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Oil temp while towing.

27K views 25 replies 18 participants last post by  Billhig 
#1 ·
What are you guys seeing while towing through hills in summer temps? I have a 2016 Ram 1500 Rebel, 5.7, 8 speed, 3.92s, and this past week we took a camping trip from north of Dallas to Table Rock Lake in Missouri. The truck has 6000 miles on it and before we left, I changed the oil and put Mobil 1 full synthetic in it, because I anticipated the truck to work hard on the trip.

The boat and trailer weigh approximately 6500-7000 pounds, and then we easily had another 800-1000 lbs in the bed, and 4 people in the truck. On the way there, it was relatively cool outside and pouring rain, so the oil temperature stayed around 225-230, but on the way home it was in the upper 90s for the whole trip. Going through the Boston Mountains in northern arkansas, I saw oil temps go to 250, and they never got below 240. Once we got into Oklahoma and Texas where it's flat, they still hovered around 240 and never got below 230. This is typically hotter than I like to see for 7 hours of driving, and I was glad I had put the full synthetic in before we left, but I'm curious if others see the temps get that high and stay that high?
 
#2 ·
I just towed an enclosed dual axle trailer with two bagger Harleys 550 miles each way. Trailer probably 1500lbs, about 3100lbs total, plus luggage tools etc. in the bed/ back seat. ,.
I have a180 deg. tstat and hemifever tune, CAI, cat back. 87 mm TB.
Coming from the coast to Tennessee via RE 81 thru the smokies/ Blue mountains.
10.6 MPG on the way, 11.5 on the way back.

79 MPH, cruise control and haul / tow engaged A/C on 85-90 deg. outside temp.
On a long 7-8% upgrade the oil went as high as 245, the coolant 220 and the tranny 200 at the crest, the Coolant dropped as soon as we crested and within a few min was back at 186. the oil and tranny followed slowly, although the oil stayed up around 220.
I'm pretty dam impressed, and glad I changed the oil to full synthetic ( first oil change Im sure the dealer put conventional n it) before we left and glad I elected NOT to do the clutch fan delete.
 
#3 ·
This was taken with outside temperatures around 110F. I was pulling a 4000 lb tent trailer with about another 400 lbs in my bed along with 4 people inside. It did go over 270 for a couple of minutes. This was on a stretch of roadway between Mesa, AZ and Payson AZ. It's the last climb from around 2000' to 5500' over about 6 miles.

I must have been heavier then or pushing it harder because right now I took the same route on Sunday with the same trailer (only 2 people this time, but 2 45 lb dogs) and a little less weight in the bed. The highest oil temperature I saw coming up was 256 and that was with outside temperatures of 118F. As soon as I got off the gas when I crested the hill, my temps went right back down to about 240.
 
#5 ·
I just came through the Mojave Desert from the Sierra at 104*. My highest temp on the longest hill was 233* with the AC on and towing a travel trailer. Didn't even tax it.
 
#8 ·
At 65-70 mph in the summertime, I see oil temps of 220-240 deg at highway speed pulling about 7000 lb travel trailer. If I'm climbing a long highway grade into the mountains, I can climb into the 260s. I run full synthetic.

From various internet readings, it would appear that the thermostat (and everything else) on the 2014 Hemis opens a lot hotter than previous trucks. This is supposedly so the Hemi can pass emissions testing.

My 8 speed trans temp never gets more than 195-200 and my coolant never really climbs higher than 215 or so before the thermostat opens and everything cools back down. So naturally, the oil temp is going to run a bit hotter. I had a 2012 Ram and my 2014 runs hotter for sure, but I haven't had any problems, loss of power, etc.
 
#9 ·
we just came back from wyoming running 80 mph plus outside temp high 80s never went that high going up mountains.210 coolant/190 trans/225 oil never wavered except going down hill.truck ran great.changed to factory oil filter/pennzoil synthetic 5-20.did 4000 miles avg 22 mpg.
 
#10 ·
Yeah, running unloaded really has no comparison to running loaded. I'm sure they all run those numbers unloaded..........
 
#11 ·
Wow. 270 degrees. My air-cooled XR650L Honda motorcycle used to get that warm when running high speed on the highway, especially when going up a long grade even if it wasn't steep. I've even pulled over once or twice to let her cool down when it reached 280 which was my self imposed limit. It never hurt anything though. I had heard of Honda owners operating up to 300 degrees without problems on good synthetic oil. Id be nervous if that was happening in my water cooled Ram.
 
