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“I think heat is the biggest factor in towing,” Mayer tells me. “The vehicle runs too hot.”
How do you handle the heat?
“First thing, make sure you have adequate vehicle. Size the vehicle to the load that you’re pulling.”
In other words, don’t try to pull 5,000 pounds with a vehicle rated only for 2,000 pounds.That’s a recipe for disaster.
“Next, give yourself a good margin for loading camping, hunting, or fishing gear. The weight of your family or a couple of buddies also needs to be figured in. You have to compensate for the additional load. Most people don’t realize how much weight they’re adding to the vehicle because they’re packing it in a little bit at a time.”
Good point. Weight can build up unexpectedly in several ways. Let’s take the boat, for example. How did you determine its weight? In all probability, you simply noted a figure in the manufacturer’s sales brochure—say, 400 pounds.
But that may reflect only the weight of the hull. By the time you add the engine and other accessories, such as the trailer, you could be dealing with as much as 1,000 pounds.
And don’t forget the weight of the fuel (boat and vehicle) or water (in recreational vehicles). Figure about 6 pounds per gallon of gasoline, 8 pounds per gallon of water
“The best—and easiest—way to determine whether your tow vehicle can handle the load,” says Mayer, “is to look up the gross vehicle weight (GV’Q(3 in the owner’s manual. Hitch up the boat or camping trailer, fill the fuel tanks (on the boat as well as the truck), and load up all the additional gear and people.Then take it to a sand and gravel pit, grain elevator, building and supply company, county waste disposal site, or moving company. These facilities have large drive-on scales, and for a nominal fee you’ll get an accurate read on your truck’s total weight.
“You do that, you’ll know exactly what you’re dealing with. I think many people will find that they’re overloaded—and that extra weight will kill a vehicle.”
Why? Because weight creates heat. And the component that is most vulnerable to heat is the automatic transmission.