When towing, do u use overdrive or not. I am towing a 9000 travel trailer. Can i use overdrive? I do have a tranny temp gauge. Also my tongue is 900 lbs. Will my reciever take that kind of weight? Thanks for the help.

 

You should be able to handle that weight with a weight distributing hitch. The ratings should be stamped on your receiver or on a sticker. You should leave it in OD unless the transmission is seeking. These motors have an incredible amount of torque and you'll be surprised how seldom the it needs to downshift.

 

stiffysteele,

Start your towing without the o/d. After you get used to the trucks shifting then you will soon be able to take it in and out of o/d as you deem fit. The reason they tell you not to tow with it is because with the o/d on the tranny shifts earlier causing more slip for a smoother shift. As you know this slip causes heat build up and wear on the plates in the tranny. When you are up to speed on the highway o/d is ok as long as you are not on hills etc. This will cause the tranny to shift in and out of o/d .

As to the tongue wt. Do you have the tow package on your truck? Or are you using a bumper mounted ball? If you are using the bumper NOOOOO do not use it to tow that big of trailer. If you are using a frame mounted hitch/receiver it should be stamped right on the hitch as to the wt capacity (you Should be fine) Also yu may want to look into air bags (helper springs) They make the ride while towing super nice and safe. Because the truck and trailer sit level. Which means they both travel and handle the way they are designed; hence, braking, avoiding a whole lot of sway, and you can see over the hood reather than just the horizon. Etc. Just a loittle extra advice too. If you do decide to put the bags on, get the on board compressor and cab controls to. Nothing worse then trying for 20 minutes to get into a gas station to fill your bags to level the truck, only to find out the damn air stn is broken, plus it takes all the guess work out of checking air pressures in the bags to. It also gives you a air supply for air horns and be able to fill up your truck tires, trailer tires etc. while out in the middle of no where. They are worth their wt in gold for sure!!!!! What are ya towing?

Fire Rooster

PS. here are some pics of my air bags, compressor and cab controls with gauges. Notice how the truck and trailer sit level. No sag or sway in the trailer or truck during travel. I don't even know the trailer is there.

WWW.geocities.com/toyhauler2000/tugboutupgrades1
WWW.geocities.com/toyhauler2000/tugboutupgrades2
WWW.geocities.com/toyhauler2000/tugboutupgrades3
WWW.geocities.com/toyhauler2000/firsttrip

 

Airbags seem like overkill. The factory suspension should easily be able to handle 900 lbs without much sag. Remember, the suspension is supposed to drop a little and ride level when it is carrying weight.

 

John,

I agree the springs will hold the weight just fine. I however have a leveling kit on my truck so it is level before I load the trailer on it. When I hook up it does sag significantly, granted a fifth wheel is a lot heavier then a regular bumper pull travel trailer. But let me put it this way. He is asking about pull ing in o/d which means speeds of 70-80 mph no problem. That is a lot of sway in the trailer even with an anti sway bar. The air bags really do a good job of stffling this also make the ride very nice and pleasureable. I have seen a lot of ugly accidents secondary to improper loading. This website is full of over board stuff and add ons. I was just giving some first hand experience of the air bags I really like mine and was just offering a little perspective. But again you are right the springs will hold that trailer with know problem.

Fire Rooster

 

I've never had a problem in my truck and 80 MPH is too fast for anyone towing that big of a trailer, airbags or not.

 

Does anybody know what the specified tongue weight limit is? Just entered the realm of towing heavy I think im a good bit over that tongue weight with my 03 f-350. what is the purpose of a weight disributing hitch i have read about them but not quite sure what it is . How will it help me? like i said im new at pulling heavy about 9,600 pounds backhoe and trailer combined not sure what the tongue weight is but im positive it is more than 900lbs.

Diesel dummy

 

John,
Sorry the internet doesn't really let me get the proper context across. I agree with everything you are saying. I do not tow my trailer that fast either. I am only trying to make a suggestion on the purchase I have made that has impressed me. I really enjoy the air bags both when the truck is loaded down as well as when it is empty. It rides very nice all the time. So I was letting someone else know of my experiences with this set up and how much I enjoy it. So if he was in the market for making his towing experiences more pleasurable that this what I found worked for me. No it is not a necesary componenet only an added extra.

Fire Rooster

 

whats the snow doing in the pic roster? theres no snow in phoenix

 

We are in Williams AZ 40 miles West of Flagstaff. Elevation of 7400ft. It was a cold MFer that trip got down to 11 degrees. But the Truck and Trailer did great!!!!!!!!!! And yes I know there is much colder places then 11 degrees. But I have been in PHX for so long that my blood is sure thin.

Fire Rooster

 

You guys really got me thinking I,m Is pulling this thing dangerous with my setup factory frame hitch I think rated for 20.000 GCWR and im runnin 18,620 according to the scales but probably 1,500 sittin on the toungue Help need some input

 

Check your hitch for the max wt. allowed for the tongue. I just looked at mine and it is only rated to 1200lbs. So if you are at 1500 you are probably over. look down on the receiver it should be stamped on there. then get you trailer weighed for the tongue wt. If you are over go to Quality bumper or another shop of that nature and get some advice/maybe a bigger set up.

Fire Rooster

 

Ill look at that stamping. Truck squats a little but nothing unreasonable actually takes it quite well I just dont want to be above the rating at allllll lot o money in john deere on that trailer not to mention hitting some else . tows pretty easy though thanks for the advice got some checking to do!!!

Diesel Dummy

 

ss, have you checked out the towing forum yet?

 

Weight Distribution hitch is a good Idea for that weight.

My TT is a little over 10,000 lbs, hitch weight is ~1050 lbs give or take a few lbs. My truck is level with the trailer hooked to it without the WD hitch, but after putting in my Motorcycle ~ 770 lbs or our Golf Cart ~750 lbs, it will squat a little, so the WD hitch helps, plus I like having the additional hitch points.

I have a F250