steep hills

handball

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Dec 13, 2002
Messages
161
Hi fellows,<br />I have a ford explorer with auto matic transmission and will be towing a boat and trailer weighing about 2200#.<br />Unfortunatly the first part of the trip home is down some steep hills in northern new jersey and I would like some advice on the best way to do this. Is it a good Idea to just keep the tranny in drive and take it slowly with some tapping of the brakes when going down a steep hill, or should I put the tranny in drive 1 or 2?<br />Thanks ,<br />Bill
 

Bob_VT

Moderator & Unofficial iBoats Historian
Staff member
Joined
May 19, 2001
Messages
26,019
Re: steep hills

Stay out of overdrive so you can take advantage of the engine braking. Just take it easy and on occassion tap the brakes to keep the speed down. Using 1 or 2 might be pretty drastic but we don't know the hills.
 

craze1cars

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Dec 26, 2004
Messages
1,822
Re: steep hills

For an extremely long downhill where you're actually gaining speed while coasting? DOWNSHIFT. Still gaining speed? DOWNSHIFT AGAIN. And cycle the brakes on and off in spurts instead of just riding them long-term.<br /><br />But this is mostly a LONG hill mountain driving technique to keep from glazing your brakes, overheating/gassing the rotors and boiling brake fluid. That's the sort of thing that causes people to aim for runaway truck ramps. But in northern NJ? I'm not real familiar, but don't believe that's mountains. You can probably just drive normally and use the brakes to slow down and stop if the hills are simply short & steep. But regardless, anytime speed is even just hinting at getting out of control, you definitely want to downshift and use the engine to help you brake.
 

Northern Eclipse

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 24, 2003
Messages
665
Re: steep hills

I tow a #4800 boat/trailer combo with a Explorer and encounter some long hills on the 400 highway here in Ontario, I find keeping the trans out of overdrive and lifting my foot off the gas pedal a bit, tends to allow the engine to brake enough to maintain speed or even slow down a bit.
 

brine

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 24, 2005
Messages
262
Re: steep hills

Northern Eclipse::: It is probably your fenders rubbing on your wheels that keeps your speed down.(ford joke).When I drive the 400, it is usually the carnage and bodies in the non existant median that keeps my foot out of the gas :)
 

Northern Eclipse

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 24, 2003
Messages
665
Re: steep hills

Ya Brine I hear ya now I know why I keep wearing tires. I actually saw 2 trailer's wiped out going down hill this past year, I find many people believe they should pick up speed when running downhill so they can get up the next one....This is not a safe practice with a heavy trailer if you are to lose control of the trailer you got your hands full, My point is to allow the truck to do the work shift down if needed, I can maintain 100-105 km going down and up the hills, which the Explorer feels very comfortable handling, but push that little truck to 115-120km while towing its attitude changes, but I'v been towing for almost 25yrs and learned to know the limits of my tow vehicles. handball I think you will be happy with your tow just remember you have something behind you...Where do you boat Brine???
 

brine

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 24, 2005
Messages
262
Re: steep hills

Northern:::<br />Mainly lake erie (longpoint) but also georgian bay , severn,etc. Basically anywhere with water and roads.
 
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