Towing an enclosed trailer with 250k

[Tozan]

I am moving from Arizona to Louisiana and thinking about towing a small uhaul trailer with my motorcycle and some other stuff total weight might be around 4000 pounds.

I am running 410 gears have 250 miles on the Tahoe around 5000 on the last transmission rebuild.
I am wondering how risky this might be on breaking down.
I ll be doing this end of June through some pretty hot areas (Arizona, New Mex, Texas). I imagine outside temps will be in the hundreds most of the way there...

What do yall think?

 

[Doubeleive]

I am moving from Arizona to Louisiana and thinking about towing a small uhaul trailer with my motorcycle and some other stuff total weight might be around 4000 pounds.

I am running 410 gears have 250 miles on the Tahoe around 5000 on the last transmission rebuild.
I am wondering how risky this might be on breaking down.
I ll be doing this end of June through some pretty hot areas (Arizona, New Mex, Texas). I imagine outside temps will be in the hundreds most of the way there...

What do yall think?

SEND IT

 

[Marky Dissod]

... moving from AZ to LA, thinking about towing a small uhaul trailer,
with my motorcycle and some other stuff total weight might be around 4000lb.

... running 4.10 gears have 250k miles on the Tahoe around 5000 on the last transmission rebuild.
... wondering how risky this might be on breaking down.
... doing this end of June through some pretty hot areas (AZ, NM, TX).
... imagine outside temps will be in over 100F most of the way there.

What do y'all think?

SEND IT.

Short answer: go looking for the problem(s) that you think might sideline your Tahoe before your trip.
Longer answer: you should have a reasonable idea of what you haven't spent any money on repairing / replacing in the past few years.
Ignore anything that is neither important nor urgent, until you determine the relative state of the important / urgent stuff.

If it's been more than 3 years since you refreshed the coolant, why not? Check coolant connectors.
Buy spare relays & fuses, plus extra antifreeze ... & H2O for y'all.

How long has it been since you serviced the AC? Would you consider installing one or two helper fans on your ATF cooler or radiator?

I'd be surprised if you don't know at least one mechanic who can help you apply pragmatic pessimism to answer your question more specifically.

 

[alpha_omega]

I am moving from Arizona to Louisiana and thinking about towing a small uhaul trailer with my motorcycle and some other stuff total weight might be around 4000 pounds.

I ll be doing this end of June through some pretty hot areas (Arizona, New Mex, Texas). I imagine outside temps will be in the hundreds most of the way there...

What do yall think?

I say don’t leave AZ for LA. You’ll miss the dry heat.

 

[B-train]

I say don’t leave AZ for LA. You’ll miss the dry heat.

That was my first thought too......I HATE hot and humid all in the same sentence.

 

[Doubeleive]

YA, Humidity sucks I don't know how you east coast guys stand it, bleh

 

[Pressureangle]

I am moving from Arizona to Louisiana and thinking about towing a small uhaul trailer with my motorcycle and some other stuff total weight might be around 4000 pounds.

I am running 410 gears have 250 miles on the Tahoe around 5000 on the last transmission rebuild.
I am wondering how risky this might be on breaking down.
I ll be doing this end of June through some pretty hot areas (Arizona, New Mex, Texas). I imagine outside temps will be in the hundreds most of the way there...

What do yall think?

I run El Paso to S. Florida regularly. Across Texas much of it has an 80mph speed limit which of course you won't try to match, right?

Cooling and A/C are primary. As suggested, flush and change the coolant and clean the condenser and radiator thoroughly, and the evaporator to the extent you can get at it.
Is it an electric or mechanical radiator fan? I might change the motor or clutch for new before the trip, if they're ~100k miles old.
I'm also a big fan of Chevron Delo ESI 85-140 if you haven't renewed your axle lube.

 

[TollKeeper]

I mean, why stress out on your truck. Rent a smaller U-haul truck, with car hauler trailer. Put the MotorCycle in the truck, and tow your rig. That track across Texas is not something I would wanna screw around with (thats 2 days), let along New Mex, Ariz.

Edit: Nevermind... Penske nor Uhaul allow your truck to be towed.

 

[Tozan]

I run El Paso to S. Florida regularly. Across Texas much of it has an 80mph speed limit which of course you won't try to match, right?

Cooling and A/C are primary. As suggested, flush and change the coolant and clean the condenser and radiator thoroughly, and the evaporator to the extent you can get at it.
Is it an electric or mechanical radiator fan? I might change the motor or clutch for new before the trip, if they're ~100k miles old.
I'm also a big fan of Chevron Delo ESI 85-140 if you haven't renewed your axle lube.

Yea I just did the trip last month without a trailer and running 80mph got things a little hotter than I like. Engine core temps got up to 245.

If I tow a trailer I will certainly limit my speed to 65 to 70.
I have an Elect fan cleaning out the cond. and rad are probably a good idea my evap has a filter and probably about due for a change. I think the coolant is two years old and I also have water wetter in it. I should change the trans fluid and rear lube too.

