Ford Ranger okay for towing?

[Brimauster]

So I'm looking to get a Starcraft Islander 19' (boat-motor-trailer is 3332Lbs dry) within the next year or so, and was wondering if a Ford ranger with a tow package will handle the job?
I plan on trading in my Honda civic for the Ranger...- 4.0L V6, 3.73 Limited slip, 4X4 Extended Cab. The spec sheet says it will pull 5720Lbs, but I need a real-world opinion. An F-150 would be the obvious next step up if the Ranger won't be able to do it. Of course price is an issue, so maybe a used one will suffice. Can a towing package be installed on an older truck if it does'nt already have one? I'm in "Research Phase" now, and want all the numbers before I go to the "Boss" with my diabolical scheme. Thanks for the help, this is a GREAT site and I've learned a lot already.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Ford Ranger okay for towing?

The trailer MUST have electric or surge brakes. The 3300+ weight is, as you say "dry". That boat probably as a 20+ gallon fuel tank so add another 120 pounds there. You will add batteries, gear, fishing tackle, coolers, etc so all of that can add up quickly. As for the question can the truck pull the weight. With 3.73 gears -- yes. At 5750# -- still yes but don't ask me to drive it. It would be a real handful and at that weight a full size truck with a V8 would be a much better choice. The key to buying an older truck is to make sure it has the desired axle ratio. Make a wrong choice and it takes a lot of power to make up for poor gearing. Tranny coolers can be added. Heavy duty radiators can be expensive. Changing axle ratios is expensive unless you swap the entire rear end. If you have a 4WD, both axles need to be changed so that again gets expensive. So you are better off buying the proper setup to start with. The boat/trailer you describe will be in excess of 3500# when loaded. In my view that is pushing the "practical" safe limit for the Ranger. If you tow a few times a year and don't go far or need to travel at freeway speeds or hilly country it will probably be just fine. If you are on the road a lot, a bigger vehicle would be better. A v8 1/2 ton would do the job nicely.

 

[JB]

Re: Ford Ranger okay for towing?

I think that Ranger would do the job, Brimauster, but not a lot more.

Very important that you have a receiver hitch rated for 5,000lb, the towing package, and that the trailer has good brakes.

I towed my Boston Whaler 13 with my '93 Ranger 3 liter 5 speed 4X4 from the bumper hitch. The boat and trailer, loaded for traveling, couldn't have weighed much more than 1,000lb but that truck struggled to haul it to Canada and back.

If you want a safety margin I suggest a F150 equipped for towing.

 

[Matt S]

Re: Ford Ranger okay for towing?

I have an '05 Ranger Edge 4.0L, 4x4,5sp auto, extra cab, tow package (3.73's etc). It tows my 18 foot glastron very, very well. Boat with fuel and trailer come in about 3100lbs or so. Even in heavy side winds I almost can't tell it's back there at flat highway speeds. Figure when I'm loaded with camping supplies I'm pushing 4,000lbs, and I'd have to disagree with Silvertip from my experience. Very stable. Stops great, no "wagging the dog" at all. I've also towed an 88 Tbird on a front wheel car dolly - figure close to 4,000lbs total. Stopping wasn't as easy since the dolly did not have brakes but it was still quite stable and safe. If you buy one without the tow package you *could* put the receiver and a transmission cooler on it but you possibly would have 3.55's for rear gears not 3.73's. If you're thinking used get something newer than '01 for the OHC and better trans, and I highly suggest the factory tow package on it

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Ford Ranger okay for towing?

If you are speaking of the 3300# dry weight 19 footer -- no wagging the dog perhaps in normal operation. That load will be at 4000 pounds plus with a tandem trailer. Add 50 gallons of fuel its now at 4300. Add some gear and it's quickly at 4500 pounds. That is crowding the limit, especially when you add some people in the truck and whatever you toss into the bed. You could probably tow the load with a four cylinder however, it's the emergency manuevers that get folks into trouble when pushing the upper limits of tow capacity. If you are talking about the Bayliner, that's a different story.

 

[Brimauster]

Re: Ford Ranger okay for towing?

Thanks for the quick replies. I would most likely be going relatively short distances, maybe one or two long ones a season. I tow airplanes around for a living so I'm no stranger to the feel of a heavy object being towed. I know that towing a boat on the street is a lot different, so I'd have a few things to learn. Maybe the F-150 is a better choice. I'll have to get my motorcycle paid off first before I do this, so I've got some time to weigh my options.

