kevin1727

Planning to rent a camper and tow with my truck.
Truck is 2017 F-150 XL, 5.0L, 3.31 axle, class IV hitch (no tow package), trailer brake module being added.
Camper is 19 foot, 3,200 lbs dry. Dutchmen Aspen Trail, single axle.
Tongue weight 400 pounds max according to the rental company.
Cargo weight, driver, and passengers about 500 pounds.
Will be towing about 80 miles in Smokey Mountains area so might be some climbs.
My only concern is that I don't have an additional transmission cooler.
Seems I should be fine if I watch the temperatures. Camper rental company said it would be no problem as this camper is often pulled by SUVs without extra transmission cooler.

scootereh

This might be apples to oranges but fwiw, i towed my 28' cougar weighing about 7300 lbs loaded through the smokey mountains with my 2016 xlt 5.0 with the 3.31s. I do have the tow pkg and tranny cooler but my trans temp never exceeded 92 degrees according to the display. That was in march and the outside temp was only about 9 degees Celsius. Had no heat or any other tow issues whatsoever.

mtber

Manual says you can tow up to 5k without a tow package. Your numbers are within this. You shouldn't have any problems.

smokeywren

There is no current model Aspen Trail TT that is only 19' long. Their smallest is the model 1600RB, which is 21.5' long tip to tail, with GVWR of 3,900 pounds and average TW of 507 pounds when loaded for camping. 3125 shipping weight which could be the quoted 3,200 pounds dry weight with a battery and an empty propane tank installed.
http://www.dutchmen.com/aspen-trail/.../?modelId=4005

Cargo capaity is only 725 pounds, and most folks haul about 1,000 pounds of food, clothes, linens and camping stuff in a TT, so count on loading the trailer right up against the GVWR and resulting in a hair over 500 pounds tongue weight (TW). If you manage the weight in the trailer so as to not exceed 500 pounds TW, then Ford says you can get by with a weight-carrying (WC) hitch instead of the more expensive weight-distributing (WD) hitch. But personally I want a good WD/sway control hitch for any TW more than about 300 pounds.

When working the engine hard, try to keep the speed up above 45 MPH so the torque converter will stay locked. And have your partner keep eyes glued to the tranny temp gauge. (You probably can't concentrate on driving and watching the tranny temp gauge at the same time, so farm out that gauge-watching responsibility to DW.) If the gauge never jumps up out of the green zone, then you're good to go. But the instant the gauge jumps from the green to the yellow zone, your partner should scream and you should then safely pull over and stop ASAP. Put the tranny in neutral and elevate the engine RPM to about 1,300 RPM, then sit there at a high idle while twiddling your thumbs until the tranny temp jumps back into the green zone.

Ford's colors on their idiot gauges are weird. Green means go, but yellow means stop, and red means Sorry Charlie, but your tranny is probably already toast.

The tranny temp gauge is not an analog gauge, but a so-called idiot gauge. It will jump from one temp zone to another. If you also have a digital tranny temp gauge under the "gauges" button in the dash display, that one gives actual tranny temp. 225° is the red line.

kevin1727

Now that I've signed the rental agreement through rvshare.com , I have more information and was able to talk with the owner. I found out it is a 2016 Model 1700BH. 21.5 feet overall, and they were giving 19 feet as the box dimension. The owner has a sway control hitch that he will let me use to plug directly into the 2" receiver. It is what he uses to tow.
The Dutchmen web site shows 452 dry hitch weight for the current model but when I found a 2016 brochure it shows 342 dry hitch weight.
Thanks! I'll watch for that. My gauge looks like this.

The yellow is hard to see in this photo but I will make sure I don't go into that area.
This is very helpful information.

old_programmer

You should be fine as far as weights go. If you are really concerned about the transmission temperatures on the 2017 you should have the ability to read the actual temps via the display. I don't remember the main heading name but it is the same one where you see the oil life, tire pressures, etc. With a tranny cooler and towing during the summer my normal range is 190 - 202. As long as you are in this range you should be fine.

kevin1727

I have an XL and it doesn't have the digital display.
edited: I was thinking of the numbers you can add above the gauge via forscan if you have the LCD screen. I realize you are saying do this via the menu to display various readings. I checked and that is easy. Only two clicks up from the digital speed display.

Sirikenewtron

Looking forward to hearing how the trip goes towing wise

Summers22

iTrader: (2)

You have a digital transmission temp readout in the settings of the cluster. My 2017 101A does.

kevin1727

Oh, you mean through the menu. I hadn't tried that yet so I just went out and checked. It is easy. Only two clicks up from the digital speed display.
I was thinking OldProgrammer meant the digital display above the gauge you can add if you have an LCD screen via forscan.