4cyl. ranger. a122

[chiseledchest]

Has anyone towed a Rockwood a122 with a 4cyl ranger before? If so how did the truck do?

[prof_fate]

whats the tow rating of the truch? Weight of the TT? Toung weight of the TT and hitch and payload of the ranger?

[chiseledchest]

Info I can find on truck is about 2300lbs towing. My aframe pop up says dry weight is about 1900. Gross is 3100. Not sure what that means. Was gonna buy a class 3 hitch for ranger and add helper springs to rear to keep from getting to much sag. Haven't bought truck yet. Right now I am pulling with a 98 jeep gc with a 5.9. But I'm needing something better on gas so that is why I was looking at 4cyl ranger. I usually only travel at the most is 30 miles to campsite.

[prof_fate]

Youre screwed.

Dry weight is optimistic - and does not include batter or propane. Now add in your bedding, bath stuff, dishes, food, chairs, etc - 700lbs easy. So now you're at 2600 lbs if not more.

Now towing on a truck is figured with ONE 150lb driver and 1/2 tank of gas. Every pound you add to the truck (more fuel, passengers, firewood, bikes, cap on the truck, etc) reduces the towing amount pound for pound.

Next is GCWR - the total weight rolling down the road. Probably 7-8k pounds for the ranger, if that. (figure what, 4200lbs for truck, and 2300 towing and a few hundred for cargo in the truck, heck it may be even lower).

Payload...you, passengers, gas, hitch, toungue weight. Since F150s have only 1600-1700 lbs total payload the ranger is probably 1200-1300. You want 10-15% of the TT weight on the tounge, say 350lbs of a 2600lb trailer. That leaves you 900ish for you, gas, passenger, etc. (hitch can weight 50lbs).

Besides being unsafe with an overloaded truck, you'll wear it out FAST - axles, trans bearings, rear end gears, trans gears maybe, cooling for sure are not up to that workload.

[chiseledchest]

Got it. Just thought those numbers on the ranger might be put their by ford to cover their butts as far as warranty claims or to keep from getting sued. I thought the truck might be able to handle it on such short trips

[ChooChooMan74]

Originally Posted by chiseledchest

Got it. Just thought those numbers on the ranger might be put their by ford to cover their butts as far as warranty claims or to keep from getting sued. I thought the truck might be able to handle it on such short trips

For the heck of it, go to uktow website and see what the tow rating is across the puddle on the same vehicle. It is funny how tow ratings are affected when vehicles cross the atlantic. My lil guy is rated for over 7400 pounds across the puddle and down under. That is why draw tite sells 7500 lb hitches for it.

I won't say do something unsafe. I admit, fully loaded, I am about 100 pounds over my GVW. Then again, with just passengers, I am over my front axle weight rating.

[chiseledchest]

Checked it out. Doesn't really answer nothing for me though. I was just wondering if anyone has pulled the a122 with this truck. I've seen it being pulled with a ford escape and I find it hard to believe that as little as the Escape is that it could out pull a true full frame truck

[ChooChooMan74]

You can always rent a uhaul box with approximately the same frontal area, load some weight into it, and tow it around. Granted you wont have a weight distributing hitch or brakes ron it, but you will be able to see how it tows.

If you do find it tows ok, then you should put a tranny cooler on your truck.

[Titleguy]

I owned a Mazda B2300 (Same thing as the ranger). I towed my 2 place snowmobile trailer with it, but even that worked that truck on hills or at speeds over 50mph.

[chiseledchest]

Thanks for the replys. I found the owners manual on line last night. I think that it will probably be ok. Trailer weighs 1892 dry and towing capacity is 2250. I don't store anything in camper when going place to place due to it being a pop up. And usually I only bring some food and drinks and change of clothes when I go so total weight will be within spec.

[Pooneil]

The only way to answer your question is to actually weigh the trailer. Published specs and estimated packing will not suffice when you are close to your limits. Load the trailer as you would for camping, take it to a scale and get it weigh it. Some commercial scales will weigh it and others my require more axle weight. I took mine to a local yard that sold landscape stones and they did it for free.

Here is what I would do. Fill up the tank and weight your TV. Pack it for camping, attach the hitch, fill the tank and weigh it again. Pack the trailer for camping and put the tongue on a bathroom scale to get the tongue weight. The last two get you the gross vehicle weight. If you subtract the first weight you get what will be added to the real curb weight of your prospective TV. The only way to know for sure if the prospective TV will carry that is to get its actual curb weight and add the load to get the gross vehicle weight and compare that to the rating.

