Towing over capacity

[terminator0723]

Lo.. Im pushing weight with my car and trailer... My trucks rated for 4500lbs, and If I get this trailer im looking at I'd be pulling 4600+lbs.. If I went ahead and pulled it with it just being 100lbs or so over could it really hurt anything? Or should I start looking into swapping gears... (3.55 to a 3.73 maybe?)

 

[PRS]

your gonna want 3.73's for towning anything especially if its over 4500. Im sure you could do it but your truck probably wouldnt like it too much

 

[terminator0723]

Yeah that what I was thinking... But I won't mind if she growls at me a bit as long as she doesn't break on me...

 

[RV Wrench]

Your truck is rated at 4500lbs with or without a load-equalizer? If that IS the max with the equalizing hitch, I would NOT do it.

I am an RV tech and have seen many people try this (using a vehicle too small for the coach being towed). NONE of them were happy with the results. Besides that, if you get into an accident in that situation, you could get the pants sued off of you. Is it really worth it??

 

[terminator0723]

Yeah thats the max with a weight distribution hitch.... But im really not having a choice... thinking of maybe swapping gears...

 

[Fordmandan87]

better yet i push 7000 lb ambulances on to tow dollies at least once a week i think i have 3.73's and i do it in 2 wd

 

[terminator0723]

hmm.. interesting

 

[Ranger379]

if your gonna be pulling alot make sure your cooling system and tranny and brakes are ready to do that first, i woiuld get a bigger hitch, if u have class 3 then get a class 4 or what ever, my X is rated to pull 2100lbs (dont know y its so little) but i pulled 2500-3000 lbs. not a big deal im sure the my bumper ball was not very happy tho LOL. RV does have a good point with lawsuits, i would deffinately upgrade to a bigger hitch that is rated for the weight u wanna pull, but the X can handle 4500lbs no problem

 

[terminator0723]

if your gonna be pulling alot make sure your cooling system and tranny and brakes are ready to do that first, i woiuld get a bigger hitch, if u have class 3 then get a class 4 or what ever, my X is rated to pull 2100lbs (dont know y its so little) but i pulled 2500-3000 lbs. not a big deal im sure the my bumper ball was not very happy tho LOL. RV does have a good point with lawsuits, i would deffinately upgrade to a bigger hitch that is rated for the weight u wanna pull, but the X can handle 4500lbs no problem

yeah i just bought a tranny cooler and brakes are good and stuff.. i found a trailer yesterday that would be perfect because then i'd only be pulling 3900-4100lbs so i'd be 600- 400lbs under max capacity... we'll see...

 

[Ranger379]

flush the cooling system (if you would have seen mine you would know what i mean haha) might be green on top but mud brown at the bottom. since your radiator cools your tranny too. and if your buying a bigger trailer that has brakes on it then youll have to wire a brake controller in you truck. i ithnk in pa anything over 2000lbs needs brakes.

 

[terminator0723]

since your radiator cools your tranny

eh?

 

[Ranger379]

eh?

with an auto tranny the lines from the tranny run to the radiator which helps cool it, if u have a manual tranny they its not like that, dont know much about the autos but i know some lines run from the tranny to the radiator... i read it on here a while back as a way to drain the tranny fluid i think....... then again with me i could be wrong lol. but with a load you would still want to keep the engine cool

 

[terminator0723]

Definately.. Im taking her in probley tuesday for an oil change, tranny flush, and now that you've mentioned it I guess I could have the cooling system flushed...

 

[gijoecam]

Your truck is going to be woefully under-powered for the job, and you're tranny is not going to be long for this world if you're going to be towing it often.

I've towed that weight range with my Explorer a few times. Mine's rated for 4700 lbs, and this tipped the scales at exactly 4650 lbs including the 300lb tongue weight. With me and a full tank of gas, it put the entire rig within 50 lbs of the max GCWR. It was not a pleasant thing to pull around, but it did the job.

An Explorer is just not the right tool for that job IMHO.

 

[terminator0723]

Yeah I agree it's not right for the job but at the moment it's all I can afford...Ill be pulling ever other weekend.. possibly every weekend about 40 miles

 

[Ranger379]

AAL's is not a bad idea either to stiffen the assend up a lil bit with all that weight

 

[terminator0723]

AAL's

 

[Ranger379]

AAL's

Add-A-Leafs

 

[CRUISERMEDIC]

since your radiator cools your tranny too.

i think there may be a small section of a tranny cooler in the radiator. its not uncommon. my parents had a minivan that hed the tranny cooler blow. all the tranny fluid mixed with the coolant and th coolant also mixed into the tranny......it was a nightmare to flush and clean. on my x i notice there is a small tranny cooler mounted just infront of the radiator near the bottom. dont know if it was added aftermarket or if it has a towing package. if i was going to tow over id get a bigger external cooler, a temp gauge and bigger brakes, and stiffer rear.

just my .02

steve

 

[gijoecam]

i think there may be a small section of a tranny cooler in the radiator. its not uncommon.

I've never seen an automatic in a modern vehicle that didn't have one.