Is the Ford Ranger enough....

[RedRiderCan]

Hello! My wife and I are getting ready for retirement. Our plans are to order a new Escape trailer and hit the road. We have a new Ranger ordered, expecting it to arrive in another month or so.
We have personally viewed the 19 and 21 foot units and are very impressed with the build quality. As much as we like the extra room the 21 brings we are uncertain whether or not the Ranger is enough truck for the job.
Are there any owners here that have experience towing with the Ranger?

[NEWYORKHILLBILLY]

one thing to consider is what options you plan on having. depending on options it's possible to have 21 that weighs less than a 19 with more options. I assume you picked the ranger over the f150 because you like the convivence of a smaller truck. you may like the convivence of the smaller 19 also. I am sure some ranger owners will jump in and help out. But I would pick the camper you like and then decide on truck.

[Fender]

Picking up my new Ranger on Thursday. I can't tell you yet how it handles towing my 19 but I am confident that it will work well. The payload and towing specs are better than the 20 year old V8 Tundra that it is replacing.
In various campgrounds I have talked to Ranger owners that were towing larger trailers than mine and never had anyone suggest that the Ranger wasn't enough truck for the job.

[rubicon327]

These threads should help. You'll see in the first thread where I shared that Viator36 (Jake) tows his 2019 21C with a 2019 Ranger. He has been cross-country at least twice with the rig. If you can PM him I'm sure he would share his real-world experience.

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...ger-18939.html
https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...ger-18054.html

[Akfishman]

Originally Posted by RedRiderCan

Hello! My wife and I are getting ready for retirement. Our plans are to order a new Escape trailer and hit the road. We have a new Ranger ordered, expecting it to arrive in another month or so.
We have personally viewed the 19 and 21 foot units and are very impressed with the build quality. As much as we like the extra room the 21 brings we are uncertain whether or not the Ranger is enough truck for the job.
Are there any owners here that have experience towing with the Ranger?

We have a 2020 ford Ranger crew cab and a 2021 21c which we toured the east coast with the first year and then to Alaska last summer. I love that truck it pulls the 21 like a dream with more than enough power and the ten speed tranny really smooths out the shifting. We have the four cylinder turbo motor and it accelerates up hill no problem.
I like to tow at around 60mph to get the best gas mileage . We averaged 15.1 miles per gallon on our Alaska trip. And when not towing we get around 22-24 mpg.

[Red]

Originally Posted by RedRiderCan

Hello! My wife and I are getting ready for retirement. Our plans are to order a new Escape trailer and hit the road. We have a new Ranger ordered, expecting it to arrive in another month or so.
We have personally viewed the 19 and 21 foot units and are very impressed with the build quality. As much as we like the extra room the 21 brings we are uncertain whether or not the Ranger is enough truck for the job.
Are there any owners here that have experience towing with the Ranger?

Welcome to the forum. I live in Poco and am in the ambassador program. I tow our 19 with a Tacoma using a weight distribution hitch. If you would like to see a mid size truck set up, pm me and we can arrange a visit.

[NoSOD]

We have a 21C, but we are towing with a 2011 F150 XLT. It has a payload of 1363lb, all the other numbers seemed well within what we needed to tow safely, but on our first trip out, we stopped at a weigh station, and low and behold, we had exceeded that payload, just with the two of us (300lb) and the usual camping gear. It seems it is easy to tot up a lot of cargo, in our case we have a topper over the bed, but beyond that, not too much stuff really, nor too many fancy options in the truck, although it did have 4X4 and skid plates which adds weight. We shifted some heavier stuff to the trailer, and didn't have any problems, and the truck certainly was not struggling before we did that, however the brakes, suspension etc of the truck are designed for that maximum, so exceeding it is a matter of risk and maybe early wear of those components. That was quite an eye-opener. Of course we saw loads of smaller trucks than ours towing bigger trailers than ours, and likely their drivers said all was fine, but they are probably over their limits and therefore less safe than they could be, and possibly at some legal risk if they do have an accident. See what your Ranger's payload is, figure 15% of the trailer's max for hitch weight, then load up and find a scale. You might be surprised!

[brroberts]

I tow a couple of months at a time. I have a very heavy 19. We are usually around 4600lbs and I fill the truck with water, gas, generator, solar panel, tools, chairs, grill etc. I have gone up and down 15% grades no problem. I have a SCAB XLT with 1823lbs payload. This truck and trailer are a great combo.

[DanandDaphne]

Always good to consider payload and tow rating before buying a tow vehicle however for some reason the newer Ford Rangers have really good payloads depending on trim level 2wd vs 4wd etc. I found a chart of payloads for the 2020 Ranger and it is from 1,609lbs to 2,128lbs.

It wasn't Ford but something called autopadre.com

https://www.autopadre.com/payload/ford-ranger