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towing with cruise control

Yeah same. I fully agree you can pedal drive and hold gear if that’s your preference. It’s totally mine if the terrain or load is causing tons of shifting.

I’m just unbothered by a 1 gear downshift to maintain speed. (I fully agree the 5th gens are tuned to maintain speed much more aggressively than any of my other trucks).

One of my best friends tows like you because his Toyota has the smaller 4.7 that has to spin to make power and a 4 or 5 speed (can’t recall). Shifts a lot when you try and maintain. Despises towing with CC for obvious reasons.

Now he’s in a 3.5 ecoboost F150 10 speed with the max tow package so I think his tune will change after his first road trip with all that low end turbo torque available.
 
If it isn't wet or icy and my vehicle has cruise control it's in use regardless of what's in the cargo hold or being pulled. At least on the highway or any other straight boring road.
 
silver billet said:
We're talking 5th gen rams here. It's just a fact that a human is more capable of understanding road conditions and can plan ahead better, leading to less shifts, less winding up/down, less stress on the drivetrain.

You can drive how you like, as I said in my first post it's "safe" to use CC. But humans can still do a better job requiring less shifts/stress, higher MPG, that is the facts.

I'm not going to argue this further as its clear you have your preference.
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As demonstrated not all humans are the same. 🤔
 
Nascar Tommy said:
As demonstrated not all humans are the same. 🤔
Click to expand...

Not all humans, no, but if you have any situational awareness and drive conservatively you can easily do a better job than CC, either towing or running empty. If you drive in the left lane and ride the guys bumper ahead of you, well then CC is probably the better option.
 
Camelot said:
Off topic - If anyone drives in the left lane and blocks traffic, they are the problem. Not the one that rides their bumper. We should really give out more tickets for this!
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These aren't mutually exclusive things. Both behaviours are terrible.
 
silver billet said:
Not all humans, no, but if you have any situational awareness and drive conservatively you can easily do a better job than CC, either towing or running empty. If you drive in the left lane and ride the guys bumper ahead of you, well then CC is probably the better option.
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If you're trying to ride another cars bumper, cruise control probably won't be your friend. I've rarely been behind another vehicle where our cruise speeds were exactly the same. Especially through hills.
 
I don't tow anything big but I do tow probably 1000 miles a year. I use the cruise control all the time without any issues.
 
John J said:
I am planning to take a couple trips towing my camper next month. I have a 19 Ram classic Eco Diesel. I was curious if anyone uses cruise control towing. My last truck a GMC would down shift at the least little grade and red line the motor. I have never towed with a gear limiter or diesel. Is it safe to use cruise or should I drive without cruise.
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Yep, use it. Be ready to drive the truck if you need to, but there aren't any good reasons not to use it on flat and open roads.
 
Used cruise control for over 8000 miles while towing a heavy enclosed trailer last April. Zero issues with transmission temperatures or excessive shifting.

Even while towing well over 5000lbs it takes quite a hill to cause a downshift with the ecodiesel. In tow/haul mode with cruise enabled my truck very rarely goes into 8th gear and stays in 7th at highway speeds with plenty of rpm to prevent lugging.
 
Nascar Tommy said:
Chevy is promoting their "Hands Free" driving mode be used while towing on TV commercials.
Just sayin
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Chevy don't care if you get unit an accident. They will say it's not their fault, and they already sold you their truck.
There is nothing wrong with CC anyways. Towing in the same as not towing you need to be aware of what is happening. It's not uncommon for me to turn off cc going downhill to prevent breaking when I can just coast. I can also keep my truck in 8th gear by hitting a paddle even with cc on, so no hunting is allowed.
 
Darksteel165 said:
Chevy don't care if you get unit an accident. They will say it's not their fault, and they already sold you their truck.
There is nothing wrong with CC anyways. Towing in the same as not towing you need to be aware of what is happening. It's not uncommon for me to turn off cc going downhill to prevent breaking when I can just coast. I can also keep my truck in 8th gear by hitting a paddle even with cc on, so no hunting is allowed.
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Unless you have a GT with paddle shifters, using the gear limiter to display 8th gear doesn't prevent it from downshifting. It doesn't keep it in 8th gear.
 
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HSKR R/T said:
Unless you have a GT with paddle shifters, using the gear limiter to display 8th gear doesn't prevent it from downshifting. It doesn't keep it in 8th gear.
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Yea, the only thing you would accomplish by setting the gear limit to 8th gear is deactivating MDS, but I believe using tow haul mode also deactivates MDS.
 
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