What kind of camper do you have?

I'm at 3,000 pounds ready to camp with my kz 19fkth...It's an awesome combination for my 05 tacoma prerunner with factory tow pkg. If I take the HD sportster then it adds another 600 punds. We don't live near any mountains

 

Thats crazy, I tow my 3000lb dry wolf pup with my 2011 2.7 5 speed stock gears and 33's lol, I mean it makes the truck work but I figured it would be a breeze with the 4L or 3.5......makes me think

 

Thanks for the update. That I-17 north is a pretty good climb. Lots of accidents too. I agree the back roads are more relaxed. I too plan to set my 14 OR up similar to your. Thanks again for the great info and tips.

 

Good reason to have auxiliary gauge monitoring. You won't see temperature spikes on the OEM gauges, nor trans temps.

210 mile trip, coolant temps never went over 198°, did have a short (30 sec) 188° trans temp spike
This while traveling at 65mph pulling a 3500lb popup camper
Temps dropped to 190° coolant and 145° trans in 55mph zones

My junk has 265k on it

 

I'd hardly call 188f a spike for the transmission temp....I start worrying when it gets to 230f when towing and I see 190f on a hot day without anything in tow.

 

188° Is a "spike" when normal is 145-160° when towing
135° when not
190° on a normal day, yes, this was sustained 197° on what started as 85° when we left then climbed to 95° for awhile til we got closer to beach.

I wasn't concerned with the temp at all, I deal with this every day.
The point of the post wasn't the actual temps but the ability to keep track of them.
Many have no idea other than what the factory gauges tell them, and that leads to trouble quick when shit goes bad.
The coolant temp had risen 10° from normal and the factory gauge didn't move to reflect that. Which is typical, and can be a problem, they usually don't rise until well after there is an actual problem, by then it's too late in many cases

 

Mine is in the 190's on warm days from the day I left the dealership at 1km

 

Normal operating temp for the transmission is not 145-160 and there are no factory gauges to monitor it. You have to get a scan gauge or ultragauge and I believe the "normal" operating temp is closer to 185 for a warmed up transmission.

 

Which is why you see in the picture a Scan Gsuge display in my junk, the 166°TFT is trans fluid temp. And that is at 65mph on a 90° day pulling a 3500lb load and had been pulling for 30-40 minutes by that time.
Rarely does the trans temp go above that.
Unloaded the trans temp hovers in the 145-155° range
Again, you're lost on the purpose of the post
If you're hauling or towing you should have a better means of keeping track of temps, the factory gauges and sensors are not enough.

 

I just returned from a 1100 mile round trip vacation from Rhode Island to Niagara Falls. I was towing a 25' Travel Trailer, weight 5500LBS loaded, 3 people in the truck, truck is a 13 DCSB, 3"lift Rancho suspension, 285/70/17, Firestone Ride Rite Air Bags, Volant CAI with scoop, WD with sway control. Here is the low down on my Scan gauge temperatures during the trip.
Trip to Niagara Falls, these are temps from lowest to highest
Outside temp 88*F
engine temp - 175*F - 225*F
TFT (converter) - 190*F - 253*F
TFT (pan temp) - 190*F - 220*F

Return Trip
Outside Temp - 93*F
engine temp - 175 - 210*F
TFT (converter) - 190*F - 240*F
TFT (pan Temp) - 190*F - 212*F

Averaged 9 MPG, 60 - 65 MPH

Truck did not struggle at all, it handled well, up and down many long hills. Although I am considering looking into a larger Trans Cooler.

 

Thanks for the numbers!

 

Thanks for the numbers @gmann1972

The wife and I are looking a some travel trailers and we found a nice 22ft Starcraft. We're not ready to pull the trigger yet but we are very close. I just hope I can get it down my driveway.

 

That's a good choice, should be pretty easy to tow. Good luck, remember to keep an eye on the trans temp (if you have a scan gauge).

 

we looked at a brand new starcraft a few years back...The build quality was horrible,not sure if that has all changed or not. Just look it over very good...enjoy your new trailer

 

Thank you. I do plan on looking at a few more before we make our final decision.

 

I can tell you my wife and I spent hours and hours checking out campers. The brands with the best build quality were...Camplite,Keystone passport,lance

 

I totally agree, but they are expensive, but built with quality.

 

As with anything, you get what you pay for.
I know our Flagstaff is made from little of nothing, it's gets upgraded as things deteriorate. Was the plan when we purchased it new. A platform that I could screw up all by myself without having to unfuck someone else's attempts like the first camper we had.
Get what you can afford, improve it over time, make it yours

 

Even different models under the same brand can have extreme variances in build quality

 

Very true.