Oil Temp while Towing

[shmit140]

Hey Everybody.

I'm new here and have been searching around for answers to my question but haven't found what I am looking for yet. I have a 2021 Ram 1500 5.7L, crew cab 4x4, 6'4", 3.92 axle, ORP, all stock and love the truck so far. This weekend we towed our travel trailer, GVWR 5500lbs up to the mountains. This truck is "rated" for over 11,000lbs in my configuration so this trailer is well under the limits. There is a hill that we have to go up that is a fairly long 5 mile climb. It isn't super steep, at least not steep enough to need a percent grade sign on it. I know these newer trucks run hot and expected that from reading here. It was 101 degrees outside and we had the A/C on for our small kids. My numbers hit the following temps at ~56-62mph which is what I ran the hill at in tow/haul mode (and had tons of power to go much faster):

Coolant: 240F (I've seen others hit this so no surprise although I would like to know the max allowed)
Transmission: 204F
Oil Temp: 287F

My biggest concern is the oil temp. I cannot find how hot is too hot for oil? 287F is crazy hot to me though. And I wasn't flying up the hill. Should I go change my oil out soon now? The only thing I've seen so far in my research is the TFL Rebel torture test on youtube that hit 289F towing the Ike Gauntlet but that was towing over 10K lbs over 11 miles and they were floored. My trailer is half that and a pretty small hill compared to the Ike. If I pushed my speed it seems it would climb right into the 300F range. No lights came on the entire time. I know I can slow down, turn off the A/C, etc. I'm not new to towing by any means but a trailer that is literally half the rating should be able to hold 55-60mph up a hill all day without ever worrying about coming close to overheating. How do people tow with these trucks in states like AZ where it is much hotter?

Does anyone know what the max temps allowed on these trucks are before the dash lights come on? I'm all for running it to it's design parameters but I'd like to be able to back off myself before it hits those limits. And I'm concerned if I buy a 7500lbs trailer like planned that I'll overheat this truck easily. Cruising on the highway at 65mph still pushed the oil temps to 250F easily and coolant to 228F.

I look forward to hearing from all of you!

 

[Trooper4]

Hey Everybody.

I'm new here and have been searching around for answers to my question but haven't found what I am looking for yet. I have a 2021 Ram 1500 5.7L, crew cab 4x4, 6'4", 3.92 axle, ORP, all stock and love the truck so far. This weekend we towed our travel trailer, GVWR 5500lbs up to the mountains. This truck is "rated" for over 11,000lbs in my configuration so this trailer is well under the limits. There is a hill that we have to go up that is a fairly long 5 mile climb. It isn't super steep, at least not steep enough to need a percent grade sign on it. I know these newer trucks run hot and expected that from reading here. It was 101 degrees outside and we had the A/C on for our small kids. My numbers hit the following temps at ~56-62mph which is what I ran the hill at in tow/haul mode (and had tons of power to go much faster):

Coolant: 240F (I've seen others hit this so no surprise although I would like to know the max allowed)
Transmission: 204F
Oil Temp: 287F

My biggest concern is the oil temp. I cannot find how hot is too hot for oil? 287F is crazy hot to me though. And I wasn't flying up the hill. Should I go change my oil out soon now? The only thing I've seen so far in my research is the TFL Rebel torture test on youtube that hit 289F towing the Ike Gauntlet but that was towing over 10K lbs over 11 miles and they were floored. My trailer is half that and a pretty small hill compared to the Ike. If I pushed my speed it seems it would climb right into the 300F range. No lights came on the entire time. I know I can slow down, turn off the A/C, etc. I'm not new to towing by any means but a trailer that is literally half the rating should be able to hold 55-60mph up a hill all day without ever worrying about coming close to overheating. How do people tow with these trucks in states like AZ where it is much hotter?

Does anyone know what the max temps allowed on these trucks are before the dash lights come on? I'm all for running it to it's design parameters but I'd like to be able to back off myself before it hits those limits. And I'm concerned if I buy a 7500lbs trailer like planned that I'll overheat this truck easily. Cruising on the highway at 65mph still pushed the oil temps to 250F easily and coolant to 228F.

I look forward to hearing from all of you!

Ouch. In stay under 200 with 10000 towing when I snowbird.

 

[SD Rebel]

Hey Everybody.

