Ford Ranger

[youngdude]

Need to know it a '99 Ford Ranger can haul a 6.5 by 12 foot trailer loaded down with two 36 inch walk behinds and two push mowers. I live in Ohio and you can sometimes come across a hill, should i get the electric brakes? Thanks

[MTR]

If you have V6 engine, there is no problem for the Ranger to pull two 36" on a 6 1/2' by 12'.
If you have 4 cylinders, then, little bit sweat , but it still can pull your trailer as long as "total weight trailer and equipment" is within 3000 lbs. I would not pull a 6 1/2 by 12' with 4 cyl. If you add a Z on it, you need F 150 or 250.

[scottishmaximus]

go for the 4.0. it has a 5 spd auto and larger brakes. the 3.0's i think are dogs. look at gear ratios. at least a 3.55. i have a similar set up that i haul w a 4.0 ranger w 3.55 rear end. hauls great. I have hauled cars on a tandem before with it. it'll do it, just have to be patient and know that things may wear quicker than a larger truck. Gas mileage is nicer though. usually get 14 with trailer and 18 w/o on highway.

[LawnPerfect]

Yes get electric brakes. Your ranger should pull the trailer without breaking a sweat if you have the V-6. But by all means get the brakes.

[Lawn Services Plus]

I would go with a larger truck-Ihad a Mazda pulling a 5X10
with a 36" scag walk behind and a push mower-trans gave up after one season-sold it as is and bought an old(1976) f-150
with a 300-6. this thing is a workhorse.rather feed it gas than
have one in the trans shop! by the way the mazda was a stick the f-150 is an auto.I also have a 78 f-250 the gas mileage is about the same on the V-8 (351) and the six (lousy) but they work hard with few problems.expect 10-12mpg on the old ones.

[scottishmaximus]

I have heard many bad things about the stick shifts in rangers. The A4ld tranny also does not have a good reputation. I have not heard anything bad yet about the 5 speed automatic that I think comes with most newer 4.0 liters. Make sure you tow in drive though.

[hole in one lco]

I pull 6-12 with a 48,36 21 and, push blower with my 99 ranger 4-4. So go for it.

[youngdude]

its the smallest 4 you can get. think i can get away with hauling a 6.5 by 10 with one 36 and one 48 with a push mower???

[scottishmaximus]

if it's a stick you can wind them up a little more. Towing is not too fun with a stick though, especially with the hills in ohio. If you already have it you can try it and if it doesn't work, milk it until you can get a bigger truck. I would recommend looking at a 3/4 ton so that you won't have to upgrade again so soon.

[UNISCAPER]

I am not sure of what terrain you have, but here in CA we ahev hills and grades everywhere.

I will not run anything less than an 8600 LB GVW truck, as the brakes and suspensions lend themselves well for the application. Engine wise, size does matter. We took the 350 out of the last gas burner we run, and installed a 375HP 454 crate motor. Gas milage is 12, loaded or empty, and the 350 got 13. 4:10 axles, and E rated tires. All trailers have brakes, and we have removed and discarded the anti lock system so it can't throw the truck into a jack knife while pulling a load.

Other trucks are running the 366 cubic inch Dura Max/Allison in a GMC 5500, and a naturally aspirated 460 cubic inch Navastar diesel in a Superduty.

You will be able to do hills with a 4 banger, but, they are going to lug down and you will get frustrated...I would be far more concerned over braking capacity.

[mmacsek]

Bill,
Not to come across as rude but , Did you ever have an accident because your truck was overloaded? I'm not being smart but you always stress brake size. I agree with your answers. I always welcome your responses when I ask a question on this forum. I guess I'm just being nosey. Thanks for your input. Matt

[UNISCAPER]

Matt:

Typically, we run legal in terms of weights. But here is the method to the madness. With a standard brake size, yuo will stop your truck, however the brake gets hotter faster. When it heats up, you experience a problem called "bake fade" where you hit the pedal, you can feel the pressure on your foot, and simply put, there ain't nothing there!

We pull a Wells Cargo 16' trailer, weight with equipment around 8000 lbs. The truck(s) could be loaded, but not necessarily with 2-6000 lbs of block or gravel depending on which one is pulling. Add that, the vehicles total weight, and alike, and you need all the brakes you can get. We are going to install an exhaust brake on the 5500 (on order now) and then the engine exhaust will be used to help relieve the truck when braking.

I cannot emphisize larger brakes enough, I guess it comes from the race car days. During the course of a day, I see so many grossly overload 1/2 ton trucks. Trailers they should not be pulling, and then the ultimate deception....

Manufacturers and how they are implying that 1/2 ton trucks can do the work of 3/4 and 1 ton trucks, specifically, Nissan saying they have a new one that will pull 9500 lbs, and Ford saying they have a 150 that is as strong as a 250. These are just two examples of many I could voice here.

When a manufacturer writes that somethign is rated the seed gets planted that these trucks can do what they say day in day out, and the fact that 1/2 tons sell for $8,000.00 or so less than a 3/4-1 ton, folks read that and get attracted to the low price.

I always said I would send a truck out running on 5 of 8 cylinders before I would ever send one out that needed a brake adjustment and ran fine.

Even on flat roadways, pulling at highway speeds, the distances required to stop increase by at least double with a pull truck. Manufacturers set standards in controlled environments, with timed circumstances, exacting loads, etc etc. This is done on brand new off the asembly line trucks. They do no styudies after a truck is 5 years old, which, is when all what I have afore mentioned will come into play even more so.

Matt, I am not going to lie here...WE overload trucks occasinally, EVERYBODY DOES THIS!!!! and for the most partt, this is accidental...It is almost impossible to determine exact weight when you are scooping dirt with a machine, or even loading wet bags of grass....Add one then the other then the other, add it all up, and you got a heavy truck...But, what I would recommend, is you spec your truck as though every load you pull will be heavier than your trucks actually are to avoid accidents, avoid tickets, and long term problems.

Over the long haul your budget will be better as you will have far less issues.

[youngdude]

The GVWR on this truck says 5000 ibs. Does that mean i can haul 5000 ibs or is that the total of the front and rear hauling conbined?

[mmacsek]

Originally posted by youngdude
The GVWR on this truck says 5000 ibs. Does that mean i can haul 5000 ibs or is that the total of the front and rear hauling conbined?
GVWR is the combined weight of the truck and the cargo. Don't forget cargo includes passengers, fuel and the hitch weight. It adds up fast. Matt

[youngdude]

That really doesnt leave me with a lot of room to work with now. I am thinking of the 6 by 12 but I think that might be to much. I was also told that the 5 by 10 sucks for backing up. If only i had $ and lots of it.