What does everyone tow?

[disallow]

On 5/11

I tow a 19' cuddy cabin boat that's 4200 # on the trailer. No problems so far.
I've thought about installing a large capacity trans pan & temp guage. I'd be interested in details.
Fosslefuelburner: What lake is that ramp at or is it in the Delta ? I grew up in Hayward & skied alot of lake in N.cal.

On 5/12

I tow a 19' boat that weighs 4200 # wet with the trailer. No problems towing it other than keeping down to a legal speed.
I'd like details on the trans temp guage. I'm thinking about installing a deeper trans pan.
Fosslefuelburner: Where is that ramp at? In the Delta? I grew up in Hayward & skiied alot of lakes in N.CA.

On 5/11

What lake is that ramp at or is it in the Delta ?

Lake Anderson in Morgan Hill

I've had days like this too. Actually, today is one of them!

[Fossilfuleburner]

Just need to make sure I hook it to a circuit that goes off with the ignition incase I forget and leave it on. Where did you tap your power from?

There's two 12v outlets near the glove box. On my vehicle, a 2005, the one on top is ignition switched.

I tried to use the empty slots in the fuse box but couldn't get 12v out of any of them.

[Budrbean]

Mine has the Aux port on top, and of course as luck would have it the bottom isnt switched. The one in the console is though, so hopefully I can find the wire that leads to that.....im sure it comes from the dash area and passes thru the gear shift cover. I guess this is the easiest way to do it considering those circuits are already fused.....no need to run seperate fuses.

One thing I am unclear on if someone could help me out. Most fans say they need to be setup on a relay circuit. What is the point of the relay and will I need to do this for my trans cooler fan?

Sorry for all the questions and my contribution to hijacking this thread lol

[Fossilfuleburner]

One thing I am unclear on if someone could help me out. Most fans say they need to be setup on a relay circuit. What is the point of the relay and will I need to do this for my trans cooler fan?

You need a relay anytime the amperage of a device is too high to run through a switch. A relay functions as a secondary switch that can handle much more amperage (current flow). When you turn on a switch, it sends 12v to the relay which closes a circuit in the relay and connects the device directly to a 12v source (with bigger wires). Here's a pic of a basic relay



The fan I installed draws 5 amps. The switch I'm using is capable of handling 20amps. The factory fuse is probably 15amps so that's the limiting factor. Personally, I wouldn't run more than what I'm currently running through the factory wiring... its pretty skinny.

To give you an idea of how much power the fan is using... we can use the formula amps x volts = watts. So 5x12 = 60 watts.

This thread has become the how to install a trans cooler gauge and fan thread, haha.

[WheatBread]

so you didn't install a relay?

[Budrbean]

Im gonna go the safe route and install a relay. After doing some research, these fans do pull relatively low amperage when running, but when you first flip the switch, the start-up amperage can climb pretty high. Better safe than sorry.

[Budrbean]

Alright....heres the plan. I will hopefully have everything ready to be installed by next week.

[bellwilliam]

just followed Fossilfuleburner's instruction.

installed the same fan. bought it at O'Reiley (Kragen) for $50. ran a 10 amp fuse (called Hayden, they said amperage draw is 5.4 amp).
didn't run a relay, 5.4 amps seemed low enough.
The Hayden fan is a push fan, so no need to rewire, or turn the blade around. pretty simple install, took me about an hour.

I didn't install a trans temp gauge.

only issue I see is with a fan on the front of transmission cooler, it seems to block a lot of air flow. might have to run the fans now every time I tow.

[pawjr74]

Is there a "pull" fan skinny enough to mount behind the cooler that anyone knows of?

[Budrbean]

Is there a "pull" fan skinny enough to mount behind the cooler that anyone knows of?

The fan I have on order says its 2.2 inches at its widest part, which is where the motor is. I went out and measures and thats almost exactly the space between the cooler and condenser. Looks like there may be a few brackets in the way but I cant tell for sure until I take the grill off. Im thinking maybe put some washers under the mounting bolts to space it out a little bit and it may fit. I was thinking the same thing. While the fan is good, it also blocks airflow when turned off, so putting it on the back of the cooler would be perfect. But then again, Im guessing the fan blades will start turning by themselves in the wind and it wont much matter. I gotta stop thinking and start doing....I hate waiting on parts lol

[bellwilliam]

it would be pretty easy to widen the gap (to install a pull fan). just put 4 spacers where the trans cooler mounts. the existing bolts are quite long.

[bellwilliam]

my setup

[Fossilfuleburner]

Bellwilliam, nice setup! Tracking my car is something I want to do in the future. Do you have airbags in the back?

I haven't noticed any differences in temperature with the fan in front of the cooler.

[Fossilfuleburner]

Budrbean, try to snap some pictures for us.

[Budrbean]

Budrbean, try to snap some pictures for us.

Will do. Surprisingly my temp gauge came in today. Its just sitting here like a toy that needs batteries.