Can a '98 3.0 L Ranger tow a speedboat?
 

Very curious to this question as Im planning to purchase a boat and wondering if I have to say goodbye to my baby or not :(... Anyone here tow a boat with thier Ranger??

A lot of guys do. Give us some specs like how long is it, how much does it way. With your 5 spd your towing capacity is lesser than a autos.

Thanks for the quick response. I dont have a particular boat in mind yet so I cant give exact specs but im sure it will be under 19 feet. Not something huge by any means, just some sort of bowrider i can u se for wakeboarding generally. Is there somewhere I can look up what my towing capacity is?

If I'm not mistaken I think the max trailer weight of a 4x4 3.0 manual is like 2300 lbs. Let me a search to confirm that.

Ok did a quick search and thats right.

just dont try to tow your boat with the bumper hitch

Oh god no lol, I think thats only rated for 200 lbs haha

look at your owners manual

my 3.0 auto 4x4 can tow 2000 lb. maybe a few hundred more. i was looking at my owners manual today but i am old and forgot already

ive towed a 5x8 uhaul trailer filled with **** when i was moving and i thought that might be too much but it did fine, body and engine wise ... but i always laugh when i see other trucks with the bumper all bent out cause they tried to tow somethin too big.

I just looked at mine and it said like 2300

Excellent. Thank you very much guys for all the replies. Ok and I have a hidden hitch tow package. Will that be fine?

if it has a 2" reciever you should be fine

I towed a 19' bayliner with a 3.0 5-speed 2wd, no problem.

considering his truck can only tow 2300lbs, a 1 1/4 is all he would need and he still have 1200lbs extra

well you would be suprised at the strenth of the bumper but its true dont use it get a hitch my grandpop once in a while tows a fullsize pickup bed tralier 8' by the way loaded with wood i dont know how much it weighs but once you unload the wood you notice how much higher the trailer is oh and he also isnt scared to tow vehicles on a tow dolly off the bumper but like is said dont do it i ALWAYS use my hitch there was a ball on my bumper when i got it and that came right off

I can bend my bumper ball down by standing on it and kinda bouncing on it a little, but my bumper has been through alot and has some rust on the welds. lol

your truck will be just fine for towing a speed boat

you'll be fine. I tow my 17ft tri-hull with a 55 horse motor on the back and my 99' 3.0 2wd ranger does alright.

wow, im surprised no one posted any pics, haha

i have a 99 2.5 automatic and i tow all over the eastern seaboard a 19 foot sea ray without any trouble.. i dont hot dog the truck tho goin up hills

A less than 19ft boat is small for wakeboarding isn't it? Most real wakeboard boats are 22' - 24' long and HEAVY. I have a 20ft bowrider and the wake isn't very big. The only small boat that would be good for wake boarding are the older ski nautiques which are within your tow range.

Why are the 4.0 rated for so much more?

i did that too... i almost didn't make it when i was taking it out of the water though :eek:

Yeah I dont know looks like I might be screwed after all. Ive been looking up the weights of some of these boats Ive had my eyes on such as the Mastercraft X series some of them weigh upwards of 3000 pounds :(