ritablack
Hazleton, PA
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Joined: 08/02/2005
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This might sound like a dumb question to some of you car jocks, but I'm not use to towing anything.
The other day I was traveling with my trailer and I didn't realize that I was coming up to a fairly steep incline and I was in Drive. When I started loosing speed, I knew I should drop down in gears, but then wondered if I did it at the wrong time would it hurt my tranny? When should you drop down in gear? When you slow down? when you have to increase rpm's to keep up speed? should your foot be on the gas or off? Or does any of this really matter?
Rita Black
Grey Bear-2005 Chevy Trailblazer
Eaglesnest-2006 Wildwood 21FB
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fordsooperdootydieselsmoker
OrangeCountyCalifornia
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Joined: 08/13/2004
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This is a good article about the TrailBlazer. Look like the transmission does all the work, and the good torque the engine makes helps the TrailBlazer do well on hills. Don't worry about it, as long as the engine/tranny is out of overdrive, it will do well!
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Dick_B
Palos Heights, IL USA
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Joined: 07/10/2002
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a Wagon Master once told me that when going uphill if you can't increase speed you are in too high a gear. Seems to work pretty well.
Seems to me that the auto tranny shifts down with my foot on the gas so it must not hurt itself.
Dick_B
2003 SunnyBrook 27FKS
2003 3/4 T Chevrolet Suburban
Equal-i-zer Hitch
One wife, two bikes (both Electric Schwinn's with motor assist)
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mowermech
Billings, MT
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Joined: 06/28/2003
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One of the major reasons for having an automatic transmission is so you don't HAVE to think about when to shift gears. The computer which controls the tranny does the thinking for you.
CM1, USN (RET)
'94 Dodge 3500 4X2 CTD, Std. cab, LB, 5 speed, 4.10 LS diff., Jacobs Rambrake, 273,000 Miles
'99 Monaco McKenzie 32' triple slide
'95 Tioga 29H Ford-based Class C
Daily driver: '06 Jeep Liberty CRD
Towed: '06 Jeep Rubicon Unlimited
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old guy
Oregon (pronounced Or e gun)
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one piece of advice, don't try going up hill as fast as you go on the flats. just a big waste of gas and longevity on the tranny and engine.
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Terryallan
NC
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Joined: 06/28/2004
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Don't worry too much about shifting going up. the trany will do that for you. Coming down is a different thing, and It is really important when to shift. If you are in the mountains
First. Notice what gear the TV was in coming up. and shift to that gear BEFORE starting down. Always shift down before starting down the hill.
Terry & Shay
Pioneer 23T6
04 F150, 5.4, Lariat SuperCab
Lazy Campers
NC
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Dave H M
IL
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I don't understnd where the Wagon Master is coming from. When driving into a hill/mountain in a large rig/even 18 wheeler, especially with a manual, you hold the foot feed dwon and watch the rpm drop as the engine pulls down. When it gets below the power curve, you double clutch and grab a lower gear and do the same until you can get a steady pull without loosing R's or you increase in speed at the top and start shifting up.
When dragging a fifth wheel with the power stroke, I spend a lot of time pulling when the rpm is dropping slightly, ie no way it will speed up. I shift when it falls out of the power curve.
Sounds like the urban legend of using the same gear to go down a hill as up one.  Anyone go up and down Saluda mountain in NC? The trucks are grinding up the mountain. When going the other way they are going a lot faster. I drop two gears going up that mountain. Going down I leave it in OD and only have to rub the brakes 2 or 3 times.
JMHO
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Cabriolet86
Rochester, MN
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Quote:One of the major reasons for having an automatic transmission is so you don't HAVE to think about when to shift gears. The computer which controls the tranny does the thinking for you.
But transmissions can't see hills in advance; you can. If you see a hill coming up that you know will downshift anyways, you can manually downshift your auto, or hit the gas to manually downshift it. In anticipating the hill, you won't scrub off any speed. If you let the transmission do all the work, you'll lose 5-10 MPH before it ever downshifts.
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mkirsch
Rochester, NY
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Joined: 04/09/2004
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There is some skill involved, but with an automatic, you can be "dumb" about it and still make it to the top of the hill in fairly good shape.
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MFinCA
San Francisco Bay Area, CA
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Joined: 06/09/2004
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Dave H M wrote:Sounds like the urban legend of using the same gear to go down a hill as up one. Anyone go up and down Saluda mountain in NC? The trucks are grinding up the mountain. When going the other way they are going a lot faster.
On steep, long, inclines my 'Burb will drop into 2nd gear and run up the tach to about 4,000 rpms. I can take all but the steepest inclines at 50 mph or more.
Going down the other side, I will slip the transmission into 2nd and use the gears to keep the speed down to around 55-60 mph.
So going down the other side of a mountain, I end up running it in the same gear that I climbed it.
In some of the mountains of California, the truck speed limit going down those steep inclines is 35 mph. For the most part, that is a lot faster than they were able to climb it.
MFinCA
2004 Homestead Settler 255RS
1999 Chevrolet Suburban 2500
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