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I don't understand all of what you said. But, what I surmised is that if I just take it out of overdrive, it will be better. Do I have this right? Taking it out of OD won't hurt anything, right?
And if I turn off OD, do I need to adjust anything? Drive slower, etc.?
You have to drive slower because you are towing a trailer. Do not try to keep up with traffic while towing, just let them pass you. Taking it out of overdrive will minimize slippage in the transmission and help it stay locked up. Overdrive is a fuel saving gear ratio. You don't want to save fuel while towing, you want to save the truck. Keep the overdrive locked out.
I agree with most here, to lock out OD. Really, while not recommended, an automatic transmission should take care of the shifting for you while ascending. The most important shifting you can do is when descending. A guideline many use is to stay in the same gear while descending that was used ascending -- for braking. Using your brakes too much while coming down a mountain will heat them up, especially if you "ride" the brakes.
The tip I've heard the most is to brake hard until you're about 10 mph below your target speed, then get off the brakes entirely until you reach the target speed again, rinse and repeat. I've always just pumped, but apparently that's not as smart as I just outlined.
I lost my brakes entirely once when descending into a canyon on a 4x4 trail. I'd been down that trail dozens of times, but this time I had a passenger who was frightened of the whole scene and kept asking me to slow down. I did... until the brake pedal simply went to the floor with no responding braking action. Luckily I was almost at the bottom by that time, and I was able to leave the trail and point the truck uphill to stop it. Others aren't so lucky. Another driver of a motorhome overheated his brakes on the main road (that I'd left for the trail) and ended his drive (and life) when his vehicle plowed into a storefront on main street of the little town at the foot of the mountain.
Most long, steep descents have pull-outs where you can stop to get out and feel your hubs to make sure they aren't overheating. If they are, take a long break, have a bite to eat if you have food with you, wander around and take a few pictures of the scenery, and don't get back on the road until your brakes have cooled a bit. If that takes an hour, so be it. It's better than a high-speed crash.
Just a note. I sometines receive antique furniture via greyhound express (freight dock to freight dock). You need crate it, but that might be cheaper than a uhaul trailer.
I agree with most here, to lock out OD. Really, while not recommended, an automatic transmission should take care of the shifting for you while ascending. The most important shifting you can do is when descending. A guideline many use is to stay in the same gear while descending that was used ascending -- for braking. Using your brakes too much while coming down a mountain will heat them up, especially if you "ride" the brakes.
The tip I've heard the most is to brake hard until you're about 10 mph below your target speed, then get off the brakes entirely until you reach the target speed again, rinse and repeat. I've always just pumped, but apparently that's not as smart as I just outlined.
I lost my brakes entirely once when descending into a canyon on a 4x4 trail. I'd been down that trail dozens of times, but this time I had a passenger who was frightened of the whole scene and kept asking me to slow down. I did... until the brake pedal simply went to the floor with no responding braking action. Luckily I was almost at the bottom by that time, and I was able to leave the trail and point the truck uphill to stop it. Others aren't so lucky. Another driver of a motorhome overheated his brakes on the main road (that I'd left for the trail) and ended his drive (and life) when his vehicle plowed into a storefront on main street of the little town at the foot of the mountain.
Most long, steep descents have pull-outs where you can stop to get out and feel your hubs to make sure they aren't overheating. If they are, take a long break, have a bite to eat if you have food with you, wander around and take a few pictures of the scenery, and don't get back on the road until your brakes have cooled a bit. If that takes an hour, so be it. It's better than a high-speed crash.
Excellent point. Most automatic transmissions will provide engine compression braking if you downshift them. That really saves the brakes.
I would stay out of OD if you have a load + towing a load. Can probably safely drive 60 mph w/ OD, you will just use more fuel (as you will anyway).
OD makes heat and puts too much stress on the internals of tranny (low mechanical advantage, like picking up a rock / sledge hammer with your arm extended).
I do recommend a tranny cooler ($100) gauge ($30) if it is gonna be over 70-F temp (and why I often drive mtns at night).
Your truck will be happier if you down shift BEFORE you get too steep / too slow of engine speed, If you have a tach (RPM) practice a few hard accelerations and see what RPM it shifts UP, then down shift about 500 RPM slower that it likes to shift UP.
Are you sure you don't want to drive south on 101? (not sure where your destination is).
I did that last yr (north bound) with a trailer, only cuz I wanted French Toast at Samoa Cookhouse (and Siskyou Summit was snowed in). Coast was freezing fog, so that plan backfired (but I still got my French Toast)
Hey, Stealth Rabbit, glad you chimed in.
No, Hwy 101 is a disaster right now. Don't want to chance it. There is literally 18 feet left of road on Last Chance Grade, where another 10 feet just recently fell into the ocean. And that's not the only bad stretch. There are long waits with pilot cars dealing with one-way traffic. One of my neighbors in my building was on his way to Eureka for medical procedures and personally witnessed 10 feet of the road fall into the ocean. So, not only delays, but if I have to try and turn around a truck and trailer? Not gonna happen.
I did find out tonight that I was approved for the apartment in San Jose - yay! So, this is going to happen.
I'm feeling a lot more confident, thanks to you all here. Slow but steady wins the race, and I need to downsize, downsize, downsize and may possibly ship some stuff if I've misjudged how far I can downsize.
Just a note. I sometines receive antique furniture via greyhound express (freight dock to freight dock). You need crate it, but that might be cheaper than a uhaul trailer.
I did look into this and wish it was a reasonable option. Unfortunately, I would have to drive a package to Grants Pass to the Greyhound station there. This is about a 4 hour round trip, and the cost of gas to get there.
Some things could be sent USPS, which is the cheapest option I've found while researching this.
I live in a tiny studio apartment of 115 square feet. So, even though I have a lot of junk stashed in lots of crevices here, we're still only talking about what can fit in that space. I will try to take as much with me as I safely can, just to avoid having to buy new stuff. But, it's looking like I can take most of my stuff, without hurting the truck.
Wish I could afford to just pay a mover to move everything, but this opportunity came up before I could save enough money to pay movers, and who knows when this opportunity would have come around again. So, really, I'm lucky to just get the place - and take what I can.
But to your point, yes I do have the option to ship some stuff, just not by Greyhound, unfortunately.
Anti-sway hitch and a brake controller if it has them.
I was wondering if that size trailer has a brake system. All of our pickups are full sized 3/4T or 1T & they each have had a trailer brake (& lights) system controller installed with a plugin located by the tailgate. I would never wish to pull a trailer without it having brakes.
I was wondering if that size trailer has a brake system. All of our pickups are full sized 3/4T or 1T & they each have had a trailer brake (& lights) system controller installed with a plugin located by the tailgate. I would never wish to pull a trailer without it having brakes.
I'm pretty sure the 4 x 8 U-Haul trailer has a brake system. I'll find out for sure, though, thanks for the heads-up.
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