Towing with half tons?

[Jamesdad]

Who out there tows with a half ton pick up? Has anyone had any trouble with there truck from excessive towing? How much weight do you tow, mileage, cargo, etc...My transmission is having problems (2000, Ford F-150, 4x4). My towing limit is 7,900 lbs, I tow a 2003 Jayco Kiwi Hybrid, 23 foot, 3,900 lbs dry weight. Just curious of others that may have or had problems in the past and what kind of problems.
Thanks, Jamesdad

[AustinBoston]

Who out there tows with a half ton pick up? Has anyone had any trouble with there truck from excessive towing? How much weight do you tow, mileage, cargo, etc...My transmission is having problems (2000, Ford F-150, 4x4). My towing limit is 7,900 lbs, I tow a 2003 Jayco Kiwi Hybrid, 23 foot, 3,900 lbs dry weight. Just curious of others that may have or had problems in the past and what kind of problems.

Unless you are missing a required tranny cooler, this doesn't sound so much like a towing-related problem as just a "shorter than normal" transmision life.

A lot of people tow with setups that are closer to the limits without problems.  In my case, my tow rating is 6,000 lbs., (1,900 lbs less than yours), and my trailer is 3,500 lbs. (400 lbs less than yours).  Since 2000, this setup has gone over 30,000 miles (van has a total of over 200,000 miles).  She's towed over many 8,000 foot passes (top was over 9,000 feet), spent an hour in stop-and-go traffic at 110

[Jamesdad]

Thank you AustinBoston, It goes in the shop tomorrow, we will see what is going on. I will mention the tranny cooler, not sure if I have one or not??

Jamesdad

[OC Campers]

We tow our 01 Westlake (3500 lb) with our Dodge Ram.  We have the small V8 (4.7 liter).  I believe our tow rating is 6,500 lbs.   We are way under with the popup but when we load the 3 dirt bikes in the back along with the popup chasing the truck we are almost maxed out.  Our truck is fairly new (2005) so no tranny issues.  Dh is considering installing airbags or special helper springs on the truck.  When we are loaded the rear sags quite a bit.

Good luck with the truck.  It is not cheap to replace/repair the tranny.
 
Jacqui

[wavery]

Who out there tows with a half ton pick up? Has anyone had any trouble with there truck from excessive towing? How much weight do you tow, mileage, cargo, etc...My transmission is having problems (2000, Ford F-150, 4x4). My towing limit is 7,900 lbs, I tow a 2003 Jayco Kiwi Hybrid, 23 foot, 3,900 lbs dry weight. Just curious of others that may have or had problems in the past and what kind of problems.
Thanks, Jamesdad

What kind of problems are you having (clunking, slipping, not going into gear smoothly, not going in reverse right away.....)? How many miles? How often do you change the ATF and filter?

[austinado16]

Towing with a '90 1/2 ton 4x4 Suburban w/ 5.7L(350ci) injected V-8.  I have a HUGE trans cooler, plus a finned cast aluminum pan that holds 4 additional qts and I have a mechanical trans oil temp gauge in the pan.  I tow alot, from watercraft to cars, and now the PUP.  So far so good, but I have to show the 700R4/4L60 trans some major respect.  In fact I just replaced the fan clutch because I was getting some higher-than-normal transmission temps pulling long grades at slow speeds......my prop wasn't hooking up!

Good luck w/ that FORD.  I towed one of your buddies out of the middle of the highway last winter with my Audi after his F-150's tranny grenaded and sort of had it locked in R & D at the same time.

[TheViking]

Kevin,  You know what I tow with my Toyota.  I have the factory Tow Package on it.  Prior to the TH,  I towed a 27' Jayco travel trailer for about 3 years, and before that my pop-up once.  We took it in for service on the tranny (Fluid) a couple of weeks ago and Toyota said it looked good, no reason to change it yet.  The tow package makes a difference.  I don't know what yours has for this but Toyota has an Oil Cooler, tranny cooler, Class IV hitch, 7 pin connector, & Brake controller pre-wire.  When I'm fully loaded I'm probably at 7000 lbs. So far so good.

[flyfisherman]

Like I always post here ... I've driven pick'em-ups for so long I just don't know how to act when I get into a regular car!  I just like the way they sit and drive; and I believe they are a little tougher than a car.

Below I've posted a pix of the little red pick-up and Starcraft. The tow rating for the truck is something like 6500 lbs and the GVWR for the PU is 2090, which by the time I load on the canoe and a couple of bikes I'm real close to. Last time I had it weighed with everything hung on the camper it weighed in at something like 2,053 lbs (I know I've since added some more bric-a-brac thats at least another 25 lbs!). What I like about the truck is the low profile fiberglass cargo bed cover which gives me a huge truck to stow all my "other" junk. I simply cannot understand all the stuff I carry when I try so hard to "travel light". But the truck carries all with ease and it's a chore to keep my speed at 65 mph as the truck wants to and can so easily "cruise" at 80!  But the gas mileage at 65 is an honest and pleasant 19.5 mpg in flat country; will drop off in the mountains to 16 or 17 ... takes more energy (fuel) to pull an extra ton up hill!

