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To make it short and sweet I am towing a 6x12 uhaul trailer with my 2012 3.5l EcoBoost king ranch with the bigger gas tank and a trailer brake controller. This will be the first long haul as I'm driving the loaded trailer, the dog, and myself some 900 miles. I have a 3.31 axle and I see the gvwr is 7350 on my truck and max trailer is 8000 lbs according to the brochure. I saw I have a gcwr is 14000 lbs. I have only ever pulled a 6x12 loaded for about 30 miles through town for a friend. I never really got above 40 mph.
I have what looks to be a tow package but it seems it's not the max tow. (I bought the truck used and never got a window sticker and spent hours online looking for a website and came up short.) I'm running 275/65/r20 bfg k02 tires currently at 34 psi in all 4. I have movers to load the trailer and will be keeping an eye on weight distribution as I drove vehicles a lot in the marine corps and understand loading trailers and trucks evenly. I am completely new to towing with my truck however. I dont see my items and belongings being more than 4000 lbs considering it's a bed, small dresser, a couple tvs, and 9 plastic storage bins with all my home goods and electronics. I know things weigh more than they appear but my biggest items weigh in around 1000 lbs total together.
i plan to stay at 60-65 while driving and taking frequent breaks to walk the dog and check the truck trailer and connections. Should I look at any gauge information as an indicator of problems or look out for anything that will lead me to spotting a potential problem? I cant make 2 trips and I cant leave items behind so this unfortunately is my situation.
Any advice on what to do, or look for, or be weary of as I drive? Any and all advice is huge.
To make it short and sweet I am towing a 6x12 uhaul trailer with my 2012 3.5l EcoBoost king ranch with the bigger gas tank and a trailer brake controller. This will be the first long haul as I'm driving the loaded trailer, the dog, and myself some 900 miles. I have a 3.31 axle and I see the gvwr is 7350 on my truck and max trailer is 8000 lbs according to the brochure. I saw I have a gcwr is 14000 lbs. I have only ever pulled a 6x12 loaded for about 30 miles through town for a friend. I never really got above 40 mph.
I have what looks to be a tow package but it seems it's not the max tow. (I bought the truck used and never got a window sticker and spent hours online looking for a website and came up short.) I'm running 275/65/r20 bfg k02 tires currently at 34 psi in all 4. I have movers to load the trailer and will be keeping an eye on weight distribution as I drove vehicles a lot in the marine corps and understand loading trailers and trucks evenly. I am completely new to towing with my truck however. I dont see my items and belongings being more than 4000 lbs considering it's a bed, small dresser, a couple tvs, and 9 plastic storage bins with all my home goods and electronics. I know things weigh more than they appear but my biggest items weigh in around 1000 lbs total together.
i plan to stay at 60-65 while driving and taking frequent breaks to walk the dog and check the truck trailer and connections. Should I look at any gauge information as an indicator of problems or look out for anything that will lead me to spotting a potential problem? I cant make 2 trips and I cant leave items behind so this unfortunately is my situation.
Any advice on what to do, or look for, or be weary of as I drive? Any and all advice is huge.
Your truck will pull whatever you put in that trailer just fine(except if you load it slap full with bags of concrete). I personally like to set my dash gauge to read my transmission temp when towing, and I also have a SCTx4 i use to monitor my coolant temp.
Where you headed to?
Thanks for the info! I’ll keep my trans page open. What temp should I try and stay under? I usually see around 195 or so unloaded. Orlando back home to west Tennessee.
I usually run about 203-206 pulling my 6k camper, every truck runs a few degrees either way from other threads I have read. As long as you are below 225ish you are good, but there has been some debate on the max temp the tranny fluid can handle.
One thing I'll try the next time I pull one of those is locking out 6th gear, at least on the interstate or in hilly areas. I found power lacking when trying to accelerate from 65 to 70 mph on the interstate; it probably would have been fine if I had used 5th gear.
"The optimal ball height for towing U-Haul trailers is 18½ to 18¾ inches. This is measured from the ground to the middle of the hitch ball, prior to connecting the trailer." This is from the U-Haul site. Here's their method for measuring how much drop or rise you'll need: https://www.uhaul.com/Articles/Tips/...or-Your-Hitch/ I've done it the wrong way, and the right way. Leveling the trailer with the correct hitch ball height makes a tremendous improvement.
If your truck has Pro Trailer Backup Assist (PTBA), and you want to use it, you can make a device like the one shown below. I cut a piece of plexiglass about 2" longer than the sticker, put wires on each end, and I run a zip tie through the wires to fasten it to the trailer. You probably won't need PTBA, but it can be helpful on long, straight backups.
One thing I'll try the next time I pull one of those is locking out 6th gear, at least on the interstate or in hilly areas. I found power lacking when trying to accelerate from 65 to 70 mph on the interstate; it probably would have been fine if I had used 5th gear.
"The optimal ball height for towing U-Haul trailers is 18½ to 18¾ inches. This is measured from the ground to the middle of the hitch ball, prior to connecting the trailer." This is from the U-Haul site. Here's their method for measuring how much drop or rise you'll need: https://www.uhaul.com/Articles/Tips/...or-Your-Hitch/ I've done it the wrong way, and the right way. Leveling the trailer with the correct hitch ball height makes a tremendous improvement.
If your truck has Pro Trailer Backup Assist (PTBA), and you want to use it, you can make a device like the one shown below. I cut a piece of plexiglass about 2" longer than the sticker, put wires on each end, and I run a zip tie through the wires to fasten it to the trailer. You probably won't need PTBA, but it can be helpful on long, straight backups.
Have fun!
yea I had decided to lock out 6 and 5 considering I saw I was in 4 at 60 at 1800 rpm when I started this morning. I may open 5 in the morning to see how it rides and pulls. So far so good except that I keep thinking I’m getting a ton of sway because of uneven road surfaces haha. All in all happy with how it’s towing and only have 6 hours in the morning before I’m done. It is definitely different than towing big trailers or weapons with a military truck. Last time I really towed long distance was in the marines and there was absolutely no worry about pulling power because it was a CAT engine heavy duty Allison tranny and always seemed like it could pull a planet and some.
First time towing advice
