the top of the tranny connected to mechanical linkage I figure). You can lock out gears in essence locking yourself into a particular gear which can be used for braking. Play with it before you get into the mountains. With that 10 speed, coming down a steeper grade (6% or more) you very well may need to limit the top gear to 4th or so. You don't want it to allow you to run 60mph into 20mph curves. Since it is the 7.3 you won't have the engine braking of a diesel so keep it slow. I've seen more trucks/trailers with smoking brakes sitting on the side of the road in steep mountains than I can remember. When they get that hot they're not stopping you.

There's nothing to worry about taking your rig into the mountains. Just know the operation of the braking systems, go slow and take it easy - there's a LOT of beautiful scenery in our mountains across this country. Of course hopefully your DW isn't like my mom who would literally crawl down into the floorboard when I was driving along a mountain drop off. Read the manual, get familiar with the layout and operation of the controls and practice remembering that riding the brakes is a bad thing. Good luck and have fun.

Edit: I forgot to mention to always keep the transmission in tow/haul when towing the RV.

[dutchmensport]

I've driven and towed 3 different trailers all over North Carolina for the last 45 years and never had a problem with any tow vehicle or trailer. I've traveled I-40 between Knoxville, TN and Asheville, NC, even to Morganton so many times, I can't even count them any more. We've been to the Outerbanks, to Mt. Arie, to Ashville, to Charlotte. Coast, Piedmont, and Mountains.

But, some of those very steep twisted non-interstate mountain roads I stay clear of when towing. We'll drop the trailer and then go explore those places.

The best "tip" I can give you, ESPECIALL about mountain towing is this: "It's never about speed. It's always about safety." But that should be always be your main objective when driving anything, anywhere, anyway!

Especially in the mountains, under drive the speed limit, and then under drive that and don't let cars behind you push you to go faster. It's your life and your family's life you need to protect! When in the mountains, I'm always "selfish", it's the only time I drive when towing when EVERYTHING is 100% about me and the rest of the traffic can just go shove-it! Drive slow, especially down hill. Use Tow Mode, You'll do fine.

[DaveAlb]

You can do it!!!

[Badbart56]

These newer trucks make it easy with the tow/haul. Even my "old" 2011 truck will maintain speed with the cruise engaged even going down the mountains. It will down shift if it needs to to slow it down. The trucks are making it too easy these days. Learn the basics and you'll be fine, enjoy!

[wegone]

In the mountains or hills do NOT use cruise control.....EVER!

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Island Eddie

In the mountains or hills do NOT use cruise control.....EVER!

??? I use Tow/Haul, lock out 6th gear (ours is 3.31 gearing) and set the cruise for a "safe and reasonable speed". If traffic changes or if we need to, I'll drop it out of cruise. But, with the cruise set on 65, going downhill, if the speed goes above 68, the transmission downshifts to lower the speed and we're back at 65. So, unless something gets in front of us, cruise does the same thing as my foot on the accellerator, finger on the manual transmission selector and foot feathering the brake pedal. So far, we haven't encountered a hill or even a mountain approach that's slowed us down so that the truck downshifts out of 5th gear to 4th.

Why would you caution NOT to use cruise control ???

[rhagfo]

Originally Posted by Island Eddie

In the mountains or hills do NOT use cruise control.....EVER!

Well even gas engines have transmission and compression braking, why not.

While I have a Ram diesel, with cruse set the transmission will downshift to maintain speed. If the OP has adaptive cruse it will also apply the service brake as needed.

[wegone]

If you use cruise control when in tow/haul mode, be aware of hills and mountains. Cruise control works best on level surfaces where your truck doesn’t have to put in excessive work. If you approach an incline or decline, override the cruise control and take over accelerating manually if you want more control.
Is It Safe to Use Cruise Control When Towing? - Drivin ...
drivinvibin.com/2021/09/08/cruise-control-when-towing/

I tried it at first. My truck would become very active shifting, often missing gears to try and match the speed.
It was crazy.
I leave it in tow-haul, and drive more by RPM's than speedometer.

Works so much better for me.

[dalamarjj78]

Originally Posted by sourdough

I'm not familiar with the workings of the Ford 10 speed but I'm sure it's quite similar to the Ram 8 speed. Get familiar with it and how to operate it. I'm not one that puts my faith in a computer operated transmission so I use my shift selector on the steering wheel (would feel better with a stick stuck in the top of the tranny connected to mechanical linkage I figure). You can lock out gears in essence locking yourself into a particular gear which can be used for braking. Play with it before you get into the mountains. With that 10 speed, coming down a steeper grade (6% or more) you very well may need to limit the top gear to 4th or so. You don't want it to allow you to run 60mph into 20mph curves. Since it is the 7.3 you won't have the engine braking of a diesel so keep it slow. I've seen more trucks/trailers with smoking brakes sitting on the side of the road in steep mountains than I can remember. When they get that hot they're not stopping you.

Thanks, I'll make it a point to practice the manual shifting before our trip to see if I can get comfortable with it. Hopefully I can get as comfortable with it as I am with a regular manual transmission. Too bad that's not an option anymore these days.

Originally Posted by dutchmensport

I've driven and towed 3 different trailers all over North Carolina for the last 45 years and never had a problem with any tow vehicle or trailer. I've traveled I-40 between Knoxville, TN and Asheville, NC, even to Morganton so many times, I can't even count them any more. We've been to the Outerbanks, to Mt. Arie, to Ashville, to Charlotte. Coast, Piedmont, and Mountains.

What are the grades like on that I-40 route from Asheville to Knoxville? That's one of the routes we were looking at once we decided to head into TN. On Google Maps it looks like it gets pretty curvy once you make it through Asheville but there's no way to tell how steep the hills are.

[rhagfo]

Originally Posted by Island Eddie

In the mountains or hills do NOT use cruise control.....EVER!

Wow, if I didn’t use my cruse in the rain or when towing, or towing in the mountains it would be useless to me.

Heck I had factory cruise on my 68 Mustang, saved me many a speeding ticket. Still used on wet roads all the time, only towed a Hobie cat so really doesn’t count.
If you’re is acting like stated, I would have it checked out, doesn’t sound right.