Driving Ford V10, 6 speed

[Ramona]

Originally Posted by jharrell

So here is another of his videos, you can really see it maxing at 4200 then shifting, this is what mine does, if you step on it it will rev to 4200 then shift:

Thanks jharrell. I'm gonna try it!

[Ramona]

Originally Posted by Waiter21

On my 4 speed: To disable the OD (4th gear) momentarily press the button on the end of the shift lever. This disables the OD (4th gear)


To shift to lower gears, move the gear shift lever from "D" to "2" (or "1" )


This forces the transmission to the lower gear i.e. If in "2", the transmission will not upshift to D or OD, but will downshift to 1st, if needed.

Thanks Waiter21. I have a lot to try and to learn. Appreciate your tutorial

[Clemson]

I have a new 5 Star unit for sale PM me if interested.

[Tiger13]

I have an FR3 on the F53 chassis, and I pull a Jeep Wrangler. I am on my first trip using a
UltraPower Custom Tuning Setup.


It has been very helpful with preventing much of the "two gear" or more downshifts. I am sure I will still have some of the more drastic downshifts in more hilly terrain, but it is a definite improvement. Jon at Brazel's RV performance was as helpful as you can get.

[travelinJ]

The Ford V10 horsepower peaks at 3900 RPM and the Torque peaks at 3000 RPM. The transmission program will keep the engine around these points when peak power is demanded.
We have driven 8% grades with CanyonStar at max combined load of 30K and found that if you manage your speed, within the speed limit, the V10 will operate as designed. Loud, yes, but within design parameters.
Typically I drive at 58-62 mph on an expressway when speed limit is 65+ depending on the road but will speed up closer to the limit when approaching a steep uphill grade to maintain momentum.

[Jchaase]

I have a 2015 Winnebago Minnie Winnie (V10, 5-speed) - found that if you leave the cruise on but gently throttle in prior to needing the additional power you can keep the cruise from engaging a kickdown. But if it can't handle it and kicks down anyway, I'm not a fan of being a slow-goer - hammer down big time, let it scream the song of your people - it won't blow up. It's getting 7 mpg no matter what.

[Stevemarshia]

We have a new 19 class C and love the way the transmission works . To us it's great. We do use the cc most of the time. Noise you just have to get use to it. In the NC mountains we set the cc to 55. And normally run 60 to 65 otherwise. Transmission up shifts and down shifts like it's supposed to. Would rather the transmission do it's job. We love ours.

[Grizzly73]

Thank you everybody for the responses. We just bought a Thor Ace 30.2 in January and I was shocked by the high RPMs. Overall it seems to shift well, and now I will be more comfortable when it revs up


Now for some soundproofing...

[StageCoachDr]

Had a Ford V-10 in a Airebus years ago. Noise was a result of the dog house that houses the engine between driver and passenger. Now put a 5th wheel.

[akeagle]

Originally Posted by Ramona

Okay! That's what I'll go with for now, though may call 5-Star Tuning and see what they say. Our rig seems to have plenty of power—I'm just not used to a vehicle revving that much—I guess

We took our first long distance trip in our Minnie Winnie Ford V10/6 speed last August in our run from Anchorage to Indiana and back. Obviously that took us across all types of terrain. Indeed it was a learning experience in how the rig responded to the variations in elevation. I too was surprised at the sometimes sudden and unexpected downshifts and resulting huge jump in RPMs. It took a while and a bit of experimentation, but to a large degree I was able to anticipate when the transmission was about to downshift (even at 50 or so mph it seemed to want to downshift from 5th directly to 3rd). The "solution" seemed to be a combination of several actions to keep the speed reasonable - not constant (that's simply not possible in hilly/mountain driving) - just reasonable (not so fast you're running over other traffic and not so slow as to become an obstruction to other traffic) when negotiating hills and mountains. Here are the possible actions or combinations of actions, in no particular order: Selectively engage/disengage the tow/haul feature. Manually take the transmission out of overdrive. Allow the speed to increase considerably on the downgrade just before the next tall hill. Slowly back off the accelerator a bit to prevent or delay an abrupt downshift. Once the downshift comes bite the bullet and keep the speed reasonable even though the engine speed shoots up to 4000 rpm or higher. If traffic is not a factor, let up on the accelerator to allow the transmission to upshift when you emerge onto the flat. Be prepared to do any or all these actions over and over again as you continue driving in hilly/mountainous terrain.

For safety and efficiency, be actively engaged in driving your rig. Contrary to the opinions of some, running an RV flat out at or above the speed limit is neither reasonable, safe, or efficient. Driving is a vitally important job and not a spectator sport.

[DurangoNick]

Originally Posted by Ramona

What is acceptable, normal, or expected RPM in hilly areas? I found the noise and high RPM disconcerting when we took our first real trip last week in the new "Baby" Baystar Sport, towing a 4000lb Jeep.

Roswell to Albuquerque, NM. Average elevation about 4000 feet.Using cruise control set to 62 or 65 MPH.

There were some hills, hard to gauge the grade %, not much that I would consider huge—at least not for this area. Some hills were long.

RPMs would get to 4000 regularly, and as much as 4750, on occasion.

I am not used to driving a big vehicle so is the high RPM and the NOISE just something that I need to get used to? Normal?

Is using cruise control the best way to negotiate hilly areas? On a previous coach, I found that cruise control was really the only way to maintain any power on hills. What's it going to be like when we hit actual mountains up north?

We're out of Durango, CO, so really, really know "hills". Cruise control in our 2014 Bounder is about useless in the mountains. However, it is nice when not in them.

First, keep in tow/haul. Always. It really helps when going down the mountains as stepping on the brake will cause a downshift automatically.

Second, cruise control tries to hard to keep you at speed. You have probably noticed that it shifts into low way before it really needs to. That is anytime the grade is sufficient that much downshifting is required. When you are on roads that cruise control makes sense, but are approaching a little climb, tap your brake to paus the cruise and YOU control the speed and downshifting. You will find that much of the time you can stay in a higher gear than the cruise would have put you in.

Finally, it is ok to go slow up an incline. The other side will be there when you show up.

[DryCreek]

Originally Posted by jharrell

Oh wow, forgot back that far it only had PRND21 and no tow/haul only OD off my mistake. At least you can pick all the gears

Yup, it was known as PrinDootle back in the day (P, R, N, D, 2, L).

Comes from a funny story a mechanic friend of mine told me. A woman came into his shop and told him the PrinDootle was not working on her car. It was the gear selector on an older GM. Those had string connected to a slider to move the orange pointer to show which gear it was in. The string had stretched, and it was indicating the wrong gear.

[Sitinin]

I can't find anything but fuel additives when I Google 5 star ! Never heard of it - what does it entail ?

[Dennis Dean]

Originally Posted by Sitinin

I can't find anything but fuel additives when I Google 5 star ! Never heard of it - what does it entail ?

https://5startuning.com/product-cate...s-programmers/

I have a 2016 Bounder 5 speed, I have had the 5 star on my RV from early on and love it. Many opinions but for me it better controlled the shift on my rig for both cruise/Hills/and tow-haul mode for downhill control as well as in city driving. I use my tow haul for engine braking in heavy traffic or hills. I have driven all over the southeast and the Appalachians. Most the time i hit cancel on my cruise for larger grades and manually control RPM just so it does not go from 2250 RPM at 67MPH to 4700 RPM in an instant. On rolling hills my 5 star allows me to stay in full cruise and it shifts from 2250 to 2800-3400 depending on the hill under cruise. I have found 65-67 to be the best cruising speed for the cruise and 5 star. JMO