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Towing information, help me!

3K views 24 replies 8 participants last post by  cowboy 51 
#1 ·
So I've been worried a lot about towing lately because I just started using my truck for it. It's an 06 2500 megacab auto trans. I found this written on the bumper:


http://i.imgur.com/uKHhqOo.png


Is this true?! Here is a picture of my tow bar or whatever it's called underneath the truck:

http://i.imgur.com/e2i3RQW.png



500# tongue wait seems really low. I'm towing a dual axel horse trailer fully loaded with stuff because I'm moving.

A little info on the truck, I removed the overload springs and lift blocks in favor of a 2" lift mini pick from deaver. It has bilstein 5100 all the way around and has Firestone airbags.

I have no trailer brakes either. Which scares the out of me but I'll just drive accordingly.

I was thinking maybe there used to be a hitch that was actually inside the rear bumper at one point like you see on some cars and that the po replaced it with this that might bump those numbers up?

Please help me calm down!


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#4 ·
First off...you really ought to have trailer brakes on that rig but that's another story...

You can look up what the factory hitch is rated at. It's a class IV and without load distributing, it's about 6,000. With load distributing, it doubles to about 12K.

Now, you can buy an aftermarket hitch in a class IV or V that will kick that up to the mid teens. Here's just one of them:

Draw-Tite Class IV Custom Fit Trailer Hitch Receiver 41929
 
#5 ·
I know I should have trailer brakes, but it's not my trailer so I wasn't going to mess with the wiring to fix the brakes. Everything in the truck is functional for trailer brakes.

So you think the receiver that's on there now is a factory one that the stamp on the bumper would apply to? It wraps around and mounts to the frame just like the one in the link so I don't understand why the tongue rating would only be 500#. That still seems really low.


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#6 ·
The first picture of your bumper (black plastic) is the rating for the bumper itself. Those three round things are removable covers so you can bolt a ball onto the bumper. The 500# and 5000# rating are for the bumper alone.

The receiver hitch (second picture....under the bumper) is a Class IV hitch. It came from the factory with that. That hitch is generally rated for 1200# tongue load and a 12,000# trailer.

Please get trailer brakes. Rent, buy, or borrow another trailer that has working brakes on it.
 
#8 ·
The 500# and 5000# rating are for the bumper alone. :agree2:

The receiver hitch (second picture....under the bumper) is a Class IV hitch. It came from the factory with that. That hitch is generally rated for 1200# tongue load and a 12,000# trailer. .
That's what I was trying to say. 6K/600 with no weight distributing and 1200/12k with. Bottom line, you're fine on the hitch.
 
#7 ·
Wonderful! Thank you so much for the information!

As for the brakes. Trailer is already loaded and leaving early in the a.m. So that ship has sailed. They say the wiring works for their truck, but I think the trailer has been sitting for a long time and there might be something wrong with the brake system, I read that the prodigy tries to communicate with the brakes and if there is something wrong with the magnets? That it won't work properly. That's my bet as to what's wrong.

Like I said, I'll just take it slow and let my bd exhaust brake do most of the work hopefully.




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#9 ·
Apologies sir. I mis read your reply as I could replace the one that's on there with a class iv receiver. So new question, how do I know if it's got the weight distributing to where it bumps it up to 1,200/12,000?


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#10 ·
Weight distributing is a different type of slide-in hitch than your std ball mount. When you see a hitch with bars and chains and such, that a WD hitch. Looks like this:
http://www.curtmfg.com/Category/40/Specialized Towing


Now, you can ALSO replace that factory hitch with a heavier class IV or V unit that would take the rating up to 17K-20K.
 
#11 ·
So, towing has been fine thus far without trailer brakes. Just taking it low and slow.

Now to shift gears, pun intended, I have gone over one mountain pass so far. Have another one in a couple hours. My truck down shifts to 3rd going up the hill. Which I'm sure is normal. But coming down the backside it didn't want to shift back to o/d unless I pressed the skinny pedal a little or reset the cruise. Cruise set at 65 with t/h on. Why would it be acting like this? Normal?


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#12 ·
Yeah. Mine does that every now and then. No biggie. Just tap the brakes or do the skinny. Personally, I kick off the cruise and drop into third with it in tow/haul (TCC locked up) and ease over hills with my foot rather than the cruise. Just my preference.
 
#13 ·
New problem. I was towing a travel trailer to my final location this evening when I started hearing a "whoosh" like a boost leak under boost. So I get to my final location and pop the hood to see if a clamp popped loose to see this.

http://i.imgur.com/LQtGq3Z.png

What the heck happened? Could whatever did this be causing that sound too?!


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#15 ·
Could it have been your AC blowing off from over-pressure? Or coolant from somewhere? I have no F'ing clue! Will it wipe off? Is your manifold new?
 
#17 ·
Yeah the manifold being white. It's a brand new manifold and brand new gaskets. Where does the ac spray out from over pressure? I thought it might be coolant but I don't see anywhere it would have come out and the truck didn't over heat or anything. My egts didn't get above 1300 towing up the hills so I don't think I got the truck too hot? But maybe? Any ideas on the noise I was hearing? Definitely sounded like a boost Lear but maybe the manifold got too hot and exhaust was leaking at the slip joint or something


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#24 ·
Yeah the manifold being white. It's a brand new manifold and brand new gaskets. Where does the ac spray out from over pressure? I thought it might be coolant but I don't see anywhere it would have come out and the truck didn't over heat or anything. My egts didn't get above 1300 towing up the hills so I don't think I got the truck too hot? But maybe? Any ideas on the noise I was hearing? Definitely sounded like a boost Lear but maybe the manifold got too hot and exhaust was leaking at the slip joint or something
My experience with aftermarket painted headers on gas powered trucks, is that some of them will turn the paint white as it burns off with heat cycles. Since your manifold is brand new (and painted), I bet the white marks are just the paint changing color as it burns off when it gets hot...

Google it: "Painted exhaust manifold turning white"
 
#18 ·
Checked the computer for codes. Had a p0533 and p0513. 513 has something to do with the skim or whatever and the 0533 has something to do with the ac. So maybe it is overspray somehow?


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#19 ·
I cannot remember the details but I have had a car to do that. AC system blew off some Freon from too much pressure. Sorry but don't remember the details.


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#20 ·
Well ac is still blowing cold so hopefully it's ok. I just replaced the compressor a couple weeks ago. Now to find the boost leak that I still obviously have. Just my luck, this truck is always giving me some problem.

I did notice this morning that the drivers side is much colder than the pass side. This indicates blend door only right? Not low freon?


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#21 ·
And where is the freon over pressure relief valve that it could have sprayed on top of the manifold like that?


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