RWD Tow Vehicle Launch Issues?

[poconojoe]

I had two 4x4 Ford Rangers. One 1997 and the other 2008. Both were very capable for hauling stuff and towing. I remember more than once having a load in the bed of each where the hood was sitting high and the rear bump stops were touching! That was some real abuse, but those little trucks could take a beating as long as you had the 4x4 model with better suspension.

Then I had a 2016 4x4 Chevy Colorado which was a very nice truck and quite capable too.

Now I drive a Silverado, mainly because I got such a great deal on it and for the larger roomier cab.
The larger trucks get pretty good mileage too with all the technology improvements.
My Silverado (2019 LD) with a 5.3 V8 gets an easy 18-19 mpg around town. If I really conserve, I can get 20-21. I've gotten up to 30 on the highway. Pretty impressive.

 

[Lou C]

Now they make new Rangers

yep they are almost as big as F-150s were 20 years ago! It was a wise move of FoMoCo to bring out the compact Maverick at a good price point.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Putting trucks in 4x4 when retrieving makes it easier on the drivetrain...

 

[harringtondav]

You know, I had not seen many Ranger trucks over the past 5 years until recently now that the new F-150's were pushing $80K

We lucked out. Ford was offering very nice rebates and dealer incentives late in 2019 when we bought ours. Story was Ford had overbuilt and needed to move them. $7200 in total incentives. My dealer transferred one with my must haves, plus a few more gizmos and features. All in $29K plus a few hundred. I'm *****ing in tall cotton compared to what I'd have paid if I waited. 7500# towing seems a bit boastful, but our 4000# boat/trailer is hardly noticeable on a 110 mile, 70 mph haul...other than the 10 mpg drop from normal mileage.

 

[briangcc]

I’m likely open season, fair game and might regret this…but feeling brave…
Would it be terribly offensive if I suggested that us European chaps…perhaps think our fellow boaters from North America…might just go a little overboard or OTT with the seemingly enormous tow vehicles?
I get it’s a different thing over there. But to tow your average 18ft inboard bowrider…I’ve read often, advice given suggesting that no less than what would appear to be on a par with a monster truck, will be sufficient!
Don’t get me wrong…if I was over there…let there be no doubt…I’d be doing the same . But the reality here is that I have towed my heavier than most 18ft (4000 lbs on a trailer at its lighter dry weight) with my bmw 530d GT no problems. Even use my wee Honda CR-V for it too.
Anyway. Just a thought.

I think that some of it is just sheer stupidity on the driver's part. Other could be related to the "Tim the Toolman Taylor" mentality of bigger is better.

Other is that driver education here doesn't involve towing trailers. My drivers training back in the early 90's said the following when I asked this very question...."We leave that up to the individual to figure out as we don't cover that in the 20 hour course".

Here's a real life example...

Wife's cousin had a 19' Chap with V8 on a tandem aluminum trailer. For argument's sake, call it 5k towed. When I met said cousin, he had a V6 powered Taco (Toyota Tacoma) 4x4. Should have been capable of towing 7200 easy. Well according to said cousin, that truck wouldn't tow the boat so he upgraded to a Hemi Jeep 4x4. That wasn't good enough so he then parlayed that into a Ford F250 diesel. That started eating him out of house & home for fuel prices and he parlayed that into a Hemi Dodge Ram 1500 with tow package. Last I heard, as I have not seen it yet, he offloaded the Hemi Ram for another vehicle to tow his 30'+ camper that he bought because he bought the biggest camper he could tow with the Hemi Ram and wondered why he was floundering on the roads.

All along the way he managed to convince his father (wife's uncle) that to tow any boat he needed a V8. Wife's uncle was so convinced that he was thoroughly shocked when I told him my brand new (at the time) 4Runner V6 would very happily pull our 19' Chap. He was also shocked that our also new (at the time) V6 Ram 1500 (towed 7400) was equally capable.

Now you can look at the vehicles in my sig and say I'm a hypocrit BUT there's info that entered into the equation when I purchased my current Hemi Ram..... Wife wants a travel trailer and to open up our options I needed some extra towing capacity that a V6 couldn't offer. That and I kinda need a truck as I have (3) boys and a weeks worth of camping gear & supplies for the entire family takes up ALOT of space.

**Now are there i4's and V6's that have increased capacity? Sure...but they aren't available to test drive right now as dealers are only ordering, due to supply chain issues.

 

[Lou C]

I towed our '88 Four Winns (5000 on the trailer) for years with the '98 Grand with the 4 liter six. While it wasn't ideal, if I hadn't upgraded to the '07 Grand Hemi, I would have re-geared it to 4.10:1 and that combined with the biggest transmission cooler I could fit, air bags in the rear coils and Load Range C tires would have made a decent tow vehicle.
The other thing that helped a lot was upgrading the trailer (single axle) to a 6,000 lb axle, 6 lug hubs & 12" surge brakes. Way better stopping than the 10" brakes I had on it before.

 

[briangcc]

Yep. A V6 on a SUV chassis is a capable platform IF you do your research. It's the reason why the Durango in my sig has the factory tow package for the 6200lbs towing.

Most people don't which is why I think there's some sticklers who are still in the..... full sized pickup + v8 + 4x4 camp.

Another real world example....

A few weeks back we were wrapping up our day on the water and had used the Durango to tow to the lake. An older couple came up to us as we were getting items stowed and asked with a straight face if the Durango was capable towing the boat as "those fiberglass boats are heavy". I was dumbstruck. I explained the boat was lighter than he thought it was and that the Durango could tow 6200. I swear the eyes bulged out of his head in utter disbelief.

