High engine oil and coolantvtwmp when towing

[Longball]

When I tow my travel trailer, 24 ft, 5300 lbs max weight, my coolant temp can hit 235, oil temp 250, espicially when pulling grades, in the summer. These temps are above my comfort zone, and very close to doing damage.
I have a 2019 1500 with the 5.7, tow package, 3.92 rear end.

I live in CA with summertime ambient Temps of 85 to 105 F. We usually are heading up the Sierras, or heading South, pulling the Grapevine.

I'm thinking of installing an aftermarket oil cooler and a heavy duty radiator. Has anyone done these upgrades?

 

[Mr.Grid]

Those are normal hot weather towing temps up long grades (5.5% for me) that I have experienced last year towing 7k# @ 24’. I don’t see any issue with it using full synthetic 0w20 in my 2022 that is recommended. The earlier models (prior 2022) have 5w20 oil requirements. Some here choose to run a slightly heavier viscosity oil towing. I change oil/ filter every 5k miles as I tow 75% of the time and have 18k miles on the truck now.

 

[JF19Longhorn]

My temps towing my 24'x8.5' trailer @ 7k lbs up a decent grade (east coast) last summer (95F+).



I think your temps are high. Try slowing down alittle? You might have to much frontal area for your truck?

Only thing I've done is change both diffs and the transfer case to Amisoil and make sure my trailer & truck tires are right around max psi.

Your truck should already have the largest radiator & oil coolers RAM offers in the 1500.

 

[silver billet]

Definitely switch to a high quality 5w-30. Good candidates are RL 5w-30, HPL Euro 5w-30, or even Mobil 1 0w-40. If you run Mobil 1 then add LubeGuard for that extra moly.

It "may" void your warranty, nobody really knows if that's true and I haven't actually seen a definite denial from FCA due to this oil change. Your truck is old enough though that I'd be worried about the health of the engine past the warranty period and not the remaining time you possibly might need it.

Only reason to run 20 weight is for CAFE reasons, 30 weight has much higher HTHS/MOFT and will protect your bearings etc at those temps.

Some have had luck pulling out the active grill shutters. Others have done an external cooler, or even a dual remote filter bypass.

 

[Darksteel165]

How is hot oil going to cause damage?

The oil itself should be fine unless you are using crap.
I use mobile 1.

This is from their website.

Mobil 1 motor oils offer a full range of temperature protection: For cold starts, the oil keeps flowing as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit, and it can withstand high temperatures of up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.​

I hit 250 on oil temp when going 110 (not towing obviously) so it's possible to get high temps.
I don't see any problems.

The coolant also only starts to flow at 203 degrees, you can swap out the thermostat for a 160 or 180 and get it flowing quicker, but i'm not sure if it would matter on long tow trips.

 

[Rlaf75]

I don't tow often but to me those Temps seem to be about right to maybe slightly elevated but nothing too crazy