The other weight you need is the axle weight. Get that from the scale too. Add the axle weight to the GVW to get the GCVW.

Air bags do not compensate for being overweight on the hitch. They just make the vehicle ride level but steering and braking are impaired just the same. And remember the tongue needs to carry about 12.5% of the entire trailer weight. If you go under 10% you are asking for sway trouble so you can't indiscriminately move weight from the front to the back to reduce the tongue weight.

Again, when you work close to the vehicle limits, the only safe way to tow a load is with actual weights.

[RenFaire Camper]

I have a A122BH and had a 4cyc Ranger traded up to the F-150 last month. Even in North Texas were everything is pretty flat the Ranger had issues towing the A122BH first my gas milage drop in half a trip half tank trip not towing went to a full tank. Going down to Houston and Austin wasn't really bad but coming back you could really feel the Ranger working hard the RPM were in the 3500 range all the time and I could tell the truck was having problems I'd stop ever hour or so to make sure the transmission wouldn't over heat. I didn't upgrade the rear suspension so the truck really sat pretty low and you could feel that in the handling too. There were certain state parks I wouldn't go to because I didn't want to risk trying to pull up the grade on the dirt roads into and out of the park. I certainly wouldn't want to try towing with the ranger into any type of real hill or mountain country. As much as I loved my Ranger I've had four of them in my life and they are my favorite trucks I traded to the F-150 because I was afraid I'd just tear up the Ranger and it was too good a truck for that.

[jdadoug]

Having owned a Ford Ranger (5spd) I doubt if I would try pulling much of a trailer........ You didnt say, is yours manual or automatic tranny?
The 5 speed I had didnt like to haul stuff.... I hauled wood and had it pretty full! The dang truck was just too tall geared! I did get pretty good gas milage though. I would be afraid if you have a manual tranny if the clutch would hold out very long........
Auto would be better, tranny cooler would be necessary.
jdadoug

[chiseledchest]

It's an automatic with 40000 miles. The farthest I travel is 30 miles. I usually go camping about four times a year to the same location also the truck is extended cab with longer wheelbase

[Rrickim63]

Originally Posted by chiseledchest

It's an automatic with 40000 miles. The farthest I travel is 30 miles. I usually go camping about four times a year to the same location also the truck is extended cab with longer wheelbase

I had a ranger for 17 years before ketting it go. Great truck, not for towing unless you find a 4.0. The 4 banger will not like towing... In reality, the 2.3 l are actually old pinto motors from years ago.

[prof_fate]

Having been a mechanic for years sometimes tow ratings are 'under' what the truck can handle - and sometimes they're dead on.

There are many limiting factors. For example, my expedition for reasons I dont understand loses 500'lb capaicity with the optional 17" wheels (vs 16"). Same overall diameter so it's not a gearing thing.
My particiular expy had the big transmission - the same one used in the 350's so that is not the limiting factor. There is also a warning in the owners manual about frontal area, not to exceed 64sf.

On the other side, my windstar had a tow rating of 2000lbs with a V6, unless you had the tow package which nearly doubled it. My 4 cyl subaru has a 2700 lb tow rating - even more than your ranger 'truck'! But the caveat is 'trailers over 1000 lbs require brakes'.

1892 is a stripped trailer and does not include battery, propane, water, bedding, dishes, wood for leveling, etc. I"m sure you have some of that in there. The hitch weight is not included.
The tow rating assumes 1/2 tank of gas and 150lb driver and again, a base truck. If you carry oil, 4 way, jumper cables, bed liner or fill up your gas tank or like most of us weight more than 150lb (I go 243 for example) you're reducing your load.
I assume no matter how light you travel you'll bring clothes and some food.

Nearly empty you'll be over your limits. For short infrequent trips it's unlikely you'll shorten the life of your truck a whole lot - but you are illegal and should you have any incident most likely your insurance will walk away and stick you with the bill. And these numbers are not pulled from thin air - somebody someplace actually has a reason for them - maybe in 6 months you can tell us why (brakes overheat and rotors warp, it handles weird in the rain, trans fries on the third trip)

Feel free to hit a ditch or break an axle - but I care because me and my family are on the road too.

