2014 silverado 5.3, 3.42 gears, rated to tow 9600 lbs. Towing travel trailer weight at 5460 lbs. Truck bought new and very well maintained but at 154k miles. Most of the way from Hamilton ohio to gatlinburg tn going 60 to 70 mph trans ran about 180 degrees. Hauling up jellico mtn i hit 210 degrees. Never any trouble towing my bassboat at 3200 pounds. Anyone here drag something up jellico and see hot temps like this? Seems to run and drive fine and cooled down a bit after i quit climbing.also i did away with the trans thermostat a while back
Am i overthinking this? I just changed filter and fliun for the 4th time and fluid is clear/pink.

You could add a transmission cooler.  I guess it depends on how often you pull the heavier trailer as to if it’s worth doing that.

Attached File
Attached File
Attached File

Max gross on my truck is 15000.

Oh there is gonna be another external cooler put on. Just hoping i didn't damage the trans. Guess i might find out on the way home. Down here at jjeep invasion with some friends.

I'm pulling about the same with a F150.  Speed and ambient temps make a HUGE difference.

I try to pull at 60-65.  Temps stay around 180 usually.

On a 100 degree day, if I pull 70mph, I'll get 200-210 lickety split.  Would be even worse with any kind of major incline.  I have the factory transmission cooler but if I were going to do anything cross country with climbs I'd be upgrading that to a MUCH bigger cooler.

You didn't do a BIT of damage.

Transmission temps are on a scale for how long they will operate when pushed at certain temps.  



Bumping 210-220 for short periods would not bother me a bit.  Pulling all the time at 220 will shorten the lifespan of the transmission.  Obviously each manufacturer and model will vary a little on their expected safe ranges.

My thoughts are that you are under each axle's weight rating and under the total weight rating on the truck, It looks like you have a weight distributing hitch setup.  Did you weigh with everything loaded in both the truck and trailer as if you were ready to hit the road (that will make a big difference)?  When loaded and hitched, measure from the ground to the frame in the front and back of the trailer.  In the photo, it looks like you may be an inch or two higher in the front of the trailer.  If it is, that will cause slightly more wind resistance.  On the trans temp, if that was only over several miles going up a steep upgrade, I wouldn't worry too much-but check with the OEM's specs to be sure.

I suggest that if you find the time, weigh your truck alone without the trailer, again with the truck loaded for a trip (I used several hundred pounds of lead ingots placed in our truck strategically placed to represent spouse, dog, and what else we would typically have in the cab and truck bed.  This second weighing will allow you to monitor how much of the trailer's weight is on the truck and how much the trailer axles are carrying.  Unless you make a major load change in the truck, trailer, or both, that will generally represent what you have.

I started with a 29'TT, and last towed a 33" fiver. I bought the 2010 Dodge 3500, overkill for the TT, but reasonable for the 5ver.  Hitched, I was over the truck's GVWR by a couple hundred, but I was 2-300 lbs. under on each of the truck axles.....So. I didn't worry.

ETA.....My trailer tires were rated for 65 mph, but I almost always used 60 mph for my max, even on interstates....right lane, of course.

I weighed a few days before the trip loaded to travel minus my wife. I was only that hot maybe 10 minutes. The when i wentback to regular driving it went back to the 180's.

That wouldn't even concern me.

Good lord is that a 1 ton rated suburban?

Not all towing is equal.

Campers & tall box trailers created a lot more wind resistance and thus need more effort (heat) to overcome same - especially as speeds increase.

Pulling a car or a load of pipe on a flatbed may be equal in weight, but is much easier to pull.

The rebuilder who built the tranny for my old 7.3 powered F-350 told me that trans temps of 100 degrees over ambient temp was normal under a hard pull. 120-130 over and you better be slowing down and dropping gears.

210 wouldn't concern me at all.

You are over thinking it.

Much of the knowledge about temperatures and fluids was based on older technology.
Modern fluids have a wider operating range, and you were slightly warm for a short amount of time.

This is something I have tried to stay on top of with my truck and new to me camper bought nov 2021 my first camper too. Towing with a 2019 ford f250 6.2 gasser with six speed trans and 3.73 gears with small lift and 20 35 inch 12.50 tires I kinda wish now when I order the truck I would’ve went with 4.30 gears next truck will have 4.88 in a f450. Ok with all that I saw 212 coming home first time with camper from dealer no mountains just some good size hill from Byron Ga to griffin Ga so there’s the area. I went to the most trusted and most praised transmission guy in our area and spoke with him thinking it may need a second trans cooler for summer time hauls. He said as long as you don’t see 235/240 no problem but service the transmission every 30000 miles filter and what ever fluid it takes to fill it back up do not do a trans flush. I just had it changed recently they said fluid was dark but if you read up on fords lv trans fluid it says this is something common with that mileage. I’ve pulled our camper from here in Georgia to West Virginia and pulling fancy gap up I77 in April I saw a top trans temp of 212 and 63 mph on cruise I thought that was pretty good jelico isn’t much more of a pull to me than fancy gap I ran them all for close to thirty years driving a tractor trailer for a living now take something like mont eagle and that would be a pull especially up the west bound side. Hope this helps with some questions some have but the best thing I can say is I have never broke wore something out by over servicing it

Quoted for truth.
My transmission guy never ram a temp gauge and said ‘you’re not going to stop on the hill.’