New to Towing Questions

[AeroBlazer]

I recently acquired my 9-7x aero I have been after for a while and actually haven't ever towed any trailers before and had some questions about starting to tow trailers on occasion for a few friends with different trailers

1 I know my car has extra transmission coolers but are there any other products I should think about adding to reduce wear from towing when I tow ? I also saw one product advertising a while back but forgot what exactly it was and the name but I know it was for reducing wear on suspension

2 Would the best idea for a trailer hitch ball mount be to just buy BNW's weight distribution hitch with the extended drop and just run the ball mount and keep the bars in storage until needed as I don't intended on towing heavy trailers and just boat trailers every so often. I also heard BNW makes the best hitches out of everyone but would be curious to hear if theres a even better option?

3 based on what I read from the manual if towing I should drive in 3rd unless I am on the highway in which case then I would put it in Drive

 

[Mooseman]

1 I know my car has extra transmission coolers but are there any other products I should think about adding to reduce wear from towing when I tow ? I also saw one product advertising a while back but forgot what exactly it was and the name but I know it was for reducing wear on suspension

AFAIK, none of these trucks ever had a factory installed auxiliary cooler. We always recommend adding one no matter the tranny or engine. This thread has some info:

Thread 'Transmission Coolers..'

Feb 18, 2014

Ok, so here I am trying to search through the forums on this subject. And I keep getting lost in threads, I swear I could read these for hours, lol! Anyways, does anyone have a suggestion on an aux transmission cooler (to go along with the stock one from the factory tow package, I think) that would be fairly easy to bolt on? That won't cost an arm and a leg?

On top of that, would it be better to do this before/after/or during a fluid change? And would one be better served by a dealer fluid change (or the install of the cooler as well?)?

As a side note, I am also interested in some...

• {tpc}
• Replies: 31
• Forum: Towing

2 Would the best idea for a trailer hitch ball mount be to just buy BNW's weight distribution hitch with the extended drop and just run the ball mount and keep the bars in storage until needed as I don't intended on towing heavy trailers and just boat trailers every so often. I also heard BNW makes the best hitches out of everyone but would be curious to hear if theres a even better option?

Depends on the tongue weight and how much the truck squats with the trailer. You can get regular drop hitches without a WDH. Don't exceed the GVRW.
Did find this thread at Saab Central.

9-7x 5.3i and Towing

I am looking at a 2008 9-7x 5.3i and I plan to use it to tow. I know that the tow capacity is 6500 but the owners manual reads "be sure to use" a weight distribution hitch if the trailer weighs more than 4000#. (yes, I read the owners manual) The boat I plan to tow is approximately 4300# (boat...

www.saabcentral.com

Edmunds gives these numbers for a 2008 Aero:

Key Towing Details for 2008 9-7x Aero:

• Max Towing Capacity: 6,600 lbs
• Engine:
  
  V8 (390 hp / 395 lb-ft torque)
• Maximum Payload: 1,230 lbs

The Max Payload would be everything in and on the truck, including tongue weight and yourself.

3 based on what I read from the manual if towing I should drive in 3rd unless I am on the highway in which case then I would put it in Drive

That is correct. Since you have 4.10 gears, you should be able to tow in D on the highway unless going uphill or it's hunting gears. Those of us with taller (numerically lower) gears usually have to tow in 3rd all the time. If towing really heavy, you might have to tow in 3rd all the time.

 

[TollKeeper]

Flat ground, Regular Drive, unless the trans starts shifting down to 3rd a lot. Then shift it manually into 3rd. The key is you dont want the trans shifting a lot, as that adds a lot of wear, tear, and heat, to the unit.

We always recommend a trans cooler outside of the stock one. Heat is your enemy, a cooler will help.

 

[AeroBlazer]

AFAIK, none of these trucks ever had a factory installed auxiliary cooler. We always recommend adding one no matter the tranny or engine. This thread has some info:

Thread 'Transmission Coolers..'

Feb 18, 2014

Ok, so here I am trying to search through the forums on this subject. And I keep getting lost in threads, I swear I could read these for hours, lol! Anyways, does anyone have a suggestion on an aux transmission cooler (to go along with the stock one from the factory tow package, I think) that would be fairly easy to bolt on? That won't cost an arm and a leg?

On top of that, would it be better to do this before/after/or during a fluid change? And would one be better served by a dealer fluid change (or the install of the cooler as well?)?

As a side note, I am also interested in some...

• {tpc}
• Replies: 31
• Forum: Towing

Depends on the tongue weight and how much the truck squats with the trailer. You can get regular drop hitches without a WDH. Don't exceed the GVRW.
Did find this thread at Saab Central.

9-7x 5.3i and Towing

I am looking at a 2008 9-7x 5.3i and I plan to use it to tow. I know that the tow capacity is 6500 but the owners manual reads "be sure to use" a weight distribution hitch if the trailer weighs more than 4000#. (yes, I read the owners manual) The boat I plan to tow is approximately 4300# (boat...

www.saabcentral.com

Edmunds gives these numbers for a 2008 Aero:

The Max Payload would be everything in and on the truck, including tongue weight and yourself.


That is correct. Since you have 4.10 gears, you should be able to tow in D on the highway unless going uphill or it's hunting gears. Those of us with taller (numerically lower) gears usually have to tow in 3rd all the time. If towing really heavy, you might have to tow in 3rd all the time.

The guy i bought the car from said the owner before him added an additional cooler

I was looking at the weight distribution hitch because I could still use the ball mount and tow without the bars on the trailer though I doubt I would even come close to that
Tongue weight and truck squat is going to vary as I doubt I would have my own for several years. I was kind of hoping to see if I could get something that would cover a lot of ground.

 

[Mooseman]

The guy i bought the car from said the owner before him added an additional cooler

Check to see if you can see one in front of the radiator/condenser, like in the pic in that other thread. That's where it's usually mounted. Or check to see if the cooler line was split to another cooler. That's usually done near the radiator's cooler lines.

Trailer tongue weight is usually aimed for 10% of the whole trailer weight. You can buy and use a WDH without the bars. In fact, the bars are usually taken off if navigating sharp hilly terrain or making really sharp turns while backing. But it would be an expensive expense for "in case" you need it. And WDH always have 2 5/16" balls so any trailer with a 2" or 1 7/8" ball, you wouldn't be able to use it. Best thing would be to just get a tri-ball hitch which has all three sizes.