Temperture while towing

[rono]

Saturday, I pulled a friends barge to the lake, about 3,000lbs. Temp outside was 85 going to the lake and 96 comming home. Pulling at 65-70 mph. , the temperture got to about 2 needle widths past the 180 mark. It normally stays to the left of the 180 mark. Is this normal? If I were to pull a really good load how hot would it get?

Just wondering!

Thanks, Ron

 

[John Berger]

My truck usually runs 195 when I'm towing, regardless of the temperature.

 

[roadranger]

It's normal...

rono- My rig runs the same way- below the center mark (is it 180 or 195??) empty at highway speeds, and a couple of needle widths above center when towing. When pulling hard in the mountains on a hot day, temp needle gets about a 1/4 inch above center mark (still within 'normal' marking) and you can hear the roar of the fan running till it gets down below center again.

 

[rono]

Thanks for the reply! That makes me feel better, I had hoped that I was not having a problem. I don't want to take my truck to the dealer... ...



Ron

 

[Posm]

Be careful when you equate weight with load/work. I pull a flat bed loaded weighting about 13500 and get 14 MPG and the temp guage never gets over 190. Last week I pulled a 4000 LB hay baler with a large front drag area and the the MPGs were at 10 and the temp would climb to 195 and the fan would kick on. I do not know what kind of wind drag your freinds "barge" has, but it could be quite a load.

 

[cwsoules]

I tow a 10K 5th wheel. With all I had in the truck I was below but close to the 18000# load limit. Last week in 100 degrees my temperature ran about 190 and occasionally the fan clutch kicked in. My transmission sump temperature was 180. I was towing in OD above 55 mph with cruise control set at 62 mph, and got a little over 9 mpg.

 

[HEYBOSS]

rono, I just posted exactly same question on "towing and hauling" see towing temps. Also roadranger and posm are right. I just towed about 3000 miles. At exactly 68mph and lower my temp. gauge was just above 190, about one needle width. If I did 70+ that would put it at two needles width. On a steep hill OD off and floored it, read 1/4 pasted the 190 mark. That scared me a bit. As mentioned before, not just the weigh you pull but as well the frontal area of the trailer will make a big difference. My 5er is very tall and I tipped the scale at 18,600 lbs. as suggested by some when I posted this same question, I'm replacing the thermostat, I spoke to a dealer tech today that ordered me a new thermostat and he said it was normal. By the way I averaged 10mpg, my truck has 11,300 on it now.

 

[rono]

Thanks again for the replies. The barge 'Sun Tracker' is about as high as my truck and has a large flat front that does catch a lot of wind. I'm sure that caused quite a load on my truck even though the actual weight was not much.

Thanks again,

Ron

 

[jgil104]

fyi cummings sells a 180*f thermostat

Originally posted by rono

Thanks again for the replies. The barge 'Sun Tracker' is about as high as my truck and has a large flat front that does catch a lot of wind. I'm sure that caused quite a load on my truck even though the actual weight was not much.

Thanks again,

Ron

i install one, works great i also tow a 5er 36' tri axle . horton fan only kicks in on long grades ,solo driveing never gets over 185*f take this for what its worth .