Getting ready for my first camping trip with the new rig this weekend. I have towed my trailer around a bit to try and level the trailer to the reciever but my question is this: Manual says do not tow over 50 mph for first 500 miles. Is this set in stone?

My Trailer is about 25' and weighs about 6000# loaded. This should be pretty light weight for the truck right? I would like to at least maintain the speed limit especially in the heavy Memorial Day traffic. I got rid of my Ford f150 with 302 because I got sick of traveling over the Coast Range hills at 35 mph. Am I going to do any harm driving 55 to 60 mph? My truck has 1800 miles on it now.

 

You should be alright at that weight and speed. Those first few hundred miles are the most critical...after that, the more you tow the faster it'll break-in.

 

I was careful to "try" and keep it under the 50 for the first 500. It goes by pretty fast. Along about 250 I started letting it creep up to 55, then back it down to 48 - 50 for about 25 miles, then back up to 55 for 25, etc. It was pretty painless. Better to be safe than sorry. I am towing 16000#. That is only one day of driving - - not much suffering in the grand scheme of things considering how many total miles you will be putting on the truck.

 

The main purpose of this recommendation is to provide an opportunity for the rear axle ring and pinion to establish a good wear pattern. We tow a 13,500 lb 5ver, and I put 500 miles on the truck before hitching it up and then held it down to 55-60 for the next couple of hundred miles. Around 2000 miles, I changed our Dana 80 over to 85W-140 Royal Purple synthetic - not applicable to 3rd generation trucks, I hear.

Rusty

 

I think the way thats meant to be taken , is do not tow faster then 50 in the first 500 miles on the truck. You have 1800 miles on it, you can do what ever you like. Its not meant as first 500 towing miles.....hell you could have 30k on the truck the first time it gets hooked to something and your suppose to stay under 50?

They basically don t want someone picking up the truck , stopping by the rv dealer and hooking up a 15k pound 5th then heading for mexico at 75mph. A 6000 lb trailer is almost a non issue either way.

 

We drove our '03 Dually for a total of 1400 miles before hooking up the 13K 35' 5'er. Then we towed 270 miles from eastern NC to the hills of western NC where we stayed for a week and put some more solo miles on it. All I did both before and during that initial tow was to make sure I varied speed, never using cruise control to help. Now we are home (Seattle area) and have 16K on the truck with no complaints other than the oil smell coming through the vents, but I am about to extend the breather tube on back.

Having 1800 on it is even better than the 1400 we did, and your trailer is a lot lighter. I wouldn't worry, but would vary the speed as normally will occur unless you are cruisin' across Kansas with the cruise control.

 

I e-mailed Dodge with this question. "I have a 2004 Ram 3500 truck, the maunal says to tow at less than 50 mph for the first 500 miles. I have 7000 miles on the truck already. Do I need to follow this? Pease explain why?" Their response was as follows: Thank you for you email regarding your Dodge Ram.
That stipulation was meant for the first 500 miles on the truck to assist with break in. You no longer need to follow it at 7,000 miles.

I hope this helps - it's going to save me a lot of aggrivation

 

It has a warranty drive it like you stole it!

 

I would drive it easy for the first 50 miles or so, then stop and do a walk around on the trailer, to be sure everything is in order.

Then let her do what she is made to do

 

Be sure and check the torque on the new trailer's lug nuts before you start towing. I'd recheck the lug nut torque at around 50 and 200 miles or until you're sure nothing's loosening up. There have been some disasters related to this!

Rusty

 

When we would bring in new trucks 1 tons for hooking onto goosenecks to haul lumber they got about 50 miles on them from the dealer to the welding shop before they got hooked onto a loaded 20-30k lbs gooseneck and sent down the highway. Montana speed limit for a domestic vehicle with trailer is 75 mph and i know the kids we had working for us didnt treat the trucks too well. most trucks in the 200k-250k needed bearings only a hanful needed R&Ps and that was ussually because of other factors.

 

Currently reading my Owners Manual for my new truck, haven't even set up my signature yet.

IMO the manual's recommendation for no towing the first 500 miles is to keep from putting sudden stess on the new unseated components in the engine. The statement to limit towing speed the first 500 miles is probably a liability issue for them. I think the idea is you have a new TV which probably handles differently than your last so limit your speeds so you can gain a 'feel' for the handling characteristics of your new TV.

FiverBob's idea is probably a good way to do it as you gain a feel for the combination TV and trailer.