newb towing advice. long distance

[spoolinturbo]

This is my first truck got it yesterday...04 xe 4x4 auto. book says 5000lbs max towing.

i am being stationed in alaska so i bought a truck. and im towing my other car which weighs about 2600lbs i plan on using a dolly to reduce trailer weight, and i really wont have that much other weight coming with me.

and im in florida so this is almost a 5000 mile trip. ill be driving 8-10hrs a day for 10+ days.

anything i can do to the tranny to prolong its life...make it more durable...or work easier during this tow? i will prob keep it around 60mph the whole time.

any tips/advice?

[1fstmax]

get a big trans cooler! heat kills auto transmissions!

[spoolinturbo]

thanx ill def get one of those installed!

heres a few shots i took today

[Titanws6]

Truck looks really nice, good find.
Is that Cape Canaveral in the back ground?
I just moved to GA from FL and ended up towing a 6x12 Uhaul up here that was full to brim. In the hills and climbs, I would turn off the O/D to keep the rpms up and and maintain speed and momentum. I averaged around 13mpg on the trip which isnt too bad, I would guess you would probably get around 15. Thats gonna be a loong drive for yabut will be a memorable experience.

[spoolinturbo]

no thats the papermill in panama city haha. yea i hope everything goes well on this trip!! haha.

[Pilotguy]

Ever thought of selling the car in FL and getting another one in Alaska?

[roastbeef]

since its a stock truck and you are towing below ratings, it shouldn't be a problem. however, i'm not sure about what towing 2600lbs ten hours a day would do to it.
your truck has a tranny cooler from the factory, but its not the greatest.

if you are going to be towing often, invest in a quality tranny cooler. (stainless braided lines from the tranny to a cooler with its own fan).

if this is a one time thing, i would still invest in some sort of universal cooler that you could just integrate into your factory tranny cooler system. because of the expansion properties of rubber hoses, be sure you use quality clamps, and check them often.

thankyou for your service to our country.

[spoolinturbo]

no i have a 1988 mitsubishi starion esi-r fiji blue...took me years to find this car...and there are none in alaska...ill be the first haha. yea i was on autozone.com and saw coolers from 40-70$ ill get under there and look at what im getting into for that.

any advice for adding some lighting on the vehicle? because i am kind of going out into the wilderness for this trip on the LCAN haha

thanx for all the great advice so far. i have a few communities i frequent. my starion community is always very good. but i had a porsche 944 once, and those online forums were just ridiculous.

[Cliff]

you are going to miss Eglin, i can promise you that, but you make mad loot in AK. I towed 3700 with my truck, v6 2wd, from Eglin to New Mexico with no problems, did around 55-60 the whole time, just gas mileage drop, who would have thought.

[roastbeef]

i have this;
B&M 70297 B&M Hi-Tek Cooling System
and i had these lines made to replace the hardlines and run stainless braided from the tranny all the way to the cooler. i completely bypassed the factory cooler, which is built into the bottom portion of the tiny frontier radiator.


when i first added a cooler, i tried to go the economy route and it really bit me in the a$$. i had to constantly babysit the hose clamps because they would come loose and leak. i snugged them up before a trip, and when i was in the desert womping around, the clamps quit and puked tranny fluid everywhere.
i decided that my tranny sees lots of stress, and quality is not something to skip on in high performance applications, especially when i'm going to be in the desert.

the total cost was around $430 for that cooler and those lines.

as far as lights, i'm quite pleased with my hella 4000's. they are a little bulky at 9" wide though. you can find them for about $80 a light without wiring.
another option would be a hella 500 kit, you get two 5" lights with a wiring kit for about $80. i was running them before my hella 4000's and they were quality lights.

hella 500's

hella 4000's