Towing up and down hill
 

Hello,

I am new to this forum, new to diesel trucks, and new to towing RV's. We have an 08 F250 6.4L and tow a 34' Silver Back fifth wheel. My question is how do I tow up and down hill. I have seen many differnet opinions and I am hoping to get some expert opinions here for the F250. 1. Going up hill do I leave the TV in tow mode and floor it all the way up the hill? So what gear and how do I use the accelerator. 2. Going down do I leave in tow mode or do I drop to lower gear and only use brakes just a bit when needed. any help is welcome.

Thanks
16fiver

I would leave it in "tow" anytime you have the trailer hooked up. Keep it in "drive" while going up hill. Fuel pedal position shouldn't matter, unless your temperature starts to rise. Back off if it does. If you anticipate going downhill where a lot of braking will be required, drop down a gear or two, depending on the severity of the hill.

A lot of people may disagree with that last statement. Brakes are cheaper than transmissions. True. But transmissions are cheaper than crashes, if you get going overspeed and can't get it back under control. The same grade hill may be handled completely differently, say whether you're on interstate where you can see to the top of the next hill, or maybe a two lane with a sweeping turn at the bottom. Are you in West Virginia, big steep hills? Or Kansas, seeing miles in all directions? In any event, my way of looking at it is "better safe than sorry".