Newbie Towing Question

roned2 · 03-21-2009, 04:45 PM

We are planning a trip to the west coast in the spring. I have never pulled the Trailmanor in the mountains. Everyone says that you should not tow in overdrive especially if the transmission is moving back and forth between gears. My question is this: Do I choose a gear when in the mountains or do I downshift when necessary. Is there a gear I should try to stay in. Thanks in advance for any replies.

03-21-2009, 05:29 PM

Heather & Ron
I have an older 4-runner with a 3.4 liter v8 "183 hp" and also tow a 3124KS.
Your 2008 Toyota Highlander is most likely a 3.5 V6 at 270 hp with a 5 speed trans. From what I understand, towing with the overdrive on uses a planatary gear which gears it more than 1-1 ratio. 4th gear should be a 1:1 ratio, but I may be wrong because I am not familiar with the Highlander.
I constantly go up and down 1-70 from Denver which is a 7% grade in about 3 places. I always leave my overdrive off increase my braking on the trailers electric brakes and use my engine compression downhill when I can. The brake rotors are fairly thin on the 99 4runner and they will warp fairly easy when overheating them.
Going uphill -- 6% grade 55mph, 7% grade 25-30mph.
Happy camping.

03-21-2009, 06:50 PM

I tow with a Mercedes ML320- It's a big 6 banger. When in the mountains, I watch my temperature gauge pretty closely. I don't push it and keep my flashers on as soon as I drop below 50 or so. Usually I'm right in there with really loaded semis. So far I haven't had any issues but I don't break any land speed barriers either. Fortunately, most of these types of grades are pretty short.

Phil

03-21-2009, 07:15 PM

I would check the highlander manual, most of the time it is recommended to turn off the OD when towing. Usually a switch or button ( on auto trans) . This makes for better trans cooling and less strain on the trans. It will hurt your mileage but save your transmission. Once back on fairly level ground, you can turn OD back on.

03-21-2009, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roned2

My question is this: Do I choose a gear when in the mountains or do I downshift when necessary. Is there a gear I should try to stay in. Thanks in advance for any replies.

I don't usually select a lower gear going up a grade but do downshift when the rpms get low. I try to keep the Tundra around 3000 rpm or better when pulling up a grade.

I do select a lower gear when going downhill on a steep grade so that I get more engine braking.

Hope this helps.

03-22-2009, 12:40 PM

I just keep an eye on my trenamission temperature gauge. Unfortunately, not all tow vehicles have that.

What would it take to add a transmission temperature gauge?

For some vehicles, you could perhaps plug into the OBD II plug.

03-22-2009, 04:22 PM

Take a lok at the SCAN GAUGE this is a wonderful device for towing,, It is about 2x5x2 and has a cord that plugs into the ODBII ( diagnostic port usually under the dash on the drivers side. It will report a host of information on the condition of the engine and transmission as well as mileage info. It is a great tool, relatively inexpensive and simple to install just stick on velcro , plug it in and your done.

**Bill** · 03-28-2009, 09:46 AM

The SCAN GAUGE is a great choice. Another is the Aeroforce gauge (www.aeroforcetech.com). If you have any concerns about your vehicle, one of these could save you a big repair bill.

Bill

ThePair · 03-28-2009, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rumbleweed

Take a lok at the SCAN GAUGE this is a wonderful device for towing,, It is about 2x5x2 and has a cord that plugs into the ODBII ( diagnostic port usually under the dash on the drivers side. It will report a host of information on the condition of the engine and transmission as well as mileage info. It is a great tool, relatively inexpensive and simple to install just stick on velcro , plug it in and your done.

Would you happen to know if it will give information like Transmission Fluid Temp on, say, a Toyota Sienna? I went to the website, but didn't see if that information was there, and it seems to be one of the important ones, according to some on this board.

If anything, it almost sounds like that information is not available, which then makes me wonder what this could be used for?

Marc

MudDog · 03-29-2009, 12:24 AM

I also have a Sienna and have looked at the ScanGauge. It looks like it provides useful info as part of the standard gauge but, from what I can tell, it looks like to get transmission temp you need to use the XGauge functionality (a way of adding additional codes your vehicle supports).

See below for a link to the current X-Codes: (Sadly, the only Toyota vehicle listed in the extended codes is a Prius)

http://www.scangauge.com/support/pdfs/XGAUGE.pdf