Suspension upgrade for pulling travel trailer

[MikeDianeFranklin]

What are folks doing to up grade their suspensions for pulling 6000 lb travel trailer?

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[DrewKD88]

Does buying an F-150 count?

 

[Grumpaw]

First, welcome to the forums. Good people and good info, and a LOT of bantering and discussion.
Now, first, what model is your Ranger, 2 or 4 wheel drive.
I would first direct you to the Towing section of the forum...lots of discussion on mods to make or others have made.
In the very near future, a month or less, hopefully our new travel trailer will arrive, and it will also run around 6000-6500 lbs.
I have towed before, but not with the Ranger, and am going to start with a clean slate, my stock 2 wheel drive Lariat, stock suspension, and add from there, towing first and adding what might be necessary a part at a time. Mods include better shocks, front and rear, rear sway bar, stiffer tires, air bag set up, all which has been covered in the Tow section.
The only other option I'm looking at is the Roadmaster Active Suspension set up. That looks like it takes the place of an airbag set up and a sway bar set up.
Lots will discourage you from towing anything that heavy and others will jump in saying 6000 lbs is perfectly OK. LOT'S of back and forth on that subject.
Lots will chime in about their mods and experiences, so just do your homework and ask lots of questions.

 

[DrewKD88]

While technically being under the tow rating, it is not recommended to push your Ranger that hard. I would not tow over 3,500 on a regular basis. 5,000 maybe if it's just once in awhile

I have OME leaf springs to help with weight and ride quality. I think the issue will be the engine when climbing.

 

[D Fresh]

First, welcome to the forums. Good people and good info, and a LOT of bantering and discussion.
Now, first, what model is your Ranger, 2 or 4 wheel drive.
I would first direct you to the Towing section of the forum...lots of discussion on mods to make or others have made.
In the very near future, a month or less, hopefully our new travel trailer will arrive, and it will also run around 6000-6500 lbs.
I have towed before, but not with the Ranger, and am going to start with a clean slate, my stock 2 wheel drive Lariat, stock suspension, and add from there, towing first and adding what might be necessary a part at a time. Mods include better shocks, front and rear, rear sway bar, stiffer tires, air bag set up, all which has been covered in the Tow section.
The only other option I'm looking at is the Roadmaster Active Suspension set up. That looks like it takes the place of an airbag set up and a sway bar set up.
Lots will discourage you from towing anything that heavy and others will jump in saying 6000 lbs is perfectly OK. LOT'S of back and forth on that subject.
Lots will chime in about their mods and experiences, so just do your homework and ask lots of questions.

I like this approach. When it comes to modifications, of any kind, I think too many are guilty of just "throwing the parts catalogue at it."

Drive the vehicle, figure out it's stock capabilities, modify to your liking from there.

FWIW I've towed over 5k on a stock FX-4 setup with no issues whatsoever. I wouldn't hesitate to give 6k a go on stock Ranger, with brake controller, in order to figure out how I liked it.

 

[9zero1790]

add a leafs are available @Stage3Motorsports and they are not very expensive. as far as power etc. make sure your in tow mode and have stuff set up right and then go for it. the new ranger is more powerful than most half ton trucks into the 1990s and way more tech advanced. the late 90s gm half tons with a 350 made 255hp and 330 ft pounds trq. and the truck it was in weighed more and came with a base of a 342 rear, one leg. 6k isnt going to hurt the ranger unless your over loaded with people and gear or do something silly. if your going to be towing full time skip the ranger and any half tons and go one ton. half tons are a waste. they are just stout enough to out do a midsize truck and just weak enough to be turds at doing it for the money lol.

 

[Frenchy]

What are folks doing to up grade their suspensions for pulling 6000 lb travel trailer?

So if you have a vehicle that's capable of pulling 7500 lb from the factory and you're questioning if you can even pull 6000 lb wouldn't you think that lack of skill might be the issue? Not trying to be an ass here but I'm trying to put a small point there. Yes the ranger is plenty capable. It has a nice tow rating for what it is. If you know how to tow you should be fine without doing any suspension modifications especially if you're not trying to take your truck off road and don't want to do a leveling kit.