I'm new here and have been searching around for answers to my question but haven't found what I am looking for yet. I have a 2021 Ram 1500 5.7L, crew cab 4x4, 6'4", 3.92 axle, ORP, all stock and love the truck so far. This weekend we towed our travel trailer, GVWR 5500lbs up to the mountains. This truck is "rated" for over 11,000lbs in my configuration so this trailer is well under the limits. There is a hill that we have to go up that is a fairly long 5 mile climb. It isn't super steep, at least not steep enough to need a percent grade sign on it. I know these newer trucks run hot and expected that from reading here. It was 101 degrees outside and we had the A/C on for our small kids. My numbers hit the following temps at ~56-62mph which is what I ran the hill at in tow/haul mode (and had tons of power to go much faster):

Coolant: 240F (I've seen others hit this so no surprise although I would like to know the max allowed)
Transmission: 204F
Oil Temp: 287F

My biggest concern is the oil temp. I cannot find how hot is too hot for oil? 287F is crazy hot to me though. And I wasn't flying up the hill. Should I go change my oil out soon now? The only thing I've seen so far in my research is the TFL Rebel torture test on youtube that hit 289F towing the Ike Gauntlet but that was towing over 10K lbs over 11 miles and they were floored. My trailer is half that and a pretty small hill compared to the Ike. If I pushed my speed it seems it would climb right into the 300F range. No lights came on the entire time. I know I can slow down, turn off the A/C, etc. I'm not new to towing by any means but a trailer that is literally half the rating should be able to hold 55-60mph up a hill all day without ever worrying about coming close to overheating. How do people tow with these trucks in states like AZ where it is much hotter?

Does anyone know what the max temps allowed on these trucks are before the dash lights come on? I'm all for running it to it's design parameters but I'd like to be able to back off myself before it hits those limits. And I'm concerned if I buy a 7500lbs trailer like planned that I'll overheat this truck easily. Cruising on the highway at 65mph still pushed the oil temps to 250F easily and coolant to 228F.

I look forward to hearing from all of you!

I think you are at the extreme of normal, getting close but still within the operating window. I think the Coolant warning is at around 248F, the oil temp I'm not sure though.

Fully synthetic motor oil can easily handle 300F, but conventional only about 250F. I'm assuming the factory fill is synthetic blend to handle these higher temps? Either way, I would switch to a fully synthetic oil if you plan on doing this type of towing regularly.

As for the Ike test, TFL was going at a higher grade for longer with almost double the weight, but the ambient temps were likely a bit colder for them, which could explain how you ended up with close to the same temps.

Just in case, have you done any off-roading in the mud? If so, I would check your radiators (coolant & oil) for blockage. There was a member here who had higher temps while towing, the dealership found half his radiator was plugged with mud.

 

[silver billet]

I think that's way too high, "normal" or not. I've never seen that temp in my truck towing up hills on the freeway though none of my hills were more than a mile either.

How long do you plan to keep the truck? If you plan to keep it for 10+ years or outside of warranty, then personally I'd look into doing a 180 or 190 degree thermostat, and maybe remove a few of the active shutter grills by the rad. You may want to try a thicker oil like Redline 5w-30. You probably do void your warranty on some/all of the engine doing that, but what's better, having a warranty at a time when you need it least (newish truck) or still having a great working engine after the warranty has expired?

If you're leasing or only keeping it a few years than definitely don't do any of that, just talk to the dealer (have them log it as a complaint for warranty purposes) and drive it.

Also what were your RPMs sitting at with that climb?

 

[JF19Longhorn]

Wow.. we have the same basic specs trucks and my oil temps were nowhere near that towing my 7-7.5k lb car trailer from South Jersey to Tennessee and back. There were some % grade sign sections and slow truck lanes on some of the roads we took too.

I don't recall my exact oil temp max #, but I believe it was in the 230 range and I thought that was high. Granted, ambient was in the 60's for most of the trip too.. but I was probably avg 62 - 67mph (70mph zone).

 

[shmit140]

I think that's way too high, "normal" or not. I've never seen that temp in my truck towing up hills on the freeway though none of my hills were more than a mile either.

How long do you plan to keep the truck? If you plan to keep it for 10+ years or outside of warranty, then personally I'd look into doing a 180 or 190 degree thermostat, and maybe remove a few of the active shutter grills by the rad. You may want to try a thicker oil like Redline 5w-30. You probably do void your warranty on some/all of the engine doing that, but what's better, having a warranty at a time when you need it least (newish truck) or still having a great working engine after the warranty has expired?

