How to TOW the ranger behind an Motorhome

[SemperVee]

Leaning towards getting a class A RV and would want to Tow the Ranger. Have never done that. Can someone or perhaps Phil weigh in how to prepare and what is needed to accomplish this pulling the Ranger behind. Not on a trailer but all 4 wheels down.

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[gbritt89]

If only there was a towing subsection... or an 8 page thread about it in the towing section

https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/towing-4-down.3327/

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Leaning towards getting a class A RV and would want to Tow the Ranger. Have never done that. Can someone or perhaps Phil weigh in how to prepare and what is needed to accomplish this pulling the Ranger behind. Not on a trailer but all 4 wheels down.

Hi Dar,

A couple things...there is a tread on towing 4 down that addresses most of the getting the Ranger ready to tow 4 down.... First is the vehicle must be a 4x4 so you can follow the process to put the transfer case in neutral. Also there is a problem with the required supplemental brake system required by most states and that is the supplemental systems that require 12 volts face the fact the Ranger times out the 12 v cigar lighter sockets or power points at about the 2 hour mark. I solved this problem by running power directly into the cab through the dash panel gromet below the brake booster. Also is the decision to tow brake lighting.... you can use separate brake light aux system or do as I did and get a diode system from Roadmaster and wire the Ranger such that the rear taillight/turn signals work with the RV. I use a 4 wire system and installed the wiring using the frame rail connectors on both the left and right side of the boxed frame under the rear bumper area. I have logged about 2000 miles behind my Alfa Diesel pusher with no problem. However one of the forum members trashed his transmisson somehow and it was replaced under warranty...likely because it was not put in to transfer case neutral for some reason.... BTW when I ran my power for the supplemental brake system, I also ran another 4 wire set of 18 gauge wires which proved useful for the brake away system for the supplemental brake system.

If you have a 4x2, it is not recommended to tow, but Remco makes a electric transmission pump, but I have no experience with the Remco device.

As of base plates for the Ranger, I used Roadmaster base plates; and would advise to get an angle drill adapter to drill out the to half inch hole size in the outboard frame holes...weird but the in board hole is half inch...outside is about 10mm....weird for some reason... You avoid the need to remove the front bumper which is not all that hard but there are little plastic clips galore... My 90° adapter was only a 3/8" chuck...I have since switched to a half inch chuck with 3/8 x 24 threads but I pulled my front bumper as I was the first Roadmaster base plate purchaser way back when. Worked with Glenda, the Roadmaster Engineer that developed the base plates for the Ranger 5G.

Hope this helps a bit as you do your research....

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retrired

 

[SemperVee]

Hi Dar,

A couple things...there is a tread on towing 4 down that addresses most of the getting the Ranger ready to tow 4 down.... First is the vehicle must be a 4x4 so you can follow the process to put the transfer case in neutral. Also there is a problem with the required supplemental brake system required by most states and that is the supplemental systems that require 12 volts face the fact the Ranger times out the 12 v cigar lighter sockets or power points at about the 2 hour mark. I solved this problem by running power directly into the cab through the dash panel gromet below the brake booster. Also is the decision to tow brake lighting.... you can use separate brake light aux system or do as I did and get a diode system from Roadmaster and wire the Ranger such that the rear taillight/turn signals work with the RV. I use a 4 wire system and installed the wiring using the frame rail connectors on both the left and right side of the boxed frame under the rear bumper area. I have logged about 2000 miles behind my Alfa Diesel pusher with no problem. However one of the forum members trashed his transmisson somehow and it was replaced under warranty...likely because it was not put in to transfer case neutral for some reason.... BTW when I ran my power for the supplemental brake system, I also ran another 4 wire set of 18 gauge wires which proved useful for the brake away system for the supplemental brake system.

If you have a 4x2, it is not recommended to tow, but Remco makes a electric transmission pump, but I have no experience with the Remco device.

