I have looked at several threads in this forum concerning towing trailers, but I still have a couple of questions. I havent seen anything about using a wieght balancing hitch. I have never towed anything of significant weight and I heard that if you tow travel trailers you cant just use a hitch spike with the ball on it; you have to use this special hitch. I dont know what it is, how much it costs, and where I buy it. Any help would be great. Also, do I have to have trailer brakes and how much do they cost? I think I have the towing package so I assume that I have a good trans cooler. I figure I also need to get a trans temp guage. Again, completely new to towing trailers so I know nothing. Educate me please!!!

 

It can be a little confusing at first!..

This is a pic of what a WD setup looks like. This model also incorporates a "sway control" device (it's the additional part in the middle of the bar and attaches to the trailers A frame). This specific model is called the "Dual Cam" made by Reese.



At any rate, what a WD setup does is distribute a portion of tongue weight to the vehicles front axle and a portion back onto the trailers axle.

It also 'increases' the weight limits on your average frame mounted receiver. For straight weight bearing load, the receiver is rated for 500 tongue and 5000 trailer weight. When used with a WD setup, you can have up to 1000 tongue and 10000 trailer weight (this is just an average rating... Some are more, some are less. You have to check the sticker or whats stamped on your specific receiver to be sure..)

Think of a WD setup kinda like how a wheel barrow works. When you toss in that 80lb bag of cement, most of the weight is going to be on the two legs (rear axle). Now, lift up on the two handles (WD bars) and you lesson the weight on the legs and increase the weight on the wheel (front axle) and your legs (trailer axle).

You can get these at any RV dealer (big $$ however) or order online. Shipping might cost you some extra $$, so just have to shop around. The hitch in the above pic will run you around $400 on average....

I use just a standard WD setup by EAZ-Lift ($250 on average). It's the same as the above, but it does NOT have the sway control part of it. It does do the same thing for WD however.

For trailer brakes, "most" states require them with as little as a #2000 trailer...

For the most part, your trailer will already have the brake drums if it's heavy enough and all the wiring for them to operate. If the traieler has a six or 7 pin round connector, it should be wired for brakes...

You will need to purchase a 'brake controller' for the truck and you will have to wire it up to connect to the connector under your dash. Two ways to do is is to use the supplied pigtail that came with the truck and splice them to the wires on the controller, or you purchase the controller with the correct wire harness for your make and model of truck. This will cost on average of around $50 for a cheapo controller to just over $100 for a nice Prodigy brake controller (+ $10 for the wire harness).

Chew on this info and ask whatever else you need to! Someone will be able to help you out!

Mitch

 

Just to add, since you're in TX I'd suggest the temp guage for towing anything of size. You might need an extra tranny cooler if you find your temps are always over 200+ or so. I tow ~6500# with my 02 with towing package and the fresh tranny fluid was needing replaced after one season. I didn't have the temp guage at first. I installed the guage and an active trans cooler and now I rarely see temps over 190. The only time it goes over 180 is in stop and go traffic or backing up. Then the active cooler fan kicks on and usually keeps it below the 190 area. MY trans fluid still looks great after a season of towing.

 

Thanks for the replies. I assume that all trucks have a tranny cooler, but that tow package trucks have a bigger or nicer one? Correct? Also, if I am understanding you correctly you can get fans that mount near the tranny to keep it cooler? I have the 4R70W and I really want to keep it going without problems. I think that whatever trailer I find will be somewhere in the 2000-2500 lb. range and be between 15-19 ft long. I dont anticipate trying to scream down the road pulling it anyways but I want to be on the safe side. Plus, it is always fun to justify an upgrade to the truck.

My mechanic told me that the tranny looks pretty good a couple months ago when he serviced it. I wonder though, if I should look at a mild shift kit to help it shift better. I hate the soft shift that these trannys have. Everytime I get on it the 2-3 and 3-4 shifts feel long and drawn out. I want it to shift quick and firm. Is that relatively easy to accomplish?

 

Hey Henry,

If it's a travel trailer, then even a 19' one can get up there in weight... My 22' "Ultra Lite" TT weighs close to #5000!

Anyway, if you do get a trailer with a fully loaded weight of around #2500-#3000 then you probably won't need a WD hitch setup. Just plop it on a decent shank and ball and enjoy. You still have to be mindful of how you load the trailer, even a light one, as you still want to maintain at least 10-15% of total trailer weight as tongue weight. I think around 12% is a good overall minimum myself.....

My tongue weight is in the #550-#600 range, so a WD works well in my case. Any lighter then #500 and it's not really needed IMO.

As far as your tranny goes, the additional fan that Viper talked about is one that's mounted directly on the aux trans cooler itself. It's just like a 'mini' rad setup with an elect fan.

The 'shift kit' is something I've not really explored, but they have been around forever, so there must be something to 'em. With the lock up converters we all have now, I don't think it's going to make much difference on how 'hot' your trans is going to run for the most part. Even on the soft shifts that the stock setup runs, it's not long enough to produce any noticable additional heat IMO.... I might be wrong on that, but I have my tranny serviced once a year regardless of miles driven because I do tow a lot. Every time I ask them how it looks, they usually ask how long ago it was rebuilt.... I say never and that it's got the same mileage that the ODO says the trucks got on it. They actually say I could go longer on the service if I wanted to. Something like 30,000 miles, but I'm content with once a year and around 20,000 miles... Works for me!

I do have the E4OD, but from what I've read, it's not all that great either.... But, it's got 158,000 miles on it now and I'm getting ready for another camping season and it's got fresh fluid in it!! I can't wait!!

Mitch

 

THanks Mitch. I guess I will probably just put in a temp sensor, be careful and service it yearly. I dont know what happened with this truck before I had it. It had 130k when I bought it and now has almost 143k, so I will hope that the guy before me took care of the tranny and I will continue to do so. Thanks again for the advice. Once I actually find a trailer (could be this weekend) I will post again as to the specifics of what I will need and all that.

 

Get the gauge first, then decide on the bigger cooler. I've just got the stock 'tow package' cooler and the max trans temp I have ever gotten, with the sensor on the trans output line is 210*. That's been backing up the trailer or when the TC was unlocked longer then needed on a 90*+ day. The most it has been on a constant run is 180*. That's been towing or not.

If you don't like the soft shifts, then check out the Transmission forum and see what's the best for your setup. Couple of really good trans guys hang out there. DirtyDog and FactoryTech come to mind right off the top of my head. There are more of course, so post a question there and you'll get more info then you'll know what to do with!

Mitch

 

If you are running hotter trans temps than you want and get a bigger tranny cooler (if your truck already has the air cooled unit), make sure to get a water temp guage as well and try to place it so it blocks as little radiator as possible (but still gets good flow). On our '86 F250 (460ci, 290k miles on all stock drivetrain) we upgraded the tranny cooler only to watch the coolant temp rise because of it. Since a rebuilt C6 is cheaper than a rebuilt 460, we went back to the original cooler.