towing with a 3.0 V6 Ford Ranger

[crappie lover ken]

is anyone pulling a boat with a ranger. i have a 2001 with a 3.0. my boat and trailer weighs around 2000 lbs. maybe a little more. no brakes on trailer.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: towing with a 3.0 V6 Ford Ranger

towing is not your problem, stopping is. pickups are light in the rear. ( iknow had them for 30 years). now towing with a Merc. Mariner 2.3L. the 3.0 will have no problem towing, put hydrolic brakes on trailer. not a hard job if the trailer already has the backing plate.

http://www.championtrailers.com

by the way i love crappie fishing. heres, my crappie boat.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f119/tashasdaddy/port.jpg

 

[ruf1967]

Re: towing with a 3.0 V6 Ford Ranger

try this link: http://www.trailerboats.com/towrati...rd+Truck&model=ranger&min_tlimit=&max_tlimit=

 

[DJ]

Re: towing with a 3.0 V6 Ford Ranger

I've towed with two different Rangers. Both Super Cabs, both 3.0's with trailer towing package. Both had limited slip. One was a 1999 and the other a 2004.

Both towed 2000 just fine. Both towed 3500, just fine. They stopped both fine. The 3500 # load had surge brakes.

The only issue with both was backing down a long steep ramp. The Ranger is light in the front end and the front wheels may slide if the ramp is slippery. Not a good feeling.

I had nothing in the bed of either. I believe some weight (forward of the rear axle) would have helped immensely.

If I still had either truck, I would add air shocks or air bags to the rear. The Ranger sits level with no load. Plus, the Ranger has a pretty long overhang from the rear axle to the hitch ball, especially a receiver type.

The extra lift in the rear would help transfer weight to the front axle along with a little weight in the bed.

 

[JasonB]

Re: towing with a 3.0 V6 Ford Ranger

I have an older body style ranger, a '92, with the 3.0 and 5spd. I tow about 800lbs.

Your Ranger is heavier with better brakes.

I've never had any power or ramp problems. Stopping is marginal in the dry, non-existent in the rain. If its wet, I use my F-150.

I have also used my brothers 2000, 3.0, auto to pull this boat. It pulls and stops much better than mine.

 

[DJ]

Re: towing with a 3.0 V6 Ford Ranger

JasonB, made some very good points. While the body may look similar in older Rangers, the underpinnings are different, in newer models.

For your interest, I have towed a 2000 pound load over 450 miles, over mountains, in the Southwest (San Diego to Phoenix. Six percent grades are a part of that trip-up and down.
The '04' Ranger with the five speed automatic gave me plenty of choices-on up/down grades. I never felt the load was "pushing" me.

I tend to set up trailers with plenty of hitch weight. That avoids sway.

A balanace betwwen hitch weight and load weight is achievable.

All in all, the Ranger is a very well built "stout" little truck. Tough as nails. If set up right, it pulls fine.

 

[crackerjack]

Re: towing with a 3.0 V6 Ford Ranger

I tow an 18' i/o runabout with a '92 4.0, auto, 4x2 Ranger supercab.
I don't have trailer brakes, but sometimes wish I did. Texas law doesn't require them for my 3500 lb. load. The load is well balanced on the trailer and I never feel like the boat is "driving" the truck. I don't have any trouble at loading docks or much trouble getting up to 60-65 mph, but I'm a little concerned about stopping in an emergency situation.

 

[shipoffools]

Re: towing with a 3.0 V6 Ford Ranger

I tow around 2500lbs with an Explorer Sport Trac 4.0 4wd (ext cab ranger platform). It's balanced a little different but tows quite nicely.