Towing Advice

Spiritrider1

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I am hoping to benefit from some members experience with regards to towing a travel trailer. I am retiring next month and will would like to purchase a new trailer(about 21 ft, 4200 lbs dry weight with 5-600 lb hitch weight). I plan on doing a fair amount of traveling with the trailer and my 2019 XLT crew cab. The truck has no towing package so I will have to add a hitch, brake controller and wiring harness with the 7 pin connector. My concern is the trucks ability to pull this big of a trailer and the effect or toll it will take on the truck. Has anyone had experience in towing such a trailer? Should I just consider buying a larger truck? I would appreciate any advice and suggestions on the feasibility of this endeavor. Also any recommendations as to what components to use to outfit the truck would be welcomed and appreciated.
Thank you all in advance for your replies.
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EJH

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Our Rangers have plenty of power for this type of towing. No issues with power, even in the mountains. Use premium fuel when towing.

I tow a 4,000 dry / 5,000 GVWR travel trailer (single axle, 20" long).

A good WDH hitch (one with sway control) is essential. I've done three trips with my trailer and am still tweaking my WDH setup after each trip. It takes time to dial it in. Mine is mostly there but I am hoping to be able to manage wind better than I do now. Windy freeways are the only time I wish for more truck. However, I think that is more my hitch setup not being there yet. Also possible it is just the reality of towing a large box with a mid size truck.

Overall, towing with the Ranger works fine, but it will never be a full size truck. It is a trade off as I like the Ranger all other times over a F150.
 
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AdamHarris

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You will get 150 suggestions on here about every kind of hitch, ball, weight distributing hitch, you name it. Do your research and get what you need for that trailer size.

You will, however, be shocked at how well it will tow that rig.
 

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I have an Escape 19. 4650lbs loaded and ready to go with 560lbs tongue weight. It’s probably the heaviest Escape 19. I put Bilstien 4600 shocks on the back only because I did not like the ride of the stock shocks. I have a 2021 2WD XLT scab. I have the Ford variant of the Redarc brake controller. My trailer is only 7’ wide, so may have less windage than yours. Ford rates towing with the Ranger at 55 sq ft frontal area.

I have not yet been in the western mountains, but have towed 1000’s of miles up and down the eastern mountains. The truck is unfazed and always has more to give if I need it. I get around 15.5 mpg towing. I have a little over 11,000 miles on the truck, about 8000 of those towing some kind of trailer - mostly the Escape. Tranny temps are usually in the 190’s, but do creep up to 206 with a lot of downhill and twice briefly made 208. My lowest towing mpg has been 13 and my best 16.

The heaviest I have towed with the Ranger was a 5000lbs dump trailer with 630lbs of tongue weight. It’s 8 1/2‘ wide, but not real tall. It was local towing, and it was no problem for the truck.

I started with door strap on mirrors that are much more solid than the mirror clip on style. I used neoprene seat belt covers to protect the finish. I recently added the new Clearview mirrors. I personally think towing mirrors are an essential safety item for the 1000’s of miles I tow.

I bought the truck for towing, and it does fine. I do have a 3/4 ton if I need to tow or haul more.

9EEFB20C-DDEE-4052-86E7-7104E12450FD.jpeg


5838A66E-3F6B-435F-AD7B-0BCBB68F2EDA.jpeg


13495E23-E1BC-4137-A002-0719F7AE0AB1.jpeg
 
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Spiritrider1

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I have an Escape 19. 4650lbs loaded and ready to go with 560lbs tongue weight. It’s probably the heaviest Escape 19. I put Bilstien 4600 shocks on the back only because I did not like the ride of the stock shocks. I have a 2021 2WD XLT scab. I have the Ford variant of the Redarc brake controller. My trailer is only 7’ wide, so may have less windage than yours. Ford rates towing with the Ranger at 55 sq ft frontal area.

I have not yet been in the western mountains, but have towed 1000’s of miles up and down the eastern mountains. The truck is unfazed and always has more to give if I need it. I get around 15.5 mpg towing. I have a little over 11,000 miles on the truck, about 8000 of those towing some kind of trailer - mostly the Escape. Tranny temps are usually in the 190’s, but do creep up to 206 with a lot of downhill and twice briefly made 208. My lowest towing mpg has been 13 and my best 16.

The heaviest I have towed with the Ranger was a 5000lbs dump trailer with 630lbs of tongue weight. It’s 8 1/2‘ wide, but not real tall. It was local towing, and it was no problem for the truck.

I started with door strap on mirrors that are much more solid than the mirror clip on style. I used neoprene seat belt covers to protect the finish. I recently added the new Clearview mirrors. I personally think towing mirrors are an essential safety item for the 1000’s of miles I tow.

I bought the truck for towing, and it does fine. I do have a 3/4 ton if I need to tow or haul more.

