Actual towing capacity?

[buster]

Has anybody put this to the test yet? A boat is in the future, kinda need to know if it can really tow what Fords says it can.

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[PhysSDK]

These guys did 5000 pounds up the Rockies no problems. If it can do that I’d bet you can safely tow more the 7500 in the flats. I’ve been up that highway, it’s rough on cars not towing.

 

[THLONE]

The problem with factory towing numbers are that they are guesses based on engineering calculations. Not real world boots on the ground experience. Take a travel trailer for instance. Real world trailering exposes you to road irregularities, side winds, other people, and the actual weight of the trailer and truck when loaded with all of your stuff may be1000's of pounds more than advertised. You also have to factor in a margin of error.. When towing anything the towed trailer wants to go every which way. The towing vehicle has to have the muscle, weight, and braking capacity to stop tje trailer from doing that. And then you have the high center of gravity that throws all kinds of loads on the tow vehicle. For most travel trailers a 1/2 ton truck is not enough. Even though the ranger is rated at 7,000 lbs towing capacity you would be better off staying under half of that with todays driving conditions. If you watch that video they were pulling 5000 lbs and they got 5 mpg. That little 4 banger was working hard to carry that load. As the saying goes "get enough truck." It is better to be cruising easy than struggling hard.

 

[djrobb]

There are also big warnings in the Ranger towing guide that discuss the square feet of wind resistance. The Ranger would be much more capable of towing a 5000lb block on a low utility trailer than a 5000lb tall enclosed car hauler. Anything over 1500lbs and you would want trailer brakes for sure. I can tell you from hauling on my Tacoma without brakes that it doesn’t take much of a load to significantly reduce stopping distance and add extreme wear and tear to your truck brakes and rotors. On the Ranger generally speaking I’d try and keep it under 5,000lbs and avoid anything that catches a lot of wind from semi trucks. Obviously depends on what you are doing. If you are just dragging a boat a few miles to the lake you can go higher but highways with a large trailer and a small truck are frightening.

 

[Floyd]

The problem with factory towing numbers are that they are guesses based on engineering calculations. Not real world boots on the ground experience. Take a travel trailer for instance. Real world trailering exposes you to road irregularities, side winds, other people, and the actual weight of the trailer and truck when loaded with all of your stuff may be1000's of pounds more than advertised. You also have to factor in a margin of error.. When towing anything the towed trailer wants to go every which way. The towing vehicle has to have the muscle, weight, and braking capacity to stop tje trailer from doing that. And then you have the high center of gravity that throws all kinds of loads on the tow vehicle. For most travel trailers a 1/2 ton truck is not enough. Even though the ranger is rated at 7,000 lbs towing capacity you would be better off staying under half of that with todays driving conditions. If you watch that video they were pulling 5000 lbs and they got 5 mpg. That little 4 banger was working hard to carry that load. As the saying goes "get enough truck." It is better to be cruising easy than struggling hard.

There are ridiculous flaws in the SAE-J2807 standards now used across the industry for setting tow ratings, but they certainly are strenuous enough that the resulting numbers are both safe and accurate, especially for comparing ratings (apples to apples) from truck to truck.
It is true that each person should educate himself well enough to take personal responsibility for what he tows with what,though irrational bias should be set aside in the process!
Since it takes EXACTLY the same amount of work to do the same job, "that little four banger" will work exactly as hard as a "6banger" or even an "8banger", when confronted with the same load.
Bumper pull RV trailers are at least as stable and towable as any enclosed trailer and often much better.
Remember when the most popular gasoline Semi truck engine was a 4.9L normally aspirated i6? What about the fact that an i6 is inherently more stable than a V6 or a V8?

