By Cheri Sicard
Does your truck or tow vehicle have a tow or haul button? What does that button do? Do you need to always use the button when towing a travel trailer or fifth wheel?
I didn’t know any of these things when I first discovered the tow haul button on my new (to me) 2500 Dodge Ram. The owner’s manual was not a whole lot of help either.
Having a tow vehicle with the option of a tow haul button was something new to me. Therefore, I was happy to find the short, informative video below from the National RV Training Academy (NRVTA) that explains all.
Exactly what does the tow haul button do?
For those who don’t understand this button, it can do several things to improve your RV towing experience, including:
• Changing the engine braking settings on your vehicle to make it easier to slow down and come to a stop.
• Enhancing control while towing up and down steep grades.
• Augmenting transmission operations when towing a heavy load.
Perhaps just as important as what the tow haul button can do, is what it can’t. The video also busts through a couple of common tow-haul button myths.
Different types of trucks have different features that can influence how they tow.
Ford does things a little bit differently than Rams, for instance, so they also talk about some of these other features, mostly having to do with braking, so you can have the best towing experience.
The video also gets into frequently asked technical towing questions about using cruise control for towing, including when it does and does not make sense. Personally, I don’t like cruise control even when not towing, so it was not something I ever considered.
The video is done by two guys who clearly have a lot of mechanical, RV, and technical towing experience. It was supposed to be a “two-minute tips” video, but it actually runs six minutes, so viewers get some valuable extra info. Check it out!
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##RVT1164
That was six minutes of my life I’ll never get back. Here’s a fifteen-second summary:
It only applies to tow vehicles and not motorhomes.
The two people had almost no idea what Tow/Haul actually does because the video is peppered with “We heard” examples and showed a short Ford promo video excerpt.
They did, however, say that what and how Tow/Haul does depends on the specific vehicle and how it’s equipped.
So they do not know the answers and cannot say because they do not know what YOU are driving. In other words “It depends.”
At the five minute mark one said “Turn it on when towing”.
Wow, who would have thought that Tow/Haul might need to be turned on when towing. SMH.
Thank you, JJ, for helping me not waste my time!
They made it clear as mud. They talked to each other and not the audience. A lot of “experts” would benefit from a couple of lessons on how to actually teach. The 15 second of added video says it enhances stability — so what did that mean?
Thank you, Cheri! 🙂 I enjoy the Tuesday tips. It is interesting to know that the Tow/Haul button does more than just lock-out overdrive. Thanks again, have a great week, safe travels, and safe stays! 🙂
Tow haul does not necessarily lock out overdrive. My ’05 Dodge 3500 does not lock it out. The shift points are modified and it feels like the shifts are firmer.
Thank you, Toolman! 🙂 Daddy hauled cows to and from the stockyard with the farm truck. It is a 1997 Dodge with some kind of Cummins engine. We haul stuff in the bed of the truck, but nothing in a trailer. I don’t know if it has a tow/haul button or not. I will try to remember to look for one the next time we use it, probably tomorrow. Thanks again, have a great week, safe travels, and safe stays! 🙂
Not very informative. Statements like turn it on when towing and off when not… are not helpful. They didn’t discuss Tow/Haul in a MH; not everybody has a TT or 5th wheel. And does cruise control have anything to do with T/H… they made that clear as mud. I already knew a little about T/H and was looking to learn more; that didn’t happen with these folks. What I did learn was I need to keep looking into this issue and find answers for my specific chassis.
There is an old acronym, RTFM. Read The Frigging Manual.
The manual is useless on this subject. Just like Cheri said