Should Overdrive Be On When Towing Travel Trailer with Ford F250 Diesel

Updated 03/14/2017 | Published 03/12/2017

Question:

I have a 200 F250 diesel and we use it to tow a travel trailer that weighs 9500 lbs loaded. The truck has an automatic transmission with a cooler. It defaults to overdrive and does not seem to struggle in pulling the load in overdrive. I do take it out of overdrive for large hills. I can not get a straight answer as to wether I should tow in overdrive. What are your thoughts?

asked by: Joe O

Helpful Expert Reply:

As long as your F250 seems to be handling everything okay and is staying in overdrive (not continuously shifting in and out of overdrive), towing your 9,500 pound travel travel with it on should be perfectly fine. It is recommended to turn it off while driving up or down hills or through heavy traffic, which you have been doing, so you should have no issue with this at all.

It may also be a good idea to take a look at your vehicle's owner's manual, as there may be some towing recommendations that specify if you should have the overdrive on or off.

expert reply by: Chris R