Towing 4500 lb travel trailer up and down 7% grade for 8 miles

[Grumpaw]

Dosen't matter....we leave it on when hot out....never noticed that much of a difference between towing in cooler outside temps as opposed to hotter temps.
I think the hottest my coolant ever got (via my ScanGauge lll) was during a summer run. It briefly hit around 215 thru the White Mtns in mid summer 2022, towing our 7000 lb trailer. Once you hit the crest or head down, temps drop quickly.

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[Grumpaw]

If it's of any interest, we're heading to Boone N.C. next week...temps here in Va supposed to be around 92-94....heading down I-81 and then secondary road to Boone.
I'll keep tabs on Ranger's temp on way down and back up...usually maintain 60-65 on the interstate.
Also, I'll keep tabs on the tranny fluid temps...I have a ScanGauge lll and I have both temps right next to each other.

 

[Chris M]

If it's of any interest, we're heading to Boone Nc next week...temps here in Va supposed to be around 92-94....heading down I-81 and then secondary road to Boone.
I'll keep tabs on Ranger's temp on way down and back up...usually maintain 60-65 on the interstate.

That's gonna be a nice trip. Enjoy!

 

[Frenchy]

I have a suggestion. Whatever you're hooking up to the Ranger simply make sure everything is set up correctly and then go have fun. Make sure you are towing safely. The Ranger is rated up to 7,500 lbs and will do just fine.

 

[mtbikernate]

Oh, you'll do fine going between Old Fort and Black Mtn. I do that drive regularly, and sometimes pulling a trailer behind a Transit, which doesn't tow nearly as well as my Ranger.

Keep in mind that there is some construction on that stretch. They're beefing up the center barriers, so there are lane restrictions and reduced speed limits.

 

[Grumpaw]

Oh, you'll do fine going between Old Fort and Black Mtn. I do that drive regularly, and sometimes pulling a trailer behind a Transit, which doesn't tow nearly as well as my Ranger.

Keep in mind that there is some construction on that stretch. They're beefing up the center barriers, so there are lane restrictions and reduced speed limits.

Taking I-81 south to exit #50 and south in Rt 16 to Boone.
Live 6 miles from I-81...its a regular road for us....similar with ALL the construction.

I'm just posting this so when we get back I can post what temps were towing our 7000 lb camper in 90 + temps on interstates and back mtn roads...coolant and trans fluid temps.....following the OP's first posting about temps and grades.

 

[JHRODD]

Ranger has a great engine IMHO. I'm a real fan of it.

But physics is physics. If you want stellar engine braking you need displacement. In which case I'd recommend a KW with a 15L Cummins.

Yep. We used to go down 6% grades at 45-50 without ever touching our service brakes....

 

[Friday yet?]

Yep. We used to go down 6% grades at 45-50 without ever touching our service brakes....

Was my younger years. But yes sir, been there. Done that.

 

[BReeves61]

Engine braking helps our Rangers (towing or not towing) but there is only so much a 2.3L 4 cylinder can do. My Subarus actually engine brake better than my Ranger (presumably due to AWD allowing engine braking on all four wheels).

You can use Sport mode and knock the gears down as needed when descending. I do that (with/without a trailer).

I don't know RPMs, but I think I can get up to 4k or so?

how low of a gear do you go on an interstate hill? I don't want to over rev the motor.

 

[Frenchy]

how low of a gear do you go on an interstate hill? I don't want to over rev the motor.

Just activate tow mode and let the truck do its thing.

 

[Grumpaw]

Hay everyone....just got back from a 700 mile trip....towing up and down grades/mountains. Had some problems but nothing major.....give me a few hours to unpack and I'll post.

 

[Frenchy]

Hay everyone....just got back from a 700 mile trip....towing up and down grades/mountains. Had some problems but nothing major.....give me a few hours to unpack and I'll post.

Hey now..... You are about to cause a really big storm on what ever Ranger Owner needs to worry about before they even buy one!!!!

 

[Grumpaw]

Quick.....nothing to about !!!! Promise !!!

 

[Grumpaw]

OK, kind of long....
Left Tues heading south to Boone NC....Interstate and a few US highways. On way down, temps got up into the high 80's. Bout 3/4 way down started smelling trans fluid smell, and trans fluid on my Scangauge lll was hitting 220-225/coolant was around 210-215.
Pulled over and saw a very light film of fluid on undercarriage. Well, continued on to campground, unhooked and ran Truck over to a Ford dealer in Boone...it was about noon....
Oh...no "wrench light" or codes were thrown .
Luckily they were slow and took it in while I waited....possible for some bad news...
Turns out several of the pan bolts on the front of the pan had backed off just enough to leak fluid.
The tech tightened everything up to spec, checked every fastener he could get to for other loose items, cleaned the film off the undercarriage. Checked and re-checked tranny fluid after topping it off, and I was out in 3 hours....No Charge...warranty.
Now, while I was there I was approached by one of the Ford Master Mechanics (44 years with Ford) there who was curious about the Fitzstick. I gave him the rundown about it, what and why we have installed it, and he understood, but gave me some education and information....
Take it for what it;'s worth and follow or not....
He told me the reason that Ford went to that stupid dipstick is to prevent owners from adding the wrong fluid to the trans. There are many who are not DIY'ers, or who are uninformed about what is the proper fluid to use. Apparently if you add as little as one quart of an improper fluid, it will cause major problems....just one stinkin quart.
He understands about us that know what to properly use wanting to keep tabs, and the Fitzstick will not void the warranty,
But be aware if a trans comes in for warranty work, they do check the fluid to see what is there.
Also, the Ultra stuff that's called for gets dirty VERY FAST, like within a few hundred miles and does not smell like regular trans fluid, so you really cannot tell if it's "burned" by smell or visually.
When I asked about the high temp on my Scangauge, he laughed and said that the fluid is a pure synthetic, and whey don't even consider it at temp till it hits 210-215. Overheat is probably somewhere around 250-260.
I asked him about the deep pans many of us have installed, and that will void the warranty.....your adding more fluid than is required by Ford, and he said you could argue till the moon turnes blue, and you will not get Ford to do warranty work with a deep pan installed.
He was not totally sure about the pan that are replacement size, but said it might. Just said that the plastic pan gets rid of heat as needed, and the only benifit would be the drain plug.
As for rpm's going up and down grades, he said just wind it up....it's a high rev engine with a turbo, ao it gonna ref hige....it has a 6000+ redline, so hitting 3500-4000 rpms while going up/down grades/mountains is not going to hurt anything....it's made to rev high.

