[Outdoorsman2012]

So I have a 2012 QC 4x4 outdoorsman. I have towed smaller lawn trailers with ATVs and snowmobiles before with older dodge truck and never had any issues that I knew about. Now that you can check a lot of info on the evic I was wondering what to expect and when to be cautious and take it easy. I just bought a keystone sprinter 266rbs which has a 29.5 exterior length and has a dry weight of 6500lbs. I have the tow package with 3.92 rear end and brake controller. I also have airlift 1000, which in my opinion work wonders. Other set ups may be better but I picked up the airlift for $23. My real question deals with how should I will expect the engine and trans temp to handle it. So far the highest I've seen on my trans was bring back wood from a hunting camp work day. Easily had 1000-1500 lbs of wood and 4 big guys in truck and it handled beautiful and trans went to 125. Book says normal is 180 but never seen close to that. What is max safe operating 210? And what rpm is expected on hills. I live in the mountains so I don't want to kill the truck but what's normal for you guys. Will be picking it up Friday. I don't let my car go over 3k rpm but I have seen guys say they climb long hills at 4k and I don't know how comfortable I am with this. Also will have a 1200 equalizer hitch to distribute weight. I know its a little overkill for this trailer but if the next one was bigger didn't want to have to buy a bigger hitch

 

[h2oman]

At 6500# dry you could easily be at or over 8000# with a full water tank and all your gear. So, running 4k RPM isn't a wise idea. That said, I only have 3.55's and haul my trailer over 8000ft passes in the Sierra's. My tran's never goes over 200*. Honestly, I think you are going to be pleasantly surprised at how well in handles everything. Baby it and she'll take care of you.

 

[Outdoorsman2012]

Right now we plan on taking short trips to a couple close places where water isn't an issue. Later on once comfortable with the set up may go with more cargo and water. Trailer is good up to 9500 which I would never want to load it to that point but i wanted decent axles under thw trailer that werent being maxed out when empty. Shouldnt have a prob on the was home but will be going up to the adirondacks this summer and they have some steeper long mountains near lake george. I plan to take it easy anway. The way home from picking it up is only rolling hills and two short steep ones. Some of the guys on here mention a lot of high numbers that they're tranny sees so it got me wondering. I was expecting between 7500-8000 loaded which is 2000 below max but its more the size of the trailer that make me worry not the weight. Its also a full height trailer meaning 80 inch interior height. I bounce my head off the lights in the interiors of the low profile trailers. Hope all goes well will report how it handles and the bad mpg

 

[Outdoorsman2012]

Forgot to mention but since I have the outdoorsman I have 17 inch rims with Goodyear silent armor laode range e tires stock which have been amazing when hauling and should make towing better. And to the ones who say it will make it ride awful you should try them before you say that BC it rides great empty with 7lbs in the bags and 44psi in the tires

 

[ONOutdoorsman]

I have pretty much the same setup as you and your truck will pull that trailer like a dream. Actually (and someone can correct me if I'm wrong) you are better off in a lower gear pulling a higher rpm when climbing hills. If you notice in Tow/Haul mode it holds the gears longer. I believe this helps with less torque converter slippage and therefore less heat buildup. You can do a search for user TransEngineer and towing and you will find some good info. I plan on heading down to TN in June to camp in the Smokeys and I'm looking forward to towing in the hills.

EDIT: here is a link to a thread of interest

http://www.ramforumz.com/showpost.php?p=668803&postcount=7

 

[Outdoorsman2012]

I agree with the lower gear higher rpm as this true for gas and diesel alike to save your converter. The thread was a good read. I don't think its over doing it but its the biggest I would go for a half ton. Good tohear others out there with good reviews. I might be traveling with my iin laws who have a 35 foot fifth wheel being towed by a 2012 f350 and while I'm not a fan of fords that engine is amazing. Have you had any issues with trans temp. My truck is really new at only 2700 miles. Was thinking at about 25k switching all trans and rear end fluid to Royal purple. My next oil change will be switching over to am soil synthetic. I also have been running 87 octane as its 30 cents cheaper and my father who has 75k on his 07 with 87 never had a problem. Do you guys who tow use 89? Or use 87. I was thinking of switching to 89 when I tow but I don't know if it will make a difference. I do want to add an exhaust and probably a new aftermarket filter not sure if I want the whole set up as they get pricey? Any thoughts? Does this stuff actually help you guys towing?

 

[ONOutdoorsman]

I really don't tow that much. I mostly put 89 in my truck. I only have a drop in air filter and catch can as performance mods. I agree, I don't think I would go any bigger for a 1/2 ton either but I think it could indeed handle weights close to 10k lbs.

 

[Outdoorsman2012]

Thanks for the input. I've been looking into the catch can but not to sure about it. Good to hear others are working their half ton. I feel they get a bad wrap from those who buy it bc they think they look cool.

 

[PJRNM]

If it helps, I just completed a trip with the new travel trailer. The trailer spec's are:

Hitch Weight
675 lbs. (306 kg)
Base Weight
4,871 lbs. (2,209 kg)
GVWR
6,500 lbs. (2,948 kg)
Cargo Carrying Capacity
1,629 lbs. (739 kg)
Exterior Length
28' 6" (8.7 m)
Exterior Height
9' 10" (3.0 m)
Exterior Width
96" (2.4 m)​

We had frequent grades as we travelled to southern New Mexico and back. We also had high altitude to deal with. The trans temp never exceeded 150 degrees. Oil temp got up to around 250. I set the cruise to 65 mph, which it maintained +/- 5 mph. On grades, I used tow mode. For level towing, the regular setting worked fine. Rear end squat was acceptable and didn't seem to effect the handling. On longer climbs, the engine would increase to 4000 rpm to maintain speed, however that was not frequent. Average rpm was approximately 2000. I averaged 10 mpg's one direction and 9 for the other. Of course, my friend has a 2011 F350, which made my Dodge pale in any towing comparison..... ​

The trailer was dry, but loaded with gear for a week of camping. The cab contained two adults and two teenagers.​

 

[Outdoorsman2012]

Thanks for input that's a lot of good info. My trailer is close to the same size but is heavier. I'm about 6500 dry loaded I can't see more than 7500 maybe 8000 only BC I need to be prepared for everything. Also my trailer is 11'4" so a little more wind resistance. I did bring it home a week ago and rode home great. I didn't have any noticeable sway but I do intend to play around with hitch as I have the airbags and they were maxed out when set up. From what I have read they should be negated and inflated only after proper set up. Also had tires around 65psi. Trailer pulled great as set up. Definitely knew it was there mostly rolling hills at about 50mph. Had one really steep hill which I live on that's really hard on vehicles with or without trailer. My father in law loves when I follow him home in his diesel and likes to stop midway up the hill and then its hard to get my car to 20mph. Just trying to help visualize how steep and windy this hill is. Truck wanted to shift into second but just didn't have the power. Had to run up it in first at about 15-20mph at 3k rpms. This is when I saw my highest trans temp of 150 until then it was 137. From now on I will lock it in first which will help reduce heat build up. Would be a great place to compare that new 8spd. Would probly show how much nicer that is but then I would be stuck with all those other issues of the new trucks. Thanks for everyone's input. I thought I would see height temp but I am not so I feel much better. Will try to update as I get more miles on especially highway and hills

 

[Outdoorsman2012]

Oh and I deff understand the f350 notion, my father in law has a 2012 diesel and I've yet to see it down shift towing a 15k fifth wheel. Its nice but has 12k milesand has had the computer reset twice BC if issues, too many issues to early for me