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12-20-2013, 11:19 AM
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#1
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 21
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Shifting
How to shift in hills, at what rpm do I shift going up hill . I have a phaeton 40 foot with 6 speed Allison
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12-20-2013, 11:38 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club Holiday Rambler Owners Club
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: michigan-tip of the mitt
Posts: 1,444
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You don't. It is called an automatic for a reason.
The 6 speeds are great for pulling hills.
I had a couple of 4 speeds and they needed help but the 6's work well on their own.
__________________
2003 Class C, 29' Gulfstream
Next stop?
Previous rigs..2 Pickup campers,2 TT's, 3 DP MH's
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12-20-2013, 12:00 PM
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#3
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 21
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Some times I get down to 35 on long hills do I need to down shift
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12-20-2013, 12:10 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club Holiday Rambler Owners Club
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: michigan-tip of the mitt
Posts: 1,444
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If the tranny has dropped to 4th gear you should be good for RPM. You could drop to 3rd to keep the revs up but stay aware of the need to up shift when the revs start to climb.
I will on occasion manual down shift to 4th if the tranny keeps cycling from 5 to 4 and back.
__________________
2003 Class C, 29' Gulfstream
Next stop?
Previous rigs..2 Pickup campers,2 TT's, 3 DP MH's
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12-20-2013, 12:15 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Cosby, Tn
Posts: 6,587
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaston47
How to shift in hills, at what rpm do I shift going up hill . I have a phaeton 40 foot with 6 speed Allison
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You can optimize your coaches performance on those long up grades if you do a little preemptive shifting. You need to be aware of your engines performance characteristics and where it generates it's max horse power. The thing that automatic can't do is look ahead and see the 5 mile 7% grade coming up. You need to downshift early and try to keep the rpms up close to that max hp figure. When it falls, as it will, shift again. While doing this, watch your engine heat, as it will start to rise. If you start generating more heat than your cooling system can handle, the cure is to down shift again to keep the rpms up and back out of the throttle.
A little practice in the mountains & you'll get the hang of it.
__________________
Steve Ownby
Full time since 2007
2003 Monaco Signature
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12-20-2013, 01:53 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Fleetwood Owners Club American Coach Owners Club Spartan Chassis
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Fort Pierce, FL
Posts: 1,024
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My former Cummins ISC with a side radiator would increase temperature going up a long grade unless I manually downshifted. The owners manual for the Cummins said 212 was max temperature and I would start approaching that on strong grades. Others, a few years ago on this site, told me when going up a long grade to keep the rpm's to 2000 if the temperature rose too high. I started doing that and no longer had the problem.
__________________
Revolution LE 38X C9 Cat
2020 Jeep Gladiator Toad
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12-25-2013, 04:50 PM
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#7
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by krivanj
My former Cummins ISC with a side radiator would increase temperature going up a long grade unless I manually downshifted. The owners manual for the Cummins said 212 was max temperature and I would start approaching that on strong grades. Others, a few years ago on this site, told me when going up a long grade to keep the rpm's to 2000 if the temperature rose too high. I started doing that and no longer had the problem.
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thanks
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01-03-2014, 07:29 AM
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#8
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Member
Tiffin Owners Club
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 55
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaston47
How to shift in hills, at what rpm do I shift going up hill . I have a phaeton 40 foot with 6 speed Allison
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I have a allegro bus and went to colorado this summer. Keeping the rpms to 2000 by downshifting on steep grades works very well. Check out your allison manual. This also helped keep my speed up. Interstate 70 has a lot of steep grades.
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03-02-2014, 06:59 PM
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#9
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Junior Member
Tiffin Owners Club
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Posts: 25
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O/D Switch?? Overdrive??
So if I get this straight? Does everyone leave the Overdrive Switch on when driving? I tend to turn it off if heading up a steep incline to keep the RV from flooring it and dropping from 6th to 4th if I left it on. Suggestions? Thanks.
__________________
Steve and Debi's House Bus
Albuquerque, NM
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03-03-2014, 06:30 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Tiffin Owners Club Winnebago Owners Club
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Las Cruces, NM
Posts: 4,040
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vfr750nm
So if I get this straight? Does everyone leave the Overdrive Switch on when driving? I tend to turn it off if heading up a steep incline to keep the RV from flooring it and dropping from 6th to 4th if I left it on. Suggestions? Thanks.
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Generally in a gas coach you put it in tow/haul and let the transmission figure it out. If you only have a O/D switch, then dropping it out of O/D is fine to limit the amount of shifting going on.
__________________
Roger & Mary
2017 Winnebago Navion 24V (Sold)
2014 Tiffin Phaeton 36GH (Sold)
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03-03-2014, 07:11 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Polk City Florida
Posts: 1,930
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Same with the Allison, turn off the "economy mode" switch for hills.
__________________
Don and Nancy
[2018 Tiffin Bus 40 AP, 2022 Ford Edge ST , 9yr old sisters Sara n Kaycee, Havanese, Electric Catrike
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03-04-2014, 07:21 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Damon Owners Club Workhorse Chassis Owner
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 24,024
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With an Allison. it's very easy.
First: Turn on the GRADE BRAKE switch.
When the speed starts to pick up apply the service brakes (Foot brake) to bring it down, transmission will downshift.
If you need to slow more, it will downshift a 2nd time
I DO not know if it will downshift a 3rd time as I have a 5 speed.
If you let the speed climb to the point where the engine is in danger of over-rev damage, it will UPSHIFT
The allison is smarter than the average driver (IE: ME).
__________________
Home is where I park it!
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03-04-2014, 07:32 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
National RV Owners Club
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Spokane Valley, Wa
Posts: 1,987
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Go to the Allison Formus and read Eco mode operation.
__________________
Art
1999 Trade Winds 7371 Cat 3126B w/current upgrades
1990 D 250 Dodge Ram Cummins Turbo
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