Noob at towing and titans

bagellord · 02-18-2008, 08:34 PM

I have an 08 Titan LE Crew Cab 2WD, and go camping fairly often with a small 2000LB trailer, and have a few questions. What gear do I need to be in and do I need to have tow mode on? Also, about the break in. I have 4k+ miles on my truck, but have not towed 500 miles at less than 50mph, do I have to do that still?

Titan-ization · 02-18-2008, 08:43 PM

If you are only towing 2k lbs., then you are OK, you shouldn't have to have tow mode on, unless you are going through mountains or hills. If oyu are on flat ground, you are golden. Really all tow mode does is increase your RPM at lower speeds to put less strain on the engine when moving at low speeds and from a dead stop. As far as what gear, I usually tow in 4OD or straight 4th if I am in tow mode. With only 2k lbs. you aren't putting a whole lot of strain on the truck.

Geezus_Aach · 02-18-2008, 08:48 PM

all tow mode does is hold the gear (1, 2, 3 ) to a higher rpm, so it won't short shift.

...and all you are towing is 2k lbs. ..? no worries

bagellord · 02-18-2008, 09:29 PM

So if I am going to be going up and down hills what do I need to be in?

Titan-ization · 02-19-2008, 01:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bagellord

So if I am going to be going up and down hills what do I need to be in?

I would just keep it in 4th and turn on tow mode, should be good to go pulling only 2k lbs.

**Carbeaux** · 02-19-2008, 04:48 AM

Do you have the tow package? If you do, then towing that light, you can probably stay in fifth most of the time. Bump down to 4th if you notice the tranny temp start to climb. You're not pulling much, relatively speaking so you shouldn't have any problems whatsoever. As for break in, again, you're lightly towing. Just don't do any jackrabbit starts while hooked, take it easy. You're just allowing the diff gears to seat a little more deeply. Because you are towing light, I wouldn't worry too much about your speed. Just be safe since it's a new combo for you. I'd say stay around 60 mph and vary your speed, just like you did on your initial break in.

bagellord · 02-19-2008, 10:09 AM

ok Thanx guys

Stupid iPod corrected it when I was checking at my grandparents apartment

gksmith · 02-20-2008, 09:24 AM

To extend the original 2K lbs question - my trailer is 4K. It's mostly flat around here so I'm guessing 5th will be fine. 4th for hills (won't the transmission switch down)?

I don't expect Towmode until the summer when I head west to the mountains.

**loufish** · 02-21-2008, 10:27 PM

Quote:

To extend the original 2K lbs question - my trailer is 4K. It's mostly flat around here so I'm guessing 5th will be fine. 4th for hills (won't the transmission switch down)?

If you're towing around town, then hit the TM, it will help to keep you in 1,2 and 3 gear a little longer.
On the highway, the TM does nothing so don't worry about it.
You should manually downshift to 4th, or even 3rd if need be on hills. The trans will first un-lock the torque converter before downshifting to 4th gear, this will get the trans temp up. If it's a short hill, no big deal, but if it's a long grade then you do the downshifting...

Wildmike · 02-22-2008, 12:07 AM

I tow a 17' boat that weighs around 2200 lbs. I always leave it in D. I run about 70-75 on the freeway and the tranny only shifts down if it's a fairly steep grade. (more than 4%) I have never had the tranny heat up on the freeway. The only time it starts to heat up is pulling steep grades about 30-35 behind slow people on side roads. I think this happens because the tranny is out of lock-up.