This is what it says:

"Frontal Area is the total area in square feet that a moving vehicle and trailer exposes to air resistance."

 

Ridiculous. 60 Sq Ft? Most toy haulers easily exceed this. With that said, my 21 foot Desert Fox, exceeds this number and I have only had an issue once. Last summer, climbing a hill outside of Boise on a hot day, I got the reduce power message from the console, after the tranny was pegged at 230 degrees for a couple miles.

 

My trailer is 9' tall by 8' wide. So that would be 72 square feet, right? I have never had a problem and don't get over 198 no matter how far I have gone.

 

Noticed my tranny temp reach 203 degrees at its peak this past weekend. Went for a 3hr total drive. Varied my speed from 65 -- 75 mph. No load...No towing...

It was extremely hot out...about 98 -- 100 degrees.

I'm going to watch the tranny temps...HUMM...I just glad this truck allows me to see the temps! Very cool feature...


biz

 

Mine runs from 195 to 205 empty or towing and has done so since new. It is what these trannys run at. Never had a problem with overheating and I tow a 14K fifth wheel. I was concerned the first time I seen the temp gauge as well just after I bought it and asked around and found out everyones was the same.

 

Well....I got an update finally from my friend. He told me he fixed the overheating issue. He said he took the tranny to his dad's shop and had HIM tear it down. Said the tranny was absolutely STARVING for oil. He said he was sure the line pressure orifice was too small. So they drilled it out another .020" and rebuilt it and ran it to see if it worked. Unfortunately they didnt get to test it very long, as a few days later it started puking coolant into the oil. So they pulled the heads and they were so warped you could see it from 10' away..... A new engine was $8200. He is out of warranty by mileage already. So he happened to have a friend who new a guy who had a brother that new another guy...who does CUMMINS swaps...



So, now there is a 2011 Ford running around here with a Cummins common rail and an Alisson 1000 transmission. So, yup, he fixed his overheating problem alright. For $7,300.

I would have never let it get that far, Ford would have eaten that truck if I had to drive it through the plate glass window myself...to each their own.

 

Need pics...

 

I emailed him to see if he has any pictures, we will see. He actually lives like an hour and a half or so away from me, so I can't even just run over real quick lol.

 

I've hit 226 degrees towing a 7,000lb trailer in stop and go traffic on the highway in 102 degree weather. But, other then that I normally am under 210 towing 7 to 10k lbs.