When To Use Tow/haul Mode?

[uchi]

ive finally got a little weight in the back of the truck. 500 pounds of cement that im bringing to work with me today. let me tell you, i dont notice that its back there. the truck still sits level, it rides good, stopping is completely un affected, handles the same, the only difference i see is that gas milage has dropped by 4 or 5 mpg all around. other than that it feels like theres nothing in the back. but im cusious as to when i should start using tow/haul mode. i know 500 pounds isnt a heavy load, not near what some of you guys have thrown in the back, and she even climbed a pretty steep hill at about 1800 rpm without wanting to downshift and had no issues going up it, but with this load would it be more beneficial to use tow/haul? or should i just not worry about it as it is only 500 pounds.

[kdixer]

500 lbs is like having 2-3 adults riding with you. Certainly no need for tow haul for that. I am surprised you have experienced that much decline in gas mileage though. I often transport the whole family in my CC with no noticeable loss in mpg.

[ChevyTech77]

Yup, I wouldn't sweat using tow/haul under those conditions with that load.

[KMGZ400]

tow haul helps out when your hauling about 2000lbs + from what i expirenced

[ATXSerria]

Yea I agree, 500lbs I wouldn't worry about using the tow/haul mode. I only use it when I actually haul something from behind and sometimes I don't even use it if I’m traveling flat with no hills.

As for the decrease mpg you saw, it was probably due to the engine working a little harder than normal to carry the extra 500lbs. In which case, the trans along with the motor hold the RPM's longer. Just wait till you haul something more than 1000lbs and you actually have to use the tow/haul mode... you'll really see a loss in your gas mileage. lol

[kdixer]

4-5 mpg drop is huge considering it is only 500lbs. A family of 4 with luggage for a week weighs more than that load and mpg loss is minimal if even noticeable.

[KMGZ400]

there must be something wrong with your truck... i weekly tow my buddies and my atvs with a 900lb trailer and about 2000lbs of atvs and dont even notice that much MPG drop. my superchips handheld tuner comes with its own tow/haul mode which is awesome, blows the stock tow haul away in shift points and shifting

[Nick The Great]

I guess I don't check my mileage directly after hauling every time, but certainly that seems a lot. Maybe 0.4 - 0.5

 

I had ~3000lbs in the back of my truck this summer and certainly used the T/H, but didn't see that much of a drop

[mxdirtrider56]

There is no way you lost 4-5mpg with 500lbs in your bed. Just no way. That would mean every time you have a few people in your truck your mileage would plummit. I can haul a 30 foot pontoon boat through the mountains and see about a 2 MPG decline. If you did see that much of a decline, you need to figure out what's wrong with your truck cuz it isn't runnin right.

[music]

You'll know it when you need it...

[ChevyTech77]

There is no way you lost 4-5mpg with 500lbs in your bed. Just no way. That would mean every time you have a few people in your truck your mileage would plummit. I can haul a 30 foot pontoon boat through the mountains and see about a 2 MPG decline. If you did see that much of a decline, you need to figure out what's wrong with your truck cuz it isn't runnin right.

 

 

Sorry dude, you're pulling a 30' pontoon, through the mountains, with just a 2 mpg difference? Is that

all down hill?

 

My 5.7 will outpull any 5.3 and still, with my two place enclosed snowmobile trailer on, with two sleds, which

total weighs right about 2000lbs, I go from 15-16 city to 10, no matter where I am. Might get 11-12 with the

trailer in the summer but that's it. Granted, it's kind of like pulling a 2000 lb 4x8 sheet of plywood through the

air but still........

 

Our 26' pontoon isn't light and although I don't haul it more than a few miles a year just to launch and pull it from the lake, I don't see that big 'ol brick being nice to my truck while rolling down the road. I know a good friend of mine pulls his 24' pontoon 500 ish miles, round trip up to Canada every year for his family's annual fishing trip, with his '07 Avalanche and he doesn't get anything over about 11 mpg rolling 65 mph in the rolling hills of Northern Michigan.

[jro909]

500 pounds dosen't need tow mode, when your truck moves like a terd on a side walk from a bunch of weight in the back, thats when to use it

[uchi]

got it thanks guys. i based my loss in gas milage on the dic, i can maintain 21 mpg on the hiway, sometimes more sometimes a little less, the best i saw today was 16.8 travelling at 60 mph, i even reset it a couple times and it went back to 16.8. most of the time it was sitting in the 15's or even 14s on the hiway, which is terrible as with no weight i can do 18 in the city with the way i drive. ill have to test this out again soon and load the truck up with 1000 pounds or so of work material and see what kind of milage im at then. again this was with the dic and ive been trusting its accuracy and changed my driving style based on what it tells me.

[slapshot]

I only use tow/haul when I'm towing my boat (24' Pathfinder @ approx 4500 lbs) around town in stop and go traffic. Once I get out on the interstate, I turn it off. Towing in town, I usually see a 2-3 mpg drop on the DIC.

[berteras]

There is no way you lost 4-5mpg with 500lbs in your bed. Just no way. That would mean every time you have a few people in your truck your mileage would plummit. I can haul a 30 foot pontoon boat through the mountains and see about a 2 MPG decline. If you did see that much of a decline, you need to figure out what's wrong with your truck cuz it isn't runnin right.

 

 

Sorry dude, you're pulling a 30' pontoon, through the mountains, with just a 2 mpg difference? Is that

all down hill?

 

My 5.7 will outpull any 5.3 and still, with my two place enclosed snowmobile trailer on, with two sleds, which

total weighs right about 2000lbs, I go from 15-16 city to 10, no matter where I am. Might get 11-12 with the

trailer in the summer but that's it. Granted, it's kind of like pulling a 2000 lb 4x8 sheet of plywood through the

air but still........

 

Our 26' pontoon isn't light and although I don't haul it more than a few miles a year just to launch and pull it from the lake, I don't see that big 'ol brick being nice to my truck while rolling down the road. I know a good friend of mine pulls his 24' pontoon 500 ish miles, round trip up to Canada every year for his family's annual fishing trip, with his '07 Avalanche and he doesn't get anything over about 11 mpg rolling 65 mph in the rolling hills of Northern Michigan.

 

 

 

 

You lost 6 mpg in the city but you wouldnt lose that much on the highway. I pull a 22 ft bay boat from New Orleans to Destin Fl every August at about 85 and I lose 2-3 mpg. That was with my 6.0 SS