Several questions for flat towing experts

[Dan W.]

Hello fellow Ranger drivers. We just bought a 2018 Minnie Winnie and a new 2019 Ford Ranger 4x4 to tow after ~15 years with a travel trailer towed by an F-250. We are preparing for a 2 week trip from Oklahoma to northwest Colorado in July, and I have several questions and honestly some concerns about flat towing the Ranger.

I have installed the Roadmaster base plate and wiring kit and also purchased the Blue Ox Patriot in-cab brake. Would appreciate your inputs to any or all of my questions, and thank you in advance!

• I have seen other threads expressing concern over battery drain and resultant potential transmission failure - what is the best method to run a power line from the RV to the Ranger? Understanding you may not have knowledge about my RV, the more specific question is how to hook a power supply to the Ranger?
• On another thread it was stated the in-cab power supply times out - what is the best method to run power to the Patriot brake?
• I was intending to run the brake break-away cable through the engine compartment and the driver's side door to the brake - any concerns with this?
• Is there a problem with driving the truck for some distance just prior to hooking up and towing?
• Is there a recommended maximum speed to tow? I am not intending anything crazy, probably 65mph or maybe 70mph max.
• Does anyone have concerns with towing 500-600 miles+ without unhooking and driving the Ranger?

Thanks again!

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[Pete Warfield]

Hello fellow Ranger drivers. We just bought a 2018 Minnie Winnie and a new 2019 Ford Ranger 4x4 to tow after ~15 years with a travel trailer towed by an F-250. We are preparing for a 2 week trip from Oklahoma to northwest Colorado in July, and I have several questions and honestly some concerns about flat towing the Ranger.

I have installed the Roadmaster base plate and wiring kit and also purchased the Blue Ox Patriot in-cab brake. Would appreciate your inputs to any or all of my questions, and thank you in advance!

• I have seen other threads expressing concern over battery drain and resultant potential transmission failure - what is the best method to run a power line from the RV to the Ranger? Understanding you may not have knowledge about my RV, the more specific question is how to hook a power supply to the Ranger?
• On another thread it was stated the in-cab power supply times out - what is the best method to run power to the Patriot brake?
• I was intending to run the brake break-away cable through the engine compartment and the driver's side door to the brake - any concerns with this?
• Is there a problem with driving the truck for some distance just prior to hooking up and towing?
• Is there a recommended maximum speed to tow? I am not intending anything crazy, probably 65mph or maybe 70mph max.
• Does anyone have concerns with towing 500-600 miles+ without unhooking and driving the Ranger?

Thanks again!

Hi Dan, I have a similar set up and just finished a 1000 mile trip Here in the NE . I have a 2018 Coachman Leprechaun 260 DS with Ford V10 and 2019 Ranger Lariat. I have all Blue Ox equipment(Patriot brake control and base plate etc. I solved my power supply issue by installing a 5 amp Fused line via cigar lighter plug down by side of console. I ran the brake away line and 5 amp line through grill and engine compartment through fire wall on Through passenger side grommet. I also added a battery charger from 7 pin connection to Ranger battery. This however is not really needed but decided to do it any way.The RV had no problem pulling my 4800 lb. Ranger But I did lose two coil packs on V10 and had to make repairs at ford dealer in N.H. I attribute this to a very steep pull up a mountain back road in VT. These coil packs on V10 are susceptible to generated heat build up and failure. The truck and equipment performed great but if I had to do it all again I would prefer to either tow somthing a little lighter. I traveled at 60-65 on my travels and would not have concerns about traveling all day with this combination. I don’t keep my campers a long time so my next will probably be a bumper pull and larger tow vehicle. Good luck with your set up and safe travels.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Hello fellow Ranger drivers. We just bought a 2018 Minnie Winnie and a new 2019 Ford Ranger 4x4 to tow after ~15 years with a travel trailer towed by an F-250. We are preparing for a 2 week trip from Oklahoma to northwest Colorado in July, and I have several questions and honestly some concerns about flat towing the Ranger.

I have installed the Roadmaster base plate and wiring kit and also purchased the Blue Ox Patriot in-cab brake. Would appreciate your inputs to any or all of my questions, and thank you in advance!

• I have seen other threads expressing concern over battery drain and resultant potential transmission failure - what is the best method to run a power line from the RV to the Ranger? Understanding you may not have knowledge about my RV, the more specific question is how to hook a power supply to the Ranger?
• On another thread it was stated the in-cab power supply times out - what is the best method to run power to the Patriot brake?
• I was intending to run the brake break-away cable through the engine compartment and the driver's side door to the brake - any concerns with this?
• Is there a problem with driving the truck for some distance just prior to hooking up and towing?
• Is there a recommended maximum speed to tow? I am not intending anything crazy, probably 65mph or maybe 70mph max.
• Does anyone have concerns with towing 500-600 miles+ without unhooking and driving the Ranger?

Thanks again!

Hi Dan,

What is the GCW of the Mini Winnie? I am not familiar, but the Ranger may be a bit much to tow for the Motor home.... If the Ranger is within specs, then I would recommend a search of threads on these forums where these questions will be answered. There are several solutions for things like power, charge lines, etc.

What I will recommend is that you clearly follow the procedure in the owners manual to get the Ranger to flat tow mode. Failure to get the indicator on the dash display to indicate the vehicle is in flat tow mode is almost certain to result in major transmission damage. There is no worry about having to unhook and drive the Ranger until you are ready to use the Ranger. I have towed over 2000 miles without unhooking or starting the Ranger. If in a pull through for the night, I will start the Ranger and idle for about 5 minutes. Do not touch anything, just start the Ranger, but some nights this is not an option and we just start driving without doing anything to the Ranger.

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

 

[gmadams]

I tow my 2019 Ranger 4 wheels down. I used Fortran to disable the timeout on the 12v plug. I too have a wire inthe 7 pin connector that goes directly to the battery to keep up the charge. There is no need to start the engine when you stop for the night. I have a printed page detailing the steps I need to do to put the truck's transfer case in neutral. It is laminated and I keep it in the door pocket.

 

[geophb]

Manual doesn't mention anything about starting after xxxx miles and I see no reason to. By getting the transfer case in neutral you can tow it indefinitely because whats moving is no different than driving it.

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