AKCheese

Pulling a Lance 1995 very lightly loaded 4600# empty...zero water in any tanks with my 2012 F150 5.0L 3.55 XLT 4x4 with an ARE topper. Pulled it around Washington including over the Cascades. Hit a high tranny temp of 207F briefly (is that worrisome?). Temps outside were typical cool fall temps so I anticipate higher when its warmer. This is a LIGHT trailer LIGHTLY loaded i.e. Not a lot of food, clothing, gear.... NO Water...the scale stats were an eye opener to me .
Actual/Allowable GCVW 12,180/13,500 Front Axle 3400/3750 Rear Axle 3860/3850 Trailer (Axles) 4920/5700. I weigh 210, my wife is "petite".... the only clothing we brought fit in our carry on and we put very little in our trailer. We DO have a 40# dog, food, crate etc. Anyhow, it's an eye opener how close we are to some limits. We'll look for places to shave some weight because I want to take some golf clubs when we travel. I'm thinking taking one more link up on the WDH (Blue Ox SwayPro) would push a little weight to the front axle? Makes me wonder about some of these larger and MUCH more loaded rigs you see rolling down the road. My only real concern is the tranny temp, how hot is TOO hot? Would a bigger pan be a good idea? I'm going to double check weights towards the end of our trip.

clarkbre

Try to break up your post a bit. It's really tough to read.

No, not worrisome at all. 207 is actually pretty low in the whole scheme of things. Pulling my trailer over the North Cascades highway in July, my tranny got up to 218 and it was still totally fine.

Your trailer is severely under-loaded. Depending on your cab/bed configuration, your truck is rated to pull 7500-8100 pounds. Your trailer still has nearly 800 pounds of available cargo capacity. Load it up and let the trailer axles do some of the work. Clothes, golf clubs, etc. should all be in the trailer. Keep the truck empty and loaded light.

You need to know the weight on each truck axle before the trailer is hooked up to know how much weight needs to go back on the front axle. You may already be distributed properly but the combination of the tongue weight and the ARE topper overload the rear axle.

Your tranny temps are fine and well within the normal operating temps. Don't worry about a larger pan. Does your truck have the auxiliary tranny oil cooler? If so, it's fine.

PerryB

Good boy, you didn't mention your wife's weight!
You're in great shape as far as your towing combination. The transmission temp. is absolutely normal. If you ever DID want to upgrade your trans. cooling, a bigger (or additional) cooler is the solution. Extra fluid capacity alone will do almost nothing.

Pugga

iTrader: (1)

I would agree that it is extremely eye opening when you actually take the time to do the math. My truck is right at capacity with my little single axle 18' camper. It has a high tongue weight and, like you, I have a topper on the truck. With myself, wife, 2 kids, dog, tools, cap and tongue weight, I'm within 100 lbs of being maxed out on my truck's payload rating.

smokeywren

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Hit a high tranny temp of 207F briefly (is thatworrisome?).

No. Red line is 225°, orange zone is 220° to 225°, yellowzone is 210° to 220°. Anything less than 210° is the green zone on a good analog gauge. (With a digital gauge, you sorta have to visualize the color zones).

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Actual/Allowable.. Front Axle 3400/3750 Rear Axle 3860/3850

You probably need totighten the spring bars a bit more to distribute more weight off the rear axleand onto the front axle.

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. I'm thinking taking one more link up on the WDH(Blue Ox SwayPro) would push a little weight to the front axle?

Right. Maybe even two links.

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My only real concern is the tranny temp, how hot is TOO hot?

225° is the red line. Watch the gauge like a hawk when climbing a grade at less than about 45MPH to be sure the tranny temp doesn’t go over 225°. The unlocked torque converter with the engine working hard is the cause of excess tranny temp. But the torque converter should stay locked at speeds over 45 MPH.

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Would a bigger pan be a good idea?

No. Just more ATF to get hot, then longer to cool off if you allow it to get too hot.

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I'm going to double check weights towards the end of our trip.

Also check the amount of rise of the front fender to the ground, with the rig parked on level ground so the floor of the trailer is level, front to rear. Your goal is between zero and one-half inch of rise with the trailer with spring bars tight compared to the tow vehicle with no trailer. More rise than one-half inch and you need to tighten the spring bars. Negative rise and you need to let off on the tension on the spring bars.


If you're **** about fine tuning the WD hitch, then you can do it with CAT scale weights. Weigh the wet and loaded rig three times. Once wet and loaded and ready to travel, with spring bars tight. Again with the trailer, but without the spring bars tight. And finally without the trailer.


Add the weights on the front and rear axles to get GVW. Subtract GVW without the trailer from the GVW with the trailer with the spring bars loose. The answer is tongue weight.


Compare the axle weights with the spring bars tight to the axle weights with the spring bars loose. Ideal weight distribution would be 20% to 25% of tongue weight distributed to the front axle, 20% to 25% of tongue weight distributed to the trailer axles, and 50% to 60% of tongue weight remaining on the rear axle.


Adjust the spring bars to get 50% to 60% of tongue weight remaining on the rear axle. Then the angle of the coupler to the ball determines the split of weight distribution to the front and trailer axles.


It can take a bunch of scale weights and hitch adjustments to get it right. Then when you get it right you'll probably find that the front fender well rise is right on the money.

Pugga

iTrader: (1)

Are you familiar with how the needle gauge correlates to the digital readout on the dash? My truck runs about 205 unloaded on a hilly backroad. Towing, I'm usually between 205 and 215. I've climbed a bit higher on a small handful of occasions but the needle gauge never leaves the green area. The digital readout can be pushing 220 but the needle doesn't move so I'm assuming they are taking readings at different points, just not sure what one to trust.

smokeywren

The Ford analog tranny temp "idiot" gauges are weird. The yellow zone means you're too hot, probably 225° to 230° or more, so pull over immediately and elevate the idle of the engine at 1,200 or higher RPM until the needle falls back into the green zone. The red zone means your tranny is probably already toast. That's been a problem for over 15 years, but the Ford tranny engineers say as long as you use the expensive Motorcraft ATF with the specs required by your tranny, you can go by the analog gauge.

Pugga

iTrader: (1)

Good to know, thanks! I'll just continue to keep the digital gauge up when towing.

AKCheese

Maybe the higher temp is being taken before it goes through the aux cooler? I only plan on towing during shoulder seasons but I'm thinking 30-40F warmer outside could cause the fluid to get substantially higher. As PerryB recommended I may consider a larger or additional cooler.

A friend of mine years ago recommended an e-fan on the cooler but I'm thinking the air from driving 30-60mph would be much more than a fan would add to much(?).
Does anyone have experience with those units?

Thanks for everyone's input, hopefully it's helping others as much as it is me!!

Pugga

iTrader: (1)

The truck shouldn't run substantially hotter due to ambient temperature. The truck's engine and transmission are trying to maintain a constant temperature regardless of the outside temperature. Obviously, this may not be the case as there are limits on what the truck can deal with. I'm not towing at the truck's max capacity but have not noticed significant differences in the engine or transmission temperature whether it's the middle of the Summer or the end of the Fall.