But back on topic....again, if your ramps are good and you're smart about it, a RWD pickup can work. Tires and smarts is what it's gonna take. If the ramps are iffy, best to opt for something AWD or 4x4.

 

[Lou C]

People are surprised at what the V8 Grand will do. Rated for 7200 lbs and pulls a 20' (5,000 lbs) like the Super Chief.
Even the first run Hemis have 375 ft lbs of torque. About 100 more than the Pentastar 3.6 V6. The later models have 390 ft lbs.

 

[froggy1150]

My mom has a Honda ridgeline....2013?..... and I use it for all my recreational towing because it's more comfortable than my 72 Chevy truck. I have bumper hitch pulled several 24-26' camper trailers with it no problem. I might have done a 28 once if I remember right. It also has 4 wheel lockers and I have used it to pull 4wd trucks stuck in snow

 

[froggy1150]

Forgot to mention it's a v6

 

[dingbat]

People are surprised at what the V8 Grand will do. Rated for 7200 lbs and pulls a 20' (5,000 lbs) like the Super Chief.

Towed my #3,500 boat from Baltimore to Oswego, NY and back with a 5.7 Grand pretty well.

Sold that boat and bought the Grady. Brought the Grady (#5,200) home from Richmond to Baltimore on Interstate Rt. 95.

Just not enough truck. Tail wagging the dog. Wife loved the Jeep but we sold it and bought a 5.3 Tahoe

Current tow vehicle is a 3.5L, V6. In hindsight, probably would have gone with the 2.7L

 

[bruceb58]

People are surprised at what the V8 Grand will do. Rated for 7200 lbs and pulls a 20' (5,000 lbs) like the Super Chief.
Even the first run Hemis have 375 ft lbs of torque. About 100 more than the Pentastar 3.6 V6. The later models have 390 ft lbs.

My friend has a V8 powered Grand Cherokee. Only 1000# of payload yet he keeps saying he has 7000# of towing capacity when he likely has over 1000# just for his tongue weight. Horrible towing vehicle low payload and short wheelbase. His wife asks me why they sway so much when trucks pass them LOL...he won't listen so I stay quiet.

 

[Lou C]

My friend has a V8 powered Grand Cherokee. Only 1000# of payload yet he keeps saying he has 7000# of towing capacity when he likely has over 1000# just for his tongue weight. Horrible towing vehicle low payload and short wheelbase. His wife asks me why they sway so much when trucks pass them LOL...he won't listen so I stay quiet.

If he had 1,000 lbs tongue weight he’s towing overweight! The max tongue weight on these is 750 lbs but to do that you need a WD hitch or air bags for lighter loads.
They are rated at 7200 lbs and I’m towing 5,000 and I don’t even feel it. Has your friend ever had his trailer weighed? If it’s doing what you saw he is OVERWEIGHT.
I’d like a pick up but they are too big for my parking situation and too expensive.

 

[harringtondav]

My friend has a V8 powered Grand Cherokee. Only 1000# of payload yet he keeps saying he has 7000# of towing capacity when he likely has over 1000# just for his tongue weight. Horrible towing vehicle low payload and short wheelbase. His wife asks me why they sway so much when trucks pass them LOL...he won't listen so I stay quiet.

A weight distributing hitch will move some GVWR to the trailer axles and it will lighten tongue weight. These hitches also do a good job of reducing trailer sway. Key is not exceeding the trailer tire's load rating.

 

[JASinIL2006]

My friend has a V8 powered Grand Cherokee. Only 1000# of payload yet he keeps saying he has 7000# of towing capacity when he likely has over 1000# just for his tongue weight. Horrible towing vehicle low payload and short wheelbase. His wife asks me why they sway so much when trucks pass them LOL...he won't listen so I stay quiet.

I think most people who tow are likely to run out of payload (i.e., be over the weight limit) long before they hit the max for towing capacity.

 

[bruceb58]

If he had 1,000 lbs tongue weight he’s towing overweight! The max tongue weight on these is 750 lbs but to do that you need a WD hitch or air bags for lighter loads.
They are rated at 7200 lbs and I’m towing 5,000 and I don’t even feel it. Has your friend ever had his trailer weighed? If it’s doing what you saw he is OVERWEIGHT.
I’d like a pick up but they are too big for my parking situation and too expensive.

Yes he used a WDH and YES he is overweight. Horrible tow vehicle.

 

[bruceb58]

I think most people who tow are likely to run out of payload (i.e., be over the weight limit) long before they hit the max for towing capacity.

Absolutely!

 

[bruceb58]

A weight distributing hitch will move some GVWR to the trailer axles and it will lighten tongue weight. These hitches also do a good job of reducing trailer sway. Key is not exceeding the trailer tire's load rating.

It moves tongue weight but not that much depending on the physics of axle location. More gets moved to the front axles of the tow vehicle but of course that doesn't help your payload issue.

 

[csukraw]

Happy to report that I have now towed my ~4,200lb boat/trailer combo around 400 miles with my 2WD Tacoma TRD Sport and have launched it three times so far. Experience could not have been smoother. Launch ramp was in great condition which helped so it was similar to when I used to launch my ocean boat in the harbor with ribbed ramps. On one retrieval, the ramp was wet and covered in gravel. Tires didn't slip once and my LSD didn't even kick in. In contrast, I witnessed a few people with full size 4WD trucks slip their tires because they didn't know how to feather the brake and gas properly. One day I'm sure I'll experience a tougher launch ramp but I'm no longer concerned. Proper tires, LSD and proper technique will prevail I'm sure. Thanks for everyone's advice, it put my concerns at ease.

 

[WIMUSKY]

LSD makes all the difference in the world on a 2WD...