Hey guys, been a while since I've posted or really spent much time on the site. Anyways, I'm going to be moving back home this summer for an internship and need to move all my junk out of my apartment. I'm probably going to be renting a U-Haul trailer or borrow a friend of a friends 6x12 trailer. Online it says they weigh in at around a ton and I probably have about another ton to add to it (moving some of my sisters stuff back home for the summer as well). My concern is how big the frontal space is of the trailer mixed in with the big weight being too much. I can try to get my dad's F-150 but that will be a stretch. My ranger is a 2001, auto 4.10 gears 4x4 80,XXX miles. I know the book says 5000 some odd pounds for max trailer weight but I don't want to go in on this unless I know the ranger won't crap out half way home. The highway is all 65 or 75 with minimum speed of 55 most of the way so I'd have to be going at a good clip. Any comments?


****Cliff notes****
Has anyone ever hauled a 4000# cargo trailer with their ranger at highway speeds 100 some miles and have any issues?

 

GoodysGotaCuda did from Florida to Vegas

 

I weighed my Ranger at a cat scale. I pulled a total of 7,500lbs (including the truck and passengers) from Florida to Las Vegas (2,400 miles) with a 3.0L. Not sure what the truck alone weighs, but thats a pretty fair amount for this truck.

Mind you that journey goes from about sealevel, up as high as 7,500ft...a few times. It is NOT an easy ride for a hogged down truck. But it did do it, and is kickin' well. I managed about 13mpg up until the mountains.

I used the bigger single axle trailer. I wouldn't recommend the loaded down dual axle for the ranger. Thats gotta be another 1000lbs full of crap and trailer. I think the single axle was ~1200lbs empty

 

I pulled my dads 4500lb. ski boat to the lake and back (about 135 miles round trip) all last summer and never had any trouble. Of course I couldn't get up over 65 for very long, but my 4.0 still did it.

 

you wont have any issues. just keep it out of overdrive unless youre on a flat road. if the tranny is shifting in and out of overdrive alot, shut it off. i haul a 6x12 enclosed trailer all the time. trailer weights 1400 pounds empty. ive moved alot of my friends and usually have the truck and trailer packed full with no issues at all running at highway speeds. ill usually drop it down to 60-65 mph to save a bit on gas though.

 

I just did everything youre about to do. i just moved from Seattle to San Diego with a 6x12 that i bought and i weighed that thing down. And my ranger towed it like the champ that it is. Going over the mtn passes i of course had to down shift but i was able to hold highway speed over all the flat highways. I did upgrade to sport trac springs and got some helper springs and i was still saggin (as shown in pic). So maybe an upgrade in springs wouldnt be so bad if you could afford to do it (theyre cheap out of a junkyard) or maybe an add a leaf. And i changed my diff fluid just for the hell of it too.

So yes..... your ranger can handle it!!!!!

 

oh my god!! thats just unsafe and wrong...

 

From Oregon to Kentucky with the Sport Trac. (4.0L auto 4.88 gears with 33's)
The trailer is a 6x14, 6' tall inside (taller than a uhual), and packed from floor to ceiling.
No problems at all. With the gears, easily held 65-75 in over drive. The highest part of the drive was in Wyoming at around 9000 ft.



The only bag thing about the uhual trailer is the hydraulic surge brakes, and the ranger brakes suck *****. But you will be fine with your truck. If the transmission is hunting, just lock out over drive.

 

I can't find the older pictures, but I've moved more than a few times using a uhual 6x12 pulled behind my 98 ranger (4.0L manual 3.73's with 31's and then 33's). Much slower with that thing because of the gearing, but it still pulled just fine. The only problem was getting it moving from a stop (small clutch, big tires, tall gearing), and stopping it quickly.

 

Holy *** end sagging batman!!!

 

Oh No..... my truck is sagging.... so f*n what! My truck is not only a toy, but and actual work truck that i can depend on to do some heavy duty stuff from time to time. Some trucks actually work for a living and dont just spend their time in a mall parking lot!

 

Mike,

My 03 FX4L2 towed the uhaul 6x6x12 trailer from Portland Oregon to Madison Wi. with every possesion I had at the time. That was 2k miles. The uhaul trailer says to not exceed 45 mph on strait open highway i never went over 55. If you haven't changed your transmission fluid then i wouldsuggest doing that. Also check the tire pressure and brakes. after that you should be fine.

 

ive rented the 5x8 before and towed it on the BUMPER HOOK of my 4cyl 3.73s


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now i have this, 75 dodge shortbed on a custom frame with a trailer axle ... cost all of 150



after some elbow grease. Repainted EVERYTHING, duplicolor bedliner, and got some welds redone.

 

Your biggest concern is just going to be your fuel consumption, as it's just going to drink it up. Expect to see half the milage you typically get.

 

yup i get around 15 - 17 hwy with trailers .... and thats going slow cause californias law is 55 when towing

 

I could barely even do 55 with my 4.0 towing a 6x12 U-haul fully loaded. lol

 

dang my 3.0L musta had more spirit than i thought. moving 7500lbs i hit 81 on some downhills, maintained 70 on the straights. fast for a trailer, but when you have 2400miles to go, you tend to wanna get it over with lol

 

I had the cruise set at 70 or better for probably more than 1000 miles of my trip, got 10mpg average for the whole trip.

 

Well in the summer on average I tow a trailer (1200 lbs) with 3 quads (600 lbs each) my topper, all mine and my buddies crap, plus 3 people including me, about 800 km (500 miles) round trip. I do it usually 4-5 times a summer if I am lucky. That is with 3.73's, 32's and a manual. Just gotta be smart, and realize that you are not going to be the fastest on the road. Take it slow, and your set.

 

sigged

 

Was that a compliment? lol

 

lol i dont remember any of my posts last night (or getting on the computer for that matter)

 

Thanks for the input guys. Tranny fluid and diff fluid are new so I'm set in those departments. I'll probably end up leaving at the butt crack of dawn on saturday morning to get ahead of any traffic and head back at 55.

 

Well, I did make it up to 70, but it struggled to stay there. 4th gear with my foot to the floor just trying to keep pace with traffic in the slow lane.

 

dont be an *** dude.. it doesnt matter if you call your truck a "toy" or a "work truck" those brakes can only do so much your "work truck" is only made to tow up to so much weight. the stability of your truck is obviously not the strongest towing that much.

I wasnt going out of my way to talk to you like Im your daddy. just making a comment. chill out and try going to the mall more offten



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