6th gear lockout when towing or let it go?

[Brutal_HO]

Not sure what is meant by "many seem to know more than Ram does"? Ram did add the Lock-Out feature to the truck. I assume they expect drivers to use it when appropriate.

When frequent transmission shifting occurs
(such as when operating the vehicle under
heavy loading conditions, in hilly terrain,
traveling into strong head winds, or while towing
a heavy trailer), use the Electronic Range Select
(ERS) shift control refer to “Electronic Range
Select (ERS) Operation” in this section for
further information to select a lower gear range.
Under these conditions, using a lower gear
range will improve performance and extend
transmission life by reducing excessive shifting
and heat buildup.

Surprised they also added that at most tow-haul mode and Exhaust Brake full on or auto feature too! It's amazing they have that almost never gear lockout for us to choose.

 

[UglyViking]

Not sure what is meant by "many seem to know more than Ram does"? Ram did add the Lock-Out feature to the truck. I assume they expect drivers to use it when appropriate.

When frequent transmission shifting occurs
(such as when operating the vehicle under
heavy loading conditions, in hilly terrain,
traveling into strong head winds, or while towing
a heavy trailer), use the Electronic Range Select
(ERS) shift control refer to “Electronic Range
Select (ERS) Operation” in this section for
further information to select a lower gear range.
Under these conditions, using a lower gear
range will improve performance and extend
transmission life by reducing excessive shifting
and heat buildup.

I read @DRAGRAM's comment as a counter to the people saying they always lockout 6th. He can comment further but I'd got a similar POV so I'll add my thoughts.

If FCA decided that 6th wasn't a towing gear but rather only a driving gear, then why did they not make tow/haul mode lockout 6th gear automatically? Or why did they not state such in the manual? I think the point is that the engineers at Ram knew how people would use these trucks and developed and designed them for such application. What is in the manual that you wrote in the quote above is basically identical to what I had recommended.

 

[Brewbud]

I read @DRAGRAM's comment as a counter to the people saying they always lockout 6th. He can comment further but I'd got a similar POV so I'll add my thoughts.

If FCA decided that 6th wasn't a towing gear but rather only a driving gear, then why did they not make tow/haul mode lockout 6th gear automatically? Or why did they not state such in the manual? I think the point is that the engineers at Ram knew how people would use these trucks and developed and designed them for such application. What is in the manual that you wrote in the quote above is basically identical to what I had recommended.

OK, fair enough. I was supporting what you said. I didn't read the post as most people always lockout. As for myself, I only lockout in certain conditions. For me, that is towing in hills or driving in the twisties or often around town since my truck on 37s. Especially if not driving it hard.

 

[Diesel42]

I just watched it too and I would say or 1.75 or 2.0x! But he seems a very likeable guy.



Thanks, that is good to know as sometimes if cruise control is set at 60-65mph, and 6th is locked out, under certain conditions, I sometimes see 1900 or maybe even a little higher. But if I let it go into 6th, the rpms may drop only to 1500 or 1600 right at that point which is probably OK. But at some point the road will allow the rpms to drop down to 1300 or 1400 and that is where it will spend most of its time. So unless I want to always be using the gear limit paddles, I just leave it in 5th and let it run between 1700 and 2000 depending on the road. Sounds like that is the right approach unless for some reason the rpms get over 2000 while cruising? And really, if it does run at 2000 or so for a little while, it seems like from all this information, that is less of an issue than having it run at 1300 or 1400 for that same time?

I will have to watch it more closely, but unless I am not paying attention and it downshifts on its own, or I have to give it the pedal for some reason, I don't think I really ever see 2000 when towing with cruise on.

You are absolutly correct. You are understanding it perfectly.

 

[Diesel42]

What about in town driving? Should I lock out 6th? There are times when my truck will lug around at 1000 rpm's. However, I have 3.73 gears, not the older 3.42's in his video. On the hwy, towing at 65, I sit right at 1500 rpm's

That's fine. It's only under heavy load do the egt's spike. 6th gear with low rpm's and no load doesnt spike egt's. Even at 1000 rpm's, the Cummins has alot of torque. If you were to view with a pyro, the egt's would be low under those circumstances.

 

[Diesel42]

I understand all that, but that would suggest that the fuel demand difference "under load" at 1500 rpm vs 2000 rpm is so drastic that he achieves better mpg at 2000-2200rpm. Seems like a stretch, but hey.. as long as he's happy.

Best way I can explain it is: Think of a portable generator. say it runs at 3600rpm, under no load it uses (X) amount of fuel. Now plug your house or RV into the generator, notice you hear it grunt, it remains to achieve the 3600rpms in order to spin the windings to hold the correct voltage. Yet under load, the engine needs alot more fuel to maintain the same Rpm's. Our trucks are no different. Truck drivers and equipment operators have always(in the past) shifted gears based upon they're pyro readings. Over reving or lugging cannot be based off of rpm's alone. Previous Cummins 6BT engines had a sweet spot between 2000-2200rpm. The newer 5th gen engines are alittle lower.