Towing long distance

[newfulltimer]

Hello,

I am new to the forum and just had my first "snowbird trip" in our TT from Chicago to Arizona. We have a Ford F150 with a 5.4 (towing says 8700) and my TT total weight with tongue is 5300. We drove for 5 days about 8 hours each day. By the end of the trip the transmission light came on going up some slight hills around Tucson in warm weather. we stopped for about 15 minutes and then light went off and has not come back on.

My question is when going on a long trip should you let your tow vehicle rest for a day or two in between? Did we push it too hard going straight for five days?

Thanks so much,
Lisa and Jack

[RV Roamer]

Hi Lisa and jack and welcome to RV Forum.

No, "resting" the tow vehicle for a day won't help and should not be necessary in any case if it is adequate for the load being towed.  I'm not familiar with all the things a 'transmission light" on your F150 might indicate, but I suspect the transmission fluid simply got a bit too hot.  Your owner manual could probably shed some light on the meaning of that indicator light.  Let us know what the owner manual says about that light and we can go from there.

I would seriously consider adding an auxiliary transmission oil cooler to the truck. Long days of towing a heavy load are indeed hard work for a transmission and anything you can do to help it out is probably worthwhile.

[GKman]

Check for bugs and dirt in the radiator, A/C, trans cooler fins.

[utahclaimjumper]

An auxilary "air to air" cooler in series with the trans cooler line makes a huge difference and extends the life of the transmissiom.. Also easy to plumb into the present cooler line.>>>D

[CaptBill]

Have trans fluid replaced with synthetic (Amsoil, Syntec, etc.). Trans will run cooler; last longer.

[glen54737]

You could get a fault code reader and find out what the problem was i would also check the fluid level and condition. another cooler couldn't hurt either.

[judway]

Be careful when adding transmission coolers in front of the engine radiator. They block some of the air cooling the engine. I know of three cases where the transmission may be cooler but the engine overheated. One was mine and the others were with two of my friends.