1st long towing trip in van

[Mazdax605]

Hey guys,

I just returned yesterday afternoon from a week long trip from MA to upstate NY. While the van didn't tow as well as my previous vehicles(92 Cummins powered D250,03 Ram 1500 hemi quad cab) it did tow pretty well,and I felt safe doing this. I found that if I had the O/D turned on it would make the van lose speed quickly when I reached the O/D gear. It would then down-shift into 3rd,and re-gain speed. When it would do this I would just shut the O/D off,and run in 3rd gear until I hit a down hill stretch,or flatter ground(rare).I would do this on-off with the O/D for the whole trip up to NY,and it returned 8MPG!! when I chcked it half way there on the outskirts of the MA turnpike.

On my trip home I decided I would just drive with the O/D off the whole time,and the van did much better while using this strategy. I did check the mileage from the trip home to a rest area,and gas fill-up,and I netted 9.3 MPG.Still not great,but better than the 8MPG. This could be because the trip home didn't have the large grade that we encountered on the way out that caused the van to downshift to 2nd gear for a good portion of it(long steep grade on I90 west in MA).

My question is did I hurt the tranny,or shorten its life buy towing in 3rd the whole trip home,or was it worse to have the O/D on,and have it hunt around?Do these MPG numbers sound ridiculously low for a 5.2 litre van with 4 people(2 adults,2 small kids) towing a 5000lb camper(loaded) through the hills,and mountains of western MA,and northeastern NY?What is the proper tempo for the coolant while towing? I ask because while going out we stayed around the 195ish range most of the way aside from that long grade in second that made the gauge climb to about an eight of an inch past the 210 mark,but on the way home during 10* warmer temps the gauge rarely went below the 210* mark. I changed the radiator,water pump,by pass hose,thermostat,radiator hoses,and coolant before the trip,so I know they are all new. Does this sound like a cooling system trouble,or is 220*,or higher sound okay for this towing setup?

Thanks in advance.

Chris
2001 Ram Wagon 2500 8 passenger van
2001 Jayco Kiwi 23B Hybrid travel trailer
1979 Mazda RX-7 GS
1974 Mazda RE/PU

[DANVAN]

3rd gear is better for towing a load. I have a trans temp gauge in mine, and it does run hotter if I run in od for too long. I only use OD when going down hill.

Mine runs at 210 when towing and Ive been told that this is a normal temp for magnum engines.

Ive always gotten 8-10 mpg towing a 5000lb camper (5000 loaded and ready to go.)depending on terrain and speed.

Hopefully when u replaced the radiator, u went with a 3 row instead of the stock 2 row. And add a trans cooler if u dont have one already.

[Mazdax605]

Thanks Dan,

I was thinking the temps weren't too bad,but I did get concerned on my first trip with it on Memorial day weekend with temps in the low 90*'s,and the temp gauge in the 210,or higher range.

When I replaced the radiator I just used the stock 2 row replacement,as I didn't know I could get a 2 core until after I had started the job,and I only had a few days before we were leaving for our trip. I don't tow often,and who knows how long I will have the van,but I kind of regret not getting a 3 core,but the place that I got it from only carried the two row unit.I called them before I installed the new one to see if they had the "dessert cooler",but they said they only carried the one I had,and I was allready into it a day or so,with lots of bruises,cuts,and swears,so I just went with the stock unit.

I don't know the actual weight of my camper loaded up,but the GVW is 4950 loaded,so I always figure it is 5000# loaded. We try not to pack too heavy,but my wife insists on taking the kids entire wardrobe I swear.I know that 5000# isn't real heavy a load,but for a van of this size it probably is,and I know the load is there. Do you think it is okay to tow this load with the O/D off? It sure seemed to be better towing that way.My truck has a factory trans cooler,and I did think about getting another larger one to supplement it,but again strapped for time I just say well it has one on it that should be fine for now.I was thinking about getting a deeper finned pan,and a fan cooled trans cooler in the future,but with the little amount of towing I do I am not sure it is worth it now.Any opinions? I may get the Roadmaster active suspension system pretty soon as well when I get some cash.

Chris
2001 Ram Wagon 2500 (8 lug) 8 passenger 5.2 litre
2001 Jayco Kiwi 23B hybrid travel trailer
1979 Mazda RX-7 GS
1974 Mazda RE/PU

[DANVAN]

Your van should do fine w/5000lbs. My old camper was 5000 loaded and we have the same vans, except mine has the 3.9 gears, I would guess that yours is 3.55.

We just traded up to a coleman caravan 23B, Im guessing loaded its about 6000lbs. Im still within my weight limits, but I can really feel the differance, it was alot more comfortable with the older camper.

That roadmaster suspension does sound good, Ive read good things about it. I just have booster shocks (coil-over-shocks) for now.

I installed a 10,000lb trans cooler, that and the gauge is enough for me. My trans has never gone over 190 degrees. I run ATF4, the synthetic trans oil. Just stay out of OD when towing.

[Mazdax605]

Thanks Dan,

My van has the 3.92 rear end ratio,so I guess they are the same. I think I will saty towing with the O/D off from now on,because the trip home was so much better than playing with the button all the time with poor results.I was just worried I would be hurting the transmission by towing in third all th etime,but it seems I hurt it more by using 4th. I may go with a larger trans cooler,finned pan,ATF+4,and maybe a temp gauge in the future,but right now we don't have anymore long trips planned for this season,but who knows what will come later in the summer.I don't tow often,but I don't want to hurt the trans,engine when I do it,and I want the van to last a while as I am sick of buying cars,trucks. I like the van,and it suits my needs while being relatively cheap to buy,and maintain so far.Hopefully it has more life left in it at 103K miles.

Where did you mount the tans temp gauge?How does it plumb into the trans?What is the best way to do a flush of the trans fluid,and replace with the ATF+4 synthetic stuff?

Thanks,

Chris

[stev]

Chris,

It's good to hear about your trip and travels.

With our 3,000lbs TT loaded up to about 4,500lbs, I usually towed in OD without any issues. However while towing in the Poconos and throughout the mountains of PA, I left the OD off. Doing that made the top speed about 50mph as the tranny was spinning at a faster rate and the heat being generated increased. The temps on that trip reached an amazing 99 degrees while we towed.

Yes, the ATF+4 synthetic will do well. I've using the ATF+3 plus lubeguard since it will raise the flash point higher of the ATF+3 for towing. I can't use ATF+4 with lubeguard since the ATF+4 is synthetic. Many Rv'ers, horse trailer and boat trailer people use lubegard in their trannys.

[DANVAN]

Chris, I mounted my temp gauge in an over-head console I built for the van. Theres also a vacuum gauge, volt gauge for the second battery, tachometer and a engine temp gauge with real numbers instead of the factory one on the dash.

The temp gauge came with a sender. I drilled a hole in the trans pan, (pan was off of course) installed a drain plug repair kit, and installed the sender into the repair kit in place of the new drain plug.

Going to a shop and having them flush the fluid with a machine is the best way. Personally I have always changed the fluid every 10-15,000 miles since it was new, and I always used atf 4 , so by now Ive pretty much flushed the atf3 out that way, 6 qts at a time.