#14 ·
ok need some input on this one.. not sure if this should be in the towing or transmission section or both.. 2014 outdoorsman, 3.92s, 5.7, 2015 8 speed transmission (YES 2nd transmission).. coming back from Yellowstone with 4400 lb travel trailer, outside air temp go up to 91 deg F hottest temps in the truck were about coolant 212 trans 230! and engine 251.. I know its a hot day and at about 5000 ft elevation.. last part of the drive the trans temp spiked to that 230 mark and then started a whine (almost sounded like a supercharger whine..) going up a hill in 6th, trans tried to downshift to 5th and it completely missed.. truck shook like I was rear-ended and stayed in 6th.. never went into 5th.. it clunked into 5th about 10 seconds later.. I hadn't used 5th gear in probably the last 75 miles. It's done that once before on a long road trip hauling heavier load so now I guess its time to call up the nearest dealer.. anyone else have this issue?
 
#15 ·
Even towing an 8000lb trailer in the middle of July my trans has never been above 196 degrees, and it has never failed to shift when I told it to. That's not right
 
#16 ·
Thanks for the input thunderhorse, I don't get why mine is a POS.. might have to switch to ford after this hassle and not able to pull a light trailer.. so disappointed. When I'm not pulling, I love the truck but the days I tow it just scares me I wont even make it to my destination between the high temps, whine and clunks..

Went to the local dealer (just moved) the guy I talked to in service dep couldn't believe I had a 2nd transmission.. let alone describing what was going on with it now. He said "yeah that's not right.. bring it in.. we might need it for a couple weeks.." :doh: :SHOCKED: back to the shop she goes.. this ram is killing me
 
#19 ·
Outdoorsman14-
I just towed through 104 degree temps with my travel trailer; 400-500 miles per day with a combined truck and trailer weight of 12,000 pounds. The shifting was crisp and flawless, but the trans temps were around 230 IIRC (75% on the gauge) and the oil was also near 75% on the gauge for some periods of time, but most of the time it stayed lower than that.


My '14 Ram had the engine replaced at 900 miles for odd whining noises and it didn't fully resolve, so I reluctantly dumped it four months early on the lease after being out of it for two months for diag / repair. Ram paid the lease for those two months. If you are still having the same problems and you purchased / leased from new, you can probably look into it being a lemon.


After the issues with my '14, I was reluctant to get another Ram. I test drove a Silverado and a F-150 and really disliked them both, so I gave Ram another shot. I am very pleased with my '16; I'm almost at 18,000 miles and have zero issues. I could not be more pleased with the trucks performance while towing the trailer across the country.


I'll caution you on the Ford transmission- I drive a 2015 Explorer Interceptor for work and that transmission likes to clunk and shift very hard at times. It also likes to lock itself into a low or passing gear at times when I really need it to accelerate and shift quickly. I'm not sure if this transmission is shared with the F-150, but it's terrible IMO, and I'm not the only one noticing the issue.
 
#20 ·
thanks 14 hemi, that is about where im at with this one.. had enough. always been around ford trucks but im not a fan of the looks so kinda torn on another ram or ford if i drop my current ram. just cant believe im only one with this problem, at least that ive seen or heard of.. glad to hear the 16s seem to finally have all the bugs out of them. i think the lemon law only applies to 1st year of owning it.. but im not sure.
 
#25 ·
Not sure what trim level everyone has but my previous truck was a 2016 tradesman and never seen Temps that high.. on another forum this discussion of oil Temps being high were all trucks with the fancy grills....others have mentioned the regular honeycomb grills that came on the tradesman were the best for airflow...maybe just swap grills and see if your Temps drop...
 
#26 ·
What are you guys seeing while towing through hills in summer temps? I have a 2016 Ram 1500 Rebel, 5.7, 8 speed, 3.92s, and this past week we took a camping trip from north of Dallas to Table Rock Lake in Missouri. The truck has 6000 miles on it and before we left, I changed the oil and put Mobil 1 full synthetic in it, because I anticipated the truck to work hard on the trip.

The boat and trailer weigh approximately 6500-7000 pounds, and then we easily had another 800-1000 lbs in the bed, and 4 people in the truck. On the way there, it was relatively cool outside and pouring rain, so the oil temperature stayed around 225-230, but on the way home it was in the upper 90s for the whole trip. Going through the Boston Mountains in northern arkansas, I saw oil temps go to 250, and they never got below 240. Once we got into Oklahoma and Texas where it's flat, they still hovered around 240 and never got below 230. This is typically hotter than I like to see for 7 hours of driving, and I was glad I had put the full synthetic in before we left, but I'm curious if others see the temps get that high and stay that high?
From you weights, you were way over your payload. 800-1000 in the bed + 600-800 in the cab and 700-900 tongue weight = 2100-2700 lb. You're probably 500-1000 over payload. Youo need to worry about that more than the oil temp.
 
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