Towing boat with 2025 Ram 1500 Laramie SO Hurricane

[CGilham]

Hey y'all.
As the subject indicates, I'd like to know more about the Electronic Range Select (ERS) or Gear Limit as it's called on the lower right side of the steering wheel. How to use it properly while towing.

I'll be pulling a 21' bassboat. Most 21' bass boats fully rigged and loaded are around the 3,000 to 3,500 lb range. I used Tow/Haul mode in my F150 and it seemed to hold the vehicle back pretty well while going down the other side of mountains from SC north through Virginia and on up through NY state to Canada. I did have to brake more than I wanted to though at times with very long steep downhill grades.

That being said, I have not had a chance to pull my boat with this new truck for any given distance or mountain conditions. I did choose Tow mode and 2 wheel drive.

So I would like to know more about the Gear Limit function, it's proper use and towing with or without cruise control enabled.

Thanks in advance for any and all replies!
Craig

 

[PolarisCobra]

When towing my travel trailer (6500 pounds), I use Tow.Haul, which turns on four wheel auto in my 2025 Bighorn SST SO. On long down hills, I will use the selector to force it down a gear or two as needed to reduce brake usage. The truck will drop a gear on its own better in Tow Haul for sure.

This works fine for me.

 

[CGilham]

Thanks for the reply. I know my F150 would drop a gear or so going down a hill while towing in tow/haul mode but i sometimes had to stay on the brake pedal also. I'm hoping to avoid that. I read somewhere not to use 4WD auto if not on wet or snow covered roads as it places the transfer case in gear? Not sure I stated that correctly?

 

[joesstripclub]

That small of a load you probably will hardly notice, but if you want to use it enable Tow/Haul mode as that's what its meant for. I dont have experience with the hurricane, but in a hemi it will rev a bit more before it upshifts and will downshift a bit sooner for more engine braking. The ERS can be thought of as an upper limiter for your transmission. Set it to 6 and the transmission will shift from 1 to 6 but no further. You really dont get that much engine braking out of gas motors but you can downshift if you dont feel that tow/haul is doing enough for you.

 

[CGilham]

Ok, so that's what I was wondering with the ERS or gear limit buttons on the wheel. Is there a way to enable or "show" what gear the truck is in at all times? Like in my F150 within the tach area on the right hand side 10 through 1 was shown vertically in white. Whatever gear I was in showed up red.

 

[olyelr]

Ok, so that's what I was wondering with the ERS or gear limit buttons on the wheel. Is there a way to enable or "show" what gear the truck is in at all times? Like in my F150 within the tach area on the right hand side 10 through 1 was shown vertically in white. Whatever gear I was in showed up red.

Yes. In the settings you can make the current gear shown right next to the D.

When towing, just put the truck in tow/haul mode and let the tranny do what it is gonna do.

 

[crash68]

So I would like to know more about the Gear Limit function, it's proper use and towing with or without cruise control enabled.

Use the Tow/Haul mode when towing. Using cruise control let's the truck ECM/TCM know what speed is trying to be maintained and will downshift to help control speed. You may need to set it a couple MPH less than what you want to travel. As mentioned above gassers don't engine brake as well as a diesel with an exhaust brake. You don't want to rely on just the vehicle brakes for slowing down while descending a grade.
Engine and transmission management has come a long way from yesteryear when all cruise control did was race to get you up to speed. A modern TCM constantly knows what RPMs a gear set will keep the engine in the correct range better than just about any human could.

 

[CGilham]

So if I’m reading this correctly use the cruise control while towing in “tow” mode and let the truck do its thing?

 

[crash68]

let the truck do its thing?

Pretty much yes, keep in mind don't be in a hurry while towing. Cruise control is a tool to use to make the driver's job easier.
Use the Tow/Haul mode any time your towing a trailer not just with cruise control. Tow/Haul changes the profile of the transmission to keep the engine in the torque band better for the engine. Torque peak is 3500 rpm for the Hurricane SO, it won't be unusual for the engine to be spinning around there. Lugging an engine with too low of RPMs is not good for any engine

 

[olyelr]

So if I’m reading this correctly use the cruise control while towing in “tow” mode and let the truck do its thing?

You dont need to use cruise control. The truck will still automatically downshift when braking down a hill with tow haul on.

 

[CGilham]

I guess I asked it wrong.....Is it ok to use cruise control while in Tow mode? and yes, I always use Tow mode when my trailer is hooked up.

Reason I ask if its ok to use cruise control while towing is because one time years ago I was told cruise control is not to be used while towing any trailer. I always did with my F150 but then again I had the transmission service every 30,000 miles.

And I don't think there is a setting on my truck to show the current gear next to the "D" while driving. If there is I cannot find it

 

[turkeybird56]

There is, U gotta find it,. From 2025 Manual, "Settings".
That is controlled from buttons on steering wheel showing what DISPLAYED in EVIC..

