Lugging?

[HouseMouse]

Solo or Towing... At what RPM should you be mindful of to down shift to eliminate Lugging the drivetrain? I "think" it's about 12-1300 RPM. Just would like to hear what everyone thinks. Thanks.

 

[CdnHO]

Solo or Towing... At what RPM should you be mindful of to down shift to eliminate Lugging the drivetrain? I "think" it's about 12-1300 RPM. Just would like to hear what everyone thinks. Thanks.

Let the transmission decide.

 

[MacksRam]

Let the transmission decide.

That is right--let the tranny take care of that.
When you are towing and put in Tow/Haul mode--it will not "lug" anyway--the ZF 8 spd tranny will automatically downshift to prevent lugging. IF you are towing heavy and driving slower (say 50 mph)--the tranny will not let it go in 8th gear. Even driving empty lugging should not be an issue. I say that because the ZF does an EXCELLENT job of keeping itself in the center of the Cummins torque powerband.

 

[CdnHO]

That is right--let the tranny take care of that.
When you are towing and put in Tow/Haul mode--it will not "lug" anyway--the ZF 8 spd tranny will automatically downshift to prevent lugging. IF you are towing heavy and driving slower (say 50 mph)--the tranny will not let it go in 8th gear. Even driving empty lugging should not be an issue. I say that because the ZF does an EXCELLENT job of keeping itself in the center of the Cummins torque powerband.

If I recall correctly in Tow Haul it uses 1 thru 7 gears. In "normal" mode it uses 2 thru 8. All sorts of sensor inputs determine the correct gear. No sense the driver second guessing.

 

[LouNY]

I usually use the shift up/down buttons to make the current gear visible and it always shows first (1) unless I've felt it shift up getting going in the driveway.