Off season tow vehicle upgrades?

I'm in the process of getting my truck ready for RV'ing. I don't currently have a TT.

However, some suggestions for upgrades to your truck...

I would look into adding a tuner from Mike at Five Star tuning. He can work some magic from these Modular motors. (I'm going to be adding a tuner to my truck after I get my cooling system upgraded to a HD cooling system)

Also, 4:56 gears would help your vehicle as well.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

I'm going to see how things go but I think a gear change is definitely in the future. 4.30-4.88 or so not sure exactly yet. Have 3.73s now.

You got a nice, almost unicorn tow rig!
Being 2wd, if doing a lot of towing traveling, I would consider it a candidate for a gear swap unless you have 4.10s already. Pretty good bang for the buck there.

Hemling wrote:
I'm going to see how things go but I think a gear change is definitely in the future. 4.30-4.88 or so not sure exactly yet. Have 3.73s now.

Great idea. I wouldn't hesitate for a second to go with 4.56 or even lower. I had a class C with 4.63s and small 225/75R16 tires and I never felt like it was geared too low. The low gears made launching on steep hills towing a car effortless, and the V10 still revs high enough to run 50-55 in second gear.

My only hesitation with getting a custom tune is the longevity of the transmission. I've heard it doesn't live long behind engines that make more power than stock. Or is that just for guys modding out their 7.3s?

Hemling wrote:
My only hesitation with getting a custom tune is the longevity of the transmission. I've heard it doesn't live long behind engines that make more power than stock. Or is that just for guys modding out their 7.3s?

A 5-star tune will improve longevity of the transmission behind the V10.

1) It doesn't add much peak hp, it mostly just makes the power available over a broader range, making it less "peaky".

2) It improves shift logic, so it won't "hunt", and also increases line pressure, reducing heat during shifts.

My 4R100 has over 445,000 miles. I've got the full Banks PowerPack, and a tuner, so it's putting out quite a bit over stock. I did upgrade the transmission cooler, but mostly because the grill guard and lights impeded airflow to the stock cooler.

You are correct about tuning a 7.3L however. Those tuners add quite a bit more torque over stock, and the 4r100 behind the 7.3L had much worse factory programming, allowing lots of "unlocked" operation to cope with the narrow power band of the stock 7.3L. That, combined with many missing the "in-tank" cooler, was a recipe for failures, tuned or not. The tuning just made the inevitable happen sooner.

4.30-4.56 gears are a must do for any significant weight. A tune from 5star will make the V-10 shift like it should have from the factory. The SPD Y-pipe is a good mod.

I have all that done and the mods you've done so far and my X tows my 9200lb TT with ease and no stability issues!

No mods and my X is driven year round. Has more sand in it then a sandbox during the summer months.
Got a buddy that is a High school principal down here. Up to his neck in emails and paperwork same up there I'm guessing.

I have before upgraded my TV. Opened the exhaust, Opened the intake, Spent a load of money. Didn't really do any thing for the truck while towing. I know the new gears will. Were I you. That is all I would do. It is really the only thing that will make much difference in towing.

As for the lights. On a vehicle with that much age. They could be fogged over. IF so polishing them out will brighten them like new.

Yeah, I've polished them. The lenses are crystal clear. My wife's Forester low beams are more powerful than these high beams.