If you're leasing or only keeping it a few years than definitely don't do any of that, just talk to the dealer (have them log it as a complaint for warranty purposes) and drive it.

Also what were your RPMs sitting at with that climb?

Silver Billet, I was so fixated on the temps that I don't remember exactly what rpm it was at. I'm pretty sure it was around the 4K range in 4th gear. On the way home, none of the hills are more than a mile like you have experienced and the oil temps stayed below 240F on those hills cruising at 55mph. It was also only 85F out on the way home. It seems to be the prolonged working that heats it up a lot. Like driving home on the freeway portion in a headwind trying to maintain 65mph would slowly creep the oil temps up to 260F.

The weird thing is it has tons of power to do more. My trailer isn't that heavy. It's even a "light" model. I get that the frontal resistance of travel trailers causes a huge drag but this trailer should be nothing for this truck.

 

[shmit140]

Wow.. we have the same basic specs trucks and my oil temps were nowhere near that towing my 7-7.5k lb car trailer from South Jersey to Tennessee and back. There were some % grade sign sections and slow truck lanes on some of the roads we took too.

I don't recall my exact oil temp max #, but I believe it was in the 230 range and I thought that was high. Granted, ambient was in the 60's for most of the trip too.. but I was probably avg 62 - 67mph (70mph zone).

JF19Longhorn, this is what I'm looking for. I'd like it to stay in the 230F range but it doesn't a lot of the time. I'm not sure what to do though. I don't know if the dealer will believe me or just say "they can't reproduce the problem". I wish I got it on video. I have another trip planned in a couple weeks but I don't think there are any hills quite as long. I might swap the oil out for some pennzoil ultra platinum before then for some piece of mind.

 

[shmit140]

I think you are at the extreme of normal, getting close but still within the operating window. I think the Coolant warning is at around 248F, the oil temp I'm not sure though.

Fully synthetic motor oil can easily handle 300F, but conventional only about 250F. I'm assuming the factory fill is synthetic blend to handle these higher temps? Either way, I would switch to a fully synthetic oil if you plan on doing this type of towing regularly.

As for the Ike test, TFL was going at a higher grade for longer with almost double the weight, but the ambient temps were likely a bit colder for them, which could explain how you ended up with close to the same temps.

Just in case, have you done any off-roading in the mud? If so, I would check your radiators (coolant & oil) for blockage. There was a member here who had higher temps while towing, the dealership found half his radiator was plugged with mud.

Thanks for the reply SD Rebel. I think I'm going to swap my oil out before my next trip. That TFL Ike Gauntlet run was the only other person I've seen so far with as high of temps but like you said it was double the weight and twice the hill as what I was pulling. I'm curious if the ambient temps make that big of a difference. And no off-roading...yet. Truck is as shiny as it came off the dealer lot.

 

[JF19Longhorn]

JF19Longhorn, this is what I'm looking for. I'd like it to stay in the 230F range but it doesn't a lot of the time. I'm not sure what to do though. I don't know if the dealer will believe me or just say "they can't reproduce the problem". I wish I got it on video. I have another trip planned in a couple weeks but I don't think there are any hills quite as long. I might swap the oil out for some pennzoil ultra platinum before then for some piece of mind.

Np, mine is a deep V-nose enclosed car trailer. So I have some decent frontal area, but probably not as much drag as yours.. but I was a bit heavier.

I don't think the dealer will do anything either.. maybe try to get a video on the next tow and 'hope' your temps get that high? ..still not sure they would do anything about it.

Is there a thermostat for the oil cooler? Could the oil cooler be blocked in some way (road debris)?

 

[shmit140]

Np, mine is a deep V-nose enclosed car trailer. So I have some decent frontal area, but probably not as much drag as yours.. but I was a bit heavier.

I don't think the dealer will do anything either.. maybe try to get a video on the next tow and 'hope' your temps get that high? ..still not sure they would do anything about it.

Is there a thermostat for the oil cooler? Could the oil cooler be blocked in some way (road debris)?

I'm not sure if there is a separate thermostat for the oil cooler or not. Looking under the hood all I see is the coolant lines going into it. It looks just like the oil filter adapter style oil coolers. There does seem to be a sensor in the side of it. I'm not sure if that is where it is reading the temps or not. There definitely isn't any debris in the way...all brand new and shiny down there. I was curious about the grills on these trucks. Mine is a bighorn, it doesn't seem like there is much room for air to flow through the radiator on these trucks. And my truck has that solid plastic piece below the main grill, where it seems people mount led light bars. I was wondering if that would help opening that up but it wouldn't blow on the radiator. It could provide more air to the engine though.

