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Old 03-23-2013, 03:30 PM   #1
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Long Way From Home Break Down Question

I have just recently discovered much to my anger that the 2003 thru 2006 V-8 Ford F-150 transmissions are known for going KABOOM with no notice what's so ever My research has shown me that they usally go around the 87,000 mile mark. Well you guessed it I have 87,525 miles on my F-150. We are planning a 940 mile each way trip to Disney in August. Here is my question?

What happens if it takes a crap half way to Disney. I would be strapped with a 7 year old girl who has been looking forward to going her whole life and that would SUCK

I know there are different roadside assistance plans but is there one that would get my camper to Disney and my truck home? Could I rent a truck to pull my camper from a rent-a-car place? Any answers would be a big help I am already starting to loose sleep over this could be problem.
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Old 03-23-2013, 04:09 PM   #2
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When I had a tt my emergency plan was to rent a uhaul or some rental van / truck to get the tt home. Then at a later date go back and pickup truck.
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Old 03-23-2013, 04:14 PM   #3
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Guess, if it were me I'd do or consider a couple things...
1. Have ford dealer or trusted service shop check transmission fluid, and give me their opinion on it making the trip. Maybe add a transmission temp gauge if you don't have one equipped now.
2. Consider whether now is the time to upgrade the truck? Maybe your looking for an excuse to get a newer eco-boost?
If you drive it and the transmission fails, do like you say and rent a truck for the rest of the trip. Life is too short and kids grow too fast to worry about this stuff though. Your right about this being important for your 7yo. I was able to take my 7 and 5 year old DD's two years ago, but that was before owning a camper so we flew and rode the busses! Great time, great memories, great CC billss.....But sooo worth it!
One quick story..I used to have a 97 suburban that drove great, shifted fine, but felt a little looseish at times. Always worried about the transmission going out at a bad time. On a tent camping trip with a couple friends, one of my buddies older "camping truck's" wouldn't start. I pulled him 6 miles into the nearest town as we didn't think a service guy would be able to find the truck where we were camping. Pulled him fine and all seemed well, until I unhooked from him and went to back up....No reverse, no park! Arghh. All forward gears still worked fine, and so was able to haul both my buddies and get us all home. $2500 for a rebuilt tranny with 3 yrs of warranty and then I wasn't so scared to tow. Bought a new burb and then our old 28BH TT and decided the camper was an excuse for a real truck. Now I have a F250 and since I could pull more, now we have a 5er...

Like I said, no use worrying, but I get what your saying.

Good Luck and ENJOY the Trip!
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Old 03-23-2013, 04:14 PM   #4
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I carry the title to my truck with me on long trips.........just coast into the first truck dealership if its to far gone.......have a good trip
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Old 03-23-2013, 04:19 PM   #5
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Sell or trade for different truck? Not to be funny. Perhaps best way to get peace of mind back.
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Old 03-23-2013, 04:21 PM   #6
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I lost a spindle 500 miles from home on my tt a few years back. Axle couldn't be repaired at a local axle shop. We were on our way home any way so I found a local campground that also had a storage lot. We spent the night and I pulled the axle out from under the tt and then put into their storage lot. After getting home I ordered a new axle and then 2 or 3 weeks later I went back, installed axle and then drove home with tt in tow.

Just have a basic plan for each vehicle and then adapt to the situation.

I have no plan for my 5th wheel. Hahaha
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Old 03-23-2013, 06:43 PM   #7
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Uhaul will not rent a truck for towing.
you'd have to rent a moving truck that had a receiver to tow with but i only think they allow for small cargo trailers.
not for using a WDH or even a 7-pin connector.

i looked into renting a truck/SUV to fly to Chicago and bring our new trailer home.
never found any rental agency that would allow for that, nor with any vehicle set up for towing a TT.
maybe things have changed since then.
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Old 03-23-2013, 06:57 PM   #8
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Have the tranny rebuilt or replaced with a new one before you leave? Make sure you have a tranny cooler!
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Old 03-23-2013, 07:11 PM   #9
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I'm guessing with that age of truck and that low of miles that maybe she's special, or maybe you just don't need a truck payment right now?

