Towing on a hot day

falconbrother wrote:
I have never overheated. Temps are always in the normal range. I need to go up Black Mountain on Wednesday. I plan to run about 45 MPH up the mountain at about 3000 RPMs. Should be fine. My Suburban is an older one but very well maintained. I just replaced all the belts. Transmission serviced about 4 months ago. Fresh oil change. Hoses look good. Tires in good shape. Rear end rebuilt about 16 months ago. Fresh brakes. Just adjusted those GM parking brakes, lubed.. It's in as good of shape as I know how to make it. Since this is the first time we have climbed the mountain with it I'm a bit nervous. The 5.3 Burb isn't the strongest. I will have to keep the RPMs up. My brother tows up Black Mountain all the time with his Tundra and says there's nothing to it. His trailer is a shade lighter and he has the iforce 5.7 liter. I'm 5800 dry and my tanks will be empty. My tow weight limit is 7200. I have the tow package and I added additional transmission cooling which seems to work really well.

You TV sounds to be ready and willing. I’ve done Black Mountain and the Saluda Grade as well as 11000+ feet in the Rockies. Pulling near 7500 lb TT with a 6.2l 1/2 ton. Slower s is better up and down grade.

colliehauler wrote:
The only thing I worry about is trailer tire failure in that kind of heat. The asphalt will probably be around 130 add that to the heat generated by the tires. If the tires are marginal it could be a issue. In extremely hot weather I've gone so far as traveling during the night. Easier on the equipment and more pleasant for the passengers. Roads are usually less crowded as well.

I'm with you. Every blow out I have had on a TT has been in REALLY HOT conditions. Seems heat is hard on ST tires.

Like someone said above, let the truck dictate the speeds and such. I think you should be ok. In my opinion the weak link, as usual, are the trailer tires. Best advice I can offer is relax, enjoy the ride but don’t push it.
Hope you have a great trip!

If your vehicle is in good condition and you have never had a heat issue then you likely will have no problem. I have towed for hours continuously in temps up to 108 across the TX panhandle and NM and the temp gauge never got higher than it does on 80-90 degree days.

I see a difference of about 10-12 degrees towing in 70 degrees VS 90 degrees engine temperatures. From 195 to 205-207.....Up big hills I can see 212-215

I have a BD Diesel built transmission and I see zero change in transmission temp under any conditions.

In short, a qualified "maybe."

As a matter of general principle, yes. But at the same time, a properly maintained rig with very good cooling capacity, no.

Hotter air temp can definitely matter.

Hotter air over the coolers so less temperature differential = less cooling potential.

Less power due to hotter more humid air.

Running AC = more heat in cooling stack and less engine power

Watch you temp gauges and let the truck tell you what it wants to do.

If it were me I'd lock it out of OD too, chances are it will be unlocking the converter and downshifting a lot on hills...unlocked converter=higher transmission temps.

falconbrother wrote:
Does the outside temperature matter that much when towing? Leaving on Wednesday for the mountains and it's supposed to be 97 and humid.

OK,

your signature says you have a 2000 Chevy 1/2 ton 4x4 with 5.3

You trailer is a 2017 Coleman 262BH which you state is 27 ft.

Looked up that model and the specs are 5900 EMPTY, 1600 available cargo weight and it IS 30 ft long.

Loaded you are looking at potentially 7500 lbs not including passengers in the vehicle and other stuff in the back of the truck..

Yeah, I suspect you ARE already a bit over the towing specs of said vehicle and with that vintage you ARE going to be stressing it to the max.

Yet another one of those supposed "1/2 ton towables" :R

My setup is similar weight with a 2013 F250 with 6.2, I do not have to even worry about such trivial things like 97 degrees in humid weather climbing mountains..

In fact, just got home from a trip, ran 94 degree high humidity weather for 11 hrs straight towing 9%-11% grades for miles at a time..

Had no problem 65-70 MPH up those grades, engine/transmission ran no hotter than normal.. Often running 4th-5th gear on those grades, had a couple of spots that dropped to 3rd but didn't stay there for long..

No replacement for displacement :B

You, on the other hand most likely will need to reduce speed, drop overdrive to prevent gear hunting and take it easy.

The only thing I worry about is trailer tire failure in that kind of heat. The asphalt will probably be around 130 add that to the heat generated by the tires. If the tires are marginal it could be a issue. In extremely hot weather I've gone so far as traveling during the night. Easier on the equipment and more pleasant for the passengers. Roads are usually less crowded as well.