Just bought a 2012 HD2500, 6.0, 6 speed, witha 4.10 differential. With a heavy load and using the tow haul mode, does the transmission shift up and down to "find" the right gear? Do you ever go to the "M" setting and + or - the gears that way to slow you down a hill or help you up a hill? Curious.
Vanda and Dave Ludwig (Vandave) Spoiled King Charles Spaniel, Ultra spoiled Cock-a-phoo, '12 2500HD, 4WD, CC, SB, 6.0, 4.10, 30U Arctic Fox, Equalizer.
It shouldn't be searching for a gear unless you are constantly on/off the gas pedal. If it is doing this without your input, put it in M and find the best gear for your situation. The trans will last a lot longer. Also using the manual mode to gear down coming down a hill is a great way to maintain speed.
2013 Arctic Fox 22GQ
2011 Ram 2500 CC LB CTD G56 3.42 Mineral Gray
I have a 12' Ram, 2500 with a Hemi but the operation should be similiar. The tow haul mode hold's a particular gear longer to limit the amount of shifting/searching for the correct gear and to keep you in the sweet spot of your power band. I have become familiar with the powertrain to know what gear and RPM my truck performs the best at given a certain load, incline/decline and speed, so more often than not I just use the manual mode and lock out the higher gears to avoid any searching between the gears.
vandave wrote: Just bought a 2012 HD2500, 6.0, 6 speed, witha 4.10 differential. With a heavy load and using the tow haul mode, does the transmission shift up and down to "find" the right gear? Do you ever go to the "M" setting and + or - the gears that way to slow you down a hill or help you up a hill? Curious.
It's a new truck. What does your Owner's Manual tell you to do?
Tow/Haul will delay and sharpen your upshifts. It may even avoid the second Overdrive (6th).
IMHO the "M" mode is most useful when descending as you can control the engine braking much better that way.
Keith J.
1999 Sunnybrook 27RKFS Fiver.
2005 GMC Sierra 2500HD CC/SB/DA 2WD, LBZ air cleaner, 52 gal Titan tank, Bilsteins, Line-X, Westin steps, Prodigy, Retrax cover, 16K Superglide, 5th-Airborne pin-box, Multi-vex mirrors, TST TPMS.
Nice truck! The 11'-up strengthened GM/Chev chassis is very impressive.
Update us on your MPG #s after a few tanks of use if you don't mind; I am curious as to what the 6.0L with the 6sp behind and 4.10s gets in daily/mixed driving.
BManning baking in Phoenix
2008 Ford Super Duty F250 XLT, 4x4, crew cab, 6.75' bed
5.4L V8 300hp/365ft-lb, 5sp Torqshift, 4.30 AAM gears
9400lb GVW 11200lb tow
2007 Volvo XC90 AWD V8
4.4L 311hp/325ft-lb, 6sp Aisin, loaded
6100lb GVW 5000lb tow
I have the 2011 2500 6.0 with a Crew cab, and 6speed. 3.73 gears though.
I live in missouri so long hills are everywhere. I put it in tow/haul in the hills and generally once it's up to speed there is no searching. If it's searching for gears you need to either have the dealer look at it or learn to keep your foot steady. I don't use the manual gear selector, except on one hill coming off some property that we goto. It's a LONG, steep hill that's right after we turn onto the road. I'll drop it in the manual 2 and sit at 2600-2800 RPM doing 20mph. the hill has several turns and is gravel. never found another use for the manual selector.
With my 10k lb fifth I normally sit at 2000-2200 RPM at 65mph. On a good day I'll get 9mpg towing, Most often I get 8. For daily driving(50/50 side roads and highway) I get 12 or 13.
bmanning wrote: Nice truck! The 11'-up strengthened GM/Chev chassis is very impressive.
Update us on your MPG #s after a few tanks of use if you don't mind; I am curious as to what the 6.0L with the 6sp behind and 4.10s gets in daily/mixed driving.
I have a 2011 2500hd 4x4 6.0 with 3.73 and get near 9mpg towing a high profile 5th wheel. My highway commute to work gets me 16mpg. Mixed city/highway is around 14.5mpg.
edit to add: Flat land here. The truck has never seen a mountain.
2011 Chevy 2500HD CC/SB 4x4 Victory Red
2003 Crossroads Cruiser CF27RL
Champion Screamer, Reese 16k, and a Blue Status Symbol
Thanks for the feed back. My last truck was an '08 2500HD, D/A. The allison transmission was sweet. Several reasons for switching from diesel to gas. Since I have less than 2,000 miles on the truck, it's hard to say what my mileage is. One long highway trip was 15.9. Combined, it's right at 14.6. I seldom go over 55. Maybe 58 when on the highway. I've not pulled my TT yet. The "Fox" weighs in, fully loaded at 11,800 lbs with a 1350 tongue weight. The tow rating between the 3.73 and 4.10 is a whopping 3,000 lbs. That's why I went with the 4.10. Thanks for the feed back.
2011 3.73 axle, but I use T/H mode and M5. There is no way it will hold 6th gear towing at 65mph, under 2000rpm. 4.10 may, but I doubt it. 5th is good on mostly flat land.
T/H mode raises engine speed upshift and downshift points. It also holds the gears longer after downshifting, longer hysteresis. And the signal to change lanes goes for 3 blinks to 4.
I agree with your decision for 4.10. 9% gearing for 25% higher GCWR does not make sense. The 3.73 is underrated IMHO and the 4.10 ratings are reasonable for performance.
A & A parents of DD 2005, DS1 2007, DS2 2009 2011 Suburban 2500 6.0L 3.73 pulling 2011 Heartland North Trail 28BRS 2012 VW Passat TDI
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