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My Armada towing performance

4K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  Campfamily 
#1 ·
I just got back from family trip to Georgia mountains towing my 7k lb camper. My '12 Platinum 4x2 ran/towed well with exception of tranny heating up during some of the steeper climbs. At one point I had a climb about a mile long and tranny temp quickly went up to about 3/4 to almost 7/8 and I pulled over immediately to let it cool. I was in tow mode in 4th gear when it happened. It happened a few other times also but I would pull over before it hit 3/4 mark on guage. As soon as the hill would level out or I would release the gas the temperature would quickly go back to normal. Has anyone else experienced these issues while towing? Should I be concerned/get it checked out? Thanks for input.
 
#2 ·
I notice that mainly only If towing in 5th(D) or in really hot temps. I was only towing 3500lbs about 3 weeks ago and I struggled to balance an overheating engine or overheating tranny on a 105 degree heatwave in central Washington

I would shift down to 3 for a minute or so and the temp should go down (but in my case, just made the engine overheat instead! :( )

I'm also considering an additional aux tranny cooler
 
#3 ·
Shifting to a lower gear will fix the issue without the need to pull over. This past weekend I was on trail ridge road (12000 ft elevation) without a trailer and had issues with the transmission heating up. The armada just likes to stay in high gear with the torque converter unlocked.
 
#4 ·
^^^ What he said ^^^. The usual cause of a transmission getting hot is running with the torque converter unlocked. Don't be afraid of running the engine at higher rpms. I can pull just about any hill in any temperature with my trailer, and the trans temp gauge never budges. When I feel the engine starting to lug, I downshift manually, and then hold the rpms around 3700 to 4000. Depending on the steepness of the grade and the altitude, I sometimes have to drop to 2nd gear, which is about 40 mph. I just finished a trip from Southern California to Colorado, over a number of very high and steep mountain passes, at temperatures over 110 degrees in some cases, and didn't have any problems. This was towing our 26' travel trailer, which weighs around 5500 to 5800 pounds.

Keith
 
#7 ·
You are going to love Grand Lake, we camped about 15 miles up the road from there for 5 nights on our last trip. We will be in Colorado Springs over Labor Day weekend visiting our son at USAFA for Parents Weekend, we are also flying this time..

Don't be afraid of revving your truck, it can take it. I've pulled 10 mile grades at 4000 rpm in 2nd gear with no issues (Conway Summit, Sherwin Grade, both on Hwy 395).

Keith
 
#9 ·
I'm not all that familiar with Denver, most of my time has been spent either in Boulder or Colo Springs. Denver does have a nice pedestrian center down through the center of the city with some great restaurants. Take in a Rockies game. That's about all I can think of off the top of my head.
 
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