External Transmission Cooler?

Hope this is the right place to ask this... I plan on taking my truck out to Glamis (CA - Imperial sand dunes) towards the end of October. No off-road, we'll be buggy'ing it up while there. My question is whether or not I should invest in an external transmission cooler. 2019 SR, automatic tran. I've heard mixed views on it. It's about a 2.5 - 3 hour trip for me and temps will likely be upper 80's, low 90's at the time. I've only had the truck for a week now and this the first of what will be many desert camping trips so even if I don't need it for this trip, will I likely need one in the future? Any input or advice is appreciated!

 

Anything you can do to get the Transmission Fluid away from Engine Coolant is always good the way I look at things.

Do you plan to tow or carry heavy loads over the Mountain Passes ?

 

No towing or heavy loads for this trip, but in the future I'll be loading up for 5-7 day camping trips to northern CA, Vegas, Utah, etc. This is just a quick weekend trip to Glamis but I'm thinking I should get one before attempting a 6 hour drive to/through Utah, especially during summer trips.

 

I would recommend getting a Scangauge II. Let’s you watch your transmission temperatures. Mid 90’s in summer is routine around here and a cooler is not necessary for driving on roads. Off road (or beach), if you start pushing over 220F pan temps pullover, let the truck pant, and then down shift to 3rd gear and drive.

Also on sand air down the tires, 15-17 psi.

 

Great input, thanks! Definitely going to look into that. I've heard some say that it's not necessary if I'm not towing, and I've heard others say that it IS necessary even if you're not towing, but driving for 3+ hours in 90°+ heat there seems to be a bit of gray area or something. And thanks for the psi tip