Can I tow a 21' with a Ford Ranger?

[Susanne]

This is my very first post, so bear with me lol. I do not own an Escape trailer but want to own one. lol. I want to order a 21' but Im not sure if my 2010 Ford Ranger V6 with a 4 liter engine (with tow package - with transmission cooler) towing capacity 5650 pounds can tow this trailer loaded up and down mountain passes? Anyone out there in Escape forum land that has any experience with a Ford Ranger? Your help would be very much appreciated.
Thanks, Susanne

[Ron in BC]

A bit of experience with the same truck. This year Mexico and back and then cross Canada to Newfoundland and back. Also done the Alaska Hwy. with it.

I'm towing a 19 with probably a few more tools and spare parts than most carry. The truck has a canopy that has a bit more stuff in it, , including two electric bikes and I carry two kayaks on roof racks.

A 21, without all the extra stuff that I carry, might be fairly close to the weight that I'm pulling. My opinion is that it does quite well. But I accept that on some of the brutal long steep hills I'm going to be in the right lane and not passing anyone except for the occasional semi. Never an overheating issue, transmission fluid remains clear and no brake issues.

So if the numbers add up it's probably possible for you if you're prepared to monitor closely how much other "stuff" you pack with you.

Ron

[float5]

Welcome, Susanne!

I have just posted about looking at your weights on the tongue weight thread so you might look at that. It is important to know your own weights, not just have someone else tell you about it. You can get it all straight yourself so you don't have to wonder about a lot of it.

Good luck. Hope you become a 21' owner soon. We love our 21'.

[padlin]

I had a 2007 4x4 with the 4 liter and tow package. Pulled a trailer a little lighter then the 21, 3500 lbs, but with the square front of a conventional trailer.

The truck did okay towing, not great, but okay. The tongue weight was pretty high at about 600 lbs, needed at add Air-Lifts to it and max out the weight distribution hitch.

I'd say you can tow the Escape with a Ranger, but you may find you want something bigger in the not too distant future. I sold my Ranger to my brother after a couple years and got a used full size GMC with a V8. I recall there being a huge difference in power, and comfort.

[rbryan4]

I used to have a 4.0L 4x4 Ranger too Bob, and you're right. As much as I liked it, it's not in the same league as a full sized truck. The difference in comfort and power with my F150 is night and day.

[padlin]

Susanne, If you are new to towing and aren't aware of it, there is a big mileage drop when you tow, expect to go down near 10 or 11 mpg. You'll need a weight distribution hitch.

[NCBill]

You need to read up on payload capacity as well. Ford commonly gives trucks relatively high towing capacities but low payload capacities that essentially mean the towing capacity is a joke.

The payload rating of your truck will be inside the door jam, yellow sticker. Payload has to cover weight of driver, passenger(s), cargo in the bed, bed canopy if you have one, receiver hitch and tongue weight. These add up fast!

In general, I would pick the trailer you want first, then get a tow vehicle that comfortably handles the trailer. I prefer a nice margin of safety in my towing. My first tow experience I had a marginal tow vehicle, and I hated it. Learned a big lesson. I was going up steep mountain grades at 30MPH.....

I would not tow a 21 foot Escape with a 4x4 Ranger. Of course, I use an F150 with a 5.4V8 to pull my 19 foot Escape.

Somewhat different in the Ranger tow ratings is a maximum frontal area of 50 sq ft for the truck and trailer combined. I think you will be over that limit.

http://www.ford.com/resources/ford/g...ANGERsep09.pdf

[BCnomad]

Hey, hey, hey you two!

I don't remember if we talked about this at the College, but you -can- tow with it, it's a question of stopping and being ok not maintaining the speed limit on the hills.


What's the payload sticker on the door jamb say?

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by Susanne

This is my very first post, so bear with me lol. I do not own an Escape trailer but want to own one. lol. I want to order a 21' but Im not sure if my 2010 Ford Ranger V6 with a 4 liter engine (with tow package - with transmission cooler) towing capacity 5650 pounds can tow this trailer loaded up and down mountain passes? Anyone out there in Escape forum land that has any experience with a Ford Ranger? Your help would be very much appreciated.
Thanks, Susanne

Hi: Susanne... Here's a pic of what I tow with my 4L V6 Nissan Frontier. So far it has 145,000 Km's mostly as a dedicated towing machine. There are those who say I can't/ shouldn't do it but I do. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[Steve Clark]

Originally Posted by escape artist

Hi: Susanne... Here's a pic of what I tow with my 4L V6 Nissan Frontier. So far it has 145,000 Km's mostly as a dedicated towing machine. There are those who say I can't/ shouldn't do it but I do. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

Don't let him fool you, Susanne, he also tows with 'aplomb'!

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by Steve Clark

Don't let him fool you, Susanne, he also tows with 'aplomb'!

Hi: Steve Clark... That's Nissan "Aplomb" to you!!! LoL Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[NCBill]

Originally Posted by BCnomad

Hey, hey, hey you two!

I don't remember if we talked about this at the College, but you -can- tow with it, it's a question of stopping and being ok not maintaining the speed limit on the hills.


What's the payload sticker on the door jamb say?

It shows the payload capacity of your particular truck. The more options on your truck, the lower the payload. There is no single rating for a truck. Most trucks run out of payload capacity well before towing capacity. I run out of payload on my F150 around 6,000 pounds, even though the truck has a tow rating of 9,800 pounds.

Towing capacity is just a piece of the puzzle.

And the weight of any personally installed options (bed liner, bed cap, etc,) or dealer installed options are deducted from your payload rating. The payload rating was calculated based on the truck as it left the factory, not the dealer.

[Mary F]

We towed a 17' Casita with a 4.0L Ford Ranger (V6). It wasn't a 4x4.

It was acceptable, but of course, our Casita wasn't quite as heavy as your 21' Escape will be.

Even with the Casita, we much preferred the F-150 over the Ranger (and we no longer have the Ranger - not because we didn't like it, but because it seemed absurd to have two pickups...and our newer F-150 gets ALMOST as good a gas mileage as that Ranger got.)

YMMV.