Coming from a Denali HD 6.6 Duramax so this may be a stupid question. I have the 23 AT4X with 6.2L gas engine and 10 speed transmission and towed first time this past week with a 6x10 open trailer with two dual sport motorcycles on it. Not a lot of weight maybe 550 in motorcycles and 700 lb trailer maybe. Mileage was not that good at over all 13.2 mpg for 480 miles. Head wind on the way home hurt the overall average. Anyway on to the question I was using tow haul mode the entire time. Transmission seem to be up and down on interstate hills with the headwind on way home. On my Duramax HD I just used tow haul mode and let the truck do its thing but that truck had way more towing power than this 6.2L gas does. Does the 10 speed on the AT4X lock out over drive gears in tow haul mode? Mine seem to be shifting a lot with the wind at anything above 70 mph or on cruise, actually worse using cruise. This 6.2L gas engine is thirsty towing or just daily driving.
AT4X and tow haul mode?
- Thread starter roy826ex
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adeerchaser
Well-known member
I made the same switch 2021 AT4 HD to a 2022 AT4x. I have felt the same issues when pulling my sxs. I just figured the less torque, more gears in transmission, and far higher rearend gear all together make it happen. Also, you will have a lot more squat with a load due to our soft suspension. I have run it in tow mode and left it alone (I do not live in mtns) bout the same either way. Shifting and poor mileage- just glad I only pull a few times a year. I will take that little bad for all the good this truck has!
@adeerchaser My diesel was a 2016 LML deleted so it had real good mileage and no emissions junk causing problems. I just really had no use for that size truck anymore. We stopped traveling in our toy hauler and I sold it first. I’ve worked from home since 2020 and will do so for the foreseeable future until I retire. So I’d only drove the HD truck 10k miles in the last 3 years. Hated driving it locally in town. But it did get way better mileage doing that than the 6.2L gasser gets. Diesel fuel was still higher than gas back in January when I bought the AT4X and now that’s a wash with premium fuel the same as diesel.
I got new truck bug back late last year and when I spotted the AT4X with AEV bumper in January I traded in the HD diesel. I figured since I only tow open trailers now with a couple of motorcycles on it mileage wouldn’t be that bad, boy was I wrong. My HD would get 16 mpg at worst pulling the same trailer I pulled with AT4X this past weekend going same mph and struggled to get 13 mpg. And was shifting all over the place with some hills not mountains and the HD truck would have never done any of that. Guess I got spoiled how good a big diesel truck really is when towing. I’d never go back to one now with the emissions and you can’t delete them anymore without spending a fortune. Very reason I never looked at the baby Duramax 3L AT4s when looking at the AT4X gasser trucks. Love the upgraded interior and gadgets and the rides good when I do actually use it. But man the mileage is terrible and I am not a fan of the shorter bed.
I got new truck bug back late last year and when I spotted the AT4X with AEV bumper in January I traded in the HD diesel. I figured since I only tow open trailers now with a couple of motorcycles on it mileage wouldn’t be that bad, boy was I wrong. My HD would get 16 mpg at worst pulling the same trailer I pulled with AT4X this past weekend going same mph and struggled to get 13 mpg. And was shifting all over the place with some hills not mountains and the HD truck would have never done any of that. Guess I got spoiled how good a big diesel truck really is when towing. I’d never go back to one now with the emissions and you can’t delete them anymore without spending a fortune. Very reason I never looked at the baby Duramax 3L AT4s when looking at the AT4X gasser trucks. Love the upgraded interior and gadgets and the rides good when I do actually use it. But man the mileage is terrible and I am not a fan of the shorter bed.
Andystoy AT4
Active member
Tow/haul is supposed to reduce the amount of shifting by holding the upshift a bit longer to reduce the amount of down shifts.
The 6.2 has the same torque as the 3.0 T (460@1500) vs 6.2 (460 @ 4100 rpm). Torque is what keeps you rolling so you can see that the 3.0 T can run at much lower RPM when cruising or towing without having to down shift. The 6.2 will down shift anytime the RPM drop to 4000 or less until it finds a gear where the ECM can hold the RPM vs the load being propelled. The 10 speed provides a large range of options for RPM vs speed vs load.
The HD Duramax also comes with a 10 speed but the torque is almost twice as much as either the 3.0 T or the 6.2. I traded my 2016 HD 6.0 with 6 spd trans gas pickup on the 3.0 because that combination would hold RPM high and downshift if a cricket farted in the ditch, even when towing a light load. The 3.0 is much better on fuel when towing the same load but the 1500 is lighter than the 3500. IMO
The 6.2 has the same torque as the 3.0 T (460@1500) vs 6.2 (460 @ 4100 rpm). Torque is what keeps you rolling so you can see that the 3.0 T can run at much lower RPM when cruising or towing without having to down shift. The 6.2 will down shift anytime the RPM drop to 4000 or less until it finds a gear where the ECM can hold the RPM vs the load being propelled. The 10 speed provides a large range of options for RPM vs speed vs load.
The HD Duramax also comes with a 10 speed but the torque is almost twice as much as either the 3.0 T or the 6.2. I traded my 2016 HD 6.0 with 6 spd trans gas pickup on the 3.0 because that combination would hold RPM high and downshift if a cricket farted in the ditch, even when towing a light load. The 3.0 is much better on fuel when towing the same load but the 1500 is lighter than the 3500. IMO
Teegunn
Well-known member
I find towing capability the same between my now traded off 2020 AT4 3.0 diesel vs my 4 month old 2023 6.2 AT4X. I actually find it better to tow with the AT4X not using tow/haul mode. The towing fuel mileage is terrible on the 6.2 I have a 16' enclosed job trailer with tall ladder racks with 5 extension ladders 3 with standouts attached to the tops of the ladders, plus some 16' 2x6's and a 16' aluminum plank on the ladder racks. The wind resistance with all of this is large. The trailer fully loaded, and it is packed to the gills, probably weight 5K to 6K lbs (have never weighed it). Towing on the interstate here in MT, with lots of ups and downs, I get 7 to 8 MPG if I go 70 or so. My 2020 AT4 with the 3.0 would get a couple more MPG than the 6.2, but not a lot better. The 3.0 would shift a lot also. The 6.2 shifts about the same amount as the 3.0 in my experience towing this enclosed job trailer.
I had the 5000 lb lift bags on my 2020 AT4, and it helped a lot. This 23 AT4X with the softer suspension squats a lot towing my trailers. I will definitely be getting the 5000 lb lift bags for my AT4X ASAP. Just been too busy with jobs to get them installed.
I considered an HD AT4, but could not find one available to trade for. I don't really want that big of a truck, and since I don't tow over 9K lbs often (hardly ever), I just didn't want an HD. But it would definitely be nice when towing for jobs out of town with hwy driving on mountainous interstate roads here in Montana.
I had the 5000 lb lift bags on my 2020 AT4, and it helped a lot. This 23 AT4X with the softer suspension squats a lot towing my trailers. I will definitely be getting the 5000 lb lift bags for my AT4X ASAP. Just been too busy with jobs to get them installed.
I considered an HD AT4, but could not find one available to trade for. I don't really want that big of a truck, and since I don't tow over 9K lbs often (hardly ever), I just didn't want an HD. But it would definitely be nice when towing for jobs out of town with hwy driving on mountainous interstate roads here in Montana.
adeerchaser
Well-known member
Bottom line to me-
Towing the HD Duramax wins hands down
All other times the AT4x wins hands down
Towing the HD Duramax wins hands down
All other times the AT4x wins hands down
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