Chevy Suburban Tow/Haul Mode

If you have this feature have you ever tried towing with out it? I am trying to find out if is acceptable to turn it of on flat streches like I-5 for the increased econaomy (lower RPM's)

[24 on/ 48 off]

I turn it on only if I am pulling hills.

[fishkisser]

I use mine uphillin and downhillin and on cuvy mountain roads , but on the freeway I turn it off on the flats ...

[Artwo]

Same for me........................

Originally Posted by fishkisser

I use mine uphillin and downhillin and on cuvy mountain roads , but on the freeway I turn it off on the flats ...

[StrikeFighter]

Originally Posted by Artwo

Same for me........................

Likewise I just use it when climbing to prevent so much down and up shifting and the same going down hill.

[jokester]

Originally Posted by fishkisser

I use mine uphillin and downhillin and on cuvy mountain roads , but on the freeway I turn it off on the flats ...

I drive a Dodge, but same thing...

-jokester

[Kaptn Ken]

Originally Posted by StrikeFighter

Likewise I just use it when climbing to prevent so much down and up shifting and the same going down hill.

It's basically OVERDRIVE! You can probably feel your tranny change gears even on "flat" roads, that only look flat. It wears the tranny's out faster when you're in your tow mode, or overdrive for that matter.

Best to take it out of that mode and just be like me....Go slow and STILL tick everyone off, just like it did me when I was younger...Damned trailering old folks anyway..........Oh yeah, that's ME now!!!

But, what the heck do I know, anyway...I'm driving a weak ass Ford F-150 to pull my 23' Komfort trailer...and I'm in 2nd gear a'SCREAMIN' more than I want to even talk about!!!

KK
Nehalem, OR

[SPAZZ]

If you do, here are some important points:

• There are many different laws, including speed limit restrictions, having to do with trailering. Make sure your rig will be legal, not only where you live but also where you'll be driving. A good source for this information can be state or provincial police.
• Consider using a sway control. See "Hitches" later in this section.
• Don't tow a trailer at all during the first 500 miles (800 km) your new vehicle is driven. Your engine, axle or other parts could be damaged.
• Then, during the first 500 miles (800 km) that you tow a trailer, don't drive over 50 mph (80 km/h) and don't make starts at full throttle. This helps your engine and other parts of your vehicle wear in at the heavier loads.
• You can tow in DRIVE (D). You may want to shift the transmission to THIRD (3) or, if necessary, a lower gear selection if the transmission shifts too often (e.g., under heavy loads and/or hilly conditions). See "Tow/Haul Mode" later in this section.

Three important considerations have to do with weight:

• The weight of the trailer
• The weight of the trailer tongue
• The weight on your vehicle's tires

Tow/Haul Mode

Tow/Haul is a feature that assists when pulling a heavy trailer or a large or heavy load. The purpose of the Tow/Haul mode is to:

• Reduce the frequency and improve the predictability of transmission shifts when pulling a heavy trailer or a large or heavy load.
• Provide the same solid shift feel when pulling a heavy trailer or a large or heavy load as when the vehicle is unloaded.
• Improve control of vehicle speed while requiring less throttle pedal activity when pulling a heavy trailer or a large or heavy load.
• Increase the charging system voltage to assist in recharging a battery installed in a trailer.

Press the button at the end of the shift lever to enable/disable the tow/haul mode.




A light on the instrument panel will illuminate to indicate that tow/haul mode has been selected.
Your vehicle is equipped with a button at the end of the shift lever which, when pressed, enables tow/haul. Your vehicle may be equipped with Autoride® which further improves your vehicle's ride while towing. See Autoride® for more information. When the button is pressed, a light on the instrument panel will illuminate to indicate that Tow/Haul has been selected. Tow/Haul may be turned off by pressing the button again, at which time the indicator light on the instrument panel will turn off. The vehicle will automatically turn off Tow/Haul every time it is started.
Tow/Haul is designed to be most effective when the vehicle and trailer combined weight is at least 75 percent of the vehicle's Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR). See Weight of the Trailer later in this section. Tow/Haul is most useful under the following driving conditions:

• When pulling a heavy trailer or a large or heavy load through rolling terrain.
• When pulling a heavy trailer or a large or heavy load in stop and go traffic.
• When pulling a heavy trailer or a large or heavy load in busy parking lots where improved low speed control of the vehicle is desired.

Operating the vehicle in tow/haul when lightly loaded or with no trailer at all will not cause damage. However, there is no benefit to the selection of Tow/Haul when the vehicle is unloaded. Such a selection when unloaded may result in unpleasant engine and transmission driving characteristics and reduced fuel economy. Tow/Haul is recommended only when pulling a heavy trailer or a large or heavy load.

this is per your owners manual

Brian

[SPAZZ]

your tranmsision is a 4l60 . if you are towing you should have it in TOW MODE...
what tow mode does is increases the pressures in your tranmsision so as the band does not slip. this will make the transmission last longer.
if the band slips it will cause debris to build up in the pan and can cause the transmission valve body to fail causing further damage.

