Im going to purchase this auto lift and was lookin for some input from you guys that may have carried heavy loads in the bed of the Ranger before.
It weighs about 1200# and depending how/where i purchase i may travel 200 miles back home with it or maybe able to pick it up from a trucking co's transfer station about 25 miles away, in any case is this to much weight for the truck?

http://www.bendpak.com/product_info.isg?products_id=759

 

put it on a trailer. If itz loaded on a trailer properly you shouldn't have too much of a problem but in the bed will be rough (light on the front wheels).

 

ya, i (a longbed ranger) would do it.
for you, i would say to trailer it

 

being thats it 81" long and then any packing i guess i would have to keep the gate down.
i realize the front may feel light was just wondering how much the rear would squat if i was overloading the springs, and i didn't think about a trailer good idea, easier to unload into the garage with the aid of a engine hoist(lower to the floor).
Price for that one is $1599 there's another brand i was lookin at for a $1295


http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/pr...p/tppro-6m.htm

thanks for the tips guys.

 

i think 1200 is a little much, might be a better solution to rent a trailer from Uhaul or get one from a friend.

 

According to Ford, the maximum payload capacity of your truck is 1260#. This assumes that the rest of the truck is empty except for driver and a full tank of fuel. The added weight of any passengers, aftermarket equipment or cargo will reduce the amount that can be carried in the bed.

If you have any doubts, weigh the truck with driver, fuel, passengers, accessories and other cargo that you will have onboard, then add the 1200# to that number - your FX4 should not exceed something like 5440# total (check the door jamb label for the exact GVWR number).

You will want to have the heaviest part of the load as far forward as possible to give the best handling.

 

As long as you aren't over the rangers load ratings you should be alright. After all its a truck. Trailer would be easier but you technically are in the rangers load range. Last week I probably filled the ranger up with a 1000 lbs of firewood and I could tell it was back there but besides that it still felt safe to drive.

 

I have nearly the same lift, bought it used at Englishtown swap meet a few years ago. I brought it home along with plenty of other items in my 94 4x2 longbed, the end of the lift with the ram is the heavy end, put that in first, the arms on mine were loose, so I put those and the pump and motor up front, with the long bed, it all fit with the gate closed. It took a gang of volunteers to load and unload, and I removed the tailgate when loading and unloading, since I didn't want to take the chance of breaking the tailgate straps.
My '94 is sprung pretty heavy, it's actually a bit too stiff if you ask me.
The lift I bought was a Snap-On, and was about 1100 pounds plus the pump, motor and cart. I had at least 1600 in the bed that day and it sat ok without any sever rear end sag. By putting the ram and the pump forward, you keep the majority of the weight ahead of the axle. I picked up a load of plate steel this morning, probably about 900 pounds or so, and that's laying flat over the whole bed evenly, and that rides heavier than that lift did simply because theres almost equal weight ahead and behind the rear axle. If I would have been able to load a bit farther forward, it would have felt better, but it in no way either overloaded it or made feel so bad it wasn't safe, it just sat a bit lower in the rear than in the front.

I do agree that a trailer would be easier in your case, if you aren't careful with a 1200 lb piece of iron when loading, you can easily make a mess out of the bed sheetmetal, (Read: DON'T DROP IT). I have several low trailers I use for things I'd rather not risk in my trucks, like when you have to rely on someone elses forklift skills. (I've had tailgates and back doors on my vans crushed by careless forklift drivers before). If you load a trailer properly, even a single axle, you probably won't even notice it back there. I just towed a 14' single axle enclosed trailer about 140 miles with mine with no trouble, and regularly tow a 12' landscaper's type trailer with my '94 4 cyl. 4x2 stick.
It actually tows worse empty, when the truck and trailer are empty, they both tend to bounce around on rough roads, when loaded they ride great.

 

i would just rent an 8 foot trailer from uhaul, they are light, simple and easy on the truck, I think it would a lot safer than loading up that bed, with that much weight on the rear axle i would think the truck would very hard to control