How to do it safely, securely, and with more power
e’ve all seen it—a tow rig pulling a load that seems too large, too heavy, or just plain too unstable for the vehicle that’s doing the pulling. You know the type. The rear bumper is almost touching the ground, the back tires are stuffed into the fenders, and the front tires won’t make solid contact with the road. The smallest imperfection in the pavement or a light crosswind can send the truck and trailer into a deadly whipping action that puts the driver, cargo, and everyone on the road in danger. Don’t be that guy.
To make sure you avoid any and all potentially hazardous situations, we’ve compiled a list of 10 things to consider adding to your gooseneck or fifth-wheel tow vehicle. Most of these upgrades will also apply to those of you who use a conventional bumper-hitch setup.
1. HOOKING UP
WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO HOOK UP TO THE TRAILER and tow it around? We looked on the market and found B & W’s Turnover Ball Hitch. This kit mounts everything below the pickup box, and when not hooked up to a trailer, the bed is totally usable. While this kit isn’t difficult to add to a truck, we decided to have it professionally installed because a 4-inch hole needed to be cut in the sheetmetal. We took our truck over to Chris Segrest at North Texas Suppliers. Professionals like him are able to install the hitch in a couple of hours. For those of you who want to use a fifth-wheel, B&W also offers a fifth-wheel companion that’s adjustable, removable, and connects to the gooseneck frame structure.
2. SUSPENSION UPGRADE
ANYTIME THE FRONT END OF THE TOW VEHICLE STARTS TO lift because the rear of the truck is sagging, the front tires can’t react as well, and steering and breaking performance are greatly reduced. Keeping everything level is the best and safest way to go. While our truck was at North Texas Suppliers, we had the company install the Ride-Rite air-spring system from Firestone. This system helps handle the additional tongue weight of a gooseneck trailer and keeps the vehicle level when driving down the road. We also added an air tank and in-cab controls to make the suspension easier to adjust. The addition of the air tank allows us to inflate and deflate the airbags at will or air up tires if we get into a situation where one is low or leaking.
3. TRAILER BRAKE CONTROLLER
WE TURNED TO THE ODYSSEY BRAKE CONTROLLER BY VALLEY Industries to help us get our trailer to stop. This is one of the few controllers that will work in any mounting position, and it works with trailers that have two to eight wheel brakes. Luckily, most new 3/4- and 1-ton trucks are designed with electric trailer brakes in mind, so all we had to do was buy the truck portion of the wiring harness from our local Ford dealer and then tie the Odyssey brake controller into the truck’s wiring harness.
4. SYNTHETIC LUBRICANTS
ANOTHER WAY TO HELP EXTEND THE LIFE OF YOUR COMPONENTS is by upgrading to premium synthetic oils. We switched all our fluids to Royal Purple’s synthetic blends because of the product’s reputation for extreme protection and durability. This was a simple process, as we changed our fluids out while installing our Mag-Hytec pans. We then did a regular oil change and put in Royal Purple’s 15W-40.
5. BETTER BRAKES
EVEN THOUGH THE TRAILER HAS ITS OWN, THE TOW VEHICLE'S BRAKES will still get a workout every time we pull the trailer. To address this, we turned to Power Stop for new brake rotors and pads. Some replacement motors may warp and crack under the stress of hard braking with a heavy load. Power Stop rotors are cross-drilled and slotted for better cooling, which translates to quicker stops, less fading, and prolonged life. We also had our rotors cryogenically treated, which is said to help them last up to 200 percent longer.
6. INTAKE
Breathing cleaner and cooler air is a great way to free up some much-needed power. We upgraded to True Flow’s new XDI cold-air intake. This system is a direct bolt-on and only takes a few minutes to install.
7. COOLING UPGRADE
After the trailer was hooked up and under control, we needed to address the additional wear and tear the truck will see from towing with such a high gross vehicle weight. To help prolong the life of our differentials, and perhaps more importantly, our transmission, we turned to Mag-Hytec for new aluminum differential covers and a transmission pan. Mag-Hytec uses thick aluminum castings with cooling fins built in, and most of its pans have drain plugs that are magnetized for particle pickup. The differential covers have dipsticks that let you check the fluid level easily, and all the pans are tapped for a temperature sensor. These pans also hold more fluid than the factory covers to help disperse heat. Replacing the stock steel covers with the Mag-Hytec pieces typically results in a 30-40 degree-F drop in ATF and gear-lube temperatures. That’s a big difference when you’re talking about the life of your parts.
8. ADDING CONSERVATIVE POWER
With the engine breathing easier, it was time to tweak the programming for a little more horsepower and torque to help us climb those upcoming hills. We turned to SCT and its new Livewire system. A nice feature about the Livewire is there are different programs for towing, depending on how much power you need. The Livewire also provides the ability to monitor all the engine and transmission operating parameters through the factory sensors so you don’t need to purchase any additional gauges. We had to add the optional EGT sensor just to make sure nothing would get hurt—the 6.0L Power Strokes don’t come with EGT sensors like the new 6.4L Power Strokes do.
9. GOING THE DISTANCE
Once we had the power and ability to stop and go, we decided to focus on increasing our truck’s range. For that to happen, we were going to need more fuel. We changed out the factory fuel tank for a larger 52-gallon replacement from Titan Tanks, which fits between the framerails so we don’t lose any space in the bed. They are direct replacements and work just like a factory setup but give you approximately twice the factory tank’s capacity.
10. EXHAUST
Under the extreme loads of towing, the engine expels a lot of heat through the exhaust. To ensure we weren’t taxing the engine too much with a restrictive system, we decided to upgrade our tow rig with a larger 4-inch mandrel-bent kit and high-flow muffler from MagnaFlow. The new exhaust system was pretty simple to install. We unbolted the old exhaust and worked it out from under the truck, and the new 4-inch system was a direct bolt-on. We installed and aligned everything, then tightened all the clamps.
B&W Custom Truck Beds
(800) 248-6564 www.turnoverball.com
Firestone
(800) 888-0650 www.ride-rite.com
Mag-Hytec
(818) 786-8325 www.mag-hytec.com
MagnaFlow
(800) 824-8664 www.magnaflow.com
North Texas Suppliers
(903) 868-4222
Power Stop
(800) 863-4415 www.powerstop.com
Royal Purple
(888) 382-6300 www.royalpurple.com
SCT
(407) 774-2447 www.sctflash.com
Titan Tanks
(800) 728-4982 www.xxtank.com
True Flow
(866) 999-9098 www.trueflow.com
Valley Industries
www.valleyindustries.com
