Towing & temp

[M0GWR John]

Hi

I have been towing with my bus for 4 years now and i have got use to the temp gauge going up on hills or when the turbo is boosting. Question is, has anyone cured this with a new rad? i did fit a new rad 3 years ago and flushed etc, also flushed once a year since.

[paul9]

people have said their gauge has risen when travelling up inclines when not towing,they have fitted a new rad and this cured the problem,not sure when towing though,i would expect the gauge to rise a little when towing up hills as normal ,if you have been towing for quite a few years now with no real problems resulting engine wise ,i wouldn't worry too much.
A lot of us have mason alrms fitted,these alarms make your gauge work a lot more and do fluctuate a little especially when going up hills, wether towing or not.

[mr mince]

Like Paul says a Mason alarm makes the gauge work better so you know when to back off earlier.

At the moment I tow a great big lump of old fashioned caravan 850kg unladen and if it wasn't for the mason alarm my gauge would barely have moved at all.

A good tip for getting the heat down if it's all got a bit too hot is to switch the heater on full blast.
I'm not the most popular person with my wife when we're on the motorway I had the heater going most of the way up the M6 rather than slow down a bit.
On hills knocking the overdrive off and keeping the revs up a bit also keeps the temp down a bit

[brookse]

just finished a 2500ml trip towing a 1400kl caravan no probs with overheating just a lot of fuel

[Father Ted]

I tow an 1085Kg (unladen ) caravan. I have a Mason alarm ( wouldn't be without one ), used "Water Wetter", and have fitted an autobox oil cooler.

When going up hills the temp does rise, but doesn't get anywhere near the "Oh s**t" level. It comes down again quickly on the level or going down the other side of the hill.

As has been mentioned, turning overdrive off and turning the heater on does help.

[M0GWR John]

Thanks for the reply s. I will try taking the overdrive out on hills. It has been right up to the red a couple of times on some long hills going to Austria (towing around 1.5 tons), but like you have all said once at the top it drops down to normal pretty quick.

Fuel wise it will do 25 mpg while towing, which i don't think is bad.

[mr mince]

Originally Posted by M0GWR John

Thanks for the reply s. I will try taking the overdrive out on hills. It has been right up to the red a couple of times on some long hills going to Austria (towing around 1.5 tons), but like you have all said once at the top it drops down to normal pretty quick.

Fuel wise it will do 25 mpg while towing, which i don't think is bad.

Wow that's what I get without the caravan.

I always find that if I overheat and have to pull into the side the temp drops faster if I keep the revs up a bit, the temp actually rose a bit when I pulled over and left it ticking over

[Father Ted]

Originally Posted by mr mince

Wow that's what I get without the caravan.

I always find that if I overheat and have to pull into the side the temp drops faster if I keep the revs up a bit, the temp actually rose a bit when I pulled over and left it ticking over

Yeah, good point. If it does get very hot and you have to pull over...never turn the engine off!! You need to keep the coolant circulating.

[M0GWR John]

Wow that's what I get without the caravan.

Nipped up to Chester-le-street this afternoon, 330 mile round trip, 70 to 80mph there and back on 3/4 of a tank, not towing i have had upto38mpg on a trip to the south of france.



I have never pulled over when temp has gone up, but the times it has got to the red i have been a little uneasy

[mr mince]

Originally Posted by M0GWR John

Nipped up to Chester-le-street this afternoon, 330 mile round trip, 70 to 80mph there and back on 3/4 of a tank, not towing i have had upto38mpg on a trip to the south of france.



I have never pulled over when temp has gone up, but the times it has got to the red i have been a little uneasy

I got uneasy and pulled over at temp that wouldn't have troubled the gauge if I hadn't fitted the Mason alarm.

Let me guess, yours is a manual gearbox, there's not much else could explain those figures