New to F53 - Driving questions

[Mr. October]

I'm quite certain this has been asked before but I didn't have a lot of luck searching.

This year we moved from a Mercedes Sprinter based class C to a Ford based class A. The coach is a 2019 Georgetown GT5 (2018 F53). I've been very please with road handling and overall how the coach drives. It is far more stable than our little Class C.

The only thing I'm not sure of is how to handle downhills and tow/haul mode. We tow a little Chevy Spark. It weighs 2300 lbs. The Georgetown barely knows it's back there. Is it worth using tow/haul mode for this? The reason I ask . . I noticed on downhills the coach really downshifts a LOT. RPMs will go up to 4-5K. This seems excessive. I noticed this particularly when in tow/haul but the week prior also noticed it not towing and going downhill. I got on the brakes to slow speed and get RPMs to a more "normal" level.

Obviously I'm still learning the idiosyncrasies of driving the bigger rig especially in hilly terrain so any tips appreciated. If there are other threads out there I'd be more than happy to have a link.

Thanks!

[Indy Glenn]

Hi Pete,

The idea of using the tow/haul traveling downhill is to use the engine as a brake - not unlike diesel engines. It is best to stay off the brakes, especially traveling on a long downhill.

The F53 will down shift without the tow/haul activated but with it activated - it may be a little more aggressive. Tow/haul changes the shift pattern, longer upshift when increasing speed and shorter when decelerating.

The F53 does downshift, in my opinion, perhaps a little too soon when hitting small inclines, many F53 owners add a 5 Star Tune. Not cheap but the difference with the shift patterns is vary noticeable - even when using tow/haul.

Good luck and enjoy your new rig.

g

[georgelesley]

The Ford V-10 is a high Erving engine by design. It takes a bit of getting used to. We just use the brakes some to keep it from screaming at us, but it is designed to be that way. Sometimes if we can see the road is leveling out soon, we just let it scream. It will upshift at about 5000 RPM by itself. We find it best to have the cruise off in hilly country. When approaching a hill that will likely cause the screaming downshift I tap the brakes to disengage the cruise.

We have had 2 V-10’s with 70000+ miles, no issues. We do use the tow haul whenever we are towing. I also suggest you consider following the severe service maintenance schedule. I called the Ford RV hotline and they recommended it since we tow and are always within 90% of gross vehicle weight when towing.

[scbwr]

Don't be afraid to use the tow haul mode as it will save your brakes. It's also great to be able to tap the brake pedal to downshift. Adding the 5 Star Tune to our 5 speed transmission made a big difference and the modification makes much better use of downshifting from 5th to 4th gear. Since your MH has the 6 speed transmission, there aren't as many reviews on the effectiveness of the 5 Star Tune, but I would do a little research and then you can determine if you want to make that modification. Otherwise, don't worry about the downshifting.

[Mr. October]

Thanks for the quick feedback everyone. I sort of figured the engine and tranny were doing what they were supposed to do but it is a bit disconcerting on those big hills when you hear that roar after it downshifts.

Also, regarding the 5-start tuning, I've read a lot about that and figured I may go to that after a season of driving. As noted, there aren't a lot of reviews with the 6 speed transmission and a lot of more knowledgeable people thought the 6 speed may help solve some of the awkward downshift/upshift scenarios of the 5 speed. Maybe . . maybe not. I'll continue learning and then decide from there.

Also . . good tips here on the cruise control. Thanks! I sort of figured that out when we were heading on I-78 the other day. It downshifted in a hurry for a small hill.

I'll also check out the Severe service schedule. Conveniently, we have a brand new Ford dealer up the road from our storage location. They have big bays and a lot of experience with RVs.

[twinboat]

Tow/Haul is not just for towing something behind you.

Its also for " hauling " heavy loads, in situations where you have that option, like a UHaul, delivery or pickup trucks.

Your motor home is already hauling near its capacity and unless cruising down a flat highway, can be run in Tow/Haul mode full time.

If your coasting down a hill and need to use the brakes to keep the speed down, letting the transmission downshift and the engine RPMs hold your speed down is better then riding your brakes.

Climbing a hill in Tow/Haul helps keep the transmission in a lower gear and the engine in its optimal power zone.
With it OFF, the transmission could downshift, climb some and then upshift before you reach the top of the hill. It would then downshift again. That's called hunting for a gear.
Although it can't see the top of the hill, in Tow/Haul, it will hold that gear a bit longer and maybe make it to the top in the optimum power zone of the engine.

The V10 engine has been around since the 90s and actually been a higher RPM engine before the 6 speed transmission was introduced. It can handle the high RPMs.

Enjoy the ride.

[Oldman5145]

Originally Posted by Mr. October

I'm quite certain this has been asked before but I didn't have a lot of luck searching.

This year we moved from a Mercedes Sprinter based class C to a Ford based class A. The coach is a 2019 Georgetown GT5 (2018 F53). I've been very please with road handling and overall how the coach drives. It is far more stable than our little Class C.

The only thing I'm not sure of is how to handle downhills and tow/haul mode. We tow a little Chevy Spark. It weighs 2300 lbs. The Georgetown barely knows it's back there. Is it worth using tow/haul mode for this? The reason I ask . . I noticed on downhills the coach really downshifts a LOT. RPMs will go up to 4-5K. This seems excessive. I noticed this particularly when in tow/haul but the week prior also noticed it not towing and going downhill. I got on the brakes to slow speed and get RPMs to a more "normal" level.

