pnthrsprwl
North Carolina
New Member
Joined: 04/25/2012
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
 Offline
|
Brought home our new Keystone Passport 238ml today. I am towing with an 04 Dodge Dakota Quad cab with the 4.7 V8 engine.
I drove home with the overdrive off. 60mph @ 2500 rpm
What do you recommend for an rpm sweet spot / range? Moving from pop up to travel trailer so very new to pulling this kind of weight. Weight distribution and sway bars work great though!
|
donn0128
Pronounced Ore-gun
Senior Member
Joined: 04/21/2005
View Profile
 Online
|
Sweet spot depends on too many factors to give you any recomendations. Look up the motors peak hp/torque numbers. Aim for between them and you will be close.
Donn,Lorri,Max (The Rescued Lab)
Resident Know It All 
|
ata3001
Niagara Falls, NY
Senior Member
Joined: 05/31/2006
View Profile
Offline
|
Surprised you can lockout OD. I had an 05 Dakota V8 & you couldn't lockout OD. All you could do was put it in tow/haul mode which only modified the shift points.
Ron & BJ
2008 Dutchmen Freedom Spirit FS180 (24 FT) w/full factory dark tinted glass & front window
2007 Dodge Ram 4 WD, Quad Cab, Big Horn Edition, 5.7L Hemi w/tow pkg, 3.92 LSD, Prodigy
|
goducks10
Keizer OR
Senior Member
Joined: 02/22/2010
View Profile
Offline
|
2500's not all that bad really. Your sweet spot is usualy the peak TQ rpm. But unless you have a diesel or a Ford 3.5 Ecoboost it's usually up around 35-4000rpms. It's best to have a gas tow vehicle not lugging, so running out of OD is okay. My 2010 F150 has no way to turn the OD off, just a tow/haul mode. It goes into any gear that the tranny deams neccessary. It lugs and revs all day long. I guess thats what a warranty is for. That TT is going to be a pretty good load for your Dakota, probably around 5000lbs loaded. Tongue weight around 600+lbs. How does it tow now?
|
Jerrybo66
AZ
Senior Member
Joined: 10/07/2003
View Profile
Offline
|
No matter whether a Dodge, Ford or GMC. the manufacturers don't know if the buyer of their equipment knows a truck from a litter box so advises in the owners manual accordingly. Consider the terrain, up hill, level, down hill, the sound of the motor, how much "pedal" you need, etc. If you can travel on level with 1/3rd pedal in OD it's a waste to not use it. Listen to your motor and pay attention hoe much "pedal" you need to maintain a speed. I seldom take my truck out of OD but most of my travels are in AZ level country..Most other shifts are out of OD on a hill when the tach drops below 2500...IMO..
Support the Country you live in or live in the Country you support
2003 Sierra SP 26'Toy Hauler
1997 F-350, PSD, 4X4, red Crew Cab, long bed.
2007 Arctic Cat Prowler, Arctic Cat 500
|
|
|
skipnchar
Topeka or somewhere else
Senior Member
Joined: 12/17/2003
View Profile
|
YOu can drive yourself crazy trying to drive by the tach. Leave it in drive (if it's an automatic) and the transmission will do what it needs to do.
Good luck / Skip
2011 F-150 HD Ecoboost 3.5 V6. 2550 payload, 17,100 GCVWR -
2004 F-150 HD (Traded after 80,000 towing miles)
2007 Rockwood 8314SS 34' travel trailer
US Govt survey shows three out of four people make up 75% of the total population
|
smkettner
Southern California
Senior Member
Joined: 03/21/2005
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
|
2500 is the low end and probably 3100-3300 the high end for cruising down the road. ~4000 as needed climbing the hills.
2001 F150 SuperCrew
2006 Keystone Springdale 249FWBHLS
675 watts solar
Send a PM if I missed something
|
Terryallan
Foothills NC
Senior Member
Joined: 06/28/2004
View Profile
Offline
|
Jerrybo66 wrote:No matter whether a Dodge, Ford or GMC. the manufacturers don't know if the buyer of their equipment knows a truck from a litter box so advises in the owners manual accordingly. Consider the terrain, up hill, level, down hill, the sound of the motor, how much "pedal" you need, etc. If you can travel on level with 1/3rd pedal in OD it's a waste to not use it. Listen to your motor and pay attention hoe much "pedal" you need to maintain a speed. I seldom take my truck out of OD but most of my travels are in AZ level country..Most other shifts are out of OD on a hill when the tach drops below 2500...IMO..
I prolly misunderstood. But mine never sees 2500 RPM unless pulling up hill. Even with OD off. 60 MPH will only get me 2100.
BTW. My engine like od off a lot better than it does od on, while towing.
Terry & Shay
Coachman Apex 288BH.
04 F150, 5.4, Lariat SuperCab
Lazy Campers
|
Jerry9n
SE Michigan
Senior Member
Joined: 10/28/2008
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
All depends on gearing where you end up. The 4.7 develops 230 hp @ 4800 rpm and 295 lb ft @3200 so you aren't at max torque yet. These little engines will run at 2500 or better without a problem.
Jerry9n
2009 23' Cikira Escape EXP
2006 Ford Expedition
Reese Pro Series SC
Tekonsha Primus IQ
HTT Mods
|
jacksand5
Southeast MI
New Member
Joined: 04/17/2011
View Profile
Offline
|
ata3001 wrote:Surprised you can lockout OD. I had an 05 Dakota V8 & you couldn't lockout OD. All you could do was put it in tow/haul mode which only modified the shift points.
Agreed.
2010 Ford F-150 XLT SC
2012 Coachman Catalina 30BHS
Prodigy P-2 Brake Controller
Equalizer WD Hitch
Family Man!
Visit our site www.rvandcampingreview.com and leave a review on anything!
|
|
|
