Would you use tow haul mode if pulling a small boat?

[CarrollB]

New-to-me 2016 Ram 1500 with 5.7 and 8-speed tranny. Up until I bought the truck I've been pulling this load with a 2011 GMC Terrain with a 3 liter V-6 and hardly know it is behind the car. My jon-boat, motor, and trailer probably weigh 400-450 pounds. I'm towing maybe 40 miles one-way on relatively flat roads. Would you use the tow haul mode for a load this light? Seems to me this load would be like carrying two additional passengers in the truck.

 

[69GWC]

I pull my waverunners in 7th with tow haul off on the hwy but when I hit the back roads where its hilly I turn it on.
I dont tow anything in 8th and pull my camper in 6th.

 

[Toddbigboytruck]

If I had a boat like that I would not bother with tow haul mode the boat I tow a 18 ft inflatable with a center console and a 35 hp. Total weight with trailer 600ish. And I don’t even know it is there. Now with my 2000 lbs I closed I don’t use the tow haul if in driving around town the 5500 travel trailer I use the tow haul all the time

 

[DeckArtist]

Yessir...always even with an empty trailer. Never want to risk damaging my transmission pulling more than just what I put in the truck.


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[lincmercguy]

When I had my '14 with the Hemi, I wouldn't use tow/haul for my empty 2000lb trailer, but I would use it when I loaded something heavy on the trailer. Besides changing the shift points, the tow/haul mode will keep the transmission from shifting gears more often than necessary. For 400-500lbs, I don't think I would bother. That much weight is about as much as a cab full of passengers and I wouldn't expect it to add much forward wind resistance.

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

You certainly don't need it for that light a trailer but, I like and use t/h mode everywhere I go. I like spirited driving, engine braking, holding a gear longer. Do I need it? No, but it more closely imitates how I would drive the truck if it had a manual trans. I am also in NE Tennessee so plenty of ups & downs, twists & turns where you want to be a gear or two lower than where FCA put the shift points. You're not going to hurt it by using it.

 

[marks146]

Heck, I use tow/haul mode when I'm driving in the hills of Pennsylvania to stop the truck from searching for the proper gear and to hasten the trans downshift so I don't lose momentum. It's not just for towing nor is it just for big trailer towing. You have control over the shift points of your transmission and downshifting to utilize engine braking. If you got it, don't be afraid to use it.

 

[WY-Dave]

If your trans goes hunting for gears, yup.

Tow/Haul Mode:
To reduce potential for automatic transmission overheating, activate TOW/HAUL mode when driving in hilly areas

 

[CarrollB]

I've towed my boat 5-6 times and do not use the tow/haul mode since the boat, motor, and trailer are so light. (450 lbs). I've also monitored the trans temp and it never goes above 185-190. Towing the boat the truck runs about 50% of the time in the econ mode and I can't tell the boat is behind the truck. I've towed my ATV and trailer two times so far. This combo weighs around 1200 pounds. I run in the tow/haul mode and limit the trans to 7th gear. Even limiting the trans to 7th gear I still get around 18 mpg but the area I travel is relatively flat.

 

[Riccochet]

I tow my 18" Triton glass bass boat w/ 150 HP motor all the time. In fact my truck really doesn't do anything but tow my boat or RV. I honestly can't tell a difference while towing the boat with tow/haul on or off. Boat/motor/trailer weighs 3700#.

Now, I can tell a difference when towing the RV which is closer to 8300#.

 

[waynestractor]

New-to-me 2016 Ram 1500 with 5.7 and 8-speed tranny. Up until I bought the truck I've been pulling this load with a 2011 GMC Terrain with a 3 liter V-6 and hardly know it is behind the car. My jon-boat, motor, and trailer probably weigh 400-450 pounds. I'm towing maybe 40 miles one-way on relatively flat roads. Would you use the tow haul mode for a load this light? Seems to me this load would be like carrying two additional passengers in the truck.

That load is equivalent to you and 2 or 3 passengers, I would not worry about TH mode for that at all.

 

[Cardhu]

With Tow haul on and my boat (17 aluminum side console, 115 hp ~3000lbs total) I will seldom see 8th gear. Look at your trans temps if it ain't hotter than usually and not hunting for gears its really your choice.

My engine oil temp running 7th vs 8th is higher but that's not surprising. It certainly isn't far out side of normal. The results from running TH on will be not significantly different with a 600 lb load.