 

[Floyd]

There are also big warnings in the Ranger towing guide that discuss the square feet of wind resistance. The Ranger would be much more capable of towing a 5000lb block on a low utility trailer than a 5000lb tall enclosed car hauler. Anything over 1500lbs and you would want trailer brakes for sure. I can tell you from hauling on my Tacoma without brakes that it doesn’t take much of a load to significantly reduce stopping distance and add extreme wear and tear to your truck brakes and rotors. On the Ranger generally speaking I’d try and keep it under 5,000lbs and avoid anything that catches a lot of wind from semi trucks. Obviously depends on what you are doing. If you are just dragging a boat a few miles to the lake you can go higher but highways with a large trailer and a small truck are frightening.

There are the SAME "big warnings" about frontal area limits on EVERY rated tow vehicle and they are just as accurate and and important as tow weight ratings.
I tow a Scamp13 RV trailer which has the best aerodynamics in the industry and I can tell you that it does make a difference.

 

[t4thfavor]

I have a Forrest River Wildwood 207BH, and while I've yet to pull it with the Ranger, I used to pull it with a Jeep Liberty Diesel with similar Tq numbers to the Ranger, and quite a bit less HP. The weather is breaking this week and I'll probably give it a tug around my local "loop" just to see what it does. I already have the brake controller wired and ready to go. I'll see if I can post back on how it felt with a 4000# brick dragging behind me.

 

[buster]

These guys did 5000 pounds up the Rockies no problems. If it can do that I’d bet you can safely tow more the 7500 in the flats. I’ve been up that highway, it’s rough on cars not towing.

I did see that video, it was impressive

 

[Cshep102]

I have a Forrest River Wildwood 207BH, and while I've yet to pull it with the Ranger, I used to pull it with a Jeep Liberty Diesel with similar Tq numbers to the Ranger, and quite a bit less HP. The weather is breaking this week and I'll probably give it a tug around my local "loop" just to see what it does. I already have the brake controller wired and ready to go. I'll see if I can post back on how it felt with a 4000# brick dragging behind me.

Did you get a chance to haul the Wildwood around? That thing is VERY similar to the weight/dimensions of my trailer, so I'm interested in hearing your thoughts. Also, which brake controller did you end up going with, and was it the dealer install?

Thanks,

 

[t4thfavor]

I installed the P3 Teknosha myself. Extremely simple install. I have yet to pull the trailer around as spring in Michigan is very squishy, and I live on dirt roads. There's a thread here with what my install looks like.


https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/thre...yone-actually-have-one.1718/page-2#post-25350

 

[ElSolo]

The problem with factory towing numbers are that they are guesses based on engineering calculations. Not real world boots on the ground experience. Take a travel trailer for instance. Real world trailering exposes you to road irregularities, side winds, other people, and the actual weight of the trailer and truck when loaded with all of your stuff may be1000's of pounds more than advertised. You also have to factor in a margin of error.. When towing anything the towed trailer wants to go every which way. The towing vehicle has to have the muscle, weight, and braking capacity to stop tje trailer from doing that. And then you have the high center of gravity that throws all kinds of loads on the tow vehicle. For most travel trailers a 1/2 ton truck is not enough. Even though the ranger is rated at 7,000 lbs towing capacity you would be better off staying under half of that with todays driving conditions. If you watch that video they were pulling 5000 lbs and they got 5 mpg. That little 4 banger was working hard to carry that load. As the saying goes "get enough truck." It is better to be cruising easy than struggling hard.

I'd push back on the assumption that the development of the truck and it's specs didn't undergo "real-world" testing. You've gotta remember that huge corporations like Ford have a team of lawyers that make sure they do everything to protect their client against suits. Part of that involves ensuring that false numbers aren't put out. Class actions suits are expensive and avoidable (or at least defensible) if the proper research and testing goes into what they're claiming.