 

[Rancherlee]

Re: Ford Ranger okay for towing?

A X-cab ranger tows 5000# just fine. They have 1/2ton running gear and brakes and a decent wheel base.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Ford Ranger okay for towing?

They are actually rated to tow 6000# (properly equipped) -- but not with me in it. Tow ratings have gone totally overboard and as a result safety is being compromised.

 

[Matt S]

Re: Ford Ranger okay for towing?

Yes for sure I would never want to put that kind of weight behind my Ranger. However I will state again that 4,000+ lbs of camping and boat was plenty A-OK to me going over a 4,000 foot 2 lane pass into Eastern Washington. I can pull a 5% grade at 45-50mph@3200rpm locked in 3rd and the back side of the hill - again a curvy 2 lane road and lots of wind - did not leave me disconcerted. But if ya gots the cash the F150 is good. Larger is always better. I'm only trying to say the Ranger, IMHO, deserves a little more respect for what it can do. At no time was I concerned, even in heavy downhill braking. I've also trailered full of camping gear 600 miles round trip to boat in Oregon. All flat inerstate and it was butter. Averaged 16-17mpg crusing at 60-65mph.

But I would NOT like to do that drive with the car on the dolly I mentioned earlier. Trailer brakes make a huge difference.

I will say I did the exact same trip over the same pass in my friends 05 Tacoma, just the boat and a couple bags, and 3 people (didn't need the kitchen sink as it was just us guys) for an overnighter, and was not NEARLY as happy as the way it towed. The suspension is softer than the Ranger and the truck had that stomach churning sway sometimes. My friend let me drive since it's my boat and we had to take his truck as my wife couldn't go and it's the only automatic in the house . I'm not trying to get into a Ford vs. Toyota thing, just trying to give my experience so an educated decision can be made. I am very much in line with Silvertip's theme of being on the heavy side for a mid sized truck and needing to know your load requirements. But again, I'm comfortable with my setup, and you should be too when considering what to buy.

 

[Brimauster]

Re: Ford Ranger okay for towing?

So what I get from all this is that the Ranger will do it, but with the combined weight of boat, trailer,fuel, coolers, three people and a couple of other things, the Ranger will be at its limit, and may even be over the practical limit in a real world situation, regardless of what the book says...

In essence I'll need the F-150 to tow safely, and without undue stress and strain on the part of the vehicle. Got it. I should point out that this truck will also be my daily driver in the winter, and those days that I can't ride the bike. Maybe the 4X4 is the way to go? What about manual vs. auto? Thanks for all the input, this is just what I've been looking for, thanks again!

 

[freddyray21]

Re: Ford Ranger okay for towing?

I would not go with a manual trans. The clutch and transmission will not hold up when pulling it out of the water at the ramp. I had a Ford Explorer 4.0 4wd auto no problem. My Mazda B 4000 4x4 4.0 manual would smoke the clutch every time pulling my 72 Searay out. Same car just different trans.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Ford Ranger okay for towing?

Automatics have a distinct advantage for trailer towing in that you get better than 2:1 torque multiplication in the torque converter (over and above the first gear ratio). A stick does not provide that extra multiplication. The automatic will also be much smoother pulling out of the water. Four wheel drive provides another advantage in that they generally have a 4-LO selection on the transfer case. You will never be short of power for the pull out.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Ford Ranger okay for towing?

Hey Brimauster -- read the post directly below yours about "Towing with a Hemi". Here is a gent that asked if he could two 8000# with a 1500 RAM with a 5.7 Hemi engine. He was warned against it for reliability issues as well as safety issues. If that doesn't convince you that a Ranger is not a tow vehicle for anything over 4000# I don't know what else we can do to convince you. At 5000 or 6000 pounds it just isn't safe.

 

[Matt S]

Re: Ford Ranger okay for towing?

Yeah totally agree on that Hemi post. I don't think I would be nearly as pleased with the towing of my Ranger with the next size up 20 foot glastron, which is about 600lbs more than the 3.0L 18 foot, not to mention a heavier trailer.

Not sure where you're going to stuff a 3rd person in the Ranger anyway...unless it's a child sitting in the back! And since I'm here, if anyone is interested, a 4.0L x-cab 4x4 ranger with tow package and Leer top on the back, me (165lbs) and a half tank of gas weighs 4300lbs. Just got back from the dumps . My book says gross combined (the number you REALLY should look for) is 9580lbs.