As of base plates for the Ranger, I used Roadmaster base plates; and would advise to get an angle drill adapter to drill out the to half inch hole size in the outboard frame holes...weird but the in board hole is half inch...outside is about 10mm....weird for some reason... You avoid the need to remove the front bumper which is not all that hard but there are little plastic clips galore... My 90° adapter was only a 3/8" chuck...I have since switched to a half inch chuck with 3/8 x 24 threads but I pulled my front bumper as I was the first Roadmaster base plate purchaser way back when. Worked with Glenda, the Roadmaster Engineer that developed the base plates for the Ranger 5G.

Hope this helps a bit as you do your research....

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retrired

Thanks Phil, I'm going to use your post as reference material. I found how to put Ranger in neutral tow, I'm assuming to lubricate the drive drain and thought it was to turn on electrical pathways for brakes and lights, but from your post is seems not so.

 

[dndnva]

Thanks Phil, I'm going to use your post as reference material. I found how to put Ranger in neutral tow, I'm assuming to lubricate the drive drain and thought it was to turn on electrical pathways for brakes and lights, but from your post is seems not so.

Hi Dar,

A couple things...there is a tread on towing 4 down that addresses most of the getting the Ranger ready to tow 4 down.... First is the vehicle must be a 4x4 so you can follow the process to put the transfer case in neutral. Also there is a problem with the required supplemental brake system required by most states and that is the supplemental systems that require 12 volts face the fact the Ranger times out the 12 v cigar lighter sockets or power points at about the 2 hour mark. I solved this problem by running power directly into the cab through the dash panel gromet below the brake booster. Also is the decision to tow brake lighting.... you can use separate brake light aux system or do as I did and get a diode system from Roadmaster and wire the Ranger such that the rear taillight/turn signals work with the RV. I use a 4 wire system and installed the wiring using the frame rail connectors on both the left and right side of the boxed frame under the rear bumper area. I have logged about 2000 miles behind my Alfa Diesel pusher with no problem. However one of the forum members trashed his transmisson somehow and it was replaced under warranty...likely because it was not put in to transfer case neutral for some reason.... BTW when I ran my power for the supplemental brake system, I also ran another 4 wire set of 18 gauge wires which proved useful for the brake away system for the supplemental brake system.

If you have a 4x2, it is not recommended to tow, but Remco makes a electric transmission pump, but I have no experience with the Remco device.

As of base plates for the Ranger, I used Roadmaster base plates; and would advise to get an angle drill adapter to drill out the to half inch hole size in the outboard frame holes...weird but the in board hole is half inch...outside is about 10mm....weird for some reason... You avoid the need to remove the front bumper which is not all that hard but there are little plastic clips galore... My 90° adapter was only a 3/8" chuck...I have since switched to a half inch chuck with 3/8 x 24 threads but I pulled my front bumper as I was the first Roadmaster base plate purchaser way back when. Worked with Glenda, the Roadmaster Engineer that developed the base plates for the Ranger 5G.

Hope this helps a bit as you do your research....

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retrired

 

[dndnva]

I towed my 2019 Ranger XLT using an RVi brake system and got a brake warning when I disconnected as though the RVi did some damage. I reached out to Ford and they were of no help, suggested I contact the dealer. Are you saying that the brake warning was likely caused by the cig lighter socket timing out? I read at some point that someone thought it was the ABS brake system?

 

[DC0046]

I did the same as Phil. Road master base plates, diodes for the lights, and charge line for the Blue Ox portable brake. I made a pig tail to plug into the charge line with a female cigarette lighter outlet to plug the brake into. I tow the Ranger with a 2018 gasser. Tows great, but is quite a bit longer then the TJ Wrangler I formally towed. The neutral tow on the truck has worked flawlessly. Also added a Roadmaster Tow Defender to the Falcon II tow bar to try to prevent rock chips.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

I towed my 2019 Ranger XLT using an RVi brake system and got a brake warning when I disconnected as though the RVi did some damage. I reached out to Ford and they were of no help, suggested I contact the dealer. Are you saying that the brake warning was likely caused by the cig lighter socket timing out? I read at some point that someone thought it was the ABS brake system?

