I've towed smaller and lighter campers for years but haven't towed anything as heavy as we currently tow. Truck and fiver in signature. Fiver weighs in at around 15,000 lbs. Truck has 68RFE tranny, 3.73 gearing, and is bone-stock. What I worry about the most are long, steep grades - don't want to do any damage to truck/tranny so would appreciate tips and pointers on those long, steep grades.

Thanks,

Bob

 

Gauges are ALWAYS an advantage simply because you can visually see whats going on in real time with the engine and transmission as you drive. Plus you eventually learn what "normal" is on the gauges and as soon as something doesnt look or feel right your gauges become the first reference point. That said, towing with an auto..... You NEVER want the tranny to "hunt" for gears. Meaning if it downshifts on a hill then manually shift into that gear and hold the gear until the top of the grade otherwise the tranny will continue to upshift and downshift repeatedly and that generates tons of heat. Also, learn to drive with the torque convertor locked. Meaning you always want to make sure the TC is locked before heading up a grade. If you think the tranny is going to downshift then choose that gear in time for the TC to relock otherwise it may stay unlocked and when the TC is unlocked it also builds tons of heat. Notice.....heat is bad. Anything over 225*-240* and the tranny oil is being compromised.

 

One other question - how do I know the TC is locked? I'm thinking 4th gear will most likely pull most of the steeper grades. And, can the gauges on the EVIC (coolant temp and tranny temp) be trusted?

Bob

 

On my 2011 I have the 68RFE with 3.73 gears and no problem towing my 13,700lb GVWR in the mountains. I also have a mini max for gauges but the transmission temp comes from the same source, so far very reliable and is the exact same as EVIC, which it should be. I recently changed all the oils and was not going to use a deep transmission pan with a drain because of cost but after getting drenched in transmission fluid I bought one that day. Since installing the deeper pan I'm noticing transmission temps 10-12 degC below where they used to be, worth EVERY penny.

 

I didnt know there was a tranny temp built in the stock gauges. If so then thats all the better. Stock gauges tend to never be as good as quality aftermarket gauges but generally todays OEM gauges are close enough for the basics and certainly are better than no gauges. I would trust what your EVIC is telling you unless you have good reason to doubt what it says.

As for knowing when the TC is locked, that just takes an attentive ear and watching the RPM's. When the TC is locked the RPM's will not fluctuate when you add light throttle, meaning you wont see the normal TC slippage because the TC clutch will be locked. But when you let off the throttle or when the load becomes too great for the amount of throttle you're applying then the TC will unlock.

 

Thanks, guys! That eases my mind a great deal. We're getting ready to hit the road full-time in a month or so (finally get to retire!) Bought this truck new in 2010 looking forward to this time. Have about 50k on the odometer now - I also wanted some shake-down miles on it before we hit the road.

As far as the TC lock, I'm pretty sure I'll be able to tell when that happen. Right now, when it changes gears, I can feel it 'grab' very gently and rpm's stabilize (drop just a smidgen).

Thanks again for your responses,

Bob