Visit our Popular Forums

Ridgerunner3 · 04-13-2013, 03:48 PM

+1 on calling Andy at Can-Am. If he can setup a mini van to pull a 34 foot AS I am sure he has some solid advice for your setup. I would think setting up an Acadia to pull a 23 footer should be fairly simple.

You'll love your new Airstream.

Can-Am RV Centre | Your Towing Experts

terry.morrow · 04-13-2013, 08:39 PM

Thanks again, all. I called Andy and left a message. Hopefully I will hear back soon. Sounds like a tranny cooler is definitely in my future along with light packing.

william Haym · 04-15-2013, 09:09 AM

I used to pull a 1969 31' Sovereign dual axle trailer with a ford Windstar V6. This vehicle pulled it fine.
Andy at CAN-AM RV has the know how, to compliment pulling that size of trailer with a specific tow vehicle and knew it's capabilities.
Many years ago 1960-70's tow vehicle didn't have the same amount of horse power the majority of our tow vehicles have today!! If you baby your tow vehicle and not abuse it . It will stand up well!!

terry.morrow · 05-16-2013, 12:34 PM

Quick update, since so many of you were helpful. I did end up talking with Andy at Can-Am. He felt I wouldn't need a transmission cooler, but should strongly consider a reinforced hitch receiver.

So, in the interim, I picked up my trailer on a nice cool 55 degree day and towed it the 50 miles back home. The acadia felt terrific towing...no real issues, though I also know I wasn't on the road long, and didn't encounter much in the way of hills, quickly passing semis, etc.

However, the last 5-8 miles home includes a long decently inclined hill -- the acadia had to kick up a gear, but the temp guage looked fine. When I exited the highway, the temp rose, and my check engine light came up very briefly. it cooled when we pulled away from the exit ramp and there were no other issues.

So it seems, GGOAT was most definitely correct that an after market transmission cooler will be needed. And trips outside of our immediate region in Michigan won't happen until we have something different to tow with. I'll be considering the reinforced hitch with Andy, but haven't had time to make the day trip to do that. Interesting that he didn't feel i'd need the cooler, however. It seems rather obvious I will.

Also for what its worth - I kept my speed around 60-65mph.

10Smiles · 05-16-2013, 12:59 PM

All good recommendations from others. I agree that an auxiliary transmission cooler is needed. Another item you should consider is a transmission oil temperature gauge (either in the pan or in the transmission output oil line). If your engine coolant temperature was going up due to the transmission heating up, then the transmission was probably getting quite hot.

Enjoy!

ggoat!!! · 05-16-2013, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by terry.morrow

Quick update, since so many of you were helpful. I did end up talking with Andy at Can-Am. He felt I wouldn't need a transmission cooler, but should strongly consider a reinforced hitch receiver.

So, in the interim, I picked up my trailer on a nice cool 55 degree day and towed it the 50 miles back home. The acadia felt terrific towing...no real issues, though I also know I wasn't on the road long, and didn't encounter much in the way of hills, quickly passing semis, etc.

However, the last 5-8 miles home includes a long decently inclined hill -- the acadia had to kick up a gear, but the temp guage looked fine. When I exited the highway, the temp rose, and my check engine light came up very briefly. it cooled when we pulled away from the exit ramp and there were no other issues.

So it seems, GGOAT was most definitely correct that an after market transmission cooler will be needed. And trips outside of our immediate region in Michigan won't happen until we have something different to tow with. I'll be considering the reinforced hitch with Andy, but haven't had time to make the day trip to do that. Interesting that he didn't feel i'd need the cooler, however. It seems rather obvious I will.

Also for what its worth - I kept my speed around 60-65mph.

The advice I attempted to give you was based on years of towing that included learning by actually experiencing these things (such as engine and transmission failure). I was trying to help you avoid what I (and alot of others here) have experienced...along with the money we've spent (and lost) learning these things.

If your engine got so hot that it caused the coolant temperature to rise enough for a check engine light, you can be sure that the transmission was REALLY cooking taking thousands of miles off of its life. You have to remember that when the engine coolant is boiling, and your transmission fluid is cooled by a tank in the the SAME RADIATOR, then that heat from the boiling coolant is being directly transferred to your transmission fluid and transmission. That's why external coolers are a MUST. Some external cooler manufacturers even instruct you to REMOVE the transmission coolant lines from the radiator for the exact reason to reduce the risk of engine overheating causing transmission overheating and possible radiator failure caused by heat/stress induced leaks that can lead to cross-contamination of the fluids which WILL absolutely ruin the transmission. Again, literally thousands of miles are INSTANTLY vanished from the transmission's life. I've had this happen as well...my old Dodge Caravan overheated due to a loss of coolant from a plastic stopcock which burst open on the bottom of the radiator. There was no way of knowing I was overheating as on that vehicle the temperature sensor for the coolant measures the temperature of the coolant itself so that when you lose all coolant the gauge doesn't go up. Long story short, the engine was so hot that it required a total rebuild. But, three weeks later the transmission went (and it had just been serviced about a month prior with only 60,000 miles on the clock). That intense heat transferred directly to the transmission since they are essentially one unit when bolted together. That transmission was FRYING (even with a substantial cooler). So, after several thousand dollars I had a rebuilt engine and a new transmission. Of course, it took over a MONTH and THREE transmission rebuilds before I found a competent shop (avoid Cottman, BTW). And, I wasn't even towing anything at the time of either the engine or transmission failure...

When someone tries to freely offer you well-earned advice based on experience and substantial dollars lost, it is a good idea to take it.

You should NEVER tow ANY substantial weight with ANY automatic transmission without a SUBSTANTIAL external cooler.

I would change the transmission fluid in your transmission ASAP. It has no doubt been compromised by the heat you introduced to it. You may save yourself a very expensive repair bill down the road.

Hope this helps...
Jeff

AIR-Quarius · 05-17-2013, 01:16 AM

THATS what I was wondering -- was what is the condition of my transmission after making our 350 plus pull to where we are now....up and down long hills...is how to check the transmission for up grades or flaws after doing the task of pulling.

terry.morrow · 05-17-2013, 03:52 AM

Thanks again Ggoat/Jeff. Appreciate your continued suggestions. Your post seems to suggest you might think I'm not following suggestions given ...so let me just say:
I called Andy immediately, per your suggestion, and he said I would not need the cooler. I in fact have been searching for a good garage in town to do one anyway, and only just yesterday got someone to agree to do it. Further I've been looking at more suitable long term TV but in the interim I had to take possession of my new trailer. Since Andy said the cooler wouldn't be necessary -and I still planned to get one- I felt that one way trip taking less than an hour would be okay.

Maybe I'm misinterpreting your post but you should know we come here to get advice a d share experiences. Not to be scolded ..especially when we followed the advice of your preferred expert.

2PNPOD · 05-17-2013, 06:13 AM

great reply terry

terry.morrow · 06-16-2013, 12:52 PM

Quick update: my cooler was installed a couple of weeks ago and I had them change the transmission fluid. They said it looked great, and saw no shavings. A small relief.

Next week will be our first haul/trip, though only 45-50 miles. I'm eager (and anxious) to see how it goes now that the cooler is installed.

Now-if I could just find the time to go calibrate my tank sensors... Ugh.