Towing question ~7k very high trans temp....

[supanitro]

I have hauled my wheelin' rig several times a on a 2k# flatbed around town and it was great, truck has plenty of power and the new brake controller works great. But the other day I haul my toy (samurai..) up into the mountains to play and have to use my buddy's dump trailer to haul it. Trailer is 4k and the sami is under 3k....

As soon as we start up the steep twisty stuff my trans temp goes through the roof...I pulled over and hung out 3 times to gain about 3k feet of elevation.

Is this normal for our trucks or should I have it checked out? Are better tranny coolers avaliable? I like this truck 10X as much as the powerstroke I traded in on it, but it would do that kind of towing without any drama....

Please advise...

[Schrute]

what gear were you in?

[supanitro]

I'm sure this sounds stupid, but it was in D the whole time...never thought about holding it in any gear. It wasn't jumpin around gears much though, seemed to have plenty of power, probably in 3rd most the time. We were on the throttle pretty good till it started heatin up, then I took it easy.

[Schrute]

Yeah that explains your heat problem. Next time tow in 4th and grab 3rd before the hills. Don't worry about higher RPM's, the truck can handle that much better than the torque converter locking/unlocking in 5th. There are lots of great towing threads here if you search.

[supanitro]

will do thanks for the advice...

[bfrank]

One other thought is your truck equipped with the "Tow Mode" option? If so were you using it?

[Carbeaux]

You've got a 2006, so if you have the tranny temp gauge, you have the big tow package. Don't try to tow that much weight in anything other than 4th. ESPECIALLY if you're in hills/mountains. 4th is your gear, and as has been stated drop it manually into 3rd on steeper grades. This will help your trans stay cooler.

As for tow mode, use it too. It will help you get that much weight up to suitable towing speeds more easily without putting too much additional stress on the drivetrain.

You just can't be afraid to let the engine rev up with that much behind you when you're climbing the mountains. Your gas mileage will suck pretty bad though! Expect about 6 mpg.

[HudsonValleyTitan]

All Titans have a TOW MODE and should be used when towing over 2k LBS. Read your OWNERS MANUAL! It'll tell you all you need to know. It tells you to tow using 4th gear, not 5th (D) over a certain weight. Had you dropped it onto 4th, your tranny temp would have dropped almost immediately.