 

[joesstripclub]

I guess I asked it wrong.....Is it ok to use cruise control while in Tow mode? and yes, I always use Tow mode when my trailer is hooked up.

Reason I ask if its ok to use cruise control while towing is because one time years ago I was told cruise control is not to be used while towing any trailer. I always did with my F150 but then again I had the transmission service every 30,000 miles.

And I don't think there is a setting on my truck to show the current gear next to the "D" while driving. If there is I cannot find it

You can definitely use cruise control while you tow. I use it all the time with no issue, mainly on flat roads though. I would drive it without cruise if you are into a bunch of hilly terrain just so you can control.

As far as seeing the current gear, press the gear "-" once you get up to speed. Once you have set a gear limit set it should show your current gear, at least thats how the older trucks work. You will have to do this every time you shift from park though there is not a constant setting.

 

[olyelr]

You can definitely use cruise control while you tow. I use it all the time with no issue, mainly on flat roads though. I would drive it without cruise if you are into a bunch of hilly terrain just so you can control.

As far as seeing the current gear, press the gear "-" once you get up to speed. Once you have set a gear limit set it should show your current gear, at least thats how the older trucks work. You will have to do this every time you shift from park though there is not a constant setting.

Yea no need to do that with the new ones…there is a setting to allow it to always be shown.

OP, as far as towing goes, i think back in the good ol days it was not the best idea to use cruise while towing. Transmissions have came a long way since then. Its safe now.

 

[ramffml]

I guess I asked it wrong.....Is it ok to use cruise control while in Tow mode? and yes, I always use Tow mode when my trailer is hooked up.

Reason I ask if its ok to use cruise control while towing is because one time years ago I was told cruise control is not to be used while towing any trailer. I always did with my F150 but then again I had the transmission service every 30,000 miles.

And I don't think there is a setting on my truck to show the current gear next to the "D" while driving. If there is I cannot find it

My 2 cents; I never use CC while towing, it's hard on your truck. It has one mission, keep your speed where you set it, at all costs, and it will very aggressively make changes to get there. Of all the half tons, the Ram is the most agressive at nailing your speed down to the set number. One "reviewer" was praising it up and down on a tow test of how quickly it downshift to not lost a single MPH and I just think ... dude, half those downshifts on your test were unnecessary if you had just let the truck coast up/down a little. I'm NOT a fan of it.

When I'm doing it myself, I'm far more relaxed, letting the truck speed coast up and down with traffic or the grade of the road. I can look at the road ahead and slowly build speed to climb a grade, letting the speed drop down a little by the time you hit the top... or letting speed build a little running down hill and then letting it naturally bleed off. I can spot traffic conditions up ahead and adjust my speed slowly instead of reacting "last minute" and getting all aggressive.

"Can" you use CC while towing... well nothing will blow up. But if you know how to drive and put in the effort, you can do a far better job with less stress on your drivetrain.

But I do always use T/H.

Related question... should you tow in overdrive? My truck will do it on the freeway, but again it's far less stress on the truck to tow in direct drive so I use ERS to limit to 6th. The truck is far happier at 2200 rpms than it is at 1700, much more power left in reserve, and towing in OD can't be good for the tranny either.

 

[CGilham]

turkeybird, thank you so much for providing that info. I found it within the settings menu. I guess I didn't look in that menu before this.

 

[CGilham]

ramffl, very good advice there. I never used to tow with cruise control until one time the conversation came up at a local fishing tourny. Bunch of boat owners who trailer a lot made claims it was better for the vehicle than braking and constant accelerating. I never gave it a whole lot of thought as to the how's and why's so I tried using CC and it was more comfortable especially in 3 lanes with lots of traffic passing me all the time.

I'm assuming you are from Canada. I'll be headed that way in September for two weeks of bass fishing around the Rideau area. I'll definitely forgo CC on any kind of hills for sure. May try it though on more flat terrains just to get a feel.

Thanks fellas for all the advice and help!

 

[ramffml]

ramffl, very good advice there. I never used to tow with cruise control until one time the conversation came up at a local fishing tourny. Bunch of boat owners who trailer a lot made claims it was better for the vehicle than braking and constant accelerating. I never gave it a whole lot of thought as to the how's and why's so I tried using CC and it was more comfortable especially in 3 lanes with lots of traffic passing me all the time.

I'm assuming you are from Canada. I'll be headed that way in September for two weeks of bass fishing around the Rideau area. I'll definitely forgo CC on any kind of hills for sure. May try it though on more flat terrains just to get a feel.

Thanks fellas for all the advice and help!

Some CC's can do a better job if the computer knows what speed you're aiming for, but the system in our trucks is quite good at detecting when you're going down hill and as soon as you tap the brakes it will downshift once/twice and start braking for you.

Enjoy the fishing

 

[CGilham]

Excellent and thank you!