Heat is no big deal... It's much cooler in Louisiana compared to our 115 plus summers here... And you dry heat guys... lol The fact is if it hits a hundred plus HOT is HOT... and 95 with humidity is easy... Plus I grew up in So. Florida and humidity is easy...

Short answer: go looking for the problem(s) that you think might sideline your Tahoe before your trip.
Longer answer: you should have a reasonable idea of what you haven't spent any money on repairing / replacing in the past few years.
Ignore anything that is neither important nor urgent, until you determine the relative state of the important / urgent stuff.

If it's been more than 3 years since you refreshed the coolant, why not? Check coolant connectors.
Buy spare relays & fuses, plus extra antifreeze ... & H2O for y'all.

How long has it been since you serviced the AC? Would you consider installing one or two helper fans on your ATF cooler or radiator?

I'd be surprised if you don't know at least one mechanic who can help you apply pragmatic pessimism to answer your question more specifically.

Since I do a lot of running in the wilderness I carry a lot of spare parts now but, some relays might be in order.. Thanks for mentioning relays.

In my past life I was a auto tech but, It never hurts to query with some of the experts on here...

 

[Geotrash]

Yea I just did the trip last month without a trailer and running 80mph got things a little hotter than I like. Engine core temps got up to 245.

If I tow a trailer I will certainly limit my speed to 65 to 70.
I have an Elect fan cleaning out the cond. and rad are probably a good idea my evap has a filter and probably about due for a change. I think the coolant is two years old and I also have water wetter in it. I should change the trans fluid and rear lube too.

Heat is no big deal... It's much cooler in Louisiana compared to our 115 plus summers here... And you dry heat guys... lol The fact is if it hits a hundred plus HOT is HOT... and 95 with humidity is easy... Plus I grew up in So. Florida and humidity is easy...


Since I do a lot of running in the wilderness I carry a lot of spare parts now but, some relays might be in order.. Thanks for mentioning relays.

In my past life I was a auto tech but, It never hurts to query with some of the experts on here...

You might want to replace the baffles on either side of the radiator. I did mine with sheets of coroplast and it made a noticeable difference in coolant temps.

But I'll add my voice to those saying send it. We have guys here with 400K-500K on their rigs and the only way to get that is lots of trips. Heck, even brand new ones are shutting down on the highway. Our 2007 has 251K on it and I wouldn't hesitate to pull a trailer to California with it tomorrow.

 

[alpha_omega]

Yea I just did the trip last month without a trailer and running 80mph got things a little hotter than I like. Engine core temps got up to 245.

If I tow a trailer I will certainly limit my speed to 65 to 70.
I have an Elect fan cleaning out the cond. and rad are probably a good idea my evap has a filter and probably about due for a change. I think the coolant is two years old and I also have water wetter in it. I should change the trans fluid and rear lube too.

Heat is no big deal... It's much cooler in Louisiana compared to our 115 plus summers here... And you dry heat guys... lol The fact is if it hits a hundred plus HOT is HOT... and 95 with humidity is easy... Plus I grew up in So. Florida and humidity is easy...

Fluids and filters. Then like the other gents said: Send it!
You know to keep an eye on the temps and check your fluids after stopping for the night, so all good there - just top off as needed.

Enjoy the ride. Safe travels to you and yours. Keep us posted as to how things went.

 

[swathdiver]

I am moving from Arizona to Louisiana and thinking about towing a small uhaul trailer with my motorcycle and some other stuff total weight might be around 4000 pounds.

I am running 410 gears have 250 miles on the Tahoe around 5000 on the last transmission rebuild.
I am wondering how risky this might be on breaking down.
I ll be doing this end of June through some pretty hot areas (Arizona, New Mex, Texas). I imagine outside temps will be in the hundreds most of the way there...

What do yall think?

Getting closer to White City! LOL

Say hi to Chris @iamdub when you get to Louisiana.

If the temps climb during the tow, shift to 4th gear and slow down a bit. 4th offers maximum cooling the engineers said.

 

[Tozan]

Getting closer to White City! LOL

Say hi to Chris @iamdub when you get to Louisiana.

If the temps climb during the tow, shift to 4th gear and slow down a bit. 4th offers maximum cooling the engineers said.

I wish I could afford to live in White City again... lol I hope to be in the area next year for my 50th High school reunion.

 

[John Hanses]

I am moving from Arizona to Louisiana and thinking about towing a small uhaul trailer with my motorcycle and some other stuff total weight might be around 4000 pounds.

I am running 410 gears have 250 miles on the Tahoe around 5000 on the last transmission rebuild.
I am wondering how risky this might be on breaking down.
I ll be doing this end of June through some pretty hot areas (Arizona, New Mex, Texas). I imagine outside temps will be in the hundreds most of the way there...

What do yall think?

I'd install a transmission cooler - in expensive and one thing that makes a big difference!