With that said I won't argue that the shocks are something you might want to look at since everyone on this form has already confirmed that the factory shocks suck LOL. A good option for shocks if you're not wanting to level or lift the truck would be either eibach or Bilstein shocks. If you don't feel like changing that leave the truck alone and make sure you have the proper weight distribution hitch and a brake controller needed for the trailer

 

[mikedrees]

I'm Towing a travel trailer that weighs 5500+ loaded. 650 lb tongue weight. With a decent weight distribution hitch, no mods to rear suspension needed.

 

[awd.nv]

I tow a much lighter trailer but a good weight distribution hitch helps a ton, well I have a single axle but man I would not tow without it.

The next one was done as an appearance mod but ended up making the truck noticeably handle better when towing, 1" wheel spacers. I have the Tremor package so I think other wheel packages would need a 1.5" wheel spacer for the same stance? Either way, FactionFab spacers were worth it.

https://www.stage3motorsports.com/2019-2022-ford-ranger-6x1397mm-wheel-spacers.html

 

[Caladan]

I don’t tow that much, but if I did, I would consider the Roadmaster Active Suspension. When I towed a much heavier load with a half-ton, it helped to stabilize the rear end and also lessened rear-end squat. Also helped to control jounce and body lean in corners. This proved to be an excellent addition, and IMO was *well* worth the money. Easy to install too.

At this time I have no plans to add an RAS to our Ranger. But if you feel that you need extra suspension capacity, I would highly recommend you check into them.

 

[brroberts]

I put Bilstein 4600’s on the rear because I didn’t like the way the truck rode. I spend moths towing. I do not tow 6000lbs, but do tow at near max payload. Typically I tow 5000lbs or less with 1500-1600lbs in the truck including tongue weight. If I wanted to tow 6000lbs all the time, I personally would want more truck. I own one of those ‘90’s 3/4 ton trucks. Even with less Hp it will easily out pull my Ranger, as it should. For my needs, I am happy towing with my Ranger. Changed nothing but rear shocks, and just for comfort - not towing.

 

[Wyldfire]

While a Ranger is rated to pull 7500 lbs I don't believe it safe or can stay within specs if the trailer is an RV. Since most RV's hitch weight are about 15% of trailer weight a 6000 lb trailer hitch weight would be 900 lbs. The Rangers hitch is only rated up to 750 lbs. That 900 lbs will also come close to maxing the trucks payload on the yellow stickeron the drivers door.

 

[HAMMERTIME]

Here is my set up. Fully stock XLT Sport 4X4 and the 300 lb box topper. I have pulled this trailer over 10,000 kms in 2021 and zero issues. Trailer with all my stuff in it is 6000 lbs. My 2020 Ranger is at 56,000 kms and zero truck issues as well. Make sure you have a correctly set up WDH, that is key.

 

[Jason B]

I haven't towed with the Ranger, but I am of the school that if it's rated for 7500lbs 'when properly equipped', I'm towing up to 7500lbs. But keep in mind there's other things to consider beyond weight. The length of the trailer and amount of head wind will affect the Ranger's capability and safety while towing.

 

[MikeDianeFranklin]

First, welcome to the forums. Good people and good info, and a LOT of bantering and discussion.
Now, first, what model is your Ranger, 2 or 4 wheel drive.
I would first direct you to the Towing section of the forum...lots of discussion on mods to make or others have made.
In the very near future, a month or less, hopefully our new travel trailer will arrive, and it will also run around 6000-6500 lbs.
I have towed before, but not with the Ranger, and am going to start with a clean slate, my stock 2 wheel drive Lariat, stock suspension, and add from there, towing first and adding what might be necessary a part at a time. Mods include better shocks, front and rear, rear sway bar, stiffer tires, air bag set up, all which has been covered in the Tow section.
The only other option I'm looking at is the Roadmaster Active Suspension set up. That looks like it takes the place of an airbag set up and a sway bar set up.
Lots will discourage you from towing anything that heavy and others will jump in saying 6000 lbs is perfectly OK. LOT'S of back and forth on that subject.
Lots will chime in about their mods and experiences, so just do your homework and ask lots of questions.

My arranger is a 2W drive. I looked a the RAS too and it would be a great thing, but when not towing, the Ranger will be riding hard and stiff. But that's my uneducated opinion. I think I'm going to get Air bags. I need to do something for its wearing out the inside of my front tires.

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