Heading to the Rockies for 5 or 6 weeks.

[BarabooBob]

Well we have been traveling all over the place and I found out how my 3.5 EcoBoost would handle the Rockies. Going up hills I have no problem with power at all. I slow for the corners and speed back up to whatever speed I feel is safe. We have passed many gas Class A's that are in the slow lane with their engines screaming to get to the top.
On the downhill runs however, the engine is still a 3.5 liter gasser when it comes to motor braking. I have to use my brakes more than I would like on the long high speed drops. Today I came down what is probably my steepest, curviest downhill in my driving experience. This road was handled well by the EB because the speed limit was 25 and I could use first gear and had very good speed control with engine braking. I only had to touch the brakes a few times on that stretch. This was in Colorado between the towns of Dinosaur and Fruita. I don't remember the road number right now.
For an everyday driver with only limited towing in the mountains, I really like my EB and may buy another one in the future. I will have to do some serious thinking before I get a new truck because I may buy a diesel with exhaust brake. I don't know what size truck at this time. They keep changing options on trucks so time will tell.

[Grit_dog]

No, you just don’t get the same compression braking with less engine volume and cylinders, especially combined with forced induction.

[flguppie]

Is it the engine size or transmission?

I went from a: 2010 F150 5.4L V8 with 6 speed Tran that was slow on the uphill climbs but great with tow-haul going down hill

I now have a:

2018 3.5 EgoBoost V6 with 10 speed Tran that was awesome on the uphill climbs and OK on the downhills with tow-haul. I may be tapping the brakes a few more times going down to get it to shift to a lower gear because I now have more gears....I figure that is a transmission difference, not block size. I have noticed rpm stays higher longer at the end of the hill run and it takes longer to get the Tran to shift back to a higher gear after once down.

[lbrjet]

Desert Captain wrote:
"I don't know how anyone could tell that I was not using tow/haul by what I wrote."

No offense intended but this is what you wrote, sounded like you weren't using Tow Haul:

"On the downhill runs however, the engine is still a 3.5 liter gasser when it comes to motor braking. I have to use my brakes more than I would like on the long high speed drops. Today I came down what is probably my steepest, curviest downhill in my driving experience. This road was handled well by the EB because the speed limit was 25 and I could use first gear and had very good speed control with engine braking."

If you are in TH you should not have to use your brakes much at all. A light tap of the brake pedal will downshift the trans one gear, no need to manually shift down unless that's what you like to do though it does seem a tad redundant.

On a long 5 or 6 percent grade I select a speed that is appropriate for the road conditions and set cruise control while in Tow Haul. This usually gets me to the bottom of the grade without ever touching the brakes or at most doing so lightly and not often.

As always... Opinions and YMMV.

:C

I believe the OP's point was that a 3.5L V6 doesn't have the same engine braking capability as a 5 or 6 liter engine. The turbo is great for going up, but doesn't help you going down.

[bid_time]

The minute my F150 is picking up speed while coasting (in tow/haul mode) and I touch the brakes, the tranny downshift (sometimes more than 1 gear) and engine braking comes in.

[ReneeG]

profdant139 wrote:
This whole thing would never have happened if you'd been driving a dually.

(I have no idea what that means, really, but somehow someone always says that.) 😉

And you should have had LT tires on your towed vehicle.

(Same thing -- it always comes up, so why not raise that issue in advance??)

This is kind of like Thanksgiving dinner -- you know Uncle Fred is going to start ranting about guns (one way or the other), but you don't know exactly when the fun will begin.

Just havin' a little fun here, since I don't have anything meaningful to add.

Good one (where is the "eyes rolling" emoticon when I need it!?)

[JIMNLIN]

ReneeG wrote:
Note - our '99 F250 had Overdrive, but it did not downshift automatically as our 2011 F350 in TH mode does.

Yeah ...some folks think tow/haul works the same for all auto trannies....which they don't. Some times not even in the same brands.

Best to read the owners manual in the glove box for each tranny.

[profdant139]

This whole thing would never have happened if you'd been driving a dually.

(I have no idea what that means, really, but somehow someone always says that.) 😉

And you should have had LT tires on your towed vehicle.

(Same thing -- it always comes up, so why not raise that issue in advance??)

This is kind of like Thanksgiving dinner -- you know Uncle Fred is going to start ranting about guns (one way or the other), but you don't know exactly when the fun will begin.

Just havin' a little fun here, since I don't have anything meaningful to add.

[Ozlander]

BarabooBob wrote:
I don't know how anyone could tell that I was not using tow/haul by what I wrote. I always use tow/haul but I prefer to stay ahead of excess speed by shifting myself.

You also didn't say you were towing, but I assume you were.
When braking, you are also using the trailer brakes, which is a good thing. I wouldn't worry to much about using the brakes as long as you keep the speed down, even if it's 25 mph.

[Desert_Captain]

"I don't know how anyone could tell that I was not using tow/haul by what I wrote."

No offense intended but this is what you wrote, sounded like you weren't using Tow Haul:

"On the downhill runs however, the engine is still a 3.5 liter gasser when it comes to motor braking. I have to use my brakes more than I would like on the long high speed drops. Today I came down what is probably my steepest, curviest downhill in my driving experience. This road was handled well by the EB because the speed limit was 25 and I could use first gear and had very good speed control with engine braking."

If you are in TH you should not have to use your brakes much at all. A light tap of the brake pedal will downshift the trans one gear, no need to manually shift down unless that's what you like to do though it does seem a tad redundant.

On a long 5 or 6 percent grade I select a speed that is appropriate for the road conditions and set cruise control while in Tow Haul. This usually gets me to the bottom of the grade without ever touching the brakes or at most doing so lightly and not often.

As always... Opinions and YMMV.

:C

[Huntindog]

BarabooBob wrote:
I don't know how anyone could tell that I was not using tow/haul by what I wrote.

That's just the way it works here.
For instance, based on what you wrote, I can say with certainty the the problem was you are using the wrong brand of oil.:B

[BarabooBob]

I don't know how anyone could tell that I was not using tow/haul by what I wrote. I always use tow/haul but I prefer to stay ahead of excess speed by shifting myself. I have a selective shift 6 speed and was able to use it without hitting the brakes unless necessary. Without hitting the brakes, the tranny will not know there are sharp turns ahead that I can control most of the time with my shifter but had to use the brakes more than I like as reported in my original post.
I was raised by a truck driving father who taught me how to drive a manual and automatic tranny on hills and when pulling loads. Considering that he was a trained driving instructor, I think he did a pretty good job in teaching me how to drive.

[profdant139]

Thanks, Captain!! Very informative.

I am guessing that my next truck will have T/H!

[Lwiddis]

Good report, Bob. I wish more RVers would learn how to safely climb and descend.

[ReneeG]

Note - our '99 F250 had Overdrive, but it did not downshift automatically as our 2011 F350 in TH mode does.