question about towing with a new Diesel- any brand

[ford_truck_guy]

The question I have is how many of you tow your trailers as soon as you take delivery... As apposed to those who wait the 500 or 1000 miles to break in ??

If a new vehicle comes in sooner or later than expected and you have a trip planned , what do you do ? cancel the trip... tow with it ...??

I have always been in the break it in like your going to drive it camp and that has worked so far..

[rhagfo]

ford truck guy wrote:
The question I have is how many of you tow your trailers as soon as you take delivery... As apposed to those who wait the 500 or 1000 miles to break in ??

If a new vehicle comes in sooner or later than expected and you have a trip planned , what do you do ? cancel the trip... tow with it ...??

I have always been in the break it in like your going to drive it camp and that has worked so far..

Come on 500 miles! That would be a 10 to 12 hour trip and about $150 at most worth of fuel. I would take a trip to the Oregon south coast without the 5er, mix of flat and hills Highway and city. If only a single drive spend the night a reasonable cost Hotel.

[goducks10]

stro1965 wrote:
My '12 Ford manual suggested waiting 500 miles. My '14 Ram manual says no need to wait at all, and actually recommends towing heavy within the first few thousand miles to help break it in!

The 500 mile break in is in the manual. It's in the 1500/2500/3500 section. Only the diesel supplement has the no break in-tow heavy for 6000 mile part.

[AH64ID]

As it was mentioned the break-in in differential related, and nothing else.

I also beleive the Ram manual says not to exceed 50 for the first 500 miles of towing. That's a limit I would stay closer to if you hook up at 501 miles, but if you don't tow for the first 5,000 or 10,000 or more miles I wouldn't worry about it too much.

If you tow at the 501 mile mark and the trailer is heavy I would plan a few extra rest stops that are a little longer than normal to let the diff cool, that is if your going more than 100-150 miles.

[stro1965]

My '12 Ford manual suggested waiting 500 miles. My '14 Ram manual says no need to wait at all, and actually recommends towing heavy within the first few thousand miles to help break it in!

[NC_Hauler]

I've alway's followed what the owners manual suggested. These vehicles aren't cheap and I'll follow all recommendations, "just in case"....figure nothing bad would happen one way or the other, BUT, I'm not going to take that chance. So again, the diesel supplement one get's with their diesel equipped truck and the owners manual should be read and followed if at all possible. "Better safe than sorry":)

[DutchmenSport]

Um.... well ..... I towed my trailer as part part of my test drive right off the dealer's lot when we got our new truck (see my signature below), about 6 weeks ago. The truck had 14 miles on it. The next 10 miles were driven with just the truck. The next 10 was with the trailer. We waited a day to swap vehicles, because I had so much junk in my truck and I had to remove the shell. So the next several miles were driving short trips, to work and back again, etc.

Then I had to take my camper back to the dealer because I needed to change my weight distribution system, so I towed the trailer again (by now, it was around 300 miles), and towed the trailer about 50 miles.

You know what? After all that ... THEN I read in the owners manual not to tow for the first 500 miles! DUH!

Well, I suppose if there would have been an issue, the dealer should have stopped me dead-in-my-tracks when I did the test drive. So, I'm assuming everything is just fine!

The manual also gave specific instruction against excessive braking, locking down the brakes, ect, for the first several miles so the pad can get broken in. Also said to repeat whenever the brake pads are replaced.

Well, my truck just turned over 1000 miles, and I've not had any problems. So I don't think towing that trailer affected anything. Still, had I known, I probably would have towed anyway!

[kaydeejay]

ford truck guy wrote:
Thanks ALL... I have never had to deal with timing like this... Truck is due to dealer next week ( the 5th )... I have a company picnic planned on that weekend ( 10th ) with many other trailers..
I have contacted the dealer and told them I will take delivery the following week.. that will give me plenty of break in time before my next scheduled trip ...

The component that REALLY needs breaking in is not the engine or transmission, it's the differential(s). Those crown wheel/pinion combinations are set to very fine tolerances and WILL overheat if pushed too hard too soon. They REALLY need to bed in before taking full load.
Not saying that will guarantee a noisy axle if you don't wait, but it certainly would swing to odds in that direction if you load it up from the get-go!

[Perrysburg_Dodg]

ford truck guy wrote:
Thanks ALL... I have never had to deal with timing like this... Truck is due to dealer next week ( the 5th )... I have a company picnic planned on that weekend ( 10th ) with many other trailers..
I have contacted the dealer and told them I will take delivery the following week.. that will give me plenty of break in time before my next scheduled trip ...

Sounds like the best plan to me.

Don

[ford_truck_guy]

Thanks ALL... I have never had to deal with timing like this... Truck is due to dealer next week ( the 5th )... I have a company picnic planned on that weekend ( 10th ) with many other trailers..
I have contacted the dealer and told them I will take delivery the following week.. that will give me plenty of break in time before my next scheduled trip ...

[ianmac23]

You can drive 500 miles in 1 day. I would break it in first. Mine is not a diesel but mine also gave a speed limit when towing the first 500 miles which was 55mph

[ependydad]

TucsonJim wrote:
My 2013 Owner's manual (diesel supplement) was very specific about this. "Drive your vehicle at least 500 miles before towing a trailer". It also stated that for the first 1000 miles, you should make sure you vary your speed and not drive at one consistent speed.

I would NOT tow with it during the first 500 miles.

Same here. I drove it for the sake of driving it to hit the 500 miles before my first tow (which was only a 3,000 pop-up but it was on the hitch none the less).

[dbbls]

If I had a trip planned and didn't have 500 miles on it I would delay the trip and drive until I reached 500 miles. But it is your truck so you can do what you want.

[45Ricochet]

I follow the book since it's under warranty. Besides that when I bought it I had a 1400 mile drive back home :W

[TucsonJim]

Here is the diesel supplement for the 2014 Ford diesel manual. See page 3 "Breaking-in Your Vehicle" for information:

Ford Diesel Supplement

I'm sure other manufacturers have similar information

[TucsonJim]

My 2013 Owner's manual (diesel supplement) was very specific about this. "Drive your vehicle at least 500 miles before towing a trailer". It also stated that for the first 1000 miles, you should make sure you vary your speed and not drive at one consistent speed.

I would NOT tow with it during the first 500 miles.