i have an 04 QC 1500. When i am towing the camper or the boat on the highway i begin my climb up a hill, using the throttle, kick down the tranny, hit the tow/haul and the truck will maintain that gear/speed/rpm until i reach the top where i take off the tow/haul and continue on my way. The problem is around/in town. I usually leave it in tow/haul but when i hit hills the truck seems to bogg way down to the point that i need to mash the gas to kick the tranny down. When i return the pedal to about 1/2 the truck upshifts again to the point of bogging again. Is this common? Should i be shifting from "D" to "2" while using tow haul? I understand that there are programmers but before i spend some money i do not have i would like to make sure there is not something wrong with the truck or something i can do to it first. Thanks

 

It is not a boost button for going up hills. When you are towing something of significant weight, tow haul mode should be engaged at all times. What is the point of keeping it in tow mode around town when not towing anything and then using it sparingly when you are towing something.

You can buy a tuner to adjust your tranny operation or even enhance towing. But with or without that, tow haul mode is for towing and is a full time mode, not a get me over this hill button.

 

around town i am towing something. leaving my house, one way is up hill to reach the highway.thats why i was asking why it was acting differently. as for the highway, i am not using it as a boost button. i have been told by mechanics and others that i do not have to use it all the time, that tow/haul can be engaged/disengaged on the "fly". if you are cruising along on a flat section of highway, turn it off for gas mileage that tow/haul is to stop your vehical from "hunting" gears on an incline. At work, when hauling some of the smaller equipment around with the work trucks, yes, i leave tow/haul engaged at all times but currently the camper and boat that i tow with my personal truck
come in around 1 1/2 tons.

 

That's one of the flaws with the 04's. You can't lockout your OD so the truck shifts down to 4th even in town as soon as you take your foot off the gas a little. I guess you can leave it in 2nd if you're at a pretty low speed.

 

Better gas mileage at the possible expense of a burned out tranny. My brother ignored his tow haul mode when towing his boat. First thing to go was overdrive. I dont use tow mode for small things but when towing my rv it is on 100% of the time. My rule of thumb is: if the trailer is heavy enough to need its own brakes, tow mode is turned on. They key word in "automatic transmission" is "automatic". Set it to the proper mode and let it do its thing. These mechanics that are advising you are the ones who stand to make a buck when you break it.

 

Hemigreg, I understand where u r coming from and I have no problems leaving it in tow haul when hooked up except for the fact that when I let tow haul computer drive the truck shifts like $hit. leading me to be doing more harm to the tranny. Its trying to stay in too high of a gear and do more gear hunting than if I use it the way I described. I have used many vehicals with the tow haul so I am aware of how the function, and to me this 04 ram is not functioning properly. Any of this make sense?

 

Yeh it makes sense. Mine doesnt like maintaining speeds above 60mph when towing without shifting down for what seems like no reason sometimes. Then i have to persuade it to shift back up with the pedal. Pain in the butt but i am towing 7k or so pounds and i know it has to work a lot harder. I try to plan my trips to stay off high speed interstates. Saves gas and dont have as many shifting issues. Fortunately, for me, i dont have many hills to deal with in part of the world.

 

I do understand what you mean by turning it on at the hill since when you first engage tow/haul, it will usually downshift to 3rd and won't drop back into 4th until the load is taken off the tranny. Then it's back to shifting in 4th asap and won't get back to 3rd soon enough. At least it did for mine. It was the only way I could keep in drive while towing up a long gentle grade. I might have turned it off and on right away for this reason but otherwise it was alway on. Sure looks like yours if shifting like mine did before re-gearing.

 

no its functioning properly... in 2004 the Rams didn't shut off the overdrive (to keep better fuel economy).

The owners manual even says that you should use 2nd gear and reduce speed on inclines when towing heavy loads...

So if you want to improve the performance your best bet is to get a tuner.

 

Thanks Izero. That does make sense. One of the techs that works with my dad used to work at dodge and basically gave him the same answer word for word. I guess I will be looking into a tuner. Anyone have a recommendation? Thanks.