Towing 4500 lb camper up 8% grade

[Grandaccess]

I tow a lot all over NY/PA and big loads too, the truck is a Damn work horse and I am on the upper end of that, one of my businesses is Scrap Metal, I have had Loads of over 1000 Lbs (In The Bed) it didnt squat but 1/2" and didnt know it was back there (Work Horse)
how ever ... your load will weigh more than your truck, things in motion tend to stay in motion, do it on a dry day and if its lightly snowing Stay Home!
a lot of us tow so much its second nature and there are things we do that we just dont even think about any more, and not just on a hill, in a city even going slow things fall off other trucks people step off curbs in front of you, never take your mind off what you are doing and what you have behind you.....
my truck, 1/2 tank of gas, Me and a 100 lbs GSD k9 weighs "Out" at the scrap yard at 5120

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[humanprimate]

We crossed the continental divide three times this summer towing a 21ft, 5500lbs camp trailer. Going up was less stressful than coming down. We kept it in tow mode stayed at 55 or less. No problems at all.

i have about 10 miles of an 8% grade to go up(and down) with our camper.Any recommendations. I have a 2022 Crew cab. Thanks!!

 

[Kemo Sabe]

Made that run many times going to and from Hickory, Black Mtn, Lake Lure, west out of Ashville into Tenn, Blue Ridge Pkway. Spent 10 years in the area motorcycling, riding, camping in the region.
Not towing at the time, but familiar with the area, and there's nowhere I wouldn't tow a camper with the Ranger....exception being The Dragon.

Hehe. I’m camping at The Dragon now. Sept 4. Going well, but now going through 311 curves in 11 miles with 3000+ behind!

 

[Kemo Sabe]

Hehe. I’m camping at The Dragon now. Sept 4. Going well, but now going through 311 curves in 11 miles with 3000+ behind!

 

[UtahShooting]

I recommend you use tow mode + stay in lower gears and use a weight distribution hitch. If you're worried about power, don't be- turbocharged vehicles shine at elevation. Stock tune is fine, but the ford performance tune is even better. I'm told the aftermarket maps are also quite nice.

What this guy said. I recently towed a Home Depot, hydraulic dump trailer loaded with gravel that weighed around 4500 pounds. I was shocked at how easily the little Ranger drug it up the mountain. I began around 5000' altitude, towed it up a fairly steep grade to 9900', then down other side to my cabin at 7500'. I put it in Sport mode and left it there.

When descending down grades under weight I used the manual gear selector on shift lever for engine breaking and to relive stress on my brakes. Never once did oil or trans temp get high. Very impressive, especially considering the 2014, V6 Ram I traded for the Ranger could barely pull same trailer up same roads without having to pull over to let tranny cool.

 

[Frenchy]

What this guy said. I recently towed a Home Depot, hydraulic dump trailer loaded with gravel that weighed around 4500 pounds. I was shocked at how easily the little Ranger drug it up the mountain. I began around 5000' altitude, towed it up a fairly steep grade to 9900', then down other side to my cabin at 7500'. I put it in Sport mode and left it there.

When descending down grades under weight I used the manual gear selector on shift lever for engine breaking and to relive stress on my brakes. Never once did oil or trans temp get high. Very impressive, especially considering the 2014, V6 Ram I traded for the Ranger could barely pull same trailer up same roads without having to pull over to let tranny cool.

Why did you use sport mode and not tow mode?

 

[UtahShooting]

Why did you use sport mode and not tow mode?

Tried tow mode and didn't feel much of any difference in feel of drive train. I use Sport mode all the time when not towing up and down those same mountain roads. The shift points, passing ability and how it holds in a gear longer when descending is ideal for not having to use much braking power.

After being in tow mode for awhile, I switched to Sport and immediately felt the difference. Only when descending under weight did I use the manual gear selector which was slick as not. No brakes required even on steep down grades. I also enjoyed the ability to actually accelerate up hill, which was very nice.

 

[Frenchy]

Tried tow mode and didn't feel much of any difference in feel of drive train. I use Sport mode all the time when not towing up and down those same mountain roads. The shift points, passing ability and how it holds in a gear longer when descending is ideal for not having to use much braking power.

After being in tow mode for awhile, I switched to Sport and immediately felt the difference. Only when descending under weight did I use the manual gear selector which was slick as not. No brakes required even on steep down grades. I also enjoyed the ability to actually accelerate up hill, which was very nice.

Perhaps you don't have a good understanding of Tow Mode? With tow mode on it will be more load sensitive. With a trailer it is way more noticeable. You can still manually lockout your top gear with tow mode. When using cruise control with tow mode(yes.many of us do that and it's just fine) the engine has no problem doing the necessary engine braking going down hill. It even does it with breaking. Next time I suggest using Tow mode over Sport mode when hauling loads.

 

[UtahShooting]

Perhaps you don't have a good understanding of Tow Mode? With tow mode on it will be more load sensitive. With a trailer it is way more noticeable. You can still manually lockout your top gear with tow mode. When using cruise control with tow mode(yes.many of us do that and it's just fine) the engine has no problem doing the necessary engine braking going down hill. It even does it with breaking. Next time I suggest using Tow mode over Sport mode when hauling loads.

