Transmission Cooler Needed?

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Minimike

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Well we have our 18' camper trailer that starting this summer we plan to do lots of camping, most of it highway driving. Now I do see a small transmission cooler next to the rad but is this enough? I know from experience that heat is a killer of transmissions. Would it be worth upgrading to a larger cooler? A larger cooler will also hold more fluid. Just looking for your opinions here. Here are the specs for the trailer.

  • 18' long single axle
  • 2000 lbs unloaded
  • 2600 lbs loaded (not including fresh or gray water)
  • 3000 lbs fully loaded
  • has a load leveling receiver

Thanks:party52:
 

LibertyTC

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Minimike

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LibertyFever

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You'll soon get a lot of advice on towing. A lot of us tow some pretty big loads, bigger than 3,000 lbs.

Kudos on the load leveling hitch. They're worth every penny. Do you need electric brakes? I'm surprised that an 18" trailer would have just a single axle.

I would think that your stock ****** cooler should be sufficient to tow about 3,000 lbs. Use the cruise control and be sure to turn off the O/D or else the transmission will be shifting excessively.
 

Minimike

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how bad is the drop in MPG when O/D is off vs O/D on? I don't feel like wearing out the lockup TC so I will always tow with O/D off I was just curious.
 

HoosierJeeper

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I towed a 3k trailer cross country, and got about 10 MPG on average, more if I was in the flat lands with overdrive on, less in the mountains and traffic with it off...
 
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