Tow vehicle related- towing with cruise control on

maxwell18 · 07-21-2011, 06:23 AM

Do any of you use the cruise when towing say on an interstate? I was using my cruise the other day on the interstate and after about 50 to 60 miles I noticed my engine temp had risen a small bit. Not enough to be harmful but not where it normally runs the temp. My truck is Dodge 2500, 6.7 L, 4x4. I don't know if this is normal as this is my first diesel engine. My gas chev silverado temp never moved. When I disengaged the cruise the temp. came back to where it normaly runs.

Old car · 07-21-2011, 06:34 AM

I don't use the cruise when towing. With the trailer pulling down the tow vechile anyway I don't like the "hard" kicks into acceleration mode even on a slight grades. I have to double check but I believe my owners manual on the truck said not to use cruise when towing.

MtnGuy · 07-21-2011, 07:55 AM

I seldom use the cruise control while towing. I would have to leave OD off for that to work properly, without a lot of shifting. I prefer to "feather" the accelerator as much as possible in OD, and manually cut the OD off when I know some shifting is going to happen. I can maximize my fuel mileage this way.

Bill_C · 07-21-2011, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxwell18

Do any of you use the cruise when towing say on an interstate? I was using my cruise the other day on the interstate and after about 50 to 60 miles I noticed my engine temp had risen a small bit. Not enough to be harmful but not where it normally runs the temp. My truck is Dodge 2500, 6.7 L, 4x4. I don't know if this is normal as this is my first diesel engine. My gas chev silverado temp never moved. When I disengaged the cruise the temp. came back to where it normaly runs.

Not to mention safety. If the trailer takes a side slip on oil or something and your truck slows down the cruise control will accelerate the truck (possibly when you are facing the ditch) when in fact you need to slow down. A jab on the brakes is sometimes the worst thing you can do to get a trailer whip under control. Same for winter driving, with or without a trailer connected. Never use cruise control in winter for the same reason.

fordmantpw · 07-21-2011, 10:13 AM

I did not use it in my F150 towing our travel trailer, but I do with my F250 diesel towing our fifth wheel. The F150 was constantly down-shifting with the cruise on, and I was like mtnguy where I would turn cruise off and feather it to keep it in OD. The diesel on the other hand only down-shifts on the larger hills, otherwise it just keeps chugging along in OD.

The_Stuff · 07-21-2011, 10:54 AM

i only use cruise when towing on flat ground that i can see for miles and during the day.

dlhoppe · 07-21-2011, 02:17 PM

Yep, only on ultra-flat terrain for me.

buckisland1950 · 07-21-2011, 02:23 PM

As long as it's not constantly shifting into lower gear for hills, I use mine.

mike54 · 07-21-2011, 06:00 PM

I don't use cruise but I notice a slight increase in temp. when towing but nothing to worry about.

donn · 07-21-2011, 06:18 PM

Use it all the time when towing. I find that I can average about 1MPG better fuel economy if I use it. Only time it is not on is if I am on a windy stretch of road where the speeds are too up and down.

M109Rrider · 07-21-2011, 07:24 PM

use mine every chance I get.

Ovair · 07-21-2011, 07:53 PM

Depends. I no longer have a pickup. But when I pulled using a Chevy 1500, the owners manual (at that time) said don't. Later when I had a 3500, the owners manual said it was fine (newer, bigger, diesel vs. gas). There are driving considerations that might preclude using cruise (rain, ice, heavy traffic, terrain), but I believe the biggest show stopper is if the vehicle was engineered to accommodate using cruise while towing. If your book says okay, I say okay.

crocus · 07-21-2011, 08:41 PM

I always use the cruise. There is nothing more irritating, especially on the interstates, than someone who isn't using cruise and cannot maintain a constant speed.
As for the comment about safety, the lightest tap on the brake pedal disengages the cruise, and the brakes aren't even applied.

fordmantpw · 07-21-2011, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crocus

I always use the cruise. There is nothing more irritating, especially on the interstates, than someone who isn't using cruise and cannot maintain a constant speed.
As for the comment about safety, the lightest tap on the brake pedal disengages the cruise, and the brakes aren't even applied.

Agreed!

And for safety, you can also hit the cruise's "off" button, or gently squeezing on the trailer brakes will typically shut the cruise off as well if you are in a sway situation.

Fire Instructor · 07-21-2011, 09:54 PM

I use mine whenever I can.

maxwell18 · 07-22-2011, 08:04 AM

Thanks everyone, I was curious about the temp. mostly.

ng2951 · 07-22-2011, 08:23 AM

I have always used mine. You would be hard pressed to be able to maintain speed manually compared to cruise.

If you couple it with ScanGauge you can really figure out where to operate cruise as well as monitor transmission temps if available.

Some of the newer vehicles are coming with cruise control that has a setting for towing. I wish mine had that.

While it is true that cruise has a bunch of problems in the mountains I have learned a few tricks. For one I step on the accelerator to start picking up speed early for the cruise system. When going the down the down side since the CC will lag considerably, I unlock the CC and hit resume. The engine gets back to where it should much quicker...

M109Rrider · 07-22-2011, 08:30 AM

Using cruise should have no effect on engine temp.

M109Rrider · 07-22-2011, 08:32 AM

Sometimes I'll disengage the cruise for a moment and coast to let the TC lock up and bring the RPM's back down if it seems like it's taking too long with the cruise on.

SaskCampers · 07-22-2011, 11:52 AM

I use the cruise all the time and put the tranny in tow/haul. The computer does a fine job and does not let it lug down.

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