I have a new tranny in the truck. The orginal was not right from the get-go, made some funny noises and a little slip and klunk here and there. Took it back to Mr.Goodwrench three or four times but they said it was O.K. ~ Then one day I just drove up to the store; came out with whatever it was I went there for, got into the truck, put it in reverse and there was no reverse!  Come to find out the orginal tranny was defective ... either it was a defective part or something was put in wrong or maybe not at all. Anyway, here's the kicker: it was still under warranty and I got a brand new tranny ... AND, get this, the new tranny has a 100,000 mile warranty on it ... the orginal was warranted for only 35,000 miles!

Anyway, I like pick-up trucks. I like the way it sits and the way it drives. I like the towing ability it has and all the stuff it can carry.



Fly

[wharpoley]

I tow with an '03 Expedition 5.4L 4WD, but my pop-up is only 1600 lbs dry. The Expedition has 83,000 miles on it, and no tranny issues. It has the factory towing package, and runs good down the road.

[D-mo]

I've seen, or should I say heard, lots of people with larger trailers towing in OD.  Thats ok, if your transmission isn't "hunting" for the right gear to be in, but if it is .... hunting for a gear is what builds up heat in your trany and can eventually lead to breakdowns.
My TV has its trany fluid changed out every 80,000 kms. It makes a big difference , you will notice that down shift paterns that were once there when it was new, are back again.
Below 100km per hr and a big load I would be towing out of OD ... 3rd gear.  Hilly areas 3rd gear again.  As soon as my TV starts shifting up and down ... hunting for the right gear .. down she goes again ..into 3rd.

d-mo

[wavery]

BTW Kevin......my '99 S10 P/U has the same trans as your truck. My S10 has 175K miles on it and the trans is tight as a drum.

The previous owner towed a big boat to the Colorado River (like every-other weekend). He changed the ATF every 25K miles and it shows it.

I recently switched to synthetic ATF (which I highly recommend) and installed a larger oil cooler. :sombraro:

Just a note......The on-board computer takes about 10-20 miles to adjust it's shifting points when you are towing. After towing, the same adjustment period should be expected. So if you are concerned about shifting irregularities when you start towing and/or after towing, that may be normal. :sombraro:

[TheViking]

BTW Kevin......my '99 S10 P/U has the same trans as your truck. My S10 has 175K miles on it and the trans is tight as a drum.
 
The previous owner towed a big boat to the Colorado River (like every-other weekend). He changed the ATF every 25K miles and it shows it.
 
I recently switched to synthetic ATF (which I highly recommend) and installed a larger oil cooler. :sombraro:
 
Just a note......The on-board computer takes about 10-20 miles to adjust it's shifting points when you are towing. After towing, the same adjustment period should be expected. So if you are concerned about shifting irregularities when you start towing and/or after towing, that may be normal. :sombraro:

 
 
A Chevy S-10 has the same transmission that a Ford F-150 4x4?:yikes:

[wavery]

A Chevy S-10 has the same transmission that a Ford F-150 4x4?:yikes:

:morning:
Good catch Brian.... I meant "austinado16's" 1/2 ton 4x4 Suburban w/ 5.7L V8 with a 700R4/4L60 trans. :eyecrazy:

They have a reputation for being a weak trans. However, I think that they get a bad rap from people that don't service them on a regular basis.

BTW Brian...If I were you, I would insist on having that trans serviced (fluid and filter change). ATF has a tendency to look OK but burn up the next time that it gets hot. Considering how much you tow, I wouldn't let that go longer than 25K miles. Talk to the Toyota dealer about using synthetic ATF. Better yet, do some research on it and make up your own mind. Dealership Service Managers tend to have a mind set that NOTHING should be done to deviate from factory specs. Just be sure that it won't effect your warranty :sombraro:  (not that they would know the difference anyway).

Synthetic ATF dissipates heat better and will withstand higher temps without burning. It has also been prooven to provide more stable shifting patterns. Chrysler and some other manuf have switched to synthetic exclusively. They have found that it has dramatically reduced warranty costs and increased trans longevity. They claim that it never needs to be changed (although I wouldn't recommend it in a TV).

[austinado16]

The Suburban's original 700R4 lasted 234,000mi, which is simply unheard of.  I was going to throw a GM rebuilt unit at it, but didn't want to put someone else's "unknown" transmission and "unknown" rebuild in it.  Did a bunch of reading online and then bought all the goodies that are recommended for building them stronger, and had a local GM tranny guy rebuild mine.

I just serviced it, after the long hot pull to the Grand Canyon, and a second short but very hot pull to King's Canyon.  I was expecting brown fluid, but it actually looked great.  I put in conventional, simply because I didn't have the coin to throw 8qts of synthetic in it, but I will at the next service.

Depending on load and road conditions I will tow in overdrive, but as soon as the road isn't level, or if I'm bucking a big headwind (The 'burb has the aerodynamics of 2 sheets of plywood) I pull it down into 3rd. With the lockup torque converter, it's really a 6 speed because it can lock and unlock in both 3rd and 4th, which is about a 300rpm change at speed.

I get around 18mpg empty, on the highway, at the speedlimit.  I can milk about 15mpg towing if I stay around 60mph.  But get on the power, or maintain 75+ and it's 11mpg.

[AustinBoston]

They claim that it never needs to be changed (although I wouldn't recommend it in a TV).

Sort of like underwear that never needs to be changed.  Sure, you can do that, but why would you want to?  

Austin