Towing in 3rd vs OD?

Been reading on this and looks like most people tow in 3rd. My question is if there is any issues with towing in OD while on level fwy at 65+ Or if you are better off in 3rd?

If your vehicle pulls the load fine in OD and does not over heat or bog down, then fine. The idea is to keep the engine in the power band so it does not lug down all the time.

Keeping the rpms up also aids in cooling, but there is no magic ban on using OD if your vehicle can handle it. Just remember to downshift on hills.

Before I got my Ranger from my grandfather, he towed his 2500lb boat around in OD all day, like he stole it. I don't leave it in OD when I tow, but on both the truck and Jeep I will shift to OD on the flats for cruising when I know it can handle it.

The old 4.0 jeeps with the power switch used to recommend putting it that mode, which adjusted shifting points. Later xj the switch was removed and they were set for "power mode" all the time.
I don't remember anything in the owners manual about not using OD. But it's been year and years since I towed with the xj.

Now my f150 has the instructions to turn off OD when towing. The power band and shift points for that engine are way different so I can see why they wouldn't recommend OD dropping the RPM way down.


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