 

[IvoryHemi]

Going up hill for an extended period (2+ miles) I have seen oil temps around 250-255F.

 

[blakei]

We pull a 28' TT. Seems like whenever we tow its almost 100F outside... summer I guess. My coolant temp is usually 205-220, fan kicks on high around 220F. Tranny temp normally sits 195-205F. Oil generally is 205-250F. I've seen the tranny at 205+ and oil at 250+ when going up a grade in that 100F weather with AC on. When I get to those numbers, I slow down (even more ha ha) and kill the AC. I am running Redline oil for better high temp durability. My understanding is both oil and tranny fluid start burning (flash point) around 200C, or 400+F.

 

[Trooper4]

Remember that burnt fluid smell from the old trannys? Woops, time to change the oil and filter.

 

[834k3r]

FWIW, I towed our 5000 pound GVW travel trailer north out of Lewiston, Idaho (5 miles long, 7% grade; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewiston_Hill) a few months ago. My oil temperature never got higher than 230. I had Tow/Haul Mode and cruise control both engaged; 4500 rpm on the tach and 65 mph on the speedo.

 

[blakei]

Does anybody see different temps based on ambient outside temp? For example, looks like it’s about 60F in Lewiston in March… summer weather is a lot hotter. I’ve actually not noticed much difference in temps in cold vs hot weather.

 

[834k3r]

Does anybody see different temps based on ambient outside temp? For example, looks like it’s about 60F in Lewiston in March… summer weather is a lot hotter. I’ve actually not noticed much difference in temps in cold vs hot weather.

I'm doing the same trip again this coming weekend; highs in the Palouse will be around 100*, so I'll make sure to check the temps and post the results here.

 

[shmit140]

I'm doing the same trip again this coming weekend; highs in the Palouse will be around 100*, so I'll make sure to check the temps and post the results here.

I look forward to the results! I have a trip coming up on the 4th of July and it is supposed to be really hot as well. I'm going to change my oil and put in Pennzoil Ultra Platinum for some peace of mind at least. Can you also post your transmission gear, rpm, and speed when you do climb a hill too. As close of numbers as you can report at least. I asked the dealer to look up max temps for me that are allowed and they came back and said they couldn't find anything listed from FCA. Nothing on the coolant, transmission or oil. Very frustrating that they don't know. My brother in law has a very similar truck to me but a 4th gen and tows a travel trailer larger than mine and he hasn't noticed too high of oil temps but his transmission get to 240. Mine barely cracks 200 on long hills. Very interesting that the 4th gens run different.

 

[IvoryHemi]

My brother in law has a very similar truck to me but a 4th gen and tows a travel trailer larger than mine and he hasn't noticed too high of oil temps but his transmission get to 240. Mine barely cracks 200 on long hills. Very interesting that the 4th gens run different.

Slightly different transmissions. 8HP70 vs 8HP75

I have also noticed a major difference in trans temps when towing. My 8HP70 was typically at 195-199F while towing while the 8HP75 is 168-172F

 

[834k3r]

I look forward to the results! I have a trip coming up on the 4th of July and it is supposed to be really hot as well. I'm going to change my oil and put in Pennzoil Ultra Platinum for some peace of mind at least. Can you also post your transmission gear, rpm, and speed when you do climb a hill too. As close of numbers as you can report at least. I asked the dealer to look up max temps for me that are allowed and they came back and said they couldn't find anything listed from FCA. Nothing on the coolant, transmission or oil. Very frustrating that they don't know. My brother in law has a very similar truck to me but a 4th gen and tows a travel trailer larger than mine and he hasn't noticed too high of oil temps but his transmission get to 240. Mine barely cracks 200 on long hills. Very interesting that the 4th gens run different.

Will do; I'm not planning on changing my oil until after the trip (oil life meter says 27%).

 

[Pristine1]

Somethings up if you’re running that high with 5k. Could there have been a bad head wind? If the truck checks out fine I’d check to make sure your trailer wheels are free spinning. I’ve been worried about my temps in AZ 100+ heat up grades. I peaked 264 oil and 237 coolant on my last run and I’m looking into ways to cool it down a little. I have the eco D though. Towing 7600-7700#. Hope you get her checked out and figure a way to keep those temps down. I ran cooler on this hotter run by keeping speeds down.