[Goneracin]

My truck isn't getting any younger, but she still tows pretty well. I'm always looking for ways to improve the reliability and safety while towing, so I thought I would start with what I have done, and look to see if there are any other ideas out there to help make it better.

(Let me start by saying, I understand my lift kit does not help at all, but it has been so long now, I don't have the stock parts anymore, and the gearing would make it impossible with stock tires.)

Truck is a 2001 F-250 7.3 Automatic 150,000 miles.

8 inch suspension lift with 37 inch tires. (Probably the biggest anti towing mod)
4 inch down pipe, 5 inch downpipe back exhaust
Bellowed up pipes
Billet compressor wheel
4.56 gears, limited slip
Additional transmission cooler
2008 finned rear end cover
Gauges, EGT, Boost, Trans temp
Brake controller
Weight distributing hitch

What else is there that could be done to help improve the towing capabilities of the truck?

Currently we tow our camper @ about 8000 lbs, usually between 100 and 300 miles each way, about 1000 to 1200 miles a year.

The truck has never been chipped, and I don't want to jeopardize the engine or transmission with a hot tune, but I wouldn't be against a mild one.

The only issue I have is some hills will cause me to slow to about 60 mph, causing EGT to rise because the engine can not make boost at the lower RPM, so I need to dowwnshift to keep the EGT below 1200. Its not a huge deal, but if there are some other pointers, I'm listening.

I'm hoping people can chime in with some recommendations, not just for me, but maybe it can help other members out there too.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Makinnoyz1]

A hydra with a CUSTOM tow tune will help a ton with keeping egts down and the trans cool. Other than that I would say that you have pretty much everything covered man. I seen you said you have a billet wheel, a cold air intake (such as an s+b) coupled with that will also help if you don't have that already.

 

[Goneracin]

Thanks for the reply. The intake I have is an older K&N unit, but I run a paper filter instead of the original unit. I'm sure there are better air boxes out there now that would pull in much lower temps. I'll take a look.

I also started looking at towing tunes last night.

 

[cjfisher]

I think an intercooler may help quite a bit. I just got done installing one on my 97 (Search: Project Jumbo). I haven't yet pulled anything heavy with it, but I have noticed that the power doesn't seem to "fade" as much when climbing hills as it did before the intercooler. I have other constraints in my setup, but you might look at Lt.Dan's build (Search: Project Shamu) I believe it is around page 53 where he installs the intercooler with CSD pipes. As the turbo winds up and really starts to compress, the air gets super hot (I have read that it can get as hot as 300, 400 degrees). The engine has to then further compress this hot air, which then get all that much hotter after the fuel is added. Cooling the air first will make it denser and requires less effort from the engine to compress. As you started with cooler air, the exhaust will be that much cooler as well. Just some thoughts.

Cj

 

[Goneracin]

Thank you CJ, and I do agree that an intercooler does help a lot to cool that hot compressed air. However my truck has a factory intercooler, and I have heard there isn't a very big improvement with an aftermarket one, especially for the big cost.

If the truck does not have an intercooler, yes, that air does get hot, and it will drastically hurt the performance. Its a vicious cycle, the hotter the air, the less dense. The less dense, the richer the burn, which in turn makes EGTs hotter, which in turn heats the hot side of the turbo, which heats the compressor side too....... and around and around we go.

 

[cjfisher]

Opps. I missed that it was a 2001 .

 

[Goneracin]

Still good info for the next person searching the forums.

 

[Goneracin]

Well I finally ordered a DP tuner chip, and put it in last week. Still getting used to it, we will see how it tows next month.

 

[Goneracin]

It's been a while so I figured I would update this post.

I did end up getting a DP Tuner 8 position chip, with some mild tunes. Stock, 60 hp tow, 80 hp tow, Decel, and 80 hp economy.

I got the 60 hp tune because I wasn't sure if the 80 would be too "hot" for towing. Turns out the 80 hp tow tune is just fine. EGT seem a bit lower because there is more boost available now. Makes it very easy to trigger the SES light on long uphill pulls. The Decel tune is selectable for when off throttle and decelerating downhill or for an exit. I love it, I strongly suggest it, especially when towing. Just make sure to switch it back before you get on the gas. The 80 hp economy has just made the truck more fun to drive when not towing.

I did also add an oil temperature gauge per Jody's recommendations at DP Tuner, he mentioned not to exceed 220 degrees. I did see close to that one time in very hot weather towing through the mountains, but we were also in pretty heavy traffic.