Obviously I'm still learning the idiosyncrasies of driving the bigger rig especially in hilly terrain so any tips appreciated. If there are other threads out there I'd be more than happy to have a link.

Thanks!

Hi Pete!
I just got my MH state inspected and the brakes look like new! I travel a 12% 4 mile grade often. I brake 3 times coming off that mountain and I am towing a 4000lb car. I can maintain good control and stay under 60 MPH. I have become a huge fan of the Ford 6 speed transmission. In less than 3 years we have over 23000 miles on my Hurricane and had ZERO problems with the coach. Let the transmission save your brakes. It is easy to warp rotor's on a long grade.

I have changed the oil to Synthetic and changing it at 5000 miles. I plan on servicing the transmission at 30000 miles.
Be safe and enjoy!

[Teamfoxy]

Originally Posted by Mr. October

Thanks for the quick feedback everyone. I sort of figured the engine and tranny were doing what they were supposed to do but it is a bit disconcerting on those big hills when you hear that roar after it downshifts.

Also, regarding the 5-start tuning, I've read a lot about that and figured I may go to that after a season of driving. As noted, there aren't a lot of reviews with the 6 speed transmission and a lot of more knowledgeable people thought the 6 speed may help solve some of the awkward downshift/upshift scenarios of the 5 speed. Maybe . . maybe not. I'll continue learning and then decide from there.

Also . . good tips here on the cruise control. Thanks! I sort of figured that out when we were heading on I-78 the other day. It downshifted in a hurry for a small hill.

I'll also check out the Severe service schedule. Conveniently, we have a brand new Ford dealer up the road from our storage location. They have big bays and a lot of experience with RVs.

I find that we will turn tow/haul on and off frequently in the mountains. On when we need the engine braking, and off when we get a straightaway where we want an upshift sooner or don't want a downshift.
It is my understanding that the 6-speed transmission only uses 5 gears in normal operation. It changes to a different overdrive gear, depending on the temperature, but still only uses 5 gears at a time.
The gear ratio in the rear axle changes as the chassis weight increases so that the heavier your chassis is, the higher the revs on the engine.
So far, I have not felt the need for any suspension modifications, but we are pretty careful about weight distribution in the coach and don't overload it.

[Dan McMartin]

We only use tow/haul on grades even though we tow 5,000 lbs worth of Jeep. The gas mileage sucks if we just leave it on and I don't feel like the engine struggles at all on relatively flat grades.

But on grades, we turn it on. It's shifts into lower gears more readily to help maintain momentum uphill or provide some engine braking downhill. When I forget, I can tell. The transmission just won't shift into a lower gear until it's too late. But we do turn it on and off as the as the grades dictate and at times I just manually shift, like when we came down out of Yosemite. I was in first or second the whole time going 10-15 mph.

[JpalmerCass]

The OP should be aware that Ford states the use of aftermarket tunes can void the warranty.

[Mr. October]

Originally Posted by JpalmerCass

The OP should be aware that Ford states the use of aftermarket tunes can void the warranty.

Duly noted. Thanks.

[Geo19Irv]

I had an F53 for 9 years and found out right away to kick it out of cruise control on hilly roads. Just hold your speed steady and it will climb without down shifting (RPS might go down 500RPS).

Mine was a 2002 and newer V10s had more power. The Cruise Control is just too sensitive for even an overpass.

Good engine but not as powerful as the Chevy 8.1L that is no longer made.

Pete you are NOT hauling a heavy load with that rig and small car just remember that the CC is very sensitive and you will learn to tap the break when you approach even a small flyover.

Since you are new to the V10 you will be told to use 0W-20 oil, that is to increase the FLEET gas millage but it will use oil because it is so thin. After it has 10,000 miles on it switch to Amsoil 10W-30 and it will stop passing oil.


The key to descending is to slow down as you crest the hill and then keep the speed low, if you let the speed get high then it requires a lot of breaking to slow down. Did you ever smell someones breaks when going down a big hill ?

[twinboat]

Originally Posted by Geo19Irv

I had an F53 for 9 years and found out right away to kick it out of cruise control on hilly roads. Just hold your speed steady and it will climb without down shifting (RPS might go down 500RPS).

Mine was a 2002 and newer V10s had more power. The Cruise Control is just too sensitive for even an overpass.

Good engine but not as powerful as the Chevy 8.1L that is no longer made.



I never saw it down shift going downhill.

The 2002 F53 had a 4 speed transmission and an " OverDrive Off " button on the shift stalk.

It had none of the downshifting features of the newer 5 or 6 speed models.

[twinboat]

Originally Posted by Teamfoxy

I find that we will turn tow/haul on and off frequently in the mountains. On when we need the engine braking, and off when we get a straightaway where we want an upshift sooner or don't want a downshift.
It is my understanding that the 6-speed transmission only uses 5 gears in normal operation. It changes to a different overdrive gear, depending on the temperature, but still only uses 5 gears at a time.
The gear ratio in the rear axle changes as the chassis weight increases so that the heavier your chassis is, the higher the revs on the engine.
So far, I have not felt the need for any suspension modifications, but we are pretty careful about weight distribution in the coach and don't overload it.

You misunderstand the 6 speed transmission.

The older 5 speed was the one that chose 3rd or 4th depending on tempereture.