Can't Tow In "D"

[spebsqsa]

Have Titan LE 4x4 big tow the works. Tried yesterday to tow my travel trailer,into about a 10mph wind. Was not very good in "D" as it either kept shifting down or the torque converter would unlock. I found if I towed in "4" it ranat slower rpm and worked fine @ about 2500 rpm at about 65 mph. I am alittle disappointed as I thought it would pull with ease in "5". My trailer was loaded and weighs in at about 6500 lbs. It does not seem much better than my 2000 Tundara that I traded off. However this was my first try,maybe the wind was stronger than I thought.It should be OK to tow in"4"?

[bestatchess]

Originally Posted by spebsqsa

Have Titan LE 4x4 big tow the works. Tried yesterday to tow my travel trailer,into about a 10mph wind. Was not very good in "D" as it either kept shifting down or the torque converter would unlock. I found if I towed in "4" it ranat slower rpm and worked fine @ about 2500 rpm at about 65 mph. I am alittle disappointed as I thought it would pull with ease in "5". My trailer was loaded and weighs in at about 6500 lbs. It does not seem much better than my 2000 Tundara that I traded off. However this was my first try,maybe the wind was stronger than I thought.It should be OK to tow in"4"?

Did you push the tow mode button?

[karlconnell]

Originally Posted by spebsqsa

Have Titan LE 4x4 big tow the works. Tried yesterday to tow my travel trailer,into about a 10mph wind. Was not very good in "D" as it either kept shifting down or the torque converter would unlock. I found if I towed in "4" it ranat slower rpm and worked fine @ about 2500 rpm at about 65 mph. I am alittle disappointed as I thought it would pull with ease in "5". My trailer was loaded and weighs in at about 6500 lbs. It does not seem much better than my 2000 Tundara that I traded off. However this was my first try,maybe the wind was stronger than I thought.It should be OK to tow in"4"?

spebsqsa, That's to much weight to be driving in overdrive anyhow. Particularly, with a headwind as it puts a tremendous amount of drag on your rig. Mine is 500-600 lbs lighter than yours any I never tow in o/d (the manual also indicates to tow out of o/d). Tow mode won't make a difference at cruising speed but it certainly helps to get the load going from a stop faster than it otherwise would as it holds higher revs in the first 3 gears.

I know how you feel though. We took ours out the first time on what I thought was a slightly windy day and I couldn't figure out why I was having to downshift into 3rd on some smaller grades. Later that night on the news they indicated there were 25-35 mph winds in the area. The next time we took it out we cruised up the same grades with no problem and were able to take the 6-7% grades at 65-70 mph with more power to spare.

We also have a 2003 4Runner with the iForce V8 that we originally used to pull our rv and I as much as I love our Toy the Titan pulls infinitely better (as it breaks in it does even better).

Karl

[kurtdb1]

I tend to disagree with some of the folks on this forum about towing in D....I would never do it...I tow about 3-4000 lbs and tow in 4. OD gears are not meant to take tow abuse, however, many on this site seem to think otherwise....Ive towed twice long distances and many times locally and found the mpg is not that much different, especially when compared to damage i may be doing by towing in OD....I push the tow mode button and tow in 4 and my long distance milage went from 13 to about 11.5... +or-....I used to have a Dodge Cummins and towed with it (never used OD) and also a Chevy Express Van 1 ton and even towed a pretty heavy 27' toybox...fully loaded and used OD on occasion because i needed anything to help the pmg on that thing (8-10 on a good day)...however, I always seemed to be taking the van in for tranny noise, etc.