Trans temp

We are new to camping and purchased a Crossroads 27' Zinger 27RL, we also have a 2010 Chevy Avalanche 1500LT. We went camping last week and pulled the trailer approximately 200 miles and I noticed my trans temp was running between 198 and 205 degrees. We were mostly on flat land as it was on the gulf coast in Alabama. I spoke with 2 guys at 2 Chevy service departments. 1 guy sad as long as the tranny temp did not get hotter than my engine coolant temp we should be ok, the other guy said it was running to hot and if it continued it would burn the tranny up. I also asked both guys about putting another tranny cooler on it and both suggested not to do that. My concern is when I go into the mountains will it run hotter and burn up? Also the truck is rated to pull 8100 lbs, and the trailer is rated at 7850 lbs, I have installed a Reese Weight Distribution Hitch with Sway Control but the trailer dances and porpoises all over the place. I had the trailer set up by camping world and they said everything was right. I was informed by another RV service center that part of my problem was the Avalanche has coil springs and they suggested installing air bags as well. We are now considering purchasing a 2013 Chevy Silverado 1500HD with the all star package on it. We Sally don't want to spend the money on a new truck right now so any suggestions would be appreciated.

Amdavis76 wrote:
Hi guys, I don't mean to hijack this thread but I had a similar questions about the same truck but just when not towing. I have a 2013 1500 silverado (about 1,800 miles) with the 5.3 and I noticed that the transmission temp was 182 after about an hour of stop and go traffic. It was 104 degrees outside, so pretty hot. Once I got on the highway, it went down to 172 to 174 degrees. I was not towing anything. Is that normal in hot temperatures?

Normal.

Hi guys, I don't mean to hijack this thread but I had a similar questions about the same truck but just when not towing. I have a 2013 1500 silverado (about 1,800 miles) with the 5.3 and I noticed that the transmission temp was 182 after about an hour of stop and go traffic. It was 104 degrees outside, so pretty hot. Once I got on the highway, it went down to 172 to 174 degrees. I was not towing anything. Is that normal in hot temperatures?

That is a good temperature. Just make sure that it reaches at least 165F on a winter day, that will allow all the moisture to boil off from the fluid. You might need to cover the cooler in front of the radiator during snowy conditions.

You might see 205 - 225 during a climb in the mountains, and this is normal. However if towing, and you start to see 210 on flat lands, and 235 in the mountains, then you should install a larger cooler.

There is a chart for how long transmission fluids will last. At 300F, you should not drive more than about 100 miles before replacing the transmission fluid. At 250, the fluid will last 5,000 - 8,000 miles. At 235, it will last 12,000 miles.

At the temperature below 200, it should last the full normal change interval, such as 15,000 to 25,000 miles, depending on your manufactures recommendations for "Normal" use.

Fred.

Pool wrote:
I watch the Trans temp while towing and curious what a good range is to make sure it is not too hot. I have a factory front mounted trans cooler on a four speed 5.3 engine. Normally runs about 176 - 182.

Nothing wrong with that.