9EEFB20C-DDEE-4052-86E7-7104E12450FD.jpeg


5838A66E-3F6B-435F-AD7B-0BCBB68F2EDA.jpeg


13495E23-E1BC-4137-A002-0719F7AE0AB1.jpeg
I also have recently upgraded my rear shocks only to bilsteins. Didn’t like the pogo stick effect the stock units delivered. The mirrors look good! Thanks for sharing your experience.
 


Frenchy

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I am hoping to benefit from some members experience with regards to towing a travel trailer. I am retiring next month and will would like to purchase a new trailer(about 21 ft, 4200 lbs dry weight with 5-600 lb hitch weight). I plan on doing a fair amount of traveling with the trailer and my 2019 XLT crew cab. The truck has no towing package so I will have to add a hitch, brake controller and wiring harness with the 7 pin connector. My concern is the trucks ability to pull this big of a trailer and the effect or toll it will take on the truck. Has anyone had experience in towing such a trailer? Should I just consider buying a larger truck? I would appreciate any advice and suggestions on the feasibility of this endeavor. Also any recommendations as to what components to use to outfit the truck would be welcomed and appreciated.
Thank you all in advance for your replies.
Put simple, once you add the necessary parts to tow up to 7500 you will be fine. The truck has more than enough power to pull the weight. Just make sure that you have the proper equipment and dont overload it.
 

Big Blue

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I can't really add much to what has been said already I tow a rig much the same as what your rig is. I have the rear Bilsteins and love them. We did a 4700 mile trip last spring with no issues. I have just the Redarc TBC, because Ford didn’t have their version out when I needed one, works great. Got about 10.5 mpg towing at 70 mph on the highway. If you can keep it at 65 or less it will go up, but whats the fun in getting passed by everyone. The Ranger pulls great even on 6% grades. Just put on the Clearview mirrors and highly recommend.
 

JimG_AZ

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I am hoping to benefit from some members experience with regards to towing a travel trailer. I am retiring next month and will would like to purchase a new trailer(about 21 ft, 4200 lbs dry weight with 5-600 lb hitch weight). I plan on doing a fair amount of traveling with the trailer and my 2019 XLT crew cab. The truck has no towing package so I will have to add a hitch, brake controller and wiring harness with the 7 pin connector. My concern is the trucks ability to pull this big of a trailer and the effect or toll it will take on the truck. Has anyone had experience in towing such a trailer? Should I just consider buying a larger truck? I would appreciate any advice and suggestions on the feasibility of this endeavor. Also any recommendations as to what components to use to outfit the truck would be welcomed and appreciated.
Thank you all in advance for your replies.
As of last week, my wife and I are full-timing in a Rockwood Mini-Lite 2304KS that basically matches the specs of the trailer you want. We will be full-timing in it for the next couple of months while our house is renovated. I haven't pulled mu travel trailer much with the Ranger, but for what little towing I have done, the Ranger had no trouble pulling it. So far all of my towing has been around the Phoenix area on flat roads. In early July we are going to do a camping trip up the mountains This will give me a good idea as to how well my Ranger pulls. I will hit some 6% grades towing from Phoenix to Flagstaff. Flagstaff is @ 7500' elevation, so it will be a good towing test.

I have an Equal-i-zer weight-distributing hitch and the Redarc brake controller. I also have the Ford tow package. eTrailer has a good video on installing the Redarc brake controller on the Ranger. I followed that video when I did my brake controller install.
 

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I'm going to throw my two cents in as I tow a trailer that's around 6800 lbs with almost 700 lbs tongue weight.
The Ranger has plenty of power, even thru mountains/grades, with an excess for passing. The 10 speed when in tow/haul mode works as designed......use it.
After towing with mine, in addition to a good (don't skimp out on a cheapie) weight distributing hitch set up and a brake controller, I would recommend the following 3 items, if/when you can afford them...
!. Set of Clearview Mirrors. Without a doubt the best addition you can get for towing an 8 foot wide travel trailer.
2. Roadmaster Active Suspension Kit. Takes the place of a sway bar, an air bag set up, add a leaf spring, and a traction bar. It is a bolt on kit, about an hour and a half to install, and along with a set of better rear shocks will handle just about any weight and road condition you come across. Gets rid of the "sloppy, squirrely" feeling you may have when towing. These kits run around $450 which may seem a lot, but a rear sway bar runs around $650, an air bag set up can run up to $500, and the kit does what both of them do.
3. A set of good rear shocks...I went with the Eibach Pro Truck, but there are others just as good. I went with just the rears and the set up rides great.
 

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I tow a rockwood roo 233s 30' approxiamtely 5,500 pound trailer loaded. no issues.

clear view mirrors are or at least a really good set of clamp ons. also on my upgrades are expensive list.

I finally noticed the softness of the rear shocks during my last towing trip. they have been added to my upgrade list.

