Towing 3000lbs with 3.27 rear from Detroit to Jersey, am I covered? 4WD Bad or Good?

[protomind]

I installed a class III hitch and all needed wiring hookups.
I have changed the diff fluids/transfer case fluid and the tranny fluid looks new to me.
I am installing an extra tranny cooler tommorow(in addition the the one on the vehicle) and it is a big one.
Will adding an extra tranny cooler require me to use more tranny fluid?
I am going to drain and replace all of the brake fluid tommorow and replace the rear brake lines which look too corroded for my taste.
I did a full tune up on the vehicle.

What speed should I go? I realize that if I go too slow that I will be in a lesser gear and working the tranny too hard. Is 50mph good? 55? I do not mind driving slow and taking an extra day to get there at all.

Does anyone have a suggested route to take? The only way I have driven to Edison New Jersey from detroit has alot of huge hills and smaller mountains. . . will I be fine taking it easy through there?

I do realize that I should not use overdrive at all, and I will not.
I was hoping that I do not need to install a tranny temp gauge, this is a time issue, I do not have much.

 

[protomind]

Anybody?

 

[MountaineerGreen]

Well, your plan sounds good overall- lock it out of OD, drive whatever speed you can drive safely. Driving too slow can be dangerous also. Take the flattest route possible, I don't know the area but hills and mountains don't help towing a bit. A transmission gauge isn't a must, the extra cooler is though. 3k isn't that much weight, just take off slow, get a head of steam before climbing hills. For a one time trip, 3.27's aren't the end of the world. Oh and stay out of 4x4 on dry pavement always.

 

[JDraper]

Best bet for driving is across Rt. 80.

Your extra cooler will probably require an extra pint or so of fluid...

You can use overdrive on the flats at constant speed, just pull it out on the hills or if it wants to shift in and out of overdrive constantly.

As for speed, on the flats you should be able to hold the speed limit fine. On hills, let the truck decide that for you. You will be able to feel it labor if you push it too hard.

 

[protomind]

Thanks for the advice, I will heed it well. Lets hope my truck holds out fine =)

JDraper, how far should I take 80? Until I can hit 280 in the jersey metro area? Is that a flat route? The way I went last time was unexpectedly hilly and would be a huge pain in the @$$ with this load and rear end.

 

[JDraper]

Thanks for the advice, I will heed it well. Lets hope my truck holds out fine =)

JDraper, how far should I take 80? Until I can hit 280 in the jersey metro area? Is that a flat route? The way I went last time was unexpectedly hilly and would be a huge pain in the @$$ with this load and rear end.

There is no flat route across PA....you're crossing the tip of the appalachian mountain chain, but 80 is probably the best way to go when towing a trailer. At least it's 4 lane all the way.

I'd take it all the way to Jersey.

When are you driving across?

 

[protomind]

Hopefully we will be loaded and ready to go this friday morning.

 

[JDraper]

You have a PM...

 

[protomind]

I am in the process of packing while simultaneously checking forums and going over the trip in my mind. It would be nice if we could easily make it through in one shot, however the added stress on both the vehicle and myself may make for a nice two day trip. It would most likely be a 5 1/2 hour drive leaving around 3ish and getting a room along the way. Wake up, carefully inspect vehicle and trailer, have breakfast and get on down the road.
On a side note, how difficult would it be to install a new set of axels? Or should I say rear end and front end? I am sure I could easily pull the parts from some junk yard.

 

[Donner]

You might already know this... I don't know the weather, but take a 25 or 50 pound bag of sand, a paper cup, and about a dozen empty sand bags in case you get caught up and have no traction. If you get stuck, tuck the bags under the tires and toss sand on top of the bags...

 

[JDraper]

I am in the process of packing while simultaneously checking forums and going over the trip in my mind. It would be nice if we could easily make it through in one shot, however the added stress on both the vehicle and myself may make for a nice two day trip. It would most likely be a 5 1/2 hour drive leaving around 3ish and getting a room along the way. Wake up, carefully inspect vehicle and trailer, have breakfast and get on down the road.
On a side note, how difficult would it be to install a new set of axels? Or should I say rear end and front end? I am sure I could easily pull the parts from some junk yard.

5.5 Hours? Maybe if you're flying. Detroit to Newark is 600 miles. More like 10 hours, especially with a trailer and the fact that you may run into some light snow on the way (1-2" forecast Friday night in to Saturday morning)

Installing axles isn't hard to do, but I don't think I'd be putting axles of unknown condition under my vehicle just before a long trip.

 

[protomind]

LOL, I mean 5.5 hours if I break the trip into two days. Also, I would change the axles at a later date =), for sure not right before the trip =)

 

[protomind]

I would just like to thank everyone here that helped me with this and other things I have done to the truck. I just towed a 6x12 1220lb trailer fully packed and loaded with me and my GFs belongings from detroit, mi to edison, nj with no real problems whatsoever. I believe the trailer weighed in at about 3400lbs loaded plus whatever cargo was in the truck plus me and the GF. So I think it was safe to say that I was quite a bit over the factory towing spec with my 3.27 rearend.

The truck worked its little ass off and I must say I am happy with its performance. I just drove it around for about an hour after the trip and it seems to be running/driving just fine. Perhaps it may hit bumps a little harder, or it could just be me imagining things.

I ended up removing the factory transmission cooler and replaced it with two B&M Racing transmission coolers, also I did a manual transmission flush and replaced the filter, I used mobil1 mercon v full synthetic fluid btw.

special thanks to jdraper for offering his help outside of this forum and accepting my phone calls when a couple minor issues arose =)

I will be donating and joining the forum here in a few days to show my appreciation for all of the help I recieved.

 

[ckomai]

I plan on doing 2 b&m's also. Any chance you know the dimensions or part # of the coolers? Is your setup a perfect fit or do you think you can get bigger ones in there? Any pics or setup advise would be appreciated.