[ChooChooMan74]

Originally Posted by prof_fate

Nearly empty you'll be over your limits. For short infrequent trips it's unlikely you'll shorten the life of your truck a whole lot - but you are illegal and should you have any incident most likely your insurance will walk away and stick you with the bill.

Where is he illegal? And do you have documented cases where an insurance company denied a claim? This was debated on another forum and no one came up with a case.

For some good readings on tow ratings click the link.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/200...ng-conspiracy/

I found this when I was trying to find out why my Jeep had different tow rating overseas.

[prof_fate]

His truck is licensed for a given weight - GCWR, axle weights, payload/GVWR. Exceeding them breaks the law- you need to pay more for your registration in almost every state. Running too heavy is illegal, be you a commercial tractor trailer or prius.
And it's unsafe. Not just for you, but everyone on the road.
http://www.cga.ct.gov/2007/rpt/2007-R-0214.htm

And you never know what local event may cause the cops to get 'enforcement happy'. A few years ago here a guy on the way to work didn't have his safety chains on , the trailer came off crossed the yellow line and killed a dad and his 3 kids in their minivan, then a flatbad came loose killed a couple of more
http://www.lawnboss.net/trailer-safety.htm

and then this one here also
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...-woman-625637/

So yes, the cops here to set up trailer safety check points and DO write tickets.

And every insurance policy has a line it that they are not obligated to pay if you are breaking the law.

Sure, at high noon in may on a level road there's not likely to be cause for concern. Add in rain, darkness, hills curves and it can change. Add in any emergency stop or swerve and you may end up in the median upside down (which I've seen more than once).
So with an overweight combo you'll take 30 feet longer to stop. Ever had to stop fast? What if you had to take 30 feet more to do so? Would you perhaps have hit the thing in the road? yep, THATs teh issue right there.

Why does a silverado with a tow package have twice the tow rating of one without, same engine, tires, transmisson? Why does even a base 2500 have as much as a 'properly equipped' 1500? You're not an egineer so you don't know. To just assume it's the liability lawyers or EPA rules or some such is a guess - a guess with your money, possibly your life and others.

Do you know the difference between genius and stupidity? Stupidity knows no limits.

The OP will do what ever he will do - we can't stop him. For the $500=1000 a year he may save in gas he's likely to spend it on repairs instead. It would probably make more sense to go buy a used gas sipper car and have 2 vehicles.

Our expy was a third vehicle used just to pull the TT - cost for a year, for registration, inspection, insurance was about $200. A transmission can cost 10 times that easily, if not more.

What price a white knuckle ride?

[ChooChooMan74]

It may be breaking the law in your state, but not all states are your state. Maybe his truck is registered as a passenger vehicle. That is allowed my state. In my state, even if you register commercial, which would be at least a 3/4 ton or higher, there is no law that I am aware of saying that you can't be over that.

Am I breaking the law with passengers in my vehicle, no cargo, and no trailer? I am over my front GAWR with no cargo, just 4 passengers?

I would love to hear what you have to say about my tow combination. I am over my truck GVW by 100 pounds.

And you talk about insurance and breaking the law. Have you seen insurance not pay for someone running a stop light or stop sign? How about speeding? Or failure to yield to oncoming traffic. All those are laws that get broken and cause accidents. If that was the case, the insurance would almost never pay.

[prof_fate]

Yes, I've seen insurance not pay. A friend is an insurance adjuster. I worked as a mechanic and have friends in body shops. Happens all the time.

Get a DUI or reckless driving ticket and see what gets paid, or not. Go deliver pizza or use your car for work and have an accident and see what happens. All policies (car, home, etc) have specific exclusions. The higher the risk the more you pay for insurance - so if you drive your car for work you drive a lot more than joe average so the risk to the insurance company is higher.

Here in PA they DO indeed monitor weights. And the more your truck weights the more your registration fee. Get pulled over and the cop things your overweight you'll be calling for a ride or unloading your truck. And possibly paying a fine too.

My expy was no doubt at the GCWR limit with our TT. The silverado has a couple of thousand pounds more so we're under now. It's very different going down the road now - better ride, better handling, better acceleration, better stopping. More comfortable as well as safer and legal.

Just because someone jumped out of an airplane and their chute failed to open and they lived does not mean you can do the same and walk away as well.

And no, not all states are my state. But when in my state my state laws apply - not your state laws where you come from. Just like I can drive 70mph in ohio and not PA. Ohio rules apply to me when I'm in ohio just as PA laws apply to ohio drivers when in PA.