Towing without WDH

[Raygunn]

Hello All! New Ranger owner here. I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on a used camper this weekend. It's 21 ft. long and weighs about 3k empty (3750 gross).
I have the FX4 Super Crew with tow package and a Tekonsha 80500 brake controller, but I don't have a WDH yet. It seems like you need to have your trailer already before you can select the right one, I'm considering the Anderson No-Sway.

I'll have to tow it home from about 70 miles away on some highways at 55-60 speed limits any thoughts on whether it's safe to do this on my factory receiver and 2" drop ball mount?

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[Grumpaw]

Without knowing the level height of the trailers hitch I can only guess that a 2 inch drop is not going to be low enough to tow safely. Your hitch ball needs to be at almost the same height as the trailers hitch...if your ball is too high it throws the weight distribution off. You don't want to tow a trailer with the "ass down...front up".
That being said, the hitch weight of a 3000 lb trailer is likely around 300-400 lbs, low enough that just your drop hitch and ball should be able to handle it without the WD bars. And, a good set of safety chains.
If it were me, and I am experienced, I'd probably do it but I would look at lower speed alternate roads and take my time.
It's a judgement call on your part.

 

[Big Blue]

Hello All! New Ranger owner here. I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on a used camper this weekend. It's 21 ft. long and weighs about 3k empty (3750 gross).
I have the FX4 Super Crew with tow package and a Tekonsha 80500 brake controller, but I don't have a WDH yet. It seems like you need to have your trailer already before you can select the right one, I'm considering the Anderson No-Sway.

I'll have to tow it home from about 70 miles away on some highways at 55-60 speed limits any thoughts on whether it's safe to do this on my factory receiver and 2" drop ball mount?

Hi, Reason. Welcome to the club. Your Ranger should pull it just fine, sound about the same as my rug. Pulling it home without a WDH is fine. Just make sure the trailer is level. Tongue high is a big no no. Even slightly low is OK. I second staying off of highways, not knowing what if any towing experience you have.

I praise you on your planning for a WDH. My personal feeling, I'm sure others will disagree, is that any TT bigger than a teardrop should use one with sway control. Especially if your planning on longer family vacations. Pulling a TT is much different than garden center run with a flat bed trailer. You never know what weather your going to get on a longer trip and cross winds can be nasty. I have no personal experience with the Anderson hitch, but have heard good things. I personally run a Husky Centerline TS and like it, as Anti-sway is built in and nothing to disconnect when backing. As always proper weight distribution and hitch setup is of prime importance.

Enjoy your new truck and new to you trailer. As always safe towing.

 

[Raygunn]

Hi, Reason. Welcome to the club. Your Ranger should pull it just fine, sound about the same as my rug. Pulling it home without a WDH is fine. Just make sure the trailer is level. Tongue high is a big no no. Even slightly low is OK. I second staying off of highways, not knowing what if any towing experience you have.

I praise you on your planning for a WDH. My personal feeling, I'm sure others will disagree, is that any TT bigger than a teardrop should use one with sway control. Especially if your planning on longer family vacations. Pulling a TT is much different than garden center run with a flat bed trailer. You never know what weather your going to get on a longer trip and cross winds can be nasty. I have no personal experience with the Anderson hitch, but have heard good things. I personally run a Husky Centerline TS and like it, as Anti-sway is built in and nothing to disconnect when backing. As always proper weight distribution and hitch setup is of prime importance.

Enjoy your new truck and new to you trailer. As always safe towing.

Thanks guys. I think I'm gonna buy a height adjustable ball mount to get it home, then start shopping for a good WDH.

 

[Frenchy]

So with that weight of a trailer I would suspect a weight distribution hitch won't exactly be necessary. The reason I say this is because the Ford Ranger is pretty capable in general and most towing you don't necessarily need a weight distribution hitch until you passed 5000 pounds of trailer weight. With that said you should be good to pull the trigger on that trailer but just make sure of your Heights for the trailer hitch and the tongue on the trailer so you can get the correct ball set up. It's always a hit-or-miss and sometimes you might get it right the first time and other times you will get it wrong.

 

[Goldenlunaofogden]

I rented at rvshare and it was amazing.

 

[Kevinm1980]

When tfltruck did their Ike gauntlet with a 2019 ranger they did not use a WDH, trailer was loaded to 5k with 500tw was a horse trailer , yeas your trailer will catch more wind but for 70mils you will be fine just drive safe and stay under 65, my trailer is 3700loaded I use a WD hitch, mainly to reduce ass end tugging

 

[TechnicallyReal]

I used to tow a 3200 lbs Jayco 174BH without a WDH and it was okay. I would feel sway when other vehicles passed. While it didn't worry me, it still wasn't a great feeling, and detracted from the experience. I also didn't like how much the trailer could bounce the truck when driving in-town on crappy roads.

I eventually decided to get the Andersen No-Sway. The push from passing vehicles went away completely and I found that towing the trailer longer distances became more enjoyable, as it felt as good as driving without the trailer most of the time.

The downside was that the A-frame on my 174BH was only 3" thick, and there are reports of the WDHs bending small frames like that when redistributing weight to the truck. I don't think it's Andersen-specific but I'm not sure. In my case I noticed that my A-frame already had a slight bend to it from before I even bought the Andersen and I wasn't keen on making it any worse. I still used the hitch but without trying to distribute weight to the truck. I really only cared about the sway control, and it handled that very well.

I now have a much bigger trailer, a 264BH with 6" A-frame, and I am absolutely loving the Andersen with it. It does a good job distributing the weight to the front, and despite the rather large increase in length and side-profile, sway is still no issue at all.

 

[WOADKIL]

Hello All! New Ranger owner here. I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on a used camper this weekend. It's 21 ft. long and weighs about 3k empty (3750 gross).
I have the FX4 Super Crew with tow package and a Tekonsha 80500 brake controller, but I don't have a WDH yet. It seems like you need to have your trailer already before you can select the right one, I'm considering the Anderson No-Sway.

I'll have to tow it home from about 70 miles away on some highways at 55-60 speed limits any thoughts on whether it's safe to do this on my factory receiver and 2" drop ball mount?

Raygunn,

I tow a 3,500 Lb RPOD with my 21 SuperCrew XLT all day with no WDH. I did add a friction sway control bar to eliminate the small amount of swaying I was experiencing.

Pulls on straight roads almost as good as my '05 F150, and much better uphill with the 10 speed tranny.

(FYI- using a Redarc brake controller, love towing with Adaptive Cruise Control)

Enjoy!

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