Tranny's can handle more power in lower gears so it should be OK if the 5er guys say the hitch will hold. Just be smart. I know it may not be normal but my truck's trans temps do better going slow than cruising.
Be very careful about operating in 4WD low under a load without all the drive train engaged. More power than it was designed for will be transmitted to the rear axle and something may twist or break under the additional stress.
Thank You for all of the great advice and areas of concern to think about. This site is really cool the way you all jump in and want to help. I'll pay attention to the advice, make sure the nuts and bolts are tight, I'll lock that beasty into 4 low and get my rear end out of there after a great summer at the lake. I am overwhelmed at the views and thankful for the responses, if we could meet, we would be friends right away. We've all heard the saying...."I got your back", well I can sure feel it here.
Don't worry too much, the rear axle is strong enough to operate in low gear range. The same amount of torque is delivered to the rear axle whether the front axle is engaged or not.
I can second the comment about the tranny heating up (auto that is). I've had the experience backing up a 10% grade into a parking spot in Banff National Park. Fortunately, my tranny temp gauge (IssPro EV) kept me informed of the temperature. It did go up to 250 F from 220 F, in about 30 seconds. There is no cooling and of course lots of slipping of the TC.
I had a STEEP driveway and an F-250. I can vouch that low range without 4wd works. And I got very high tranny temps jockying at slow speeds to get into a campsite.
It's not fun backing uphill, but it can be done.
Phill
Nash 30U 2003
Ford F350 PSD 2005 :=}
& a bunch of rockets
Offline
Have fun on your vaction!
