A lot think about

breid

Member
I have been spending a lot of time on line reading through various forums trying to read through the self proclaimed expert replies. I have found the following and am trying to figure out where I fit in.

General RV forums: I don't have enough truck to do the job (what was I thinking??)

Heartland forum: My truck will do the job just not as nicely as a F450/550 would. Everyone here is familiar with the weights of Heartland products and has experience.

Powerstroke forum: No problem with the truck but my transmission is going to shell out. My Edge programmer does nothing for my tranny which is surprising to me because it has a tow mode.

I'll admit that if I had my way I would opt for a bigger truck but the reality is I constantly remind myself that at least in my case I will be towing for recreation and not cross country full-timing it. When I'm not towing, which will be 85% of the time, I need a vehicle to get around town.

Has anyone had any tranny related issues with a heavy TH?
 

pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
Heat is what kills most automatic transmissions. Get a trans temp guage and keep temps under 190*F

One easy mod you can do is to replace the stock transmission cooler with the transmission cooler for the 2003 - 2007 superduty trans cooler that was used for the 5R110 transmission in the 6 liter trucks. It's about 3 times larger and bolts right up with minor mods to connect the lines.

Fords 4R100 isn't a bad transmission and is basicly a beefed up E4OD aka the E4DOA

Want to talk to real experts on the 7.3 and 4R100 call Jody at DP Tuner Bean at Beans Diesel Performance and Brian at BTS
 

truknutt

Committed Member
breid,

Ford's 2003 Towing Guide for your truck states max recommended fifth wheel trailer weight is 12,800 lbs. with a GCWR of 20,000 lbs. (Link) You know your Cyclone's weights. You'll have to make the decision as to whether you have enough truck.

The Edge Juice Module Install Instructions & Manual (page 12) has this to say regarding your transmission:

"Automatic Transmission and shifting
During the development of the Ford 7.3L Juice Module our development team discovered that the stock shifting pattern for the transmission used with the Ford Diesel Powerstroke® engine maintained "stock" shifting even while the engine gave additional horsepower or torque especially when the Juice Module was set to Level 5. Because the transmission shifting may not have been designed to shift with the additional horsepower provided by the Juice Module, Edge Products recommends that the Edge Products Evolution module be purchased to adjust transmission shifting for better shifting under the additional horsepower. Call you Edge Products (1-888-360-EDGE) or your Edge Products dealer to find out how the Evolution can add positive shifting to your Ford 7.3 Powerstroke®"

I agree that heat is your enemy. You've added the deep sump pan; that with a decent temp gauge should keep you motoring.

I also agree that there is a lot of "information" out there; it's just a matter of weeding through the opinions and plucking out the info with merit so you can make informed decisions.

I'm still playing catchup with my outfit:
1. Bought 1st truck to haul small cargo and car trailers
2. Bought 1st 5er (let's go camping!)...high profile to taxing on truck
3. Bought 2nd truck..
4. Order Cyclone 3210 (within weights for truck)
5. Yearly upgrades increase weights of Cyclone
6. Begging DW for 3rd (& final, I promise!) truck

All this to decipher but .... Rving is so fun & relaxing!! :rolleyes:

Dave
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
breid, Most of us on this forum tend to try to keep the peace when it come to being "weight police" We have owners that pull their trailers with less than adequate trucks but it's not my/our place to tell someone their truck isn't going to cut it. We usually lean more towards saying to check your weight capacities and use your best judgment. Being able to pull it is great. Being able to stop it is fantastic. I know there are some that have used the "expert" label. I'm no expert, but my past experience is all I've got and it's what I use. My truck is more than adequate for my trailer. I tried a 2500HD on our first trip south and on the return trip north we had a dually. Travel Safe!
 

davelinde

Well-known member
Has anyone had any tranny related issues with a heavy TH?

yes.
http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/dev/showthread.php?t=213836

Feeling better about it now with the second gauge. So far though, the tranny works fine. I've only towed a few thousand miles though, next trip is NJ to FL 1100 miles in the fall. Planning to do it with my "smaller" truck without additional upgrades.

It is a lot to think about. If the newer diesels actually got BETTER fuel economy it would be a no-brainer for me but for cryin out loud diesel fuel went to $5/gallon and the big three complied with federal regs and burn MORE of it to reduce soot etc. :(
 
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