Tranny Holdback On Hills With Load

[Savagecanuck1]

I came down a fairly long grade mountain road yesterday with my quad trailer on and a rhino[trailer and load prob 3500lbs]I used tow haul mode but I needed to put it into 1st most as in second it had very little in hold back.Truck is an 08 4x4 5.3 with 4.10 rear end.I try to stay off the brakes as it seems easy to cook the front rotors if you push it.My old 06 F150 held back the load alot better.Anyone else notice this

[georgecdisc]

I came down a fairly long grade mountain road yesterday with my quad trailer on and a rhino[trailer and load prob 3500lbs]I used tow haul mode but I needed to put it into 1st most as in second it had very little in hold back.Truck is an 08 4x4 5.3 with 4.10 rear end.I try to stay off the brakes as it seems easy to cook the front rotors if you push it.My old 06 F150 held back the load alot better.Anyone else notice this

I find my '08 has nothing for engine braking. Using 2nd gear going down mountains at a good clip. I came from a 5 speed manual transmission '98, and that was excellent for engine braking. 3rd gear all the way down a mountain, 2nd gear if it was really twisty and wanted to keep 35mph max. As far as I know there is not much you can do. Newer 6 speeds are supposedly built with better engine braking capabilities.

 

Edit: Drove across the mountains in the winter time with a lot of snow. I do have ABS, but I still like using the engine to keep a constant braking force. Makes me feel more comfortable when using the brake to do minor speed adjustments.