Towing 6Klbs for 1400 Miles?

[mang5927]

I am needing to tow about 5900lbs from north TX to southern MT right after Christmas. It comes out to about 1400 miles and is a generally flat route, just slowly increasing in altitude. The only questionable part of the route will be through WY because of wind and possible snow/ice. I will be hauling a 1993 Chevy single cab short bed on a U-Haul car hauler. Truck weighs about 3700lbs and the trailer weighs about 2200. I have a leveling coilover kit on my Ranger and the truck will be loaded with about 800lbs including myself and my wife. I have the blue sumo springs on my shelf that will be installed before the trip.

Any thoughts on whether this is a good idea or not? I know I will probably be nose high at least a bit. I tow frequently for work but in 3/4 and 1 ton trucks for shorter distances. Just not sure how the Ranger will do with this kind of load at highway speeds and I don’t have a way to test as all our work trailers are goose necks.

Thanks for your input and let me know if I can answer any questions!

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[Rangerdude123]

(2019 Ranger XLT) I moved my whole life from California to Texas a few years ago towing a 6500k tow hauler full of my stuff including ATVs probably 8500k full. This was definitely a crazy haul the Ranger kicked butt most of the way, only issue I had was when I hit a steep grade the temp gauge went to about half way then would automatically say it was overheating. This was in desert temps in summer though about 110 outside. Other than that towed like a dream, I typically stayed about 55mph, but found myself accidentally hitting 65mph a few times.

 

[Frenchy]

Y suggestion before you do the trip is to replace the rear Leaf Springs. If you raised the front, then you need to do the same with the rear. The truck came from the factory with Rake for a reason. That reason is the load bringing the rear of the truck down. Sumo Springs will not take care of this in the right way.

 

[ctechbob]

Y suggestion before you do the trip is to replace the rear Leaf Springs. If you raised the front, then you need to do the same with the rear. The truck came from the factory with Rake for a reason. That reason is the load bringing the rear of the truck down. Sumo Springs will not take care of this in the right way.

Or just adjust your headlights.

There's no need to change springs for this trip. The truck is perfectly capable.

 

[Frenchy]

Or just adjust your headlights.

There's no need to change springs for this trip. The truck is perfectly capable.

If the rear squats lower than the front(very common with leveling a vehicle out BTW) then the vehicle is not going to handle worth a shit

 

[ctechbob]

If the rear squats lower than the front(very common with leveling a vehicle out BTW) then the vehicle is not going to handle worth a shit

No need to curse Mr. Know-it-all.

Plenty of people tow tongue heavy. Is it ideal? No. For one trip across the country, he will be fine. He's going to have a little bit of assist from bottoming with the Sumo Springs and he's not overloaded.

Suggesting he replace the springs for a single trip is just stupid.

And I know you're going to argue about all your knowledge. Keep it. You're a know-it-all blowhard that doesn't accept alternate opinions. I've seen enough out of you to largely ignore your blather.

To the OP.

Put a few extra #'s of pressure in your rear tires, make sure the trailer is properly loaded, readjust your headlights so you can see at night and install your Sumo's. You'll be fine.

 

[mang5927]

Thanks all for your input.

@Frenchy - I understand where you’re coming from, but I don’t tow enough to warrant the time and expense. Also I replaced rear springs with a 2nd gen Tacoma I had which had vibration issues similar to our rear driveshaft issues, and it’s not worth the potential problems to me. I know how touchy 2 piece driveshafts and their angles can be. I’m smooth now and not willing to chance it.

Oh and I forgot to ask about tires. Right now I have Blizzaks (standard load) on but am wary to tow with them being so soft and the warmer temps in TX/OK/KS. Should I switch back to my summer tires (Falken at4W)? The potential for snow in CO/WY makes me hesitate but the Falkens are pretty solid in the snow too.

 

[Frenchy]

No need to curse Mr. Know-it-all.

Plenty of people tow tongue heavy. Is it ideal? No. For one trip across the country, he will be fine. He's going to have a little bit of assist from bottoming with the Sumo Springs and he's not overloaded.

Suggesting he replace the springs for a single trip is just stupid.

And I know you're going to argue about all your knowledge. Keep it. You're a know-it-all blowhard that doesn't accept alternate opinions. I've seen enough out of you to largely ignore your blather.

To the OP.

Put a few extra #'s of pressure in your rear tires, make sure the trailer is properly loaded, readjust your headlights so you can see at night and install your Sumo's. You'll be fine.

And when the rear sits lower than the front, the front is going to want to lift off the ground at HWY speeds. A big safety issue especially if said individuals doing the tow get into a situation where they need the traction of the front tires and yet it's not available..... See the problem now?

This isn't an opinion BTW

 

[ctechbob]

Thanks all for your input.

@Frenchy - I understand where you’re coming from, but I don’t tow enough to warrant the time and expense. Also I replaced rear springs with a 2nd gen Tacoma I had which had vibration issues similar to our rear driveshaft issues, and it’s not worth the potential problems to me. I know how touchy 2 piece driveshafts and their angles can be. I’m smooth now and not willing to chance it.

