Is Tow Mode Necessary On A Ford Truck?

Do you use your Ford truck for towing or hauling purposes? If so, you may have noticed the tow/ haul indicator on the dash. But is the tow mode necessary? That’s the question we are going to answer.

Is Tow Mode Necessary On A Ford Truck?

In short, the answer is no, the tow mode is not absolutely necessary. However, the tow mode on Ford trucks is incredibly useful. The addition of this mode offers you, as a truck owner, quite a few benefits. One of which includes more control of the truck when it hauls heavy loads.

Check out the benefits the tow mode on your truck offers you below. We will answer some of the most common questions and offer an abundance of information on the workings of the truck’s tow mode.

What Exactly Is the Tow/Haul Mode?

The tow/haul mode is a newer feature offered on heavy-duty trucks. This feature provides the driver with many benefits. These benefits are offered with the driver’s safety in mind. The mode is essential in protecting the transmission when hauling heavy loads across varying terrains.

The truck’s tow/haul mode’s essential duty is to adjust the transmission shift patterns to provide the smoothest haul. This mode ensures the driver has total control over the stopping, pulling, and speed of the vehicle. This is true, even of the heaviest loads.

What Are the Benefits This Mode Provides?

Besides protecting your vehicle’s transmission this mode offers many other benefits. This mode often provides the driver with better steering while hauling large loads.

It also encourages a better response from your engine and improves the vehicles’ braking abilities. This supports safety while allowing your truck to tow and haul heavier loads.

This mode also assists in controlling the speed of your vehicle. Gravity affects everything on Earth. Objects with heavier weights tend to move faster when going down and move slower when going up.

This principle applies to your vehicle as well, especially when it’s in motion. This means that additional weight will affect the speed of your vehicle as it goes up and down hills or mountains. The tow mode helps in regulating these changes in speed.

Your truck has to work harder with the addition of extra weight. As the amount of extra weight continues to increase, the truck has to consistently work harder and harder.

This mode provides your truck with the extra power it needs to pull those extremely heavy loads. It does this without sacrificing the status of your vehicle. This mode ensures that you can pull heavy loads without doing major damage to your brakes, engine, and transmission.

How To Use the Tow/Haul Mode

For most Ford’s the tow/haul mode can be activated by pressing a button on the gearshift lever. This button is commonly found at the end of the lever. Once you press the button, the tow/haul indicator should light up on your instrument cluster. When the feature is shut off, the indicator will shut off as well.

When this mode is activated the vehicle should automatically delay upshifts. This will reduce the frequency at which the transmission shifts. It will also provide engine braking when moving forward. Depending on the conditions of the road and the weight of the load, the transmission might downshift.

This will assist in controlling and slowing the vehicle. The amount of downshifting will still depend on the amount of pressure placed on the vehicle brake.

Does Tow/Haul Mode Save on Gas?

This mode will not help you save on gas. If you intend on saving fuel, you may want to stick with the regular mode.

Tow/haul mode may save some gas when driving through hilly terrain, but in general, it does not save your gas. Though the mode does not save gas, the benefits it offers when towing or hauling heavy loads is definitely worth the difference.

Will It Hurt My Truck If I Leave Tow/ Haul Mode On?

The question is, will it hurt the vehicles if the tow/haul mode is used while the vehicle is not actually towing or hauling anything. The answer is no, it should not hurt your truck. You would not need to use tow/haul mode unless you are hauling a heavy load, but using it would do no damage to the vehicle itself.

This mode can even offer you some benefits when driving through hilly terrain. It does this even if there is no load attached. The tow/haul mode can make the trip more relaxing and control the vehicle RPMs.

Can the Tow/Haul Mode Be Used In Icy Conditions?

Careful use of tow/haul mode in icy conditions is okay if the truck is pulling a heavy load. It is not recommended that the mode be used in ice or snow if the truck is not pulling anything heavy. This is because the grade braking would reduce traction. This is especially true in regards to the rear tires.

This usage could cause slipping and sliding. The mode is meant to provide the user with the benefit of more control. This would not be the case in icy conditions where the truck’s weight was not increased by a heavy tow.

How Fast Can I Go While Tow/Haul Mode Is Activated?

One issue many truck owners have with towing is the idea that they have to reduce their speed. The tow/haul mode will work at any legal speed. It can handle the thirty-five to fifty-five mile per hour backroads, or the sixty-five to seventy mile per hour interstate.

The truck should be fine at seventy miles per hour. If the speed is a major concern for you, we recommend staying at a speed between sixty and sixty-five miles per hour while driving on the interstate.

The tow mode is meant to increase safety during tows and hauls and to permit the driver better control. This is the case regardless of the type of road you are on.

Can Tow/Haul Mode Be Added To My Truck

If the tow mode sounds like something you need on your truck, it is best to purchase a truck that already boasts this feature.

It could be possible to add this feature on after purchase, but especially with older trucks, this would be incredibly difficult. It would also be hard to tell if the feature was added successfully.

This feature is so much more than the addition of a button. This feature plays a role in assisting the transmission, engine, and brakes. It would be incredibly difficult to employ a feature like this on your own.

Even if the task was managed, the effects would not be the same as simply purchasing a vehicle that included the feature already.

Expanding On Whether Tow/Haul Mode Is Necessary

At the beginning of the article, we answered the question, is tow mode necessary on a Ford truck. Our answer was no, it is not necessary. That answer is still correct. The mode is in no way necessary to drive a Ford truck.

That said, the tow mode is necessary if you want to relax while towing in your Ford truck. This is because the use of the tow/haul mode promotes better control of the vehicle with less effort.

The mode also boosts the amount of strength your truck can offer you. In some ways, this sounds pretty necessary. Especially if you tend to haul extremely heavy loads on a frequent, or semi-frequent basis.