Towing with 2001 ST 4x2

[bombo]

What should I do to perpair for buying a trailer for travel.
What would be suggest as far as should shocks and other things needed.
I have about 119,000 and I believe I'm the 2nd owner. So not sure what really came with this truck.
I know I have to change a rear seal to the passenger side and also the diff cover. Not sure about the shocks or anything else. I do have a tran cooler in front of my rad and there is a much smaller rad cooler (3 by 6"?) under the veh near the front dif.

Also I now only have a rear bumper 2 1/2" ball and need to get a rear reciver not sure what to get.

Any help, any idea's would be helpful

thanks for reading

 

[Alwayssideways]

I have the curt hide away hitch. I think I got it off amazon for like 137 shipped. I love it . The install wasnt too bad. I had to push the bumper support out just a hair to get the mounting brackets for the hitch to fit. I think the capacity is 5k. My truck is the 4x4 with tow package so it is good for 5k.

I would recommend the curt hide away hitch. I would also suggest either getting a bigger trans cooler or adding another one inline. Especially if you will be doing heavy duty hauling. Also you could invest in some new shocks in the rear. I think they range from $30-$75 a piece depending on what kind of shocks you want. But most importantly I would look at a add a leaf install. I did the short leafs and it was about $35 bucks from amazon. It will raise the rear about 1.5 inches and increase payload capacity about 500 lbs. So the truck wont sag with the trailer. Once again if you are doing serious towing. You will need to change the trans fluid more often. Thats about all I can think of at the moment

 

[bombo]

I have the curt hide away hitch. I think I got it off amazon for like 137 shipped. I love it . The install wasnt too bad. I had to push the bumper support out just a hair to get the mounting brackets for the hitch to fit. I think the capacity is 5k. My truck is the 4x4 with tow package so it is good for 5k.

I would recommend the curt hide away hitch. I would also suggest either getting a bigger trans cooler or adding another one inline. Especially if you will be doing heavy duty hauling. Also you could invest in some new shocks in the rear. I think they range from $30-$75 a piece depending on what kind of shocks you want. But most importantly I would look at a add a leaf install. I did the short leafs and it was about $35 bucks from amazon. It will raise the rear about 1.5 inches and increase payload capacity about 500 lbs. So the truck wont sag with the trailer. Once again if you are doing serious towing. You will need to change the trans fluid more often. Thats about all I can think of at the moment

I was thinking about the curt. Shocks, I was thinking of rear airshocks. Didn't think of adding a leaf.

thanks for your help

 

[JohnnyO]

You didn't say what the trailer weighs but if it is pretty heavy then I would get add-a-leafs and a bigger tranny cooler. Monroe Reflex shocks. Alignment. Tranny flush. Oil, coolant, and rear diff lube change.

Towing laws vary by state but everyone requires trailer brakes of some sort once you're over over 2000 lb, so you'll either need surge brakes (common on boat trailers) or an electric brake hookup that will need to be professionally installed.

 

[01STrunner]

I had air shocks on mine up until this month when I've switched to SAS/SOA. I used to tow a bunch of different trailers and I loved that depending on the load I could adjust the psi in the shocks and they took away the sag. 3 or so years of duty and I didn't have any leaks. The AAL is also another good option like they said above. I also agree a tranny cooler is a good idea. I have a 4x4 with towing package and that one has done fine for me.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

I also have the Curt hitch. Installed easy by myself. In December they were around $140-150, but the price went up to $180 in January before I was ready to buy! Free shipping from the Curt warehouses. Some sellers charge less, but add shipping so it evens out the total price. I'm not absolutely positive, but I think most of the businesses selling Curt hitches on ebay are the various Curt locations around the country, or at least the hitches ship direct from the Curt locations.

 

[05dakotatrac]

given the milage and unsure of the previous maintenence i recommend diff lube service, trans flush, coolant flush, and mandatory i feel is the hitch and extra/larger trans cooler.

shocks wont hurt it neither would add-a-leafs but i would check the current state of the shocks and make a choice then.

always remember to double if not triple distances when towing and routine maintenance is a necessary evil. if you keep up on maintenance like a religion then your truck will last decades

 

[bombo]

Thanks for the advice

I want to say thanks for all of the input I have gotten.
What Im thinking of towing isn't one of those 32 foot bread boxes.
Im thinking on smaller size popup's. One that sits not much higher then the top of the bed.
Ive even thinking of a camper top and then a tent that will close around the open back of the truck. But Im not a fan of a cover over the bed. I like the look that I have now and that is the flip up cover that came with the st.

Maybe even one of those popup A's or a t@b. Need the space to relax while traveling, getting on in years so tenting is out of the question.

Anyway thats for your help this sit is number 1#.

 

[01STrunner]

You should have no problems towing a popup. Even the big ones are only about a ton.

 

[LONO100]

I used to do a little custo work and outfitting on trucks and of all the hitches, curts the best in my opinion. Other suggestions like a larger trans cooler and adjustable shocks are great ideas too. Im planning on getting a small boat and i already have decent shocms, a curt hitch and a nice trans cooler, but the last piece to my set up will be a trans temp gauge, and maybe a few other twmp gauges too.

 

[bombo]

given the milage and unsure of the previous maintenence i recommend diff lube service, trans flush, coolant flush, and mandatory i feel is the hitch and extra/larger trans cooler.

shocks wont hurt it neither would add-a-leafs but i would check the current state of the shocks and make a choice then.

always remember to double if not triple distances when towing and routine maintenance is a necessary evil. if you keep up on maintenance like a religion then your truck will last decades

I believe the trans cooler the one in front of the rad is about 6 or 8 x 10
I will check. What is the best or largest size? Is there a point of over kill?

thansk for the help

 

[JohnnyO]

I had a Hidden Hitch on my old '05 Trac, I liked it real well. Essentially it is identical to the Curt unit.