Oh and I forgot to ask about tires. Right now I have Blizzaks (standard load) on but am wary to tow with them being so soft and the warmer temps in TX/OK/KS. Should I switch back to my summer tires (Falken at4W)? The potential for snow in CO/WY makes me hesitate but the Falkens are pretty solid in the snow too.

I probably wouldn't do it with the winter tires. They tend to be softer and probably won't handle the extra heat from the load all that well. Stick to the better maintained interstates and you'll be fine.

 

[Frenchy]

Thanks all for your input.

@Frenchy - I understand where you’re coming from, but I don’t tow enough to warrant the time and expense. Also I replaced rear springs with a 2nd gen Tacoma I had which had vibration issues similar to our rear driveshaft issues, and it’s not worth the potential problems to me. I know how touchy 2 piece driveshafts and their angles can be. I’m smooth now and not willing to chance it.

Oh and I forgot to ask about tires. Right now I have Blizzaks (standard load) on but am wary to tow with them being so soft and the warmer temps in TX/OK/KS. Should I switch back to my summer tires (Falken at4W)? The potential for snow in CO/WY makes me hesitate but the Falkens are pretty solid in the snow too.

I'm curious on the Toyota Springs(seriously, I want answers and I think other do too). Did it stay at Factory ride height or did the rear go up? More specifically what is the total height difference between the front and rear wheel arch?

As for the tires, if it is going to be pretty warm in TX, then I would recommend switching to the other tires. If they are already mounted on some wheels, then that already helps. This is due to the warmer weather making the Snow Tires not handle well and wear out faster.

 

[Grumpaw]

Is the Chebbie your planning on trailering a 4x4......if it is you may be able to tow it "4 down" without a trailer. If not, consider a dolly type trailer that supports the front wheels. Disconnect the drive shaft and you have an easy to tow rig that will put no strain on the suspension and will tow much better and much easier than that truck on a trailer. You can rent a dolly at any U-Haul.

 

[Frenchy]

Is the Chebbie your planning on trailering a 4x4......if it is you may be able to tow it "4 down" without a trailer. If not, consider a dolly type trailer that supports the front wheels. Disconnect the drive shaft and you have an easy to tow rig that will put no strain on the suspension and will tow much better and much easier than that truck on a trailer. You can rent a dolly at any U-Haul.

A fair point, but I'm also curious if the Tow Dolly or Auto Carrier from U-Haul is wide enough for the truck? I know they stopped making them wide enough for full size vehicles a while back.

 

[Grumpaw]

A fair point, but I'm also curious if the Tow Dolly or Auto Carrier from U-Haul is wide enough for the truck? I know they stopped making them wide enough for full size vehicles a while back.

Valid point.....he would have to check.
Also, towing 4 down would leave him without brakes on the Chebbie, but most dollies have a brake set up, usually surge if a rental, possibly electric.

 

[ControlNode]

When I checked an estimated direct route I between North Texas (Amarillo) and South Montana (Broadus) on flattestroute.com I see an estimated peak altitude of about 6,400 ft. At that altitude the Ranger's GCWR is down from 12,400 to 10,540. So, you may be overloaded for the trucks official rating for a portion of the drive (>6,000 ft). Does that 800lb load include the camper shell and front bumper? And have you confirmed the tongue weight of the U-haul trailer with that truck on it? I've found those trailer to sometimes be a little bit tongue heavy verse the load since you load it to parking the front tire on the wheel block at the front. You may need to put your gear in the back of the bed of the truck on the trailer to get the tongue weight down to 10-15% and ≤750lb max, or at least not overload the rear axle of the ranger. Don't hesitate to go by a Cat scale and be sure before.

But, using that same site I could add some alternate routes, and it looks like if you stay a bit East on a "Via Mt Rushmore" you stay under the 6,000ft of elevation, just peaking over 5,000 for a very short while, but it's about a 4.5 grade there.


EDIT: updated based on SuperCab GCWR.

 

[Big Blue]

Reading the OPs initial post and all the suggestions to it, I do have a couple of concerns. First of all with the OP having 800 lbs of payload in the truck he is using around half of his available payload not counting tongue weight. Keep as much of the non-people weight in the cab or at least in the front of the box to keep as much of that weight on the front axle as possible. Most Uhaul trailers run heavy on the tongue. He will need to be careful positioning the truck on the trailer to avoid being over the 750 lb weight limit. Possible need to position the truck backwards on the trailer. And make sure the hitch drop is correct to level the trailer.

I do agree with @Frenchy that running light on the front axle is a very dangerous thing to do. But, doing major suspension upgrades for a one-shot trip does not make sense. Possibly a Roadmaster Active Suspension bolt on kit that he could sell after the trip could be an option.

He will be limited in speed for the trip and need to keep an eye on the weather which could cause delays. So hopefully he is not on a tight time table.

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