So, coming home today, temp was at a high of 95 degrees.....running up the I-77 north mountain grade into Va, trans temp hit 224, and coolant hit 214, and it didn't bother me one bit.....remember, I'm towing 7000 travel trailer....and I maintained 55-60 all the way up that grade....7-8 degree grades for a total of 7 miles, and then all the ups n downs on I-81 heading north.
So, I'm just posting this for info and the education I got from a Master Tech....

And, I'll be selling my new un-installed Mishimoto deep pan shortly....keeping my plastic as I have an 8 year, 100,000 mile warranty.

And before anyone asks....this is the first trip we have taken in hot weather....prior trips the trans fluid ran up to 200-205 but outside temps were in the 70's to 80.

 

[Frenchy]

OK, kind of long....
Left Tues heading south to Boone NC....Interstate and a few US highways. On way down, temps got up into the high 80's. Bout 3/4 way down started smelling trans fluid smell, and trans fluid on my Scangauge lll was hitting 220-225/coolant was around 210-215.
Pulled over and saw a very light film of fluid on undercarriage. Well, continued on to campground, unhooked and ran Truck over to a Ford dealer in Boone...it was about noon....
Oh...no "wrench light" or codes were thrown .
Luckily they were slow and took it in while I waited....possible for some bad news...
Turns out several of the pan bolts on the front of the pan had backed off just enough to leak fluid.
The tech tightened everything up to spec, checked every fastener he could get to for other loose items, cleaned the film off the undercarriage. Checked and re-checked tranny fluid after topping it off, and I was out in 3 hours....No Charge...warranty.
Now, while I was there I was approached by one of the Ford Master Mechanics (44 years with Ford) there who was curious about the Fitzstick. I gave him the rundown about it, what and why we have installed it, and he understood, but gave me some education and information....
Take it for what it;'s worth and follow or not....
He told me the reason that Ford went to that stupid dipstick is to prevent owners from adding the wrong fluid to the trans. There are many who are not DIY'ers, or who are uninformed about what is the proper fluid to use. Apparently if you add as little as one quart of an improper fluid, it will cause major problems....just one stinkin quart.
He understands about us that know what to properly use wanting to keep tabs, and the Fitzstick will not void the warranty,
But be aware if a trans comes in for warranty work, they do check the fluid to see what is there.
Also, the Ultra stuff that's called for gets dirty VERY FAST, like within a few hundred miles and does not smell like regular trans fluid, so you really cannot tell if it's "burned" by smell or visually.
When I asked about the high temp on my Scangauge, he laughed and said that the fluid is a pure synthetic, and whey don't even consider it at temp till it hits 210-215. Overheat is probably somewhere around 250-260.
I asked him about the deep pans many of us have installed, and that will void the warranty.....your adding more fluid than is required by Ford, and he said you could argue till the moon turnes blue, and you will not get Ford to do warranty work with a deep pan installed.
He was not totally sure about the pan that are replacement size, but said it might. Just said that the plastic pan gets rid of heat as needed, and the only benifit would be the drain plug.
As for rpm's going up and down grades, he said just wind it up....it's a high rev engine with a turbo, ao it gonna ref hige....it has a 6000+ redline, so hitting 3500-4000 rpms while going up/down grades/mountains is not going to hurt anything....it's made to rev high.

So, coming home today, temp was at a high of 95 degrees.....running up the I-77 north mountain grade into Va, trans temp hit 224, and coolant hit 214, and it didn't bother me one bit.....remember, I'm towing 7000 travel trailer....and I maintained 55-60 all the way up that grade....7-8 degree grades for a total of 7 miles, and then all the ups n downs on I-81 heading north.
So, I'm just posting this for info and the education I got from a Master Tech....

And, I'll be selling my new un-installed Mishimoto deep pan shortly....keeping my plastic as I have an 8 year, 100,000 mile warranty.

And before anyone asks....this is the first trip we have taken in hot weather....prior trips the trans fluid ran up to 200-205 but outside temps were in the 70's to 80.

There are a few things I will agree with that the Ford Tech said.

For starters yes the Transmission Fluid is 100% Full Synthetic. Any Transmission Fluid that is Full Synthetic will handle temperature up to 250° and start to deteriorate above it. Only twice did I reach that temp and it was OffRoad in 4 HI.(Maybe 4 LO on one trip).

I will agree about the deep pan. No need to get extra capacity. Extra cooling foam the fins with the basic replacement pan? Absolutely especially since it gives you a drain plug.

The issue you had with the pan.... Definitely a first, but thankfully nothing too detrimental. Thankfully you have a warranty that helped take care of that.

The engine being a "High Rev" type. Well he isn't wrong and if I remember correctly the RedLine is at 6,000 RPM's roughly. I love it when individuals think you shouldn't go past 5,000 when towing. If the manufacturer gave it a RedLine that high and it didn't say to do different in the book then I would not worry.

For what it's worth I say you did well and understand the term of "Tow Smart".

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