[TRKEMountainGuy]

I just purchased a 2020 Passport Touring AWD, and I'm searching to learn if anybody has experience towing through mountain passes with the Passport.

My family has a tent trailer (GVWR @ 2,151 lbs fully loaded) we frequently take to Glacier National Park, or Yosemite National Park...basically places around the Western United States with long, meandering mountain roads. We'll never get close to towing 5,000 lbs at this point.

Is a transmission cooler really needed for what I'm towing, or is it simply providing peace of mind that the transmission won't overheat in certain situations?

 

[carpayments4life]

If you are towing 3500 pounds or under, you'll be fine without the tranny cooler.
If towing over 3500 pounds, get a cooler.

 

[Wrascal]

Is a transmission cooler really needed for what I'm towing, or is it simply providing peace of mind that the transmission won't overheat in certain situations?

Under that load I wouldn't spend the $ for a tranny cooler, BUT I would ensure I had a brake controller to stop the trailer.

 

[Reno_bk]

We’ve towed a similar size trailer several thousand miles so far and the Passport has done an incredible job - specifically, the transmission has done a really great job selecting and holding gears in the mountains. I usually tow in sport mode, which downshifts earlier and holds gears a little longer, and on really long or steep downhills use the paddle shifters to hold gears and stay off the brakes. Definitely tows better than any of our previous vehicles.

Our Passport has the towing package with trans cooler, but agree that if you’re not pulling over 3k miles, you’re probably fine without the cooler. We got it for added piece of mind...cooler is always better for transmission, so it was worth it to us.

 

[Wrascal]

Comfirming Renos assessment - several months back, for my first time ever, I found a real use for those paddle shifters. While we weren't pulling anything those long western 7% downgrades demanded slowing down.

Using 6-7 (in our 10 speed Ody) was common, but sometimes we were as low as 4th. Just another option to consider for the downhill portions.

 

[TRKEMountainGuy]

Our Passport has the towing package with trans cooler, but agree that if you’re not pulling over 3k miles, you’re probably fine without the cooler. We got it for added piece of mind...cooler is always better for transmission, so it was worth it to us.
[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the information. The last couple summers we've towed our tent trailer (fully loaded, with a large kayak) about 4,000 miles each trip with my wife's AWD Pilot. It was fine until we got into the steeper portions of the passes, at which point it was struggling to gain speed.

I think I'll get the transmission cooler just to be safe. I pull a utility trailer as well filled with rounds (sometimes pretty wet) of Jeffrey Pine we cut and haul from the fire roads.

 

[TRKEMountainGuy]

Do you happen to have any experience or knowledge with the alternator capacity of the Passport? I'm interested to learn if you have experience running any kind of electronics on your trailer when you tow, such as the 12-volt refrigerator.

We often travel in nine-hour increments, and I would like to be able to keep the refrigerator on while towing and not worry about the battery completely dying because the towing vehicle couldn't keep it at 100%.

 

[Wrascal]

We often travel in nine-hour increments, and I would like to be able to keep the refrigerator on while towing and not worry about the battery completely dying because the towing vehicle couldn't keep it at 100%.

Keep the doors closed and you should be OK. However, if you have the option then run it on propane.