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High Temp Towing Uphill

According to an article about coolant...a 50/50 mix will boil at 225 but still perform its duty til 265.

The tow ratings are for an equipment style trailer...a camper effectively lowers the tow rating per say. Because of the frontal area of the camper.

I am thinking you are fine...but it would not hurt to check coolant level and look for anything blocking the radiator. Never know about the tech who checked your truck and litter is always flying up on the roads
 
Oroman said:
J-Cooz: Thanks for comforting feedback. You did see I noted that coolant gauge was at 7/8 toward max? What is it about the 5.7 classic's cooling system that apparently allows for coolant temps over 240 - 246 without engine damage? Does the coolant warning light ever come on? If so when? Gauge at 100%?
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My coolant guage shows red after it hits 100%. so depending how you read 7/8s...you still had plenty of guage to qn overheat.

I think the truck performed as expected and you would have been fine had the grade been longer

As far as the gear...i drive mine with tow/haul engaged and 3rd gear selected. When pulling a grade...if the truck decides I need 2nd, I select 2nd until the hill is created. My 392 Hemi loves to pull at 4000...i try to keep it there when I can.

Unfortunately, our trucks are now tuned for fuel mileage...so we get the peppered down version when letting it think.

Your 8 spd is much different than my six speed...so your 3rd may do what my 2nd does.

You get the RPMS up for 2 things...A. That is were the power is and B. The fan will be going faster.

I think your truck is doing a good job for the task you ask of it.
 
When your coolant gauge has been at 7/8, what was your coolant temp? Any idea when the coolant warning light would come on?
 
Just got back from Ram service department. They tell me that the coolant warning light comes on at 250 degrees. The truck performed normally given the load, grade and air temp. This is what I needed to know! So if I have to climb a grade such as the one I described, I will do it at a cooler time of day and I think I will be fine. Thanks everyone for all the input.
 
Oroman said:
When your coolant gauge has been at 7/8, what was your coolant temp? Any idea when the coolant warning light would come on?
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I wouldn't worry to much about the gauge, they are kind of dummy gauges. They aren't super accurate and let you know only when things are out of limits.

My SRT jeep had a real temperature gauge and it would fluctuate like crazy. In traffic it would climb quite high and then cool off quickly after driving.
 
245 at close to max towing capacity? No problem. Transmission temp doesn't even come into play unless it was constantly shifting during this high-temp engagement. Driving on the highway without towing...my coolant reaches 220 easily. So needless to say...there's plenty of room to spare. If it reached 260...then I'd be concerned. My experience is from towing/hauling in the summer heat of Las Vegas (hot stuff) lol. What about your oil temp..?
Oroman said:
Help anyone. I have 2019 1500 classic with 5.7 hemi. I'm towing 7000 lb loaded trailer at 1200 lb total payload (with WD hitch)...I'm towing under my maximums. Yesterday climbed a 6 mile, 6% grade at 45 mph in tow/hail mode. My coolant temp hit 245 - 247 at the top. Yikes. I'm thinking no way is this normal. Gauge was halfway between 3/4 and redline..high temp coolant warning light DID NOT come on. Temp dropped quickly once I started going downhill. I'm waiting to hear from my service manager as to if this is normal...I don't believe it is. Ambient temp was 91 degrees. Again, I'm within towing specs. What's going on here? Can anyone opinion on this?
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245 at close to max towing capacity? No problem. Transmission temp doesn't even come into play unless it was constantly shifting during this high-temp engagement. Driving on the highway without towing...my coolant reaches 220 easily. So needless to say...there's plenty of room to spare. If it reached 260...then I'd be concerned. My experience is from towing/hauling in the summer heat of Las Vegas (hot stuff) lol. What about your oil temp..?
 
I'm still wondering if I had 3.92 gears (vs 3.21 that I have now), which would add 2000 lbs towing capacity, would the engine run cooler pulling same load?
 
Gears have nothing to do with the coolant. The 3.92 gears will just shift less and keep the truck in the power band longer. Which if you think about it, isnt that one of the features of tow/haul mode?
 
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If your truck is having trouble going up a hill in 6th or 5th, it will just downshift as often as needed to get your RPMs up, which is what gives you the power you need.

Your truck is heating up because it's revving high in the RPMs for a long time. The 3.92 will also require down shifting on that hill, and it will also rev very high in the RPMs to get max power, so it will also heat up just as much.

So the 3.92 is only really about power in first and second gear. As long as your truck has gears left to downshift into, it will end up choosing the same gear ratio that the 3.92 would need as well, whatever gear ratio it needs to boost your RPMs. When your truck is in first/second, and still struggling, that is when the 3.92 becomes very much a requirement to gain more power.
 
Great explanation. So the only real way to prevent an overheat while towing is using a truck with a larger engine?
 
I should revise that question. Technically my truck did not overheat as the coolant light did not come on. I learned from a Ram service center that the Ram 1500 coolant warning light comes on at 250 degrees. I had not reached that number, although I was close. So it seem that if one wanted ones truck to work less hard and not get as hot going up a long steep grade on a hot day pulling close to but not over Max towing, one would need more horsepower associated with a larger engine (say the 6.4 HEMI)? That's a lot more money to spend on a truck (moving up to 3/4 ton from 1/2 ton) for the occasional steep grade, which I can choose to climb at a lower temp and I probably would not hit 247! Because for minus that 1 grade, the rest of the trip, temps were well below 250. Any thoughts?
 
I'm thinking Ram probably has the coolant temp under control even as close as it was to 250. For all we know you could have kept going for 15 more minutes and the temp may have held steady right where it was. Maybe the engine is designed to hold it just shy of overtemp under moderately stressful situations?
 
Any engine will get hot while being worked. As long as it is operating in defined parameters, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Use a premium synthetic oil and change it more often when towing or getting it hot.

My understanding is that yes, the 6.4 is a true beast and will obviously do a better job than the 5.7. My guess is that it will heat up too when being worked, though not as drastically as the 5.7 pulling the same load.

If you're seeing those temps constantly, yes, get a bigger truck. If you see it once on a yearly camping trip and it drops immediately again once over the hill, I would just carry on.

So it's not just the temp, it's how often do you work it that hard which would determine for me whether to upgrade to the 6.4
 
Your truck still operated within limits, the cooling system did its job. I wouldn't worry about it.
 
Your truck is fine. Your capacity was near max in a very high temperature and your truck completed the task.

And if you can run that pass at a lower ambient temperature...all the better.

You do not need to change gears or trucks.

Just keep the camper load light and enjoy your trip.

The max numbers are for an equipment trailer...ao a camper effectively lowers those numbers with its frontal area.

So the tech said the light comes on at 250 and coolant loses its effectiveness at 265.

Tow away.
 
Most reassuring. Thanks. One last thought, I will be driving that pass at 40 degree cooler air temp (50 deg vs 90 deg). Any way to know how much cooler engine will be running at?
 
Aside from your last question which I cannot comment on, I’d just say to always run a full synthetic engine oil (and change it more often than those who don’t tow) and also consider changing your coolant annually if you tow heavy fairly often. Also try to plan your trips for not in the hottest part of the day on steep grades.
You are probably “safe” on your engine temps occasionally at 245, just consider changing all of the underhood fluids more often.
 
Oroman said:
Most reassuring. Thanks. One last thought, I will be driving that pass at 40 degree cooler air temp (50 deg vs 90 deg). Any way to know how much cooler engine will be running at?
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Only one way to find out
 
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