That being said, I think your advice is still something to consider for anyone towing a trailer. You don't want a trailer that is too much for the vehicle. I'd also say that towing something close to the max ratings should be reserved for flatter trailers without as much wind drag as a travel trailer. Once you get into the larger boxes, the effect of head and cross winds may be too much for the "smaller" wheelbase of the Ranger to handle effectively. Personally, and based on wheelbase, Ranger weight, etc., I'd stay away from any trailer larger than 25 ft.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

I'd push back on the assumption that the development of the truck and it's specs didn't undergo "real-world" testing. You've gotta remember that huge corporations like Ford have a team of lawyers that make sure they do everything to protect their client against suits. Part of that involves ensuring that false numbers aren't put out. Class actions suits are expensive and avoidable (or at least defensible) if the proper research and testing goes into what they're claiming.

That being said, I think your advice is still something to consider for anyone towing a trailer. You don't want a trailer that is too much for the vehicle. I'd also say that towing something close to the max ratings should be reserved for flatter trailers without as much wind drag as a travel trailer. Once you get into the larger boxes, the effect of head and cross winds may be too much for the "smaller" wheelbase of the Ranger to handle effectively. Personally, and based on wheelbase, Ranger weight, etc., I'd stay away from any trailer larger than 25 ft.

Hi Rick,

I do not know from where these "facts" come, but there are a plethora of real world testing done as part of the development of any new vehicle. Testing is down at GCW as Ford owns quite a few trailers for use in testing. the published tow numbers are validated when published with real world testing...

Here is a back story of when real world testing went horribly wrong....

https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/fire-extinguisher-mounting.3666/#post-52332

best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired.

 

[ElSolo]

Hi Rick,

I do not know from where these "facts" come, but there are a plethora of real world testing done as part of the development of any new vehicle. Testing is down at GCW as Ford owns quite a few trailers for use in testing. the published tow numbers are validated when published with real world testing...

Here is a back story of when real world testing went horribly wrong....

https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/fire-extinguisher-mounting.3666/#post-52332

best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired.

Hey Phil,

I think we're on the same page here. The post I was replying to said that the number Ford puts out is all lab-based and devoid of "real-world" testing. I was pushing back on that assumption. For one, that'd be a terrible move on Ford's part from a legal liability perspective. For two, it'd be a terrible business decision too since word on false promises gets out very quickly and affects the bottom line.

I do think that Ford did real-world testing because it'd be a terrible decision not to.

 

[Leftcoast]

There are also big warnings in the Ranger towing guide that discuss the square feet of wind resistance. The Ranger would be much more capable of towing a 5000lb block on a low utility trailer than a 5000lb tall enclosed car hauler. Anything over 1500lbs and you would want trailer brakes for sure. I can tell you from hauling on my Tacoma without brakes that it doesn’t take much of a load to significantly reduce stopping distance and add extreme wear and tear to your truck brakes and rotors. On the Ranger generally speaking I’d try and keep it under 5,000lbs and avoid anything that catches a lot of wind from semi trucks. Obviously depends on what you are doing. If you are just dragging a boat a few miles to the lake you can go higher but highways with a large trailer and a small truck are frightening.

Those square footage numbers aren't that much bigger for an F-550 with a diesel. They are 55 sqft for the Ranger and 75 sqft for the F-550 with a 5th wheel. A 2021 F-550 pulling a travel trailer is limited to 60 sq ft. Those numbers reference performance and not safety.

"Frontal Area is the total area in square feet that a moving vehicle and trailer exposes to air resistance. The chart above shows the limitations that must be considered in selecting a vehicle/trailer combination. Exceeding these limitations may significantly reduce the performance of your towing vehicle." This is from the 2021 Superduty towing guide.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Hey Phil,

I think we're on the same page here. The post I was replying to said that the number Ford puts out is all lab-based and devoid of "real-world" testing. I was pushing back on that assumption. For one, that'd be a terrible move on Ford's part from a legal liability perspective. For two, it'd be a terrible business decision too since word on false promises gets out very quickly and affects the bottom line.

I do think that Ford did real-world testing because it'd be a terrible decision not to.

Hi Rick,

Yep...on the same page

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