Really what you need to think about is that number and then what you might put in the truck.

Published dry weight ready to run with 3.0L less gas of the GT185 is 2300lbs. Trailer paperwork says 600lbs. 23 gal @ approx 7lb/gal = 161lbs for a grand total of 3061lbs. Overestimate at 200lbs for life jackets. wakeboard and tube and round up to 3300lbs. That only leaves me about 2,000lbs.

Wife weighs 110lbs, the dog weighs 50 lbs and I'm so anal I know that all our camping gear weighs about 500lbs including a cooler full of food and ice. Would I rather have an F150? Sure! But if I had that kind of money I wouldn't have settled on a cheap boat!

Am I or my wife scared in what we have? No. But I have long haul truck experience and have towed all sorts of anything over the years so the first thing I did with it loaded was find a nice EMPTY LARGE ROAD and panick stopped it. Now I know what it'll do and I was pleasantly surprised at how predictable the whole 40 foot long, 8,000lbs mass stoped straight EVEN with the antilock brakes kicking in. A larger step up truck for less experienced drivers is an excellent safety margin.

Remember: Published towing weight assumes there is NOTHING in the truck; not even a driver. My book says I can to 5580lbs.. And that's exactly GCWR - truck weight. I'm about 8,000lbs now for camping and I can feel that another 500 would change everything.

In your situation, which is really cool because you are choosing the boat and truck I agree with everyone that if you can buy larger..buy larger. Especially these days you can get an F150 for only a few more dollars than a Ranger. The prices on full sized trucks have really come down.

Happy boating and truck shopping! Excellent discussion here.
Oh yeah..Auto for sure for any kind of serious towing.

 

[Brimauster]

Re: Ford Ranger okay for towing?

I guess it's the F150 then... Now that I have that figured out, any ideas on how to tell the "Boss" what I really need the truck for? She thinks I want it for taking stuff to the dump!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Ford Ranger okay for towing?

I have an S10 CrewCab 4x4 and it's published weight is 4200# It is rated to two 5250# so the GCW is in the 9450 range. My boat, loaded for a week long trip tips the scales at a tad over 3000# so I'm at something between 7000 and 7500#. I have antilock brakes and four wheel discs so braking is very smooth and straight. I'm able to tow in overdrive with the air on but another 2000# would change all that and I would quickly opt for a full size truck. I too have driven everything big, small, and in-between. In my view, the manufacturers are not doing people a favor publishing the tow ratings they have in recent years. I would suggest that 75% of the maximum published tow rating is about the safe limit for most vehicles used for recreational towing.

 

[Rob454]

Re: Ford Ranger okay for towing?

i tow my 1989 Bayliner 19.5 foot with a 1995 GMC Jimmy with a 4.3 v6. it has no problem towing it. And yes it has a full tank and coler and stuff in it. On long grades its not a speed demon but it tows it just fine. id say with two people and a dog in the truck I never had a problem towing it. I dont see why people freak out when youre towing a 3200 pound boat. Lets add 800 pounds for gas drinks camping gear ( and thats being generous) and youre still only at 4000 pounds. The tow rating on my jimmy is 5500 pounds. thats what a 1/2 ton truck will tow but I get better gas mileage. I used to tow with my v8 dakota. the ONLY thing the dakota did better waas tow uphill otherwise it got crappy gas mileage. I jsut drove 180 miles towing with the ac on all the way and got 18 MPG.
Im not over my tow rating by any means. the ranger shoudl be abnle to tow the boat easily. you jsut need to be smart abotu startign and stopping. Give yourself plenty of room to do both.
Now beofre you guys jump on me with its not save and Im gonna ram a bus full of nuns on the way to the launch ramp its ONLY a 19 foot boat. Now if I was towing a 28 foot somethign or other i woudnt even attempt it.
Everyone thinks you need a big truck to tow a freaking inflatable rubber duck. give me a break guys.

Dude you can easily tow a 18-19 foot boat with a ranger. My buddy tows his 20 foot wellcraft with his ranger and has no problems at all. and even if you buy a full size truck the tow rating wont be much higher than the rangers tow rating. if you plan on doing real towing then quit all the BS with 1/2 ton trucks and step up to a 3/4 or 1 ton truck

Rob

 

[azlakes]

Re: Ford Ranger okay for towing?

Whats the story? I was tempted to pull a 19' capri with my 04' Colorado I4 on flats but worried it wont get the boat up the launch or haul me into the water on approach...