ok, me and my dad are fixin to go in on buyin a brand new camper and i was wonderin what id need to do to make it ready to pull. the only things i can think of are trailer brakes and gettin my timing chain fixed bc im sure ill stay in higher RPMs. thanks guys

 

Do you have a Class III receiver hitch? Wiring harness for the trailer lights?

 

I'd make sure you got the right connector to hook the trailer up. You got a hitch right? Also want to make sure you got something that can change the tires on the trailer with you whenever you pull it.

 

How big of a trailer are we talking?

 

wouldnt hurt to upgrade he brakes on the truck as well as looking into a load stabilizing hitch setup to take some of the load off the truck. they work well.

 

Ya, what size trailer are we talking here? What rear end do you have? I see you got 4.10 but is it in the 7.5 or 8.8?

 

ive got a hitch and lights. well be getting the anti sway bar for the camper when we buy it. and prolly no bigger than 27'. we had a 24' a few yrs ago that my dads 2wd 4.2l v6 f150 pulled no problem. any ideas to help reduce rear sag?

 

id say either an add a leaf or an airbag set up.

 

A big camper I would use airbags.

 

I dont know man about a 27 footer. My dad pulled my grandpa's 27 foot camper down to Bowling green from up here. My dads truck had a hard time with it going up and down those hills. He has a 2000 F-150 4.6L. His trans has not shifted the same since.

 

No way in hell should you tow a camper that big with a Ranger. My Dad has a 27 footer and he tows it with his expedition. The expedition has a 5.4 and it Barely tows it in wind or up hills. My Dad is buying a bigger rig this summer because he is killing his expedition because it is not made to tow that.

Ranger + 27' Trailer = unsafe IMO

BTW,

You know this is how big a 27' trailer is right?



~HJ

 

My grandfather has a '96 Mazda B4000. He used to have a 24' Coachmen travel trailer. The only thing he added to the truck was trailer brakes. The trailer had all the food and coolers and camping gear in it and the truck even had stuff in the bed. It did just fine, but he didn't drive it like a race car either. Most of the time it was around 120 miles one way. At least one time that I can think of he took it from Where we used to live in FL to where we live now in GA which is at least 1400 miles round trip.


He did it with a 24', a 27' will is heavier. Just be careful.

Edit: He did have a tranny cooler on it.

 

That trailer I posted above is 5200#s dry weight, a full tank of water, the grey water tank and all your gear will easily exceed the rangers towing capabilities. Trust me it is a mistake, get a smaller camper or get a bigger truck.

~HJ

 

Holy crap dude, shouldn't be towing anything near that big with the ranger. The frontal area is way too big, the overall weight is way too big. Have you ever heard "the tail wags the dog"? That is what it's going to be like.
Not to mention the 33's. Is your truck a manual tranmission? You're going to fry the clutch getting the trailer moving. Auto? You're going to burn it up if you don't have some serious cooling going on.

Coming from Oregon to Wyoming with the sport trac, I pulled a 6x14 enclosed single axle trailer, loaded up. The sport trac had 4.88 gears and 33's, auto with tuner, bigger tranny cooler, prodigy brake controller. I wouldn't want to put anything much more than that behind a ranger. Wind resistance is a ***** too. I could pull up the mountains fine, but when I had a strong headwind in Wyoming the semis starting passing me on level ground.

 

This is my mom's expedition pulling a 26-28 ft arctic fox trailer. It is a heavy little bastard especially when you start filling up water, food, gear etc.
The expedition is a 5.4L auto with 3.73's, E rated tires, prodigy controller, anti-sway and weight distribution. I wouldn't want to pull that trailer with anything less, for sure.

 

if you tow a 27 foot camper with your Ranger, were going to see a thread from you entitled: "Blew up my motor"

 

I've towed a 21' Travel Trailer with my Ranger and I would do it again but nothing any larger. I was flooring it 3/4 of the time and I averaged 8-9MPG. It's rough on the truck. I don't do it on a regular basis though. 27' TT is out of the quesion plus over the towing weight limit rated for the Ranger.

As far as advice for towing anywhere close to the maximum capacity is to make sure the trailer and your truck are both equiped with trailer breaks and get a tranny cooler.

 

Judging from the pictures that trailer is only 7' wide or so, also.

 

is it intended to be pulled by ur truck or a bigger truk ur dad has and u didnt say?

if its with ur truck get a smaller one. ull be much more happy with it, safer also.

i have overloaded trailer weights... serious overload for a ranger and its not fun to drive... specially on a manual. when im driving my truck with a heavy trailer not even my dad (even if he pays for the new clutch) can drive my truck.. would want anyone to fry it....

im no tused to camper sizes in feet.. but seeing the pic its a no no on a ranger!

plus u wouldt want to be the guy stuck in the middle of the highway cause ur truck didnt had the power to reach the hill top :P lol

and i run with a exra leaf and it does fine.. a lil tougher thow but you get used to it. id love to get some airbags :P would be much handier than having to put another "extra" leaf.... who knows....

 

i have 8.8 rear end. my dad will be towing it MOST of the time and ill pull the boat or the atv trailer. hes got a 93 1500 5.7 2wd chevy. ill only pull it maybe 4 times a yr. mostly 15 miles one way to a fish and game campground/club my dad is president of. id never go newhere that i need to be on the interstate. furthest id prolly go is bowling green, ky if you know where that is or shawnee town Nat'l forrest in IL (i think). only other place id go is hoosier nat'l forrest near tell city, IN and its maybe 35 miles away. its all relatively flat and i wouldnt be takin any water, grey water, or **** water. all but ONE place has a dump station and if it doesnt have one then i wouldnt use my bathroom. and yes, ik what 27' camper is. my boss, and 3 of my friends has/had them. where would you suggest to get a AAL at and how big of one? thanks

 

well a full size pulling it i dont see a prob with it. gona be nice

 

yea, but im gonna pull it with the ranger a few times a yr

 

You are putting OTHER peoples lives at risk by ILLEGALLY pulling something that big that clearly EXCEEDS the manufactures weight limit!!!!

If you were pulling something like that and hit me or my family I would ( SUE THE **** OUT OF YOU )

I can't believe the **** people pull with their rangers with total disregard for OTHER people on the road.

YOU DO NOT HAVE A SUPER DUPER ALL MIGHTY TRUCK!! // IT'S A RANGER.

 

dont need a big diesel to pull everything dude. get your panties out of a wad and chill. why do you think im getting info on what i need to pull one safely? its not like im just hookin it up to the hitch w/o trailer brakes, anti sway bar, etc and ******* *** down the road... and let my GVW sticker determine that. every vehicle is different, even if it is a ranger. and do you not understand how light these campers are nowadays? im not pullin a old *** camper that ways 10k lbs.

 

also not feeling it

my father pulls a 1993 25' collins 5th wheel in a 98 silverado 5.7l 1500 WITH AIRBAGS, and i personally think its pushing it for that truck even with the airbags.