I'll give it a try some time, but as I said, I did try it and didn't see any advantage at all. I'm glad you like it though. I pretty much leave truck in Sport mode at all times towing or not.

Road is far too twisty for cruise control, so that's no benefit to me. I only tow that trailer once a year when I need more gravel. Only other towing is just a lightweight utility trailer with two quads on it. I can't even tell it's back there.

 

[Mustang2Ranger]

91 octane, tow mode, lock out 10-8 gear, tow in 7-5 for that grade

 

[ControlNode]

I tow a lot all over NY/PA and big loads too, the truck is a Damn work horse and I am on the upper end of that, one of my businesses is Scrap Metal, I have had Loads of over 1000 Lbs (In The Bed) it didnt squat but 1/2" and didnt know it was back there (Work Horse)
how ever ... your load will weigh more than your truck, things in motion tend to stay in motion, do it on a dry day and if its lightly snowing Stay Home!
a lot of us tow so much its second nature and there are things we do that we just dont even think about any more, and not just on a hill, in a city even going slow things fall off other trucks people step off curbs in front of you, never take your mind off what you are doing and what you have behind you.....
my truck, 1/2 tank of gas, Me and a 100 lbs GSD k9 weighs "Out" at the scrap yard at 5120

So, if that is no trailer as you indicated, I think that is over 4,000lb over-loaded. GVWR on these is only about 6,050lb, so that is 170% of what the truck is rated for. You really need to get a trailer with brakes for pulling that much scrap around. That rear axle was likely more than twice its rated load, some people may talk about built in margins beyond the ratings, but if that was all in the truck, it was way beyond any assumed margins. Loads are not just about what the springs can carry, it's about the loads impact on bearings and how much they can dissipate the heat before being overwhelmed and damaged from excessive heat, braking system limits, and so on. Truck is a work horse, but an abused work horse will live a short life.

 

[Frenchy]

So, if that is no trailer as you indicated, I think that is over 4,000lb over-loaded. GVWR on these is only about 6,050lb, so that is 170% of what the truck is rated for. You really need to get a trailer with brakes for pulling that much scrap around. That rear axle was likely more than twice its rated load, some people may talk about built in margins beyond the ratings, but if that was all in the truck, it was way beyond any assumed margins. Loads are not just about what the springs can carry, it's about the loads impact on bearings and how much they can dissipate the heat before being overwhelmed and damaged from excessive heat, braking system limits, and so on. Truck is a work horse, but an abused work horse will live a short life.

Where did you get 170% of the truck capacity from? I want to see where you got your math done

 

[Grumpaw]

So, if that is no trailer as you indicated, I think that is over 4,000lb over-loaded. GVWR on these is only about 6,050lb, so that is 170% of what the truck is rated for. You really need to get a trailer with brakes for pulling that much scrap around. That rear axle was likely more than twice its rated load, some people may talk about built in margins beyond the ratings, but if that was all in the truck, it was way beyond any assumed margins. Loads are not just about what the springs can carry, it's about the loads impact on bearings and how much they can dissipate the heat before being overwhelmed and damaged from excessive heat, braking system limits, and so on. Truck is a work horse, but an abused work horse will live a short life.

I'm gonna "guess" that if that 10,280 is a weight scale, for his rig, that it also includes his trailer.
His 5120 truck weight and a 5000 lb trailer would bring it right to that weight.

 

[ControlNode]

Where did you get 170% of the truck capacity from? I want to see where you got your math done

It's basic math 10,280/6,050 = 1.69918 = 170% (rounded).

I'm gonna "guess" that if that 10,280 is a weight scale, for his rig, that it also includes his trailer.
His 5120 truck weight and a 5000 lb trailer would bring it right to that weight.

In his post he never mentioned a trailer, even mention over 1,000lbs in the bed. Granted, 1,000lb is very different than 4,000lb so perhaps a trailer was involved. But it didn't read like that included having a trailer. When he mentioned the weighs out of the yard and didn't list a trailer I'm assuming (I know that can be dangerous to assume, but I did put IF in my statement to cover that I could have misunderstood) that he didn't scrap the trailer he brought the haul in on and I've never heard on the weigh out not including the trailer, my scrap runs my weigh out has always included the trailer.

 

[Grumpaw]

It's basic math 10,280/6,050 = 1.69918 = 170% (rounded).

In his post he never mentioned a trailer, even mention over 1,000lbs in the bed. Granted, 1,000lb is very different than 4,000lb so perhaps a trailer was involved. But it didn't read like that included having a trailer. When he mentioned the weighs out of the yard and didn't list a trailer I'm assuming (I know that can be dangerous to assume, but I did out IF in my statement to cover that I could have misunderstood) that he didn't scrap the trailer he brought the haul in on and I've never heard on the weigh out not including the trailer, my scrap runs my weigh out has always included the trailer.

His post is kind of a gray area...
I can just envision my Ranger with a fully equipped F-150 (weight wise) in the bed...doubt if it would be able to move under it's own power.

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