7 years ago I moved from CA to VA...Everything I owned in back of a camaro, Now I'm moving back to CA, with a little more stuff. I already shipped my mini out there. So I'm going to use my truck to tow my, new to me, 24' enclosed trailer. I weighed everything empty yesterday and it's 11K. All my stuff including tools and 2 snowmobiles are going in the trailer. Here's what I've done so far with my early 99 f-250

DP tuner - 60t, 80e, 140 ext.
bts vb
4"Downpipe w/6" stacks
6.0L spearco ic
flushed - brakes, coolant, diff's, tranny, transfer case, pwr steering (everything amsoil, besides coolant)
Oil/filter/fuel - 1K ag0
powerslot rotors/hawk pads
stainless brake lines
new coolant/vacumm hoses
new goodyear gatorback belt
new 6637
Had to re-wire 7pin connector
Tru-cool tranny cooler (don't have tranny temp gauge though)
tires and spare in good shape

The only thing I'm worried about is that I'm seeing 800-1K EGT with the trailer empty...I wonder if I should send the chip back to Jody for 40 tow???

Also for some reason I don't have helper springs...should I get some?

I haven't brought it in for the CPS re-call yet...if It aint' broke don't fix it...or If it aint broke keep effing with it until it is LOL...but seriously should I make a appt. to get it changed out?

So what am I forgetting? Any tips??? I never towed anything with my PSD other than small trailers.

Thanks!

 

I see 800-1000 egt on my truck with no trailer, depends on the terrain and how you drive. I wouldn't be too concerned with those temps Just watch the do not exceed of 1200. As far as the helper springs go try it on a short run to see how it rides and I would suggest if you need something else to go with the firestone air bag, I don't have them but know a few people that do and they swear by them.

 

YOu don't need a 40T, I don't think you will notice a difference. With a 24' enclosed. . . I don't think you'll see a whole lot higher temps with it loaded as opposed to empty except when accelerating and pulling up hills. Just keep the turbo spooled(which should be no problem for you) and keep your eye on it. I pulled my 24' empty and saw around 1000-1200 between 65-90 mph. . . with it loaded with my car the temps were fairly consistantly 1000-1100 around 55-65 mph. Its just hard for me to keep my turbo spooled with stock gearing, 37" tires and an H2 while in 6th gear. I think you are good to go man. Enjoy the trip.
Timmy

 

As far as cruising back to Cali, man your ready from what i see, nice job. As for the helper springs or spring pack, you should be fine. I hope you got a weight distribution hitch though! Thats almost a must when pulling that heavy of a trailer and that long of a distance.

 

I see 800 or so at 65 empty on the freeway out here. As long as you got gauges and the 800-1000 is pre-turbo, you'll be able to throttle back and not hurt the engine.

Pulling a trailer, you shouldn't need helper springs I would think as the tongue weight is light compared to a 5th wheel. But I haven't pulled a lot of trailers so that's only my 2 cents. I pull a 15K 5th wheel on a gooseneck hitch. I'm sure you'll get some more feedback before leaving. Oh by the way. Welcome back. We're even more liberal than when you left!

 

If the EGTs start becoming a concern, you'll probably only see real high temps in a head wind or on a grade, just switch to stock and slow down a bit. Take your time, relax and enjoy the drive.

 

Very well said Robin, the last part.

 

Don't take your truck in for a new cps... go buy one and throw it in your glove box. Its an easy road side fix and way better then taking your truck to the dealership to mess something els up just before you leave!!! good luck and welcome back to cali... Where in ca. are you coming?

 

Exactly, and don't forget that overdrive button. Turning it off will usually drop the EGT's when needed, unless you are pulling a real steep grade.

 

Ditto where in Cali are you moving!

 

If it were me, I would get the tranny temp gauge. It looks like you have all the appropriate equipment that it shouldn't be a problem, but i would hate to make that trip not knowing what was going on in the tranny temp department.

 

Thanks everyone for the input! I'll be moving to sandy eggo. I have family in RSM and Eureka.

I'll pick up a spare CPS...Also I just ordered a set of pro-comp traction bars, they should help. I need to be out of my apartment by the 1st but I'm not leaving for a week after that, so I can tow my trailer around here to see if I should add a helper spring...I guess I just need to pay attention how I load the trailer. I was thinking of putting tools and stuff 3/4 of the way up to the front, house stuff in the middle and my snowmobiles at the back.

I was going to order a tranny temp guage yesterday and didn't...Your right though it will drive me nuts and I don't have one.

Thanks again!

 

Just an update...

I got out here a couple days ago. All in all the truck ran really well. The top radiator hose got wore through from the pulley on the alt...that really made a mess. There was a nice fellow from AR that gave me a ride to the local parts store and picked up a new one. The truck started to over heat 2 times...Once in the western VA on a long steep grade, just threw on the heater and rolled down the windows and temps came back down to normal. Then again in CA, it was very HOT out and on a LONG grade, again put the heater on and temps were back to normal, not very confortable but it worked. I forgot the rocky's ran through AZ...that was interesting...If I would of known I would have to pass throught so many mountains I would of taken the 10 accross, I took the 40.

My trailer on the other hand I can't say much about. I went through 8 tires, not very fun. Then when I was in AR on the second day I realized that the owner had put on the wrong rims and all the tires were rubbing on the inside and all ready to blow, so I had to find a trailer shop and bought 4 new rims and 6 new tires ($720) Not fun but it worked the rest of the way. Also I bought the trailer from craigs list, 24" Pace shadow. When I asked the guy he said that it had 7K axles. I never really looked b/c I had a lot of other stuff going on with the move. So when I weighed my truck and trailer it was 22K loaded...I later found out the axles were 7K TOTAL...not cool! I could only go 55 before the trailer would sway almost out of controll. So from coast to coast only going 55 wasn't very fun, but helped out on fuel. Still only took 4 days, figured I lost about a day with the raditor hose and trailer malfunction. But for 206K on the truck she held up pretty good! They cryo rotors and hawk pads really worked well...brakes did fade when I would come off a ramp, but that would be expected b/c I had my controller turned down as not to burn up the trailer brakes with all that weight.

Anyway thanks everyone for the help on getting me prepared!

 

Well, besides the extra wallet action, glad you made it safely out there. Enjoy it out there, loved it out on the west coast, different world....

 

Welcome back to Ca, it sounds like you had quite a trip.