Hi Donna,

Not sure what you mean... Not sure I indicated any of the sort you are implying other than the cigar lighter socket timing out which is not an implication but a fact. I powered my supplemet brake system from the vehicle battery to avoid the cigar lighter socket (BTW...Auto industry is Cigar Lighter...not Cigarette) timing out. Those who choose to mess via Forscan have reset the time out to 12 hours or more as I recall. I choose to not mess in the PCM or other modules. Why you got an ABS warning is likely related to RVi adjustments for the amount of braking. I have no direct experience with RVi.

 

[dndnva]

Hi Donna,

Not sure what you mean... Not sure I indicated any of the sort you are implying other than the cigar lighter socket timing out which is not an implication but a fact. I powered my supplemet brake system from the vehicle battery to avoid the cigar lighter socket (BTW...Auto industry is Cigar Lighter...not Cigarette) timing out. Those who choose to mess via Forscan have reset the time out to 12 hours or more as I recall. I choose to not mess in the PCM or other modules. Why you got an ABS warning is likely related to RVi adjustments for the amount of braking. I have no direct experience with RVi.

Thanks Phil....not trying to put words in your mouth, just trying to come up with a solution. I've towed my Jeep Wrangler all over the US and part of Canada using this same RVi brake system with never a problem. I used the RVi twice on the Ranger and got the same brake warning. I had read another thread somewhere that mentioned a problem with the Ranger software not disabling the the ABS system but that sounds not fixable, so I thought if you and others are not having this problem, but you've direct wired a cigar lighter socket when the installers told me I didn't need it, that might be a solution to my problem. Sounds like it might be worth a shot to see if that fixes my problem. Thanks again.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Thanks Phil....not trying to put words in your mouth, just trying to come up with a solution. I've towed my Jeep Wrangler all over the US and part of Canada using this same RVi brake system with never a problem. I used the RVi twice on the Ranger and got the same brake warning. I had read another thread somewhere that mentioned a problem with the Ranger software not disabling the the ABS system but that sounds not fixable, so I thought if you and others are not having this problem, but you've direct wired a cigar lighter socket when the installers told me I didn't need it, that might be a solution to my problem. Sounds like it might be worth a shot to see if that fixes my problem. Thanks again.

Hi Donna,

My take on this was that you wanted to keep the brake apply in the realm of assist and not full apply which kicks on the brake ABS. I experienced this on the windy road to Prescott. adjusted the pressure to apply and completed the twisty tourney journey with out incident. RVi is too aggressive; toning it down to apply the brakes gently is in order. My add a brake system pressure responds well and was a dream to pull to Prescott over the winding roads . However, my system is powered by the pressure regulated force needed to apply to the Ranger at an appropriate pressure to all needed braking. below ABS activation pressure, Safety brakaway is not compromised.

Okay. Setting up your system is key to successful pull is key....it takes some time. RVi has the capability to do this if properly adjusted. I chose a easier Add a Brake controler....simple adjustment. Works well. Towed my old ranger for over 96.000 miles with out a problem as we have visitied all 48 lower states with our little 2007 Ranger.

 

[dndnva]

Hi Donna,

My take on this was that you wanted to keep the brake apply in the realm of assist and not full apply which kicks on the brake ABS. I experienced this on the windy road to Prescott. adjusted the pressure to apply and completed the twisty tourney journey with out incident. RVi is too aggressive; toning it down to apply the brakes gently is in order. My add a brake system pressure responds well and was a dream to pull to Prescott over the winding roads . However, my system is powered by the pressure regulated force needed to apply to the Ranger at an appropriate pressure to all needed braking. below ABS activation pressure, Safety brakaway is not compromised.

Okay. Setting up your system is key to successful pull is key....it takes some time. RVi has the capability to do this if properly adjusted. I chose a easier Add a Brake controler....simple adjustment. Works well. Towed my old ranger for over 96.000 miles with out a problem as we have visitied all 48 lower states with our little 2007 Ranger.

Thanks for the insight.....I will give it a shot.

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