You ask an interesting question, DWR. I also tow, and I've never noticed if my truck shifts directly from 3rd locked to 2nd. Since I don't pull as much weight as you (about 3,600#) plus the stuff in the bed and often 4 people, I tend to tow with the OD on. (I've talked about this in past posts - as long as the transmission activity is low, I leave the OD on).
But, I know the transmission will go from OD locked to OD unlocked before shifting down to 3rd. Then, it kind of seems to me that my transmission does what yours does between 3rd and 2nd, but I could be wrong. I think maybe it has a lot to do with the grade of the hill and the weight being moved though. Here in Arizona we have several hills with 7%+ grades that are 10-12 miles long. I'm always in 2nd gear going up those hills, and I try to maintain 65 mph, since they're on the Interstates, where the speed limit is 75.
- Jack
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2014 F150 Platinum SCrew 3.5L EcoBoost 4x4 with SCT programmer
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