Re: Re: Auto vs. manual for towing

["Sandy Bolinger" <bolinger@bigsky.net>]

PS---WE did try to bring down the engine temperature by turning off the air
conditioner and turning on the fan which blew the heat off the engine into
the cab of the truck. ;o0

----- Original Message -----
From: Sandy Bolinger <bolinger@bigsky.net>
To: <truman.prevatt@netsrq.com>; <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2001 7:00 AM
Subject: RC: Re: Auto vs. manual for towing


> WE hauled a friend's horses plus ours to the Tevis one year(from Montana)
We
> used his truck and trailer...the truck was a Ford one ton gas engine with
an
> automatic transmission. The trailer was a four horse fully enclosed
> gooseneck...and was REALLY heavy.
>
> Our first problem was making it between gas stations without running out
of
> gas!(we were getting about four miles per gallon). We made it to Truckie
but
> had to unload the horses to make it up that little, steep hill into Robie
> Park.
>
> When maneuvering the rig out of Robie Park the morning of the ride, my
crew
> guy caught the full length trailer running board on a tree and peeled it
all
> the way back(looked like the opener thing on a can of spam!)  Then as he
was
> bumping his way down to the hiway, a bucket fell onto the emergency brake
> cable, locking up the brakes which he didn't realize until someone got him
> to pull over about 20 miles later.
>
> All four of us ended up getting pulled...I made it as far as
> Francisco's....and had to be driven out of the canyon on a road not too
much
> wider than the trail by a guy who seemingly wanted to die in a horrible
> fiery vehicle accident.
>
> THEN there was the drive back to Montana...with temperatures over 100
> degrees and a terrible head wind, we were having a problem with the engine
> temperature...nothing to be done except avoid looking at the temperature
> gauge...Made it part way across Nevada when they shut down the interstate
> because some stolen van full of explosives  had rolled over. We sat there
in
> the miles-long line of cars in the sweltering heat for about an hour
before
> the patrol men came and told us that it would be closed  for at least 24
> hours....;About this time we started to notice a burning odor not to
mention
> smoke in the truck...Whitney explored around and discovered that the road
> atlas...which was behind the seat on the floor directly over the
> transmission...was on FIRE! We doused the atlas and the entire back floor
> with water...and figured we would just throw water on the floor about
every
> hour or so and should be OK.
>
> We headed back to the closest little town and got on some obscure little
two
> lane road that headed north...went a few miles when we started noticing
huge
> plums of smoke ahead of us.  Then once again we found ourselves stopped in
a
> line of cars...in a cloud of very thick smoke.  After about an hour a
patrol
> man came an told us about the big fire just ahead and that they were going
> to let us go ahead and to be sure to drive fast if we ended up IN the
fire!!
>
> WE made it through the fire and eventually found a place to camp for the
> night...
>
> The next day's drive home we had two flat tires on the truck..(all
> rears)...WE got home and when I woke up the next morning the truck had
> another flat and the trailer had a flat tire.  I was told that the
automatic
> transmission was having such a hard time pulling the trailer in the head
> wind that it was constantly shifting itself up and down and everytime it
> shifted, the tires left a little patch of rubber on the road until there
was
> no more rubber on the tires.
>
> Turns out the heat from the transmission melted all the wiring the ran
under
> the carpet behind the seat...the carpet was pretty well fried too.
> SOOO...that was the first and last time I've ever pulled a trailer with an
> automatic transmission!!!!!!!!!!
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Truman Prevatt, PhD <truman.prevatt@netsrq.com>
> To: <ridecamp@endurance.net>
> Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2001 5:43 AM
> Subject: RC: Auto vs. manual for towing
>
>
> > Most dealers will tell you that an automatic is better designed for
> towing.  Their argument is the automatic will absorb the motion of the
> trailer with less long term wear than a manual. I know more than one
person
> that has burned out a clutch and a manual transmission towing. Of course I
> know more than one person that has smoked an automatic towing - yours
truly
> being one.
> >
> > The real problem seems that pickups now come with high torque diesel
> engines in front of transmission that were originally designed for gas
> engines.  GM probably has solved that problem by going to someone who
makes
> heavy duty automatic transmission to design one for their new HD pickup.
> >
> > Ford claims that theirs is better than it used to be, but it is still
made
> by Ford and Ford goes out and buys transmissions from real transmission
> people for their commercial trucks. Do do I believe Ford when the promise
> that their "new" transmission can really pull as much weight as they say.
> Hmmmmmm... probably not.
> >
> > So after a lot of talk with a mechanical engineer friend, I have come
the
> the following conclusion. If you have an automatic, put a oversized (after
> market) pan on it. Get the biggest you can - say one that holds a couple
> gallons more transmission fluid. Next put in a temp sensor on the
> transmission fluid. This is easy since there is already a port there and
> these sensors are
> > available at most good after market places. That way you will know when
> the transmission is running hot and can back off before you boil all the
> fluid away and cook the transmission.
> >
> > Standard transmissions can also overheat so it wouldn't hurt to have a
> sensor on them.
> >
> > By the way, the Allison in the GM has comes with a huge pan and a temp
> sensor build in.
> >
> > So I don't know if automatic or manual is best. The thing I keep
thinking
> about with a standard is one ride I'm going to come up lame 10 hours away
> from home and not be able to drive a standard. It's happened and will
> probably happen again. That's why I lean toward the automatic.
> >
> > Truman
> >
> >
> > >
> >
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