Transmission

Most don't use them. and
dory welcome.jpg
 
I think the vast majority of people towing trailers don't have one and never miss it. Assuming that your trailer is within the rated tow capacity of your tow vehicle, you likely don't need it.
 
It is not clear to me the reason to consider the scan gauge. If your desire is to monitor the transmission temperature then that would certainly be a good use of it or something similar. While not required, it is good to know the transmission temp and some vehicles have a dash gauge already for that purpose as if you overheat it, then you may find yourself stranded on the side of the road and you will also find out that the damage caused by the overheating will be very costly. ~CA
 
It's not necessary for towing uphill or on level ground, it's just a tool to let you know what the temperature is. I'm an engineering guy and like to monitor the systems in my tow vehicle. As other posters have said many don't have them and do just fine.

I'm curious what you tow vehicle is?
 
Antman1101 said:
So it would be nessary for towing up hill? As to not over heat trans and monitor temp.
Click to expand...
It is very important to not overheat the transmission. However, you haven't provided the details regarding what you are towing and what you are towing it with. Some vehicles are more prone to overheating both the engine and transmission especially when towing something close to the tow vehicle's rating. Also, it becomes more important regarding where you are towing such as in the mountains or just some hills. One other thought is regarding which engine\transmission your vehicle has. I haven't checked lately but it used to be that some tow vehicles would come with an auxillary transmission cooler when equipped with the towing package.

For my Class C as an example, it doesn't have a transmission temperature gauge on the dash and I have a small device I plug into the obd port which allows me to monitor the transmission temp as well as a lot of other things and I can use my phone or the android based radio in the dash to easily determine the transmission temp (and many other things as well).

Feel free to share the details of what you are towing and the tow vehicle along with where you plan to tow, as that could help with providing better recommendations. In any case, it is never a bad idea to know (monitor) the transmission temperature although doing so is not as much of a concern with some vehicles compared to other vehicles. ~CA
 
GarlicDude said:
It's not necessary for towing uphill or on level ground, it's just a tool to let you know what the temperature is. I'm an engineering guy and like to monitor the systems in my tow vehicle. As other posters have said many don't have them and do just fine.

I'm curious what you tow vehicle is?
Click to expand...
2009 Tacoma double cab v6 Tow oackage
 
craigav said:
It is very important to not overheat the transmission. However, you haven't provided the details regarding what you are towing and what you are towing it with. Some vehicles are more prone to overheating both the engine and transmission especially when towing something close to the tow vehicle's rating. Also, it becomes more important regarding where you are towing such as in the mountains or just some hills. One other thought is regarding which engine\transmission your vehicle has. I haven't checked lately but it used to be that some tow vehicles would come with an auxillary transmission cooler when equipped with the towing package.

For my Class C as an example, it doesn't have a transmission temperature gauge on the dash and I have a small device I plug into the obd port which allows me to monitor the transmission temp as well as a lot of other things and I can use my phone or the android based radio in the dash to easily determine the transmission temp (and many other things as well).

Feel free to share the details of what you are towing and the tow vehicle along with where you plan to tow, as that could help with providing better recommendations. In any case, it is never a bad idea to know (monitor) the transmission temperature although doing so is not as much of a concern with some vehicles compared to other vehicles. ~CA
Click to expand...
Tow veh , 2009 tacoma dbl cab v6 tow package. Jayco 197 mbw4088k dry
 
Looking at the specs for your trailer you're running very close to the maximum towing capacity. of the Tacoma if you are fully loaded, 6000lbs and 600lbs tongue weight are the towing capacity of a Tacoma. Staying local and staying at places with full hook ups so you don't have to carry water would probably be best. Towing in the mountains could be problematic if you are full loaded I would suspect.

We have traveled extensively in the Sierras and other mountainous areas with our Tacoma and our Jayfeather 18MRB when full loaded tops out at just under 4000lbs.

I would recommend something like Timbren or Sumo helper springs to help carry the load. I found a lot of information on how to outfit my Tacoma for towing here:

www.tacomaworld.com

The Tacoma Towing Bible

So After responding to many posts and answering many questions about towing with the Tacoma I figured I’d compile it all into one thread so that I can...
www.tacomaworld.com www.tacomaworld.com
 
With knowing more now, I would suggest that a scangauge is not "critical" however that word is a bit subjective. It would be correct to say that it is critical to not overheat your transmission (or engine, brakes, etc) and while that may never happen, it would be hard to know that it was happening without something that monitors the temperatures.

On a side note of a real world experience albeit ~25 years ago or so, I had a F150 pickup with the towing package and never had any issues with overheating anything until I was in a location in Colorado that had a lot of floating tree feathers (? cotton wood perhaps), and I didn't realize that it was so thick that it coated the front of my radiator\transmission cooler and before I realized what was happening I had already overheated the transmission and engine pulling the first decent incline. I had a engine temp gauge on the dash but I wasn't paying close attention to it and wasn't aware of the issue until the warning light on the dash turned on. Both the engine oil and transmission fluid was damaged (burned looking and smelling). I had both the engine oil and transmission fluid changed out that very day and I didn't encounter any failures and traded in the truck not long after that anyway for a larger truck. I suspect that I had the fluids changed in time to prevent significant damage but I wouldn't be surprised if that one event didn't take many miles off of the lifetime for both the engine and transmission. Since that time, I have always kept a close eye on the temperatures.

Point being, even if you normally never have any overheating issues, something unexpected could happen and knowing to pull over (or slow down) and let things cool down prior to overheating is very important. I would purchase a scangauge or similar product. ~CA
 
If you haven't already looked at that towing Bible site I strongly recommend that you do. You're going to need a brake controller and IIRC I had to buy a wiring harness to hook up the controller. Plenty of good information on towing.
 
I just monitor the transmission temperature with the gauge that is part of the factory vehicle information suite. Doesn't your TV have something similar?
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot 2025-02-08 at 7.32.48 PM.png
    Screenshot 2025-02-08 at 7.32.48 PM.png
    533.4 KB · Views: 7
GarlicDude said:
If you haven't already looked at that towing Bible site I strongly recommend that you do. You're going to need a brake controller and IIRC I had to buy a wiring harness to hook up the controller. Plenty of good information on towing.
Click to expand...
I have brake controller. I will look up site. Thank you
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

AN
Water heater error code E1. Jayco 197mbw TT. Could be because I have propane tank off
Sehoner
SE
Ronroamer
Murphy Bed
Jeep4Two
Jeep4Two
JoePickleball
My house and chassis batteries are not keeping enough charge overnight
2
JoePickleball
JoePickleball
WN
Transmission noise
WnJSmith
WN

New posts

Try RV LIFE Pro Free for 7 Days

  • New Ad-Free experience on this RV LIFE Community.
  • Plan the best RV Safe travel with RV LIFE Trip Wizard.
  • Navigate with our RV Safe GPS mobile app.
  • and much more...
Try RV LIFE Pro Today
Back
Top Bottom