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Joem

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Hellwig load leveling rear springs and Bilstein front struts......has anyone tried this set up on a 2019 XLT 2 wheel drive?
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Frenchy

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I can't say that anyone has done this or not but my question to younis what is your goal? Obviously you are looking for towing of sorts but what else do you have in mind? Also what have you done to the truck already? This will help us help you.
 
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Joem

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I can't say that anyone has done this or not but my question to younis what is your goal? Obviously you are looking for towing of sorts but what else do you have in mind? Also what have you done to the truck already? This will help us help you.
I am towing a 6800 lb TT with 800 lb tongue weight with a Henley Weight dist sway control hitch, my truck has 1500 of the 1688 combined cargo weight and is almost level with both my wife and I included, slight front end dip ( about 1") when hooked up. I was having way too porpusing and added Timbren Jounce Bumpers that helped but the ride when NOT towing was terrible. My understanding of the Hellwig load support springs is they do not engage until a load or dramatic dip in the road. The Bilsteins will add 1/2 inch lift to the front but should dramatically improve the porposing.....so i'm told.
 

Frenchy

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I am towing a 6800 lb TT with 800 lb tongue weight with a Henley Weight dist sway control hitch, my truck has 1500 of the 1688 combined cargo weight and is almost level with both my wife and I included, slight front end dip ( about 1") when hooked up. I was having way too porpusing and added Timbren Jounce Bumpers that helped but the ride when NOT towing was terrible. My understanding of the Hellwig load support springs is they do not engage until a load or dramatic dip in the road. The Bilsteins will add 1/2 inch lift to the front but should dramatically improve the porposing.....so i'm told.
I cant speak for the Hellwig parts but i can say the Bilsteins will help dramatically. For the shocks i would get a complete kit. That will help out a lot. Another thing you may eat to do is get the APG leaf spring kit. It does not lift the truck and goes from the parabolic to a multi leak design and will help control the load.

Also you NEED to reduce your load as you are weighing the truck down too much. For 1 your toung weight is too high. Yes it is only 50 lbs but it still counts. Also take your payload capacity and subtract you doing weight. That is now your payload capacity. Don't belive me on this? Look in your owners manual and it will tell you the same.

@P. A. Schilke is there anything I may have missed here that you could add?
 

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I cant speak for the Hellwig parts but i can say the Bilsteins will help dramatically. For the shocks i would get a complete kit. That will help out a lot. Another thing you may eat to do is get the APG leaf spring kit. It does not lift the truck and goes from the parabolic to a multi leak design and will help control the load.

Also you NEED to reduce your load as you are weighing the truck down too much. For 1 your toung weight is too high. Yes it is only 50 lbs but it still counts. Also take your payload capacity and subtract you doing weight. That is now your payload capacity. Don't belive me on this? Look in your owners manual and it will tell you the same.

@P. A. Schilke is there anything I may have missed here that you could add?
I have one more question is that 6800 lb trailer weight actual or the GTWR off the label. You really need to weight it as loaded for towing. Yes you are within the recommend 10 to 15 percent tongue weight but you need to stay below the max tongue weight rating of you truck which is 750 lbs.

Yes your payload or cargo capacity includes tongue weight, your, wife, your kids, pets, and anything else you have in the truck or bed. As I am sure Phil will say, a CAT scale is your best friend. Weigh it and make sure you are within ALL weight ratings for both your truck and trailer.
 


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Joem

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I have one more question is that 6800 lb trailer weight actual or the GTWR off the label. You really need to weight it as loaded for towing. Yes you are within the recommend 10 to 15 percent tongue weight but you need to stay below the max tongue weight rating of you truck which is 750 lbs.

Yes your payload or cargo capacity includes tongue weight, your, wife, your kids, pets, and anything else you have in the truck or bed. As I am sure Phil will say, a CAT scale is your best friend. Weigh it and make sure you are within ALL weight ratings for both your truck and trailer.
Trailer weight is 6800lbs loaded as per Cat scale. combined cargo weight is including tongue weight and the stuff in the bed including wife and I.

I'll recheck tongue weight, I have a schneider scale I may be just under
 

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I cant speak for the Hellwig parts but i can say the Bilsteins will help dramatically. For the shocks i would get a complete kit. That will help out a lot. Another thing you may eat to do is get the APG leaf spring kit. It does not lift the truck and goes from the parabolic to a multi leak design and will help control the load.

Also you NEED to reduce your load as you are weighing the truck down too much. For 1 your toung weight is too high. Yes it is only 50 lbs but it still counts. Also take your payload capacity and subtract you doing weight. That is now your payload capacity. Don't belive me on this? Look in your owners manual and it will tell you the same.

@P. A. Schilke is there anything I may have missed here that you could add?
Hi Chris,

You and Lee pretty much covered it... Weigh it and know...don't guess...

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

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Trailer weight is 6800lbs loaded as per Cat scale. combined cargo weight is including tongue weight and the stuff in the bed including wife and I.

I'll recheck tongue weight, I have a schneider scale I may be just under
Just checking, need to be extra cautious when pull up close to Max rating. There can be liability issues if you are over and God forbid something happens.
 
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A Ranger is a terrible choice for what you want to tow. You need a full size truck... maybe even a F250.
 
