Need help in maintaining speed on inclines

[AquaMan]

Originally Posted by Gumpster808

Anybody use this on 2014 v10 with the 5 speed?

The 2015 and prior years is where the 5 star tune makes the biggest difference.

[Gumpster808]

Originally Posted by AquaMan

The 2015 and prior years is where the 5 star tune makes the biggest difference.

Thanks AquaMan - will have to check it out.

[drivmsafe]

Originally Posted by Finch

We have a 2016 (early) 30DS. While others have spoken of plenty of power while driving up hills, this is not what I am experiencing. I am not towing but still on steep inclines it is not unusual for me to be chugging along at a top speed around 30 to 35 mph. How are all of you able to maintain speed on inclines?

Put it in "tow mode". It changes the shift patterns and you'll be able to gain more speed up hills. Yes, the engine will rev higher but, the v10 works great around 4500rpm. It's built to withstand the higher rpm's. I do it even if I'm not towing. Also will help slow the rig going downhill.

[325BH]

Downshift and push the little pedal on the right!

[mjessie]

2nd recommendation for tow/haul mode. I don't know what incline exactly you're talking about but I went from 1000 ft to 8000 ft with 8%+ inclines recently and it operated pretty well in tow/haul mode. I was not towing however. I maintained a speed of around 45mph. The semis were going slower than me and I was stuck behind them. I think had I not been stuck behind them I would have been doing 50. It kept the RPMs around 3500-4500 and that seemed to be its sweet spot.

I also second what someone else said about just not expecting to zoom up those kind of hills at 65mph. Just get in the right lane with the big rigs and take your time.

[Knoxie89]

Originally Posted by Finch

We have a 2016 (early) 30DS. While others have spoken of plenty of power while driving up hills, this is not what I am experiencing. I am not towing but still on steep inclines it is not unusual for me to be chugging along at a top speed around 30 to 35 mph. How are all of you able to maintain speed on inclines?

I'm not sure what Early means.. but I just got my 2016 rig back from very long stay at the dealer and one of the things I insisted they fix was tow haul. I argued all summer that it didn't work correctly and they finally sent it to Ford. Turns out there's a updated programming for it and it works 100% better. Mostly in down hill situations was my issues but it seems to keep better rpms up hill as well.

[AquaMan]

Originally Posted by Knoxie89

I'm not sure what Early means.. but I just got my 2016 rig back from very long stay at the dealer and one of the things I insisted they fix was tow haul. I argued all summer that it didn't work correctly and they finally sent it to Ford. Turns out there's a updated programming for it and it works 100% better. Mostly in down hill situations was my issues but it seems to keep better rpms up hill as well.

I think he is referring to the early '16s that had the '15 chassis. The first few months of production for the '16 models were built on the leftover '15 chassis, then they were switched over to '16s.

[wayne and sherry]

Heading west out of Denver punching up and over Rockies with JeNNY, a 2015 Forest River FR3 30DS that sits on the Ford F53 frame with the Ford V10 (I'm not sure if it's a 6 or 5 speed transmission) towing a 16" car trailer with electric brakes and a 9,000lb winch mounted on it with our 2012 Jeep Rubicon 2-Door that's lifted with bumpers and winch and 37x12.50x20 SST Pro tires sitting on the trailer - JeNNY is being asked to work hard both going up and down the mountain. I feel she dose really good, with speeds of 35-45 mph going up and never more than 50 mph going down. Of course at speeds of 40mph or less the 4-way hazard lights should be engaged and flashing to warn the cars that are flying up the mountains and passing you. Also the speeds talked about are in perfect clear dry weather conditions eh.

[Knoxie89]

Originally Posted by wayne and sherry

Heading west out of Denver punching up and over Rockies with JeNNY, a 2015 Forest River FR3 30DS that sits on the Ford F53 frame with the Ford V10 (I'm not sure if it's a 6 or 5 speed transmission) towing a 16" car trailer with electric brakes and a 9,000lb winch mounted on it with our 2012 Jeep Rubicon 2-Door that's lifted with bumpers and winch and 37x12.50x20 SST Pro tires sitting on the trailer - JeNNY is being asked to work hard both going up and down the mountain. I feel she dose really good, with speeds of 35-45 mph going up and never more than 50 mph going down. Of course at speeds of 40mph or less the 4-way hazard lights should be engaged and flashing to warn the cars that are flying up the mountains and passing you. Also the speeds talked about are in perfect clear dry weather conditions eh.

Those speeds make sens in that situation for sure. Especially considering your probably technically over the tow limit of the vehicle. Any large vehicle with a gas engine will have some trouble in the Rockies.

[Orider]

I just got my semi-new FR3, and checking the stats from https://www.rvusa.com/rv-guide/
my V10 shows: 362 HP and 457 Torque. Have only put about 50 miles on it testing it and bringing it home, but it has got plenty of guts. I have not done the CHF, but I found it has a F550 chassis. I found no problem steering that puppy with just one hand. I will crawl under it this weekend and see if the previous owner has done that.

[waiter21]

I have absolutely no problem maintaining a speed of 25-30 mph during a climb. I manually downshift and force the tranny into a lower gear where I can maintain a climbing speed that gives me about 4000 rpm without holding the pedal on the floor.

i.e. On the I-70 eastbound climb to the Eisenhower tunnel (11,000 ft). I'm the guy in the right lane with the four way flashers on, climbing up the hill is 1st gear at 5 mph, and usually in the line of trucks doing the same thing.

..