Long Distance Trip Travel Trailer Question

[Mirage]

Hi Everyone!

We're new to towing, and used our 2018 Jayco 28' Travel trailer for local trips and was fun!

However we will have to go about 2,000KM here in about a week, and I was wondering if it's better to turn on Cruise control or just use the force (my own judgement and keep an eye on the Liters/KM monitor).

We will be going through mostly flat land, so the cruise will be nice for that, since we are going to be taking it about 100KM/hr if lucky, want to keep the RPM to around 1500, but might be closer to 2000 realistically.

Obviously if we are coming to a valley I would break to shut off the cruise since I don't want to go down it at full highway speed (but maybe the Truck will be smart enough to turn it off?), but should I turn the cruise control to climb out of the valley or just wait until i'm out, if I use it at all?

I did use the cruise control for one of our short trips (50KM one way) during a good wind storm, and I think it made a difference.

I have a 2020 GMC Sierra 1500 Kodiak, and I use the Trailering Mode when I hook it up. I also have Weight Distribution, Anti Sway hardware.

What is the general rule using Cruise towing a 6400lb Dry weight Trailer?

Thank you in advance!

George

 

[BGMAC]

Usually I do not use cruise control while towing except in the flatlands. I don’t like the way cruise down shifts going up hills. I just soon loose a few KM/hr then shifting down a couple gears and rev the engine up.

 

[FL-JOE]

I have always towed with diesel which is totally different due to torque and either having an engine brake or exhaust brake. However, there are a couple things to consider I suspect when towing with a gasoline engine.

If the "hills" you are talking about aren't very steep grades but more of a gradual climb then I'm guessing keeping the cruise on would allow you to climb them and descent them without the tranny shifting out of your high gear. By keeping the cruise on you may find it creates less passing situations because you will continue to go with the normal flow of traffic, most of which have their cruise control activated.

As far as trying to increase your mpg averages, it could be better not to use cruise on rolling hills depending on how heavy of a load you have. Descending really steep grades you might find having the cruise activated won't hold your speed down enough and you have to manually shift into a lower gear. Of course the goal when descending a steep grade is to let the engine control your speed and stay off the brake as much as possible.

 

[tims5842]

I have a 2019 Sierra and use the cruise control when pulling my trailer without issue on flat land. As you said, use the trailer mode on the truck. This will not only adjust the trans shift points (cruise or not), it will also enable the cruise to downshift automatically on a descent you have to hold that speed. No, it won't automatically drop you down below your set speed, but if you have the cruise set at 75 km and brake down to 60 and hold the brake with light pressure for about 2 seconds once at 60, the truck should go into decent assist mode and use the trans to hold that new speed while on the decent. If you haven't experienced this yet, check your owners guide for additional details.

 

[Gronk]

The only thing I will say about using cruise while towing is I get about 2km better economy by not using it.