If it were me, and I was that worried - I'd call a couple places and ask how much to have the whole tranny replaced. Once you know that price, then you can decide if you can wait while they do it on the road and put it on your card when it happens, or you can decide when it's going to happen and what garage will do the work. If you're wanting to keep this truck and since it appears you won't be able to move the trailer via uhaul. Sorry.
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Old 03-23-2013, 07:12 PM   #10
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wolfpack21643 First then I would do is buy a Chevy . The best road side assistance I found would be Good Sams. But you have to get the Platium + which cover up to 100 miles and it cost 179.95 a yr. AAA RV plus is no good for your RV it doesn't tow your trailer if your truck break down I know it happen to me twice.I haven't bought it yet but I thinking on getting Good Sams I talk to rep. and they told me I would be cover.When I get it im getting it in writing Bill
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Old 03-23-2013, 08:06 PM   #11
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Is it guaranteed that transmission will go, just because its common does not mean it will happen I'm sure every f150 does not drop the tranny at 87000 if the temp is kept down you should not have a problem (its not a chrysler product with a best before date)
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Old 03-23-2013, 08:07 PM   #12
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Thanks for the answers. The problem with the tranny is changing the fluid and things like that make no difference from what I have read. What happens is a snap ring inside breaks off and drops into the valve body causing it to block the flow of fluid.

Ford has admitted to the design flaw but wont recall the tranny (they knew about the problem in 2005 and still made the trannys for another year). Some guys have gotten 200k out of them with no problems some have only gotten 10k before they broke.

Putting a new tranny in or getting mine rebuilt makes no difference cause you never know when that snap ring is going to break it's a all of a sudden type thing. Since my truck basicly only moves when I'm towing the camper or going to Lowes It is hard to pay 50k for a truck that will only see 4000 miles a year at most.
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Old 03-23-2013, 08:16 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by wolfpack21643 View Post
Thanks for the answers. The problem with the tranny is changing the fluid and things like that make no difference from what I have read. What happens is a snap ring inside breaks off and drops into the valve body causing it to block the flow of fluid.

Ford has admitted to the design flaw but wont recall the tranny (they knew about the problem in 2005 and still made the trannys for another year). Some guys have gotten 200k out of them with no problems some have only gotten 10k before they broke.

Putting a new tranny in or getting mine rebuilt makes no difference cause you never know when that snap ring is going to break it's a all of a sudden type thing. Since my truck basicly only moves when I'm towing the camper or going to Lowes It is hard to pay 50k for a truck that will only see 4000 miles a year at most.
That is kind of a bad deal.

You really only have two options: A) buy a new(er) truck; B) roll the dice and try your best to be prepared.

On B); biggest problem is that almost all rental places will NOT rent you a truck if you tell them you are going to tow with it. So you may be able to find a 1/2 ton truck that will tow your rig, but will probably need to wire in brake controller etc. The good thing is your hitch will fit etc, so would not really take that long to set-up.

Most insurance policies and roadside assistance policies will simply tow you nearest most appropriate service center. I think Good Sam has a tow home option, but you would need to research carefully.

Bottom line - if it goes boom on your way down, you are screwed. I would call cruise america or someone and just try to rent a Class C and continue the trip.

If it happens on the way home, well you are going to be looking for different ways to get your rig home.

Have you researched aftermarket options? There are some transmission companies that build some pretty serious stuff. I would think one of them has hit this problem.
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Old 03-23-2013, 08:33 PM   #14
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Well I tow with a Chevy/GMC.....All the same.....broke down in VA In 2000 when we stop for the first time for gas after leaving home, It was our first trip far away from home and only our 3rd trip ever camping we where headed to Disney World, to make a long story short we where back on the road and enjoyed our vacation......Just FYI we have AAA the RV package they will tow the tow vehical and camper up to 100 miles the standed AAA plan will only tow you 3 miles and anything over that is extra.....No RV.
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Old 03-23-2013, 08:37 PM   #15
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I am not familiar with the Ford tranny issue but I will tell you a past story and make a suggestion. I had a 97 gmc 2wd and my daughter needed a new vehicle . I was in a better spot to buy one than her so I told her I was buying a new one and she could have my old. Low miles, bought new, good history. Long story short she was 300 miles from home, parked, got back to the truck, started it, put it in reverse, a sharp snap occurred and it would not back up.
She calls me, I call my local trans shop that does all my services etc, explained what happened and he says, oh yeah, there is an issue with a drum that cracks, the new drum is built different so it doesn't do that, $900 to fix bring it over.

