V10 transmission

[Jimc1977]

Have a 2008 PW Ford with V10 engine, when in cruise control their seems to be no difference between the towing & hauling, On or Off settings (downshifing going downhill) is this standard, going downhill out of cruise control there is no down shifting for compression breaking

[rvsprinterguy]

Interesting question. I don't think any vehicle with cruise control I've owned did anything to reduce speed downhill other than "take its foot off the gas". My Sprinter certainly downshifts when necessary to maintain speed going uphill, but downhill braking is the driver's job. In the Sprinter, I've not found downshifting manually to be much use in the compression braking department. I'm hyper vigilant watching downhill speed because the vehicle is really very heavy.

[hbn7hj]

Originally Posted by Jimc1977

Have a 2008 PW Ford with V10 engine, when in cruise control their seems to be no difference between the towing & hauling, On or Off settings (downshifing going downhill) is this standard, going downhill out of cruise control there is no down shifting for compression breaking

Should be notable differences with the tow/haul button on or off in cruise control. Downhill decelleration is one of them as it is quicker to downshift.

Mine is a 2006 E-450.

[rvsprinterguy]

Interesting to learn about how tow packages work. This is one of the main reasons I frequent this site.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by rvsprinterguy

Interesting question. I don't think any vehicle with cruise control I've owned did anything to reduce speed downhill other than "take its foot off the gas". My Sprinter certainly downshifts when necessary to maintain speed going uphill, but downhill braking is the driver's job. In the Sprinter, I've not found downshifting manually to be much use in the compression braking department. I'm hyper vigilant watching downhill speed because the vehicle is really very heavy.

When I'm driving on cruise control in my Sprinter and car for that matter, both of them will downshift automatically when they pick up speed on a descent.

The only time I manually do it is if I'm not using cruise control or had to slow down on an emergency basis for control. Yes, it does add to braking....but, I don't over do it.

[rvsprinterguy]

This evening I'll be traveling north on US 101 in Marin County. Descending toward Marin City from Sausalito, on the "Waldo Grade" (a steep downgrade), I'll set my cruise control for 55 mph and see what happens as gravity tries to make me go much faster.

Again, I do appreciate the opportunity to learn.

[Jimc1977]

Originally Posted by hbn7hj

Should be notable differences with the tow/haul button on or off in cruise control. Downhill decelleration is one of them as it is quicker to downshift.

Mine is a 2006 E-450.

Thank you it did seem to me that putting it in cruise control is also going into tow/haul
automatically. I wonder if this will be a big problem to fix?

[hbn7hj]

Cruise control decellerates on the downhill without Tow/Haul on. The shift points are different.

I expect Tow/Haul is only on when the Tow/Haul light is on. Should be easy to check

[Storysrvwego]

What it should at least do is lock the transmission out of Overdrive. Towing a really heavy load and allowing the transmission to go into Overdrive, particularly on some climb where the power train can/will lug down more easily is not a good scenario for the extra heat generated and simply harder on some components.

I suppose I will have to do a fast-start off the stop light and hold the pedal down a bit longer with Tow/Haul activated to see if shift points are held longer in the RAM Promaster.

StorysRVwego