Trailer towing q's

chris142

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Wife bought a toyhauler tonight. Guy said it was pretty heavy.

I thought it would be no problem for the IDI. I was wrong!

Truck was stable but geez it takes a long time to get up to speed. Any hill had me down to 35 mph.

Taking off from a red light on a hill required 4lo then a shift back to 2wd. As soon as I get my trailer brake controller working I am going to weigh this thing.


What is a safe rpm to pull hills at? It really smoked below 3000 rpm.
 

Clb

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And a pac brake!

What's gvw of said toyhauler???
 

u2slow

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I wouldn't mess with an IDI for heavy hauling - turbo or not.

Time to change up your game.
 

chris142

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I wouldn't mess with an IDI for heavy hauling - turbo or not.

Time to change up your game.
Well We are not in a position to upgrade the truck right now. It will have to do for now.
 

adamsanders

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You’ll probably want an in-cab pyrometer to keep an eye on EGT especially on long uphill grades. I’ve used low range to pull out several times since I have 3.55 gears. If I hit a long climb On the interstate or 4 lanes hwy, I’ll drop back to 4th (3rd if need be) and run it right up around 3k rpms. Everything I’ve read indicates this engine should be able to do that no problem as long as you keep temps in control.
 

Oledirtypearl86

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Yup need some boost and a few upgrades I haul my camp trailer allover western Montana with my old 86 f350. it will do the job just not as fast
 

adamsanders

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Yup need some boost and a few upgrades I haul my camp trailer allover western Montana with my old 86 f350. it will do the job just not as fast

This is the other part of the equation - be prepared to get on the right lane and just go as fast as you can. It bothered me a little at first but you pay taxes just like everyone else so go as slow as you need within reason.
 

Clb

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I
Wonder
If
The
OP
knows
what
his
trailers
WEIGHT
Is??????
 

Oledirtypearl86

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My. Camper is 9k then I pack ot full of **** lol and water its a heavy old camper but the truck will do it and I just let the ole girl eat on the hills and keep dropping gears usally only to 3rd unless I'm on a back road and only going like 20 miles an hr
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the camper in the back ground is the one in always towing its a big old girl
 

chillman88

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Not yet. I am not towing it again until I get my trailer brake controller working. Sticker says #6200 but it can't be right.

It's probably close, the frontal area creates a LOT of wind drag. My 5th wheel weighs similar and it's fine until it sees a hill coming. Pulls like it weighs a lot more at highway speeds.
 

Cubey

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Wife bought a toyhauler tonight. Guy said it was pretty heavy.

I thought it would be no problem for the IDI. I was wrong!

NAs mostly only good for flat road towing unless you're towing something small/light. You'll want either an 093 turbo (or PSD or gasser). Maybe an 085 or 088 would work but 093 is the best one, if you're gonna be buying a kit to install. Well, there's Banks also. But I think 093 is the most common?

My high mileage (newer IP, I think) 87 F250 NA with a 3.55 rear end was pretty slow on hills too when pulling a 27ft travel trailer. I could usually stay at 45'ish give or take since it would kick down to second gear. In SW SD on a flat highway with high cross/head winds, I had the pedal to the floor doing 50-55mph. It was shorter than many newer trailers though, so that's probably why it wasn't as bad. I hated towing a big trailer and hated it being separate from the cab, and it was too slow for cross country use, so I got rid of the trailer.

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The F250 is a snail in the mountains without towing. I never towed that trailer them, thank goodness.

So then I got my ATS 085 turbo motorhome (4.10 rear). It was similar in heavy head winds on a somewhat flat highway in KS last year. Pedal to the floor, doing about 50-55. Not much can be done about that though. It does seem better on hills. but I have to watch EGTs very closely. I can't stay at 65-70 on big hills without making EGTs awful high. It's impossible to have proper cold air intake due to van engine bay size restrictions and the ATS 095 turbo design, so that doesn't help any. I have thought about trying a metal semi rigid clothes dryer air duct to give it some cold air. It might help the fuel economy and power of the motor, as well as make it run a bit cooler on hills.

I haven't had the motorhome in mountains yet.
 
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