chasbo
Member
- First Name
- Charlie
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2021
- Threads
- 3
- Messages
- 14
- Reaction score
- 28
- Location
- Washington state
- Vehicle(s)
- 2020 Ranger Lariat
- Occupation
- IT
- Thread starter
- #1
My son loaded up a 6x12 Uhaul enclosed trailer, hooked it up to his 2004 Jeep Cherokee (which did not have the original tow package but he had added what he hoped would suffice) and started driving from central Wisconsin out to where I live near Seattle. The Cherokee, could not handle it and he only made it to Miles City, MT. So I drove my 2020 Ranger Lariat 4x4 (with the tow package) to go out and bring the trailer the rest of the way. At this point, we assumed he had not exceeded the max load of the trailer, which would have put the total tow weight under 4400 pounds. The Ranger had no issues pulling the trailer, and FYI it's about 1000 miles there are 4 mountain passes to go through between here and there. We took the most direct route which is I-94 to I-90. The Tow Control worked great. Engine braking kicked in when necessary and the transmission shifting seemed fine to me. I'm not an expert but I have been in vehicles where they would often have to rely on overdrive to do the job. The Ranger downshifting/upshifting seemed very good to me. I kept it under 70 for the most part but I didn't use cruise control so would occasionally go above that downhill. MPG ended up at 14.5. And at the end of the trip, I went to the local transfer station and got an unofficial total weight of the whole rig of 9560 lbs. Based on what I have read, that means were were carrying/pulling about 5000 pounds. This means he maxed out that trailer (we put some stuff in the bed but not 600 pounds). He had also maxed out the GVWR of his Cherokee, so no surprise that it struggled since it was a DIY tow upgrade and the vehicle has close to 200K on it. He was surprised that he had loaded up that much weight but his guesstimate was simply off by at least 1000 pounds. I kind of figured that would happen because he is kind of a pack rat.
Anyway, I am pretty pleased with how the Ranger handled it as we are intending to get a small RV someday. Another FYI I don't have the brake controller installed yet but the Uhaul trailer just has a 4-pin and it has a braking system on the tongue of the trailer so that they don't have to worry about customers needing a 7-pin with a brake controller.
Anyway, I am pretty pleased with how the Ranger handled it as we are intending to get a small RV someday. Another FYI I don't have the brake controller installed yet but the Uhaul trailer just has a 4-pin and it has a braking system on the tongue of the trailer so that they don't have to worry about customers needing a 7-pin with a brake controller.
Sponsored