Quote:
Originally Posted by RogerR
If your truck did not come with a hitch I would recommend you install a transmission oil cooler. Not terribly expensive, maybe $200 installed. This will help protect your transmission as overheated transmission fluid will not lubricate properly and a transmission rebuild is in the thousands. Additionally, your transmission fluid and oil will have to be changed on the rough or severe duty interval if you tow more than a few hundred miles a year.
|
Yes!!! Get the biggest and baddest trany cooler you can wedge in between the grill and the radiator and if you can swing it, a bigger trany pan also! You will want to keep that fluid as cool as possible. Having a bigger pan and a really big cooler also increases the fluid capacity which helps tremendously in making the fluid retain it's viscosity.
Now one thing that was not mentioned is your battery charging system. That 7 pin Bargman has two poles (or pins or connectors...one + and one - ) that are made to carry a 12 volt current back to the trailer. This (and correct me Mr. Bill if I'm wrong) 12 volt current is what makes the brakes work on your trailer, but not only that, it can charge the battery on your trailer while you're driving. So when you have the wiring done to hook up your trailer hitch wires, make sure they also run at least a AWG #10 positive wire (the lager the better...and here again, anyone, correct me on this, because I am NOT the expert) back to that 12 volt pin in your Bargman plug receptacle. Make sure that it also has a very good ground (negative) wire as well.
Now one more thing you might consider when you have these 12 volt wires hooked up (and a lot of the time they just hook it directly to your tow vehicle's battery) and will be going to your trailers battery, is to have a battery isolator. What this does is it disconnects your tow vehicle's battery from your trailer's battery when you turn the key off on your tow vehicle. You might ask...Why? Well I'll tell you. Say you stop to have a bite to eat or to see an attraction or for any reason where you won't be using your tow vehicle for some time, and it just sits there. If the battery in your trailer is pretty much drained, it will suck the power right out of your tow vehicle's battery in an effort to charge itself up. Then when you go to start the tow vehicle up, the battery is dead and won't start the engine. So to avoid this and hearing it from the "Management", you might look into a battery isolator that is only "on" when you tow vehicle's ignition switch is turned on.
As for getting the drop hitch, they do make ones that are adjustable so you can get the correct height without the guess work...however they cost a bit more.
Finally a little tip I was taught by a good friend marine mechanic who deals with trailers all day long. This has to do with backing up a trailer. The rule is this: Whatever direction you wish the trailer to go, turn the BOTTOM of the steering wheel in that direction...so if you want the rear end of your trailer to go to the right (or curbside), you would turn the BOTTOM of your steering wheel to the right (in actuality your turning the whole steering wheel to the left). Hope that's understandable.
Oh and one more thing...Welcome to the Trailmanor Owners Forum....the best $12 you will ever spend.
Hope this all helped...
Tom
ps...just FOR FUN
...let me
"PUSH" my website here where I do NOT sell anything, but only share ideas FREELY with anyone that wants to take the time to look...it's:
http:/www.trickmytrailmano.com