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Big Blue

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A Ranger is a terrible choice for what you want to tow. You need a full size truck... maybe even a F250.
I agree with you on that. It scares me what some people are towing with a Ranger. Just because it says you can, does not mean you should! Especially where some are newbe towers. But, what can you do, give advice and hope they get home safe. It's ridiculous pulling something around that's bigger than some people house or apartment.
 
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P. A. Schilke

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I agree with you on that. It scares me what some people are towing with a Ranger. Just because it says you can, does not mean you should! Especially where some are newbe towers. But, what can you do, give advice and hope they get home safe. It's ridiculous pulling something around that's bigger than some people house or apartment.
Hi Lee,

You have a valid concern, but like the pickup box...Ford cannot control what is placed in the box. The vehicles are tested at the tow max, but the test drivers are skilled which many not be the case with many folks...But how to guard against a novice....simply cannot.

This why I highly recommend weighing your trailer/truck and proceeding with caution as you develop the skill set if you are in uncharted territory. For example, if the owner's manual says tow at 65 MPH and the Texas freeway says 85...do not go 85....stay at 65...

Look at the Ranger pickup box. Wonder if I can haul a load of 20 gun safes to the gun shop? Yikes! yeah an exaggeration, but hopefully folks get the point.

Just a bit of a back story. Divorced...dating without much success...Margie found me...Wow. Date for over 6 months...tie the knot.... decide to buy a diesel pusher 40' motorhome. Neither of us have any experience with such a huge vehicle. Handed the keys. Dealer says good luck! So off I go to the storage lot that came for 6 months free with the purchase....30 miles North. Margie follows me in the Ford Mazda 6 car. Finally she gets my attention with her flashing lights and we pull to the side of the road. She indicates I was doing 90 mph. The speed sensation was such I was way over my head, having not driven such a huge vehicle. Sobering... Yeah...I drove Semi's on the test track...not the same to prepare me. Now 15 years later...having driven over 100,000 miles and been to all the lower 48 states...(side bar, my little Ranger was behind the RV). Experienced yep... That is why folks here with experience are key to advising those who are in need of developing a skill set that they may not have.

Merry Christmas,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
 
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Joem

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Just checking, need to be extra cautious when pull up close to Max rating. There can be liability issues if you are over and God forbid something happens.
Appreciate all the comments, My tongue wt is 775 lbs. With the Hensley Arrow Sway elimination hitch per cat scale 2260 steer axle, 3280 drive axle combined trailer axle wt is 5340 and total gross wt is 10880.
Maybe for some, I agree this is pushing it with a Ranger BUT I have 10 years and over a million miles pulling double trailers through CA, AZ, NV and Utah, snow, ice, wind you name it...accident free and 20 years of towing sand toys. With the right hitch and safe driving ( I never tow over 62 MPH and always keep 2 semi lengths in front of me) I am not a risk to any other people on the road.

How my question about Hellweg springs and Bilnstein shocks got to people telling me I should have an F-250 is beyond my expectation. Thanks again for all the input.
 

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Appreciate all the comments, My tongue wt is 775 lbs. With the Hensley Arrow Sway elimination hitch per cat scale 2260 steer axle, 3280 drive axle combined trailer axle wt is 5340 and total gross wt is 10880.
Maybe for some, I agree this is pushing it with a Ranger BUT I have 10 years and over a million miles pulling double trailers through CA, AZ, NV and Utah, snow, ice, wind you name it...accident free and 20 years of towing sand toys. With the right hitch and safe driving ( I never tow over 62 MPH and always keep 2 semi lengths in front of me) I am not a risk to any other people on the road.

How my question about Hellweg springs and Bilnstein shocks got to people telling me I should have an F-250 is beyond my expectation. Thanks again for all the input.
With all of your experience, I think you have a unique opportunity to educate many of us on Ranger performance at the towing limits. I tend to believe that the 7500 pound tow limit is more about marketing than actual towing, but I don’t have the heavy-load experience for comparison. I have had the bed loaded to the point where I was only 50 pounds shy of the GVWR, but not with a trailer. I would appreciate your feedback when you have enough miles with this configuration to share, and I suspect that I’m not the only interested owner.
 

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With all of your experience, I think you have a unique opportunity to educate many of us on Ranger performance at the towing limits. I tend to believe that the 7500 pound tow limit is more about marketing than actual towing, but I don’t have the heavy-load experience for comparison. I have had the bed loaded to the point where I was only 50 pounds shy of the GVWR, but not with a trailer. I would appreciate your feedback when you have enough miles with this configuration to share, and I suspect that I’m not the only interested owner.
Just my input on this, as long as the Vehicle Manufacturer says what the Safe Towing Capacity is then it is ok to tow at that capacity. Even though some think you should have a full size truck to do that work I feel completely different about it. If it wasn't safe then it wouldn't have the rating. I myself have towed 5,500 lbs with my ranger already and i can say it handled it very well. The key thing is dont be stupid.

Not to control the ride while towing it is probably best to start with the Bilstein shocks as they will help control the ride better than the factory shocks. After that maybe consider the Hellwig springs.
 

Big Blue

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How my question about Hellweg springs and Bilnstein shocks got to people telling me I should have an F-250 is beyond my expectation. Thanks again for all the input.
Sorry about that. We were not aware of your profession and experience. You sir are an exception to the normal, with your over the road experience. No criticism was intended. It is just that there are people on this form who are towing ridiculously large trailers right up to or exceeding the rated limit of the Ranger who have nowhere near your experience.
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