"Don White" wrote in message
...



Even my little Ranger 4x2 had a tow mode button in the auto transmission
lever.
I used it all the way on my 5000 kilometer round trip towing a 2330 lb
load last year.


Ford, GM and Chrysler used to have auto transmissions in their full sized,
heavy duty trucks (250 and 2500 series and up) that had a button to simply
disengage overdrive for towing purposes. That wasn't ideal, but it helped.

Now-a-days GM uses the Allison transmission in their 2500 series. Beautiful
transmission for towing or hauling a heavy rig.
Ford came out with it's "Torqueshift" transmission that acts very similarly
to the Allison. Both do more than simply disengaging overdrive. They both
change the shiftpoints, holding the vehicle in gears longer under heavy load
and provide significant engine braking when slowing down. Ford's
transmission uses a different gear set on downshifts than it does on
upshifts.

When towing, these transmissions make the vehicles much more safe and
controllable and also reduce strain on the engines.

Eisboch