Brian

[RogueFishr]

Originally Posted by SPAZZ

what tow mode does is increases the pressures in your tranmsision so as the band does not slip. this will make the transmission last longer.
if the band slips it will cause debris to build up in the pan and can cause the transmission valve body to fail causing further damage.

so.. is there an advantage to running in tow/haul mode for daily driving? Will it make the transmission last longer? Or is it a negligible difference when you are not towing?

Thanks,
RF

[backlash442]

Which Suburban do you own the 1500 or 2500? Makes a big difference as I've read the 1500 trannie is nothing but a car trannie or at least it used to be. I owned a 2500 and the trannie had about 170k miles on it when I got rid of it. The only thing under the hood that was never replaced other than the starter. I towed about 7500lbs. for 6 of the 9 years I owned it and the one year with the 3500lb boat didn't really count. When towing I rarely took it out of over drive except going up and downhill.

[jfa686]

o/d off for me in the dodge...or tow mode "on" in a chev. what you'll save on gas you'll spend on a tranny. just what I see daily at work and I love GM's.

[Lured In]

I run in tow/haul while towing (go figure). All you have to do is watch your tach. I was running just over 2K RPM's in my 1500 Surburban cruising along at ~70mph with just the family and some minor gear onboard. Compare your typical RPM's versus what you see while towing in tow/haul mode and see if there is a difference.

One of the other advantages is reduced shifting. Running low RPM's is great as long as your tranny doesn't have to drop down a gear everytime a 5mph headwind hits your rig, causing the tach to jump 500 RPM's every two minutes.

With newer vehicles the computers do a pretty good job of compensating for 'typical' driving needs, including towing.

[SPAZZ]

Originally Posted by RogueFishr

so.. is there an advantage to running in tow/haul mode for daily driving? Will it make the transmission last longer? Or is it a negligible difference when you are not towing?

Thanks,
RF

no, no and yes

From what I understand Tow/Haul mode IS not simply turning off OD it is doing a bunch of other things via computer other to run the tranmission optimally?

[Troutinator]

Originally Posted by Tulley

From what I understand Tow/Haul mode IS not simply turning off OD it is doing a bunch of other things via computer other to run the tranmission optimally?

That is what my BIL said too... it used to be all tow mode did was keep the tranny from shifting into O/D. Now, it does much more not the least of which is as Spazz said, ups the pressure in the right places so the bands/cluthes won't slip under high dynamic loading.

[newbeebob]

Just towed my 5,200 lbs boat to Eastern Oregon this weekend. Tow/Haul mode was on the entire trip. I debated turning it off after Hood River. I noticed that if I used cruise control, the tach would fall back down to the 2,000 RPM range after a while. It definitly stops the constant shifting. My Dodge has the Tow/Haul mode & O/D off mode. The O/D off mode locks out the high gears completely.

[DogZilla15]

On my '05 GMC, it shuts its self off at something like 60/65 mph. The light stays on but it goes into OD. Touch the brakes and it comes back on.

[Bismark]

Tow/Haul does not shut off the OD, just doesn't utalize it as frequently to avoid a lot of shifting. It also holds the gears longer between shifts. If you read the manual (I have a 06 1500HD) Tow/Haul is only when you are pulling 3/4 of your GVWR, or a really heavy load. For light loads, ie 4-5,000 lbs of boat and trailer when I can pull 10,000 lbs, don't use the feature. Put a large boat or horse trailer behind the rig and it makes a big difference. When I crest a hill I will drop teh cruise control down once to shift out of the higher gear for better economy. If I don't it will run in the higher gear for quite a while unnecessarily. If I want to pick up the 1-2 mph just bump up the cruis once the tranny has shifted and I'm back up to speed. BTW I used to sell Chevrolets and spent a lot of time in the dealership shop talking to the mechanics about all of the features and what to really expect from the rigs. I have also worked on a lot of vehicles and have freinds who own tranny shops. They all agree with my method of towing.

[jfa686]

I don't want to derail but you guys really tow in cruise??? I can't stand driving over a pass w/o a load or hauling anything on the flats in cruise. Honestly I manually shift my dodge from drive to second ALLOT just to keep rpms between 3-4k. lugging sucks..drive it like ya stole it..can't wait to get the 5spd cummins w250 out of the paintbooth and forget about all this..my .02...ok back to topic...sorry again maybe I just misunderstood?