Hello,

I just recently used my 87 F150 to pull a travel trailer on a camping trip.

Everything went well except on the big hills, the engine temperature started to get hot. I can't say exactly how hot since the gauge isn't marked off in degrees. However, it did get almost to the red zone. On the flat roadways, the gauge was right near the middle.

It was a very steep hill with about a 700 ft vertical rise. The temperature steadily increased and I was sweating it out until I got to the top, got moving faster, and the temp went down.

I am pulling a 5000 lb travel trailer with a 87 F150, 88,000 miles, 5.0L V8, 3.55 rear axle ratio. I don't think it has the towing package, I added the plug and wiring to tow myself.

I realize this may not be the ideal towing vehicle, but I inherited it, so the price was right for my entry into travel trailer camping.

What can I do for some more peace of mind while towing uphills? Trans cooler? Better capacity radiator?

I did some web and ebay searches for "supercooling radiator", but found very little.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or info,

Keith

 

Install very large auxiliary trans cooler. The factory cooler designed for the 03-07 6.0 w/auto is probably the best for the money. This will remove a major heat source from the cooling system.

You probably have a 2 core radiator stock, with 22 years of seasonal changes and unknown flush history (partial blockage probable). You can get a 4 core radiator relatively cheap. You can have yours rebuilt/modified at a local radiator shop or pickup a stock radiator for a 460 V8.

This should greatly reduce overheating problems. Also install a mechanical water temp gauge for accurate readings. The factory gauge is basically a glorified idiot light.

I performed these mods to a 82 Bronco that came with a 302. I replaced it with a modified 351 Windsor(harder on the cooling system, than the 302). I used this for towing for several years and no heating problems at all.

Good luck

 

Do you know if the cooling system has ever been flushed out? A better radiator with cores for towing would help. Probably pick one up cheap from a wrecker. Maybe a cooler temp stat would be a couple of things to try. An aftermarket trans cooler should be on the list too. Most of these are relitively low buck upgrades. You're not towing a really big load, that 5.0 should be able to handle it easy enough.
Hope this helps, keep us posted.

 

in addition to the above, look at your shroud covering too. hopefully it is there. if not then you should fine one. it is designed to concentrate the flow of air thru the radiator for max cooling.

Also keep your RPMS up so the clutch fan spins as fast as it can.

 

Sorry for the truly dumb question But what is a shroud cover?

So far I've ordered a big aftermarket trans cooler. I'm also going to flush and clean the radiator. As far as I know, it has never been changed in 22 years

I'll try these two things since they seem easiest for me, and see if it helps.

Swapping the whole radiator seems a little much for me at this point. Hopefully I'll be towing up the mountains in no time...

 

shroud cover is all the plastic that connects to the radiator and covers some of the fan.

 

You might look into an auxiliary electric fan that attaches to the front of the radiator and can put it on a switch in the cab so you can turn it on when you need it, off when you don't or it can be hooked up to a thermostat in the cooling system to work automatically. You can probably find one at a junkyard that can be modified to work. You might also look at your clutch on the fan and make sure it is working properly.