I regularly tow a 36 ft living quarter horse trailer weighing in at 20,000lbs. I would like input from others who tow heavy on how their rig performs. I recently had the eng temp hit the red (good on fluids) on a three quarter mile 6% grade in 65 degrees @ 8000 ft going 25mph. First time this happened (less than 5000 miles on rig) but I'm struggling with hills on every trip. Tranny temp getting up to 240-242 on every hill while going between 25-45 mph on 6-8% grades with engine temp usually running 212-219
Should I be concerned? The truck is rated to pull 32000 with the 410 and drw. Thanks again

 

What year and what model superduty? The temps look normal, did you receive the reduced power message?

 

215 eng sounds normal but it going to red on such a short hill in 65* weather would be concearning. trans sounds a bit hot also

 

2017 f350 lariat drw. No reduced power messages.

 

I thought the tran was a bit hot too. Anything I can do to lower the tran temp?

 

What temperature did you see when it went into the red?

 

Are you sure it wasn't the trans temp that got into the red?
the culprit might be the slow speed that keeps the torque converter from locking. I have seen this before. If you can hold a higher speed you would be fine.
are you using tow/jail mode?
Have you tried Manually shifting into a lower gear.
If it really is the engine temp that got into the red, did you hear the engine cooling fan kick in?

 

Those temps are normal. Shift manually and stay in a lower gear to get more air moving through the radiators and keep the coolant circulating. Also check your trailer brakes for dragging.

 

Which engine?

At 11K I'm towing less than you are but it's not unusual to see my transmission hit the low 230's on mountain passes. The 6.7L engine oil temp will be in the low 240's. I haven't been in the red yet.

I agree with bobv60, the slow speed isn't helping. I try to keep to at least 45 MPH to allow passive air flow across the radiator/engine to help with cooling.

If you're on a dirt road, consider shifting the transfer case to 4Lo. That makes the climb a little easier on the engine/transmission. I use that method in a variety of trucks and it works well. If the road has tight curves then 4Lo isn't a good solution as the front drivetrain will bind up a bit. (There is a modification you can do to allow the truck to shift into 4Lo but not actually engage the front axle. Think of it as 2Lo.)

I've tried gearing down on climbs but that didn't seem to help the transmission. It did raise the engine temp. On my prior gas engine truck that trick worked every time to lower the transmission temperature, but running the engine a higher RPM's for too long could cause the engine to overheat. It's a bit of a balancing act.

 

Are you trying to only go 25mph?
Or is that all the truck will do?
If that is all the truck will do, you have a problem.
I have towed my 16000lb 5er up a 6% grade when it was 106F outside and I was holding 62mph and nothing overheated.

 

I keep the trans temp up on the digital display so I'm positive it was the coolant temp. The cooling fan kicks in around 212 degrees & it was on as i could hear it. If i throttle up then the tranny temp just climbs. I use tow haul. I don't manually shift on the column but I will use the accelerator to shift into a lower gear on hills.

 

Heck no I'm not trying to go 25. It about kills me to drive the rig & trailer takes hours longer to get places. Pretty much sucks. I've been hauling heavy loads for 20 years and never had a new truck with this problem. When I take it to Ford they laugh at me & tell me nothing is wrong with the truck.
I can't go faster than 45 up a 6% grade...truck gets hot but I still have acceleration ability. I'm not against pushing the envelope but breaking down with stock is totally different than a travel trailer. Very few tow operators will haul livestock due to liability. Im taking it in next week to a mechanic that has some machine he can hook it up to before I go back to ford.

 

Hmmm...
Then you may be stuck with your decision.
If you are only limiting speed because you think the temps are getting up there, then that is up to you.
I understand holding back due to not wanting to break down with the stock.
If it was me, I would drive it how I want and when it blew up, call Ford to come and get it.
I do agree with Ford, the temps you are seeing, there is nothing wrong, but I also understand your decisions.

 

that's good to know. Thanks so much. I'll drive it like I do with our lighter trailer which weighs 7000lbs less and I have 0 issues with. Appreciate your feedback.

 

Well, two things are for sure, first, you are using the truck close to its max, and second, the automatic trans is not perfect. It sounds like the trans is in too high of a gear. Run the trans like a manual and keep the RPM ~3,000. If the truck will not hold it then slow down, gear down, and keep the RPMs 2,500-3,000. You want the motor to be putting out peak horsepower (2,800 rpm) on the hard climbs. If you feel the truck gaining speed then you can shift up but, if it cannot keep up, gear down till it can. Dumping fuel into the motor while it is lugging is a surefire way to heat everything up. If you do this and are still not happy then find a dyno and get some numbers to support your argument with Ford.

I pulled over a rocky mountain pass towing ~15K with 3.55 gears on about the same grade and she held 65 most of it and only got down to 60 right at the very top. I've grossed 37K on my F550 before, a lot less power, and the key is to put the motor where it is happy and let 'er pull. Towing and racing are two different things.