On my trailer I mounted a Hopkins Wifi trailer Hopkins Wifi trailer camera that is powered off the trailers running lights. so when i turn on the running lights I have a constant video link to the 30' directly behind the trailer. The shorter length of the ranger allows it work great. even at a mere 20fps (so sometimes choppy) I have an old cell phone and a dash mount so it is on constantly and doesn't interefere with my normal cell. very useful to see if anyone is directly in your blind spot, and helps with backing up the trailer.

oh and the brake controller. very useful.
 
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EJH

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2. Roadmaster Active Suspension Kit. Takes the place of a sway bar, an air bag set up, add a leaf spring, and a traction bar. It is a bolt on kit, about an hour and a half to install, and along with a set of better rear shocks will handle just about any weight and road condition you come across. Gets rid of the "sloppy, squirrely" feeling you may have when towing. These kits run around $450 which may seem a lot, but a rear sway bar runs around $650, an air bag set up can run up to $500, and the kit does what both of them do.
Interesting and appreciated Grumpaw. I have never heard of this kit. A bit of research and it looks worthwhile. Did you notice the rear ride height of your Ranger increase after the kit was installed? I am not crazy about adding more rake to my truck, when not towing. FWIW, when towing my rear will drop about 1 inch with my trailer and WDH bars on.

I am looking to improve that "sloppy, squirrely" feeling also. I started to look at a sway bar. I do have Fox 2.0s rear shocks, which are probably on the softer side of all the aftermarket shocks.
 

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Interesting and appreciated Grumpaw. I have never heard of this kit. A bit of research and it looks worthwhile. Did you notice the rear ride height of your Ranger increase after the kit was installed? I am not crazy about adding more rake to my truck, when not towing. FWIW, when towing my rear will drop about 1 inch with my trailer and WDH bars on.

I am looking to improve that "sloppy, squirrely" feeling also. I started to look at a sway bar. I do have Fox 2.0s rear shocks, which are probably on the softer side of all the aftermarket shocks.
It's not new...been around a number of years. But I didn't consider it prior as we had motor homes for last 15 years.
Between the kit and the better shocks, it raised the back less than an inch. No big deal on mine, a 2 wheel drive. My tongue weight is around 675-700 depending on how heavy I load the front storage area, with two 30 lb propane tanks and two batteries, and I'm using 1000 lb rated spring bars.
In the past I was all for a sway bar and possibly an air bag set up...but this takes the place of both, and it works.
Check their web site...lots of good info, customer reviews.
This is what our rig looks like...a bit bigger than what your considering.

IMG_20220316_143343271.jpg
 
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Spiritrider1

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I'm going to throw my two cents in as I tow a trailer that's around 6800 lbs with almost 700 lbs tongue weight.
The Ranger has plenty of power, even thru mountains/grades, with an excess for passing. The 10 speed when in tow/haul mode works as designed......use it.
After towing with mine, in addition to a good (don't skimp out on a cheapie) weight distributing hitch set up and a brake controller, I would recommend the following 3 items, if/when you can afford them...
!. Set of Clearview Mirrors. Without a doubt the best addition you can get for towing an 8 foot wide travel trailer.
2. Roadmaster Active Suspension Kit. Takes the place of a sway bar, an air bag set up, add a leaf spring, and a traction bar. It is a bolt on kit, about an hour and a half to install, and along with a set of better rear shocks will handle just about any weight and road condition you come across. Gets rid of the "sloppy, squirrely" feeling you may have when towing. These kits run around $450 which may seem a lot, but a rear sway bar runs around $650, an air bag set up can run up to $500, and the kit does what both of them do.
3. A set of good rear shocks...I went with the Eibach Pro Truck, but there are others just as good. I went with just the rears and the set up rides great.
 
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Spiritrider1

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I'm going to throw my two cents in as I tow a trailer that's around 6800 lbs with almost 700 lbs tongue weight.
The Ranger has plenty of power, even thru mountains/grades, with an excess for passing. The 10 speed when in tow/haul mode works as designed......use it.
After towing with mine, in addition to a good (don't skimp out on a cheapie) weight distributing hitch set up and a brake controller, I would recommend the following 3 items, if/when you can afford them...
!. Set of Clearview Mirrors. Without a doubt the best addition you can get for towing an 8 foot wide travel trailer.
2. Roadmaster Active Suspension Kit. Takes the place of a sway bar, an air bag set up, add a leaf spring, and a traction bar. It is a bolt on kit, about an hour and a half to install, and along with a set of better rear shocks will handle just about any weight and road condition you come across. Gets rid of the "sloppy, squirrely" feeling you may have when towing. These kits run around $450 which may seem a lot, but a rear sway bar runs around $650, an air bag set up can run up to $500, and the kit does what both of them do.
3. A set of good rear shocks...I went with the Eibach Pro Truck, but there are others just as good. I went with just the rears and the set up rides great.
Thank you for the advice. I will check into the active suspension kit. I have never seen one of these, but will certainly look into getting one.
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