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dave17352's avatar
dave17352
Explorer
Jul 24, 2013

Carrying generator on front cargo rack good or bad idea

I was curious if what I do is not such a good idea. I have a cargo rack on the front of my 2011 Chevy D/A. I have generator attached to it and it sits in front of the big opening for the tranny cooler on the lower bumper. I only use this on the front with my 3000 pound truck camper and pulling my 3000 pound boat. When I use my 12k fiver the rack is on back of my 5th wheel. Now I have taken several trips like this and the tranny temp seem to get at the highest around 190 when it is 90+ degrees out. I don't travel a lot like this but maybe 2 or 3 thousand miles a year. The engine temp never budges. There is still room on both sides of the big opening on the lower bumper and the generator sits out in front about 12 inches. The temp seems to be about 20 degrees higher when it s warm out when the generator is mounted on the front. I figured these temps are acceptable and I am not doing any harm. Am I wrong and would you run this way or not?


thanks

8 Replies

  • 190 is nothing...220 is likely where people will start getting concerned.
  • I am happy to see you all feel I shouldn't have a problem with my posted tranny temps.
  • Yes I do, Learjet. I posted a question a year or two ago on that subject. Almost all agreed not to much of a risk. I have a heavy duty cargo carrier. It would take one hell of a impact to cause a explosion or fire. But I too have some concern about that issue. But I really do keep my distance when using my truck camper and generator cargo rack. Someone is going to have to hit me head on to cause a problem. Life is full of risks.
  • do you have gas in this generator? might be a problem in a wreck,
  • You shouldn't have any issues if tranny temp is peaking at 190 degrees.
  • You can run all day long at temps at or above 200-210- for engine and transmission.
  • I used to have a fishing rack that mounted on the front hitch with a 100 qt cooler in it. Trans temps would be higher with that rack, I'm guessing because the cooler blocked air flow to the radiator and trans cooler. As long as you don't run for long periods over 200 or 210 tops you will be fine.
  • You're probably fine. I carry stuff up front frequently. Usually dirt bikes but have loaded up the rack with raft dry-boxes which completely block radiator. It's never caused any cooling problems for me.