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Talking about getting a travel trailer and was told an upgrade I should consider is a transmission fluid cooler. I'm not familiar with this. What would I be looking for? I'm guessing a small radiator with hoses are installed, though I'm unsure of how it would flow.
Members usually recommend the Superduty trans cooler. You might want to consider the 7700 gvw radiator. If the 2003 is like my 2000 I used to have it came with a 6600 lb gvw radiator. Ford replaced mine with a 7700 radiator because they had advertised it to have additional cooling if you got the trailer tow package and it didn't.
What would be an average cost to have a shop install one?
The 6600/7700 gvw radiators you mentioned are the engine radiators, right? If so is this a simple swap w/o modifications? And if so about what would this cost to install?
If you have the factory towing package, you may already have a transmission cooler. Follow the lines from the transmission to the radiator and see if they branch off to a cooler that looks like a very small radiator. The power steering also may use a similar looking cooler. They would be in front of the radiator and the A/C condenser.
The Motorcraft HD payload radiator is $440 at rockauto.com, you can get a decent aftermarket HD radiator for as little as $100 wholesale.
This is a transmission cooler, there are advantages to getting a bigger one:
This truck was my granfather's. He always wanted the biggest engine in any vehicle because he may need to pull a boat, despite the fact he quite messing with boats decades ago. So I figured it quite possible he got the towing package. Lo and behold there is an additional small radiator near what appears to be the condensing coils for the A/C. It has two large passes through a radiator. Is likey descent enough for pulling a heavy trailer @ 60 mph for about 8 hours?
So I recalled you mentioning the possibility of a power steering cooler so I pulled out the flashlight and crawled under to get a look at the lines and found what I was looking at went to the power steering, and what I thought was for the A/C was for the transmission. I didn't realize the condensing coils were so large!
The trailer weight is something I'm trying to figure out. Quite frankly I'm rather ignorant on how all of the numbers and weights work.
What I do know is my truck is rated for GCWR of 13,000 lbs. According to the title the truck weighs 4700 lbs but I used 4800 instead. A full tank (25 gals) weighs 155 lbs, and us with normal things figured out for a little growth of the young one puts it around 440 lbs. I added 35 lbs for additional fluids, though I'm uncertain if that's included in truck weight. Then I figured there could be 70 lbs of stuff in it including an ice chest for a trip. I also added 200 lbs of misc stuff in the bed as a possibility. That brings the truck weight to 5700 lbs.
Asking on travel trailer sites I was told it wasn't a good way to work it (dry weight plus stuff in it) but that 1000 lbs of stuff was reasonable so I bumped that up to 1500 lbs. I was also told you'll want a little water in the tank so I added 100 lbs (12 gals), which then leaves me with 5700 lbs of trailer.
Keystone comes highly recommended so I've been looking them over. Wanting some kid space I've been looking at bunkhouses with floor space. The Passport 2920 BH weighs 5385 lbs and the Outback 293 UBH weighs 5830 lbs, a bit of stretch, but then my numbers are inflated. But I also looked at the Passport 3220 BH that weighs 6096 lbs and would literally be pushing it quite close to the max if my extra 700 lbs isn't really warranted.
Most people have said an F-150 just isn't capable. But then a few have claimed they've done it for years without an issue when you understand how to distribute the weight. It's why I ask questions as I just see numbers.
It may well be I need to reevaluate my trailer options. I was told I should be looking at closer to a 4000 lb dry weight trailer by a moderator.
If you don't go into the hills and take it easy, it should be okay. When I towed a 25' Layton TT, the trailer brakes didn't seem to be that effective. The brakes on a 2003 F150 aren't very good either. Just be very careful when towing. The two closest calls when I was towing was when a stupid kid in a Honda changed lanes to my lane and jammed the brakes. I was pushing on the brake pedal as hard as i could both times and barely prevented the kids from being run over by 5 tons of truck and trailer. I was towing the trailer with a 1986 SWB F150 with a 5.0 engine and C6 auto and 3.08 rear.
According to this last fellow I completely don't understand how the numbers work. In essence it's not as black and white as it appears I suppose. How can I assure I'm not over weight?
We'd love to spend the summers traveling the north while school is out. It would sure be nice to escape the Texas summers! But I realize, if the numbers are what they are and I'm not misunderstanding, that going into or near the mountains, as much as we'd love to, just wouldn't be all that smart.
Load up the truck and bed with what you will be putting in it when you tow - both passengers and cargo. Fill the gas tank, go find a truck scale and weigh it. Subtract the weight from the GVWR on the door jamb sticker. That is how much your tongue weight and WD hitch can weigh without exceeding the truck GVWR. Figure the tongue weight of the trailer will be around 12% of its gross weight. That should give you a pretty good idea of the recommended max trailer weight you should be looking at.
If you have a 5.4, it has enough power to tow heavy - it was the base engine in the Super Duty for several years.
If you go into the hills, you will just have to use the big truck slow lanes going uphill and be patient. If you have overheating issues, there is that larger radiator and superduty trans cooler you can upgrade to.
I'm honestly considering trading out the rear differential to the 3.73 or 4.11. I hate to make the gas mileage (18/15) worse as this isn't a full time tow vehicle, but I'd like to not struggle. I noticed in my manual that my truck with the 3.73 gears it showed an additional 500 lbs of GCWR. I assume the axles are the same, that it's merely the differential that different, right?
It's not the GCWR you need to worry about, it's the truck GVWR. That doesn't change with axle ratio.
If you are considering a gear change, if it's 4wd you need to do both axles. This can cost close to $2000. I don't think you will struggle with 3.55's as long as you have a 5.4. If you have a 4.6, that's not the right engine for towing heavy no matter what you do to it.
11-10-2016, 07:44 PM
