dmeyer302
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Daniel
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2019
- Threads
- 21
- Messages
- 689
- Reaction score
- 1,632
- Location
- Carthage, MO
- Vehicle(s)
- 2014 Escape, 2016 Odyssey
- Occupation
- Mechanical Engineer
- Vehicle Showcase
- 1
- Thread starter
- #1
Just got home last night from our trip to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We took a borrowed camper: my grandpa's Coleman 1705RB. I won't get into many camper details unless someone wants to, but basically it's a 22' single axle with an advertised dry weight of around 3500 lbs.
Let me get something out of the way before diving in. Colorados and Tacos outnumber Rangers 10:20:1 out here, if not more. They were everywhere. We can nitpick and make excuses for sales numbers all day long, but it's going to take a loooong time to catch up in the real-world mind share space. I think I only saw 4 or 5 '19 Rangers on the entire trip. And Ford has only themselves to blame for abandoning and conceding this market for so long.
Anyway, I cruised anywhere from 62-68 mph depending on wind conditions. The truck really doesn't give a flip about the weight, but wind on a (relatively) big ol camper pushes the truck around quite a bit, even with sway bars set tight. The farther east we went, the more hills we saw. This truck eats mountains for breakfast. It had no problem holding 65 mph on a 5° hill (as indicated by the offroad instrument cluster screen). The 2.3L EB has so much pulling power it's crazy. Anyone who thinks they need the 2.7L EB outside of being a hooligan is kidding themselves.
And the 10-speed...wow. There's always a gear right where you want it. I drove mostly with 9/10 locked out, and I helped it out by anticipating most hills by locking out 8. I found that if you let it lug itself, it waits too long to shift, then you end up in 6. But by forcing it into 7 at the bottom of the hill, it would usually pull right through.
We had some business to take care of in Knoxville, so we went there first. Then, our campground was near Bryson City, NC, and the route took us over the Tail of the Dragon or Hwy 129. If you're not familiar with that road, it's a super twisty road that is popular with motorcycles. Very tight turns that had the truck in 2nd-5th gears for several miles. Oddly, this stretch returned the best mileage on a tank at 13 MPG. Also, check out the cool action shots I was able to get:
We drove 180 miles just inside the park one day, without the camper. What beautiful views...if you haven't been, plan on it.
I'm very happy with the performance of the truck and its ability to confidently handle the load. Not once could I not keep up with traffic because it was short on power, nor did I ever have any handling problems other than wind gusts. I use the Redarc brake controller, and it's fantastic too, but that's for another thread. I wish the Ranger had some niceties that its bigger brothers do, like integrated brakes, or trailer mileage logging. The fuel tank is way too small, and I still hate that steering wheel. But it's got it where it counts: power, handling, comfortable seats...
...I'd do it again, but give me a few days to recover. I don't care how comfortable the seats are, after 11 hrs you're ready to be out. Lol
tl;dr stats
Miles driven.........1800
Cruising speed....62-68
Worst mileage.....9.5
Best mileage.......13
2.3L EB................Awesome
10R80..................Amazing
Let me get something out of the way before diving in. Colorados and Tacos outnumber Rangers 10:20:1 out here, if not more. They were everywhere. We can nitpick and make excuses for sales numbers all day long, but it's going to take a loooong time to catch up in the real-world mind share space. I think I only saw 4 or 5 '19 Rangers on the entire trip. And Ford has only themselves to blame for abandoning and conceding this market for so long.
Anyway, I cruised anywhere from 62-68 mph depending on wind conditions. The truck really doesn't give a flip about the weight, but wind on a (relatively) big ol camper pushes the truck around quite a bit, even with sway bars set tight. The farther east we went, the more hills we saw. This truck eats mountains for breakfast. It had no problem holding 65 mph on a 5° hill (as indicated by the offroad instrument cluster screen). The 2.3L EB has so much pulling power it's crazy. Anyone who thinks they need the 2.7L EB outside of being a hooligan is kidding themselves.
And the 10-speed...wow. There's always a gear right where you want it. I drove mostly with 9/10 locked out, and I helped it out by anticipating most hills by locking out 8. I found that if you let it lug itself, it waits too long to shift, then you end up in 6. But by forcing it into 7 at the bottom of the hill, it would usually pull right through.
We had some business to take care of in Knoxville, so we went there first. Then, our campground was near Bryson City, NC, and the route took us over the Tail of the Dragon or Hwy 129. If you're not familiar with that road, it's a super twisty road that is popular with motorcycles. Very tight turns that had the truck in 2nd-5th gears for several miles. Oddly, this stretch returned the best mileage on a tank at 13 MPG. Also, check out the cool action shots I was able to get:
We drove 180 miles just inside the park one day, without the camper. What beautiful views...if you haven't been, plan on it.
I'm very happy with the performance of the truck and its ability to confidently handle the load. Not once could I not keep up with traffic because it was short on power, nor did I ever have any handling problems other than wind gusts. I use the Redarc brake controller, and it's fantastic too, but that's for another thread. I wish the Ranger had some niceties that its bigger brothers do, like integrated brakes, or trailer mileage logging. The fuel tank is way too small, and I still hate that steering wheel. But it's got it where it counts: power, handling, comfortable seats...
...I'd do it again, but give me a few days to recover. I don't care how comfortable the seats are, after 11 hrs you're ready to be out. Lol
tl;dr stats
Miles driven.........1800
Cruising speed....62-68
Worst mileage.....9.5
Best mileage.......13
2.3L EB................Awesome
10R80..................Amazing
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