I call her, tell her what he said, had her find a local to where she was shop and tell them the story. She calls back shortly and said that they told her the same thing and $2700 to fix,,hmmmmm maybe because she is military in a military town??? I go borrow a buddies trailer, drive 10 hours round trip, buy her a $79 flight home in a week and it was fixed 2 days later for under what his estimate was, and it has been fine since, and that was 3 years ago.

My suggestion, if you don't know a local shop ask buddies if they know of any. go talk to them, see if there is an updated piece and have it put in. It will be much less stressful while you are at home, you will pay less, you have a few months to drive it and make sure all is well and then take that little girl on the trip she will remember forever.
If you don't do something with it every time it shifts you are going to think something happened and you will be worried and she will sense that.
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Old 03-23-2013, 08:45 PM   #16
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Well if we are going the same week and it happens that I'm passing by, I guess I just picked up a few new passengers Your 7yr old will love my 5yr old. Or come on here and beg for someone to help move your TT to disney.



Seriously though, I keep worrying about my truck for this trip too. It has had a couple of issues w/ regen phase (it's a diesel) and now has an leak in the rear axle seal. Guess we just need to watch out for each other. You could do the cruise America plan or try to switch your reservation to a disney resort instead. Another option is to trade the truck the day it goes bad.

I think my fears are from when I was a kid. My dad hauled the camper all the way to disney with a 77 ford club wagon. Van broke down right in front of some tolls in fl. Dad got it off to the side of the road and fixed it there. After about 4 hrs we got going again. That must have been a nightmare for them, they had 4 girls between 7 and 14 sitting on the side of the highway in the summer. They managed to make it not too bad.
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Old 03-23-2013, 09:00 PM   #17
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I have a 06 6.0 diesel with 212k miles. Some people are scared to death of the 6.0. i have been through the weak points and have addressed them. any tow vehicle can crap out at any time. If your concerned about it take the truck down and have the tranny rebuilt. A lot cheaper than a new truck!
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Old 03-23-2013, 09:05 PM   #18
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Well I tow with a Chevy/GMC.....All the same.....broke down in VA In 2000 when we stop for the first time for gas after leaving home, It was our first trip far away from home and only our 3rd trip ever camping we where headed to Disney World, to make a long story short we where back on the road and enjoyed our vacation......Just FYI we have AAA the RV package they will tow the tow vehical and camper up to 100 miles the standed AAA plan will only tow you 3 miles and anything over that is extra.....No RV.
You show me the recipes because I broke down twice with AAA RV Plus I was told that they would tow it to the nearest rest stop but that was it .If you look in the booklet it states the only way they will tow your are rv if it break down.Look back on some of our threads .I broke down 107 miles from home I had to get someone to go get my trailer.Then I broke down 15 miles from home the same thing.AAA RV PLUS sucks when you need told .I try to talk to someone on the phone no return call then I email them twice and I got the response that they got my email and guess what never heard from them again that was last week.All I can say you got lucky Bill
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Old 03-23-2013, 10:15 PM   #19
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I do not know of any makers that are bullet proof....... Something can always go wrong just can't worry about it .... I had an F250 7.3 Diesel that went through 3 trans. in 112,000 miles, only towed a 4500 lb trailer...... a friend of mine borrowed a Chevy conversion van to take his family to Disney World went through 3 trans on the way & back. Think of us 5er owners how hard it would be for us to find something to get a trailer home if the truck broke down.........

If there is a trans. that can go bad I will own it... Fords , Mercurys, Hondas, Chevys, I'm forgetting something.... we are on a new adventure now we have a Subaru Outback the trans is sealed can not change the fluid

Don't Worry be Happy Happy Happy...............

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Old 03-23-2013, 10:45 PM   #20
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I've got a 2005 F150 FX4 with the 5.4L v8 with 162000 miles. I've not had any transmission problems, but I've been running a Scangauge on it since we started towing our travel trailer 3 years ago. It lets me follow transmission fluid temperature, slippage, and several other helpful items. I'm also a firm believer in following maintenance schedules especially when towing. Before we got the travel trailer I pulled a 3500 pound pop up and towed a loaded 5000 pound utility trailer several times a year. I was doing that right after I bought the truck in 2005. The transmission may die tomorrow, but I have no reason not to keep using using it. It's been a great truck.

The best you can do is know there is a possibility and plan as best you can. I think we all take more risk when towing. There are more components running down the road as soon as you hook up the trailer. Just the risk we take. But it's worth the fun in the end.
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