Using a tow dolly? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Using a tow dolly?

crispins

Well-Known Member
Joined
November 1, 2014
Messages
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City, State
Pigeon Forge, TN
Year, Model & Trim Level
01 Sport trac
I love my Sport Trac.

I actually wish to keep it for many more years.

It has worked great for everything I need it to do.

I flip cars as a side business.

I try to buy only running cars but make more money buying broken cars.

Currently I have the non-running cars towed to my house but would like to start using a tow dolly so i can travel farther away from my house to purchase cars.

Currently my Trac runs and shifts perfect.

I replaced the engine but do not know about the transmission as I do not know the previous history of the truck.

Thoughts on using a tow dolly to bring cars (not trucks) back to my house?

I would keep it out of overdrive, I drive the truck easy.

BTW my trans fluid is clean, would it be smart to add a trans fluid temp sensor?
 



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An aux. trans cooler would be the best thing to do for pulling heavy loads with an automatic. If you want a gauge to keep an eye on the temperature, thats a good thing too.
 






Increasing cooling and ATF capacity is the best thing you can do, besides some inside work to the VB etc, if it doesn't shift perfectly now.

Add another external cooler, the stock one is not enough for much towing. There may be a deep pan you can buy, I've never checked for one for the 5R55E. Adding an external filter is easy, and adds a quart or so more fluid.
 






Increasing cooling and ATF capacity is the best thing you can do, besides some inside work to the VB etc, if it doesn't shift perfectly now.

Add another external cooler, the stock one is not enough for much towing. There may be a deep pan you can buy, I've never checked for one for the 5R55E. Adding an external filter is easy, and adds a quart or so more fluid.

It does shift perfectly now, no issues at all.

I will def add an external filter, that is a great idea. Do you have a link to one you recommend?

Does anyone know if there is a deep pan for this transmission?
 






The kits for an external filter for an engine are the best choice, the FL1A filter used is very common and catches big stuff. The OEM in pan filter is for catching fine things, and external filter is more for capacity and in case of a big failure, try to stop debris from getting back into the trans.
 






I'd be more worried about the sport tracs brakes then the trans. The trans is already known to be crappy. I would rather use a car trailer anyway. then you can put a brake controller in, and it doesn't matter whats wrong with your dead car. just winch it on and away you go. If your doing it as a job, seems like you need a hauler not a sport trac.
 






I'd be more worried about the sport tracs brakes then the trans. The trans is already known to be crappy. I would rather use a car trailer anyway. then you can put a brake controller in, and it doesn't matter whats wrong with your dead car. just winch it on and away you go. If your doing it as a job, seems like you need a hauler not a sport trac.

True, I didn't think of that. I thought it was about towing with a trailer(with brakes). The stock brakes are okay, but not so good for stopping any heavy loads.

I towed my 99 with a car trailer from NC, about 170 miles. My 98 did fine because the trailer brakes did a lot of work, pulling up steep hills was the issue there.
 






True, I didn't think of that. I thought it was about towing with a trailer(with brakes). The stock brakes are okay, but not so good for stopping any heavy loads.

I towed my 99 with a car trailer from NC, about 170 miles. My 98 did fine because the trailer brakes did a lot of work, pulling up steep hills was the issue there.

the tow dolly has both brakes (surge style) and a winch.

I would not buy a dolly without the brake setup, I can see while towing my 1,500 lbs boat around that the Trac's brakes are not good enough to handle additional loads.
 






the tow dolly has both brakes (surge style) and a winch.

I would not buy a dolly without the brake setup, I can see while towing my 1,500 lbs boat around that the Trac's brakes are not good enough to handle additional loads.

Excellent, that's good to hear that some do have brakes on them.
 






I work at a shop and we use my sport trac with the 4.0 in it to pick up cars all the time with a tow dolly. I've even used it to haul a full size grand caravan once and it performed very well. I never go faster than 55 while I'm towing and the truck seems to be holding up quite well. All together i've pulled probably 50 vehicles behind it with the tow dolly anywhere from 10 - 50 miles. Just keep it slow and pay attention to the weight of the vehicle you're pulling. Like I said I pulled a couple heavier vehicles a time or two but it's not something I would make a habit out of, they were kind of emergency situations. But for smaller cars it pulls them no problem.
 






I’d get the biggest transmission cooler you can stuff in front of the evaporator.
 






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