I will be towing a trailer tomorrow and am a little concerned. I have towed this trailer before (can't be more than 3500 lbs tops), but not in 100*+ heat, and also, not with the new SCT 1715 tuner. I have the tuner set on the 91 octane tow safe mode, but am wondering if it really is tow safe? I was hoping to have a set of guages to keep an eye on everything before I towed with the truck again (trans and water temp) but that hasn't happened yet.

I should be fine, but just in case I get too hot, am wondering what I should do? This may be a stupid question, but is there any way of knowing if things are starting to get too hot? If I do start puking trans fluid or water, what is the best thing to do? Shut the truck off or let it idle in neutral?

Fortunately, I will not have to back the trailer up as soon as I get there, I know that is an easy way to heat things up. I will be towing at 65-ish in third gear on the freeway for most of the trip. The truck never downshifts into second or even unlocks the converter on the freeway, but I will be taking some hilly back roads as well and am concerned about this part of the trip more than anything.

I guess I am just looking for some reassurance, and any tips or advice is welcome. Thanks
Brian

 

When I tow my boat with my 1715 I take MT's advice and change shift 2-3 up 2 notches from the center line. Other than that you might want to tow with the O/D off so that you don't shift as much, you will use a little more gas but less shifting.

Even the Ford oweners manual tells you to not use the O/D when it's hilly

 

You’ll be just fine towing with the 1715 with the 91-octane tow tune. There will be less transmission clutch slippage which will result in running cooler, shifts will be more positive which will also aid in keeping trany temps down, more hp & torque, etc, etc. It’s a win win situation, much better than stock.

 

If I were you, I'd just put it in drive and go. If the truck won't pull it fast enough, turn the o/d off. If it tries to go in and out of o/d constantly (hills or whatever) just turn it off manually until you get on the flat and level again. I don't know what your trailer looks like, but 3,500lbs isn't a very large load. I don't think you'll have any problems at all!

Maybe my tranny is unusually strong, but I've never had any problems pulling trailers and overheating the tranny. I've pulled trailers at 5mph across a soft field, and I've pulled heavy trailers at 35mph in 2nd gear. The only thing is, when you're backing it up, don't put the petal to the floor, just be easy. Maybe that's what people are doing.... When you're backing it up or whatever, just be calm and easy with the truck, and it won't hurt it.