Things that I have learned about towing

[dflesher65]

I just came back from a 2 week road trip to Silverton CO and the North Rim, It was a hot trip through Arizona with my LJ, towing an AT Chaser for its first long distance tripand loaded to the hilt. I had my wife and dog along with me and it started getting warm east of Kingman heading up to Flagstaff. I went as far as I could w/out the AC and shortly after the engine temp gauge started creeping up. I pulled off the road and let it cool down for a while and continued my trip...without AC.

What did I learn? I need a transmission cooler for my auto transmission and maybe upgraded radiator

The next part of my trip took me up to Silverton CO and its steep grades...my speed and my RPMs went down fast and I shifted in 2nd gear and slowly make it up the grades.

What did I learn? My 4.10 gears and pulling a trailer won’t work very well...4.88s are a must, I have 305-70/16 tires.

I least this time my wife understands why I need to spend more money on my Jeep.:bike_rider::bike_rider:

Silverton and the North Rim ROCK!:wings:

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Night and day with gears, e-fan, aluminum radiator, and tranny cooler.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

My vote is for a Electric fan and huge tranny cooler and synthetic fluids.

 

[bob91yj]

We weren't pulling a trailer, but I was running 36" TSL/SX's with 4.10 gears when we were there three years ago in my LJ.

That trip was the first time I've ever wanted more power from my Dura-Max in the tow rig as well. With the turbo, the diesel isn't affected by altitude the way a normally aspirated engine is. The grades between Durango and Silverton are brutal! I actually thought I had a problem with my truck at one point. It was dark out so I didn't realize how steep the grade was, truck was dropped down to second gear struggling up one of the hills, I thought it had powered down till I looked at my exhaust temp and boost gauges.

Need a trip report and pics, I'm so ready to be there again, Aug 5th can't get here soon enough.

Were headed there again in a couple of weeks. Jeep has been regeared to 5.13's since that trip.

 

[dflesher65]

Those grades are brutal for sure! The biggest problem is all those damn curves and not being able to keep your momentum going. The road between Ouray and Silverton is even worse and no guard rails!

 

[bldeagle10]

on those curves you gotta have the sway bars connected and drive it like an indy car my cherokee hugs the curves surprisingly well, but then again it is stock height and tires...