First tow coming up- break in ?

ronheater70 · Apr 3, 2017

FIrst semi serious tow is coming up April 20, about 300 miles of mostly interstate, much of it Hilly. Truck will have about 1300 miles or so in it at that point Im guessing..I will get the oil changed before I leave.. Are there any restrictions on towing at this point? I cant seem to find anything in the owners book..
Weight is fairly light, probably less than 6.5K.

EJR_3 · Apr 3, 2017

I did a similar trip with about 700 miles on the clock. I just got the oil changed before and hit the road. As long as everything is loaded properly, you should be fine.

Mchurch52 · Apr 3, 2017

The owner's manual recommends a 500 mile break in period before towing. My understanding is the break in period is primarily for the drive train. With 1300 miles on the truck you should be good to go.

MADDOG · Apr 3, 2017

Mchurch52 said:
The owner's manual recommends a 500 mile break in period before towing. My understanding is the break in period is primarily for the drive train. With 1300 miles on the truck you should be good to go.

^^^ This ^^^

TRCM · Apr 3, 2017

Here's what my manual said about it, and yes, I did follow it-

Towing Requirements
To promote proper break-in of your new vehicle drivetrain components the following guidelines are recommended:
CAUTION!
• Do not tow a trailer at all during the first 500 miles (805 km) the new vehicle is driven. The engine, axle or other
parts could be damaged.

• Then, during the first 500 miles (805 km) that a trailer is towed, do not drive over 50 mph (80 km/h) and do not
make starts at full throttle. This helps the engine and other parts of the vehicle wear in at the heavier loads.

May not be the same for 2500 & bigger.......it was in the towing requirements section of the manual (after the GVWR charts)

GsRAM · Apr 4, 2017

TRCM said:
Here's what my manual said about it, and yes, I did follow it-

Towing Requirements
To promote proper break-in of your new vehicle drivetrain components the following guidelines are recommended:
CAUTION!
• Do not tow a trailer at all during the first 500 miles (805 km) the new vehicle is driven. The engine, axle or other
parts could be damaged.

• Then, during the first 500 miles (805 km) that a trailer is towed, do not drive over 50 mph (80 km/h) and do not
make starts at full throttle. This helps the engine and other parts of the vehicle wear in at the heavier loads.

May not be the same for 2500 & bigger.......it was in the towing requirements section of the manual (after the GVWR charts)

The owners manual for the 2500 states the same thing. Do not exceed 50mph for the first 500 towing miles

ronheater70 · Apr 4, 2017

GsRAM said:
The owners manual for the 2500 states the same thing. Do not exceed 50mph for the first 500 towing miles

Well this opens up a whole nother' can of worms. In no way shape or form can I avoid going over 50 MPH for about 200 of the 300 miles or so I have to travel.. It's all interstate with a 70 MPH speed limit.. I guess I wonder of there is a weight where this is null and void, I mean obviously you shouldnt be restricted pulling a 5x10 trailer with 800 pounds on it, likewise for this truck I dont see 6K pounds as much, I mean it is literally half it's towing capacity.
Something is not making sense here..
Maybe it means if you ONLY have 500 miles on it, then begin to tow, then for the next 500 miles do not exceed 50 MPH..But if your mieleage already exceeds the cumulative 1000 miles you should be good.. Im not sure Im reading all of this right.

mtofell · Apr 4, 2017

I had similar thoughts - I get the first 500 miles to get the drivetrain and everything locked in but couldn't quite understand the 500 miles towing thing. Especially if you're only towing at a fraction of the ability. I followed the initial break-in pretty well and did my best with a trailer that was about 1/2 the max. My main takeaway was to just not hammer it at full throttle with the trailer when first towing and try to keep the speed somewhat low.

ronheater70 · Apr 4, 2017

mtofell said:
I had similar thoughts - I get the first 500 miles to get the drivetrain and everything locked in but couldn't quite understand the 500 miles towing thing. Especially if you're only towing at a fraction of the ability. I followed the initial break-in pretty well and did my best with a trailer that was about 1/2 the max. My main takeaway was to just not hammer it at full throttle with the trailer when first towing and try to keep the speed somewhat low.

Yea I have no reason to go WOT from a stop..Im guessing I will be probably 80-100 miles or so in the 40- 50 MPH range (backroads) and I typically dont tow at speeds over 65 as an absolute max..This is frustrating.. AT what point is the truck broke in? I mean if it has 15K miles on it, but has never towed a trailer are you STILL supposed to follow the rule for 500 miles towing? it is extremely Vague..

GsRAM · Apr 4, 2017

I understand and agree.

Trailer tires are typically speed rated to 65 mph, so you dont want to exceed that and overheat those tires. I try to tow 55- 60 on the highway and take my time. 6k is not towing heavy with our HD trucks, but its still a lot of weight to try and stop in an emergency situation.

I think if you drive conservatively you'll be fine. I wouldn't worry about it.

7777xm · Apr 5, 2017

ronheater70 said:
Yea I have no reason to go WOT from a stop..Im guessing I will be probably 80-100 miles or so in the 40- 50 MPH range (backroads) and I typically dont tow at speeds over 65 as an absolute max..This is frustrating.. AT what point is the truck broke in? I mean if it has 15K miles on it, but has never towed a trailer are you STILL supposed to follow the rule for 500 miles towing? it is extremely Vague..

