Hello all,

We're getting ready to go on our first trip with a travel trailer. It's a rented trailer through Outdoorsy since we still aren't in a position to get our own yet. Our tow vehicle is a 2006 E350 V10 with 4.10 gears. The trailer is a 2019 Forest River Grey Wolf 26BHSE. The owner is providing us with a weight distribution hitch. Our towing distance won't be far since I'm picking it up a few hours from the campground we're staying at. Now for the question....

We got the van with approx 56k miles 2 years ago for the purpose of getting a travel trailer. We're now at approximately 75k miles just because it's become our road trip vehicle in general. Do you think I should get anything done at the mechanic in preparation for this trip? Should i get the transmission flushed? We had the spark plugs and wires changed after our trip last year because it started running rough and had a CEL. There aren't any problems that come to mind (beside broken window regulator), but I wonder if i should proactively do anything since we're about to put it under a load it hasn't seen in a while. The original owner (I'm the 2nd) used it to tow his travel trailer based on papers we found in the car. I just don't know what service they did along the way prior to us getting it. I want to live by the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" but I don't want to run into issues that may avoidable. I also don't want the mechanic to think I'm coming to him with a blank check and free reign to find any and every little problem either. When I first got it, they recommended another transmission cooler. But the original owner had been towing just fine with the current set up, and he had a bigger trailer.

Thanks in advance and i hope to post in the show me your trailer thread soon. It may be rented but it's "mine" for a few days, right?

 

I would think your van will be fine. i'm assuming that you know what your payload is, what the trailer tongue weight is, and are within specs? Take it slow, that is a lot of trailer.

 

From what I can see the max towing for a 2006 E350 V10 is 9,400 or 9,500lbs. The dry weight of the trailer is 4,208lbs. with a trailer payload capacity ( Carrying Capacity) of 2,978 lbs. for a total towing weight (GVWR) of 7,574lbs. That looks OK

The tongue weight of the trailer is subtracted from the carrying capacity of the van

Have someone check the trans fluid to make sure it's O.K.

A transmission cooler never hurts.

At a min make sure there's engine and oil temp gauges and know what range the temps should be.

Previous owner doing something doesn't mean it was good for the truck.

One of our previous trailer had a bunk/storage compartment at the back. We would load the compartment up with gear. After a few trips I decided to hang a bike rack on the bumper. I always used more tension than necessary on the sway bars and I could feel the trailer sway in the steering after the bikes were added. We stopped and moved the bikes in to the box of the truck and then went and bought a bike rack for the roof of the truck.

Make sure the brakes on the trailer are adjusted properly. At max (10) gain you should feel the truck jerk and/or the trailer brakes lock up when the brake pedal is applied. Also pull the E-stop cable on the trailer and make sure it works.

As drum brakes heat up they expand away from the shoes. If they heat up too much there is a loss of braking. If you can't hold the truck trailer using 10% brakes going down a steep hill it's time to slow down/gear down.

For a family of 4?? a 28ga black tank will give you 3-4 days.....about the same time as the 38gal grey tank will fill up.

 

What they said ^^^^^^^ is all good advice in my opinion.

I can't tell if your E350 has the extended rear overhang or not. If it does not then it's a towing monster for a gasoline-powered vehicle. If it does have the extended overhang, then be careful of the trailer pushing you around, especially downhill. Don't panic about it, just know that the trailer has a bit of extra leverage. It will still tow uphill well though.

I agree with the others that an additional transmission cooler wouldn't hurt anything, but if you're considerate of your van's experience, it probably won't hurt anything to leave it as is, at least for this trip.

 

Check your coolant! If you’ve never changed it, time for a flush.

Do you have brake controller?

If you don’t have trans cooler, get one installed.

Make sure you have fuses in place on the van to charge battery on the TT and power the fridge while in transit. Not sure if that applies but it did on my 2011 F150.

Does your V10 use oil? If so you’ll likely use more towing.

 

Getting the WDH dialed in will be critical to feeling comfortable pulling. It is likely you’ll have to change the hitch set height unless the lessor also has an E350. You’ll want to find out the type and research that BEFORE trying to hook up. An extra 30 minutes getting dialed in is worth it! The van should have plenty of ooomph to tow it. Check your fluids, and tire pressures. Likely you’ll need to bump at least the rear tires to near max to handle the extra weight. Have fun!

 

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'll try to addess a few suggestions/comments here....

It is not the extended E350 so we don't have the overhang. The coolant has not been flushed since i've had it, which is 3 years now. I do have a brake controller but i can't attest to whether or not it works. Can anyone tell me if there's a way to check it without having a trailer? When i first bought it, i took it to this same shop for an oil change and told them I wanted it looked at it because we planned on towing with it. At that time they recommended the trans cooler but we didn't do it. We still didn't have a trailer at that point. I won't be able to dial in the WDH until the day I pick it up. The owner of the trailer is providing the hitch and I'm sure it's been in use by other renters with other tow vehicles.

 

Van looks great, I think you'll be fine, and I'm pretty ocd about things. The trailer brake, it worked before and personally never heard of one going bad, so I wouldn't worry about it. I don't think you can check it without hooking up. I suppose you could stop by an RV place and plug in to verify it shows output voltage?

 

Its a 2006 right? Do the coolant cheap insurance - that long life coolant turns into sludge and ruins things if it stays in there too long. Does trans fluid look clean? Smell good?

Do the trans cooler as well. I live in FL so its flat BUT its hot as hell here. Transmissions don't like heat.

 

The trip is approximately 120 miles each way. I think I'll do the coolant flush and possibly transmission fluid flush but skip the cooler for now. We won't be full to the brim and the tanks will be empty while traveling. I plan on going to a CAT scale just to see how that works and what we weigh with that set up for future reference.

 

Had the above listed work done. Are these costs "average"?

Transmission Flush $331.65 (parts 223.20 labor 108.45)

Transmission dipstick tube replace $166.81 (parts 58.36 labor 108.45)

Coolant flush $172.01 (parts 90.67 labor 81.34)

Fixed window regulator $119.30 labor only (i provided part)

 

Why did they replace dipstick?

 

They actually recommended I do it last year when I had an oil change done. They recommended the transmission flush and dipstick replacement. (Just looked at an old receipt as i put the new one away) Had I remembered, i I would have provided that part myself and saved a few dollars as well. I don't think they tried to get over on me. I've had them fix a few cars of mine. Just curious if the prices are somewhat standard.

 

You sound like you're on the right track, but some suggestions:
Probably should have done it then, but even with no trailer a trans cooler is always a good investment, especially in a van - there is less airflow available due to the design of the vehicle.
To check to make sure your brake controller is working, you can usually take it to just about any trailer place. They'll probably charge you, but they have a plug-in tester that checks all the pins in your receptacle, and can tell you if it's working. The other option is to hitch up, put the van in gear, hold the brake controller slider, and let your foot off the brake. If you don't move (or at least drag the trailer tires), then it's working.

 

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