My guess is because of the different stresses on various different components. Initial break-in is with just your vehicle weight and now you're going to add another 7000 pounds to it.

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Devin1349 · Apr 5, 2017

just a thought after youve broken in your truck and decide you want to go over 50mph look at the trailer tires are see what they are rated for ive seen both 55mph tires and 65mph tires. just food for thought

ronheater70 · Apr 5, 2017

Devin1349 said:
just a thought after youve broken in your truck and decide you want to go over 50mph look at the trailer tires are see what they are rated for ive seen both 55mph tires and 65mph tires. just food for thought

'
Mine actually say 75 MPH max on them.. But Im not very trusting in that..I won't pull over 65 no matter what..and probably typically between 60-65 most times.

crash68 · Apr 6, 2017

ronheater70 said:
Well this opens up a whole nother' can of worms. In no way shape or form can I avoid going over 50 MPH for about 200 of the 300 miles or so I have to travel..
Something is not making sense here..
Maybe it means if you ONLY have 500 miles on it, then begin to tow, then for the next 500 miles do not exceed 50 MPH..But if your mieleage already exceeds the cumulative 1000 miles you should be good.. Im not sure Im reading all of this right.

The tow restriction is just for when the truck is brand new(0 miles on the clock). With over a 1000 miles on the truck, your good to go tow.
Why change the oil? It's really not necessary with so few miles, and it doesn't sound like you'll even be due for an oil change after the trip either.

GsRAM · Apr 6, 2017

crash68 said:
The tow restriction is just for when the truck is brand new(0 miles on the clock). With over a 1000 miles on the truck, your good to go tow.
Why change the oil? It's really not necessary with so few miles, and it doesn't sound like you'll even be due for an oil change after the trip either.

Old school mentality which i have also. The thought is to get all of the initial break in debris out of the engine (metal fragments and such) personally i think it's a good idea and can't hurt. But that's just me.

My first oil change is going to get done at 1k. Then again at 5k. Then every 5k or annually with full synthetic. Again, this is just what i do.

bcbouy · Apr 6, 2017

i'd do the oil and the diff oil as well.if there's large chunks in it,better to know before you head out.

TRCM · Apr 6, 2017

crash68 said:
The tow restriction is just for when the truck is brand new(0 miles on the clock). With over a 1000 miles on the truck, your good to go tow.
Why change the oil? It's really not necessary with so few miles, and it doesn't sound like you'll even be due for an oil change after the trip either.

That's NOT what the manual says, and from an engineering standpoint, it is not the same thing as just putting 1000 miles on it.

The manual expressly says wait till 500 miles to tow, and then for the 1st 500 miles of towing - NOT the next 500 miles - limit speed to 50 mph & no jack rabbit starts. That is due to the added load on everything. 1000 miles WILL NOT put the same load on the truck as towing will.

That 1st 500 miles of towing could occur with 5000 non-towing miles on the truck....it doesn't matter. The trailer is added weight, and added load.

But it's his truck, (or yours), and he/you can do what ya want.

crash68 · Apr 6, 2017

TRCM said:
That's NOT what the manual says, and from an engineering standpoint, it is not the same thing as just putting 1000 miles on it.

The manual expressly says wait till 500 miles to tow, and then for the 1st 500 miles of towing - NOT the next 500 miles - limit speed to 50 mph & no jack rabbit starts. That is due to the added load on everything. 1000 miles WILL NOT put the same load on the truck as towing will.

That 1st 500 miles of towing could occur with 5000 non-towing miles on the truck....it doesn't matter. The trailer is added weight, and added load.

JAFE...
And I bet some fresh out of school engineer wrote that part of the manual over 20 years ago and it's never been changed since...
Most of the nanny na sayers on this site spew nonsense from what they have read not any real world experience. They're usually the ones that point at the owner's manual.

69GWC · Apr 6, 2017

GsRAM said:
Old school mentality which i have also. The thought is to get all of the initial break in debris out of the engine (metal fragments and such) personally i think it's a good idea and can't hurt. But that's just me.

My first oil change is going to get done at 1k. Then again at 5k. Then every 5k or annually with full synthetic. Again, this is just what i do.

With you on the old school thinking,
I have been fighting changing my oil to early and the other day my dealer called and told me to come on in for my first free oil change.
I told him that I was only at 2000 miles and he said that was perfect amd he wanted to change it early since it was new amd after that we could get on a normal schedule.
I was waiting untill the end of the month as I will be going on about a 2500 mike trip towing a 6x12 enclosed trailer and wanted fresh oil at that time.

GsRAM · Apr 7, 2017

crash68 said:
JAFE...
And I bet some fresh out of school engineer wrote that part of the manual over 20 years ago and it's never been changed since...
Most of the nanny na sayers on this site spew nonsense from what they have read not any real world experience. They're usually the ones that point at the owner's manual.

I don't disagree with you. However, one must ask oneself, is it worth the risk on a $50k+ truck?

First tow coming up- break in ?

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