What are you guys towing?

Big Blue

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Been following the the various towing threads, and there are plenty of them, for some time, and ans many of you know, commented from time to time. I've seen people towing what I consider IMO too big of TTs and many towing sensible TTs. What you can and should tow ae two different things. Yes the Ranger can tow up to 7500 pounds and maybe a little more. Should you tow that much is something else. Many variables go into this consideration.

1. What are you towing and how frequently. Are you towing the occasional load of lumber from the local Home depot or load of dirt for a home project? or are you pulling a TT across country on a extended family trip. Or are you pulling that TT once or twice a year to the lake as a cottage.

2. What is your towing experience? Are you new to towing and want to take your young family on summer vacations to make memories. Or, are you a retired over the road trucker with millions of towing miles under your belt. Or, are you somewhere in between? Big difference there.

3. Is you vehicle/trailer properly equipped and setup to tow what your towing? (see #1 and #2 above) Hitch type, brake controller, etc?

4. This question really goes to the TT question in #1. If you are cross country vacationing do your really need that big of trailer? Think about what you may get into and need to maneuver that big trailer into or out of. Do you really need to carry half your household with you on a 2-3 week vacation?

5. Again on the TT subject, remember TTs are huge wind sails. towing in calm weather in a straight line is easy, anyone can do it. Get into a heavy/windy storm (it will happen) and have a semi blast past you. Part of controlling that wind sail is the weight of the tow vehicle. Is the Ranger big/heavy enough to do this for your trailer? Or, will the tail wag the dog into the ditch.

6. one last thing if you are buying your first TT. it has been said before and needs repeating. Do not listen to the RV sales person that "OH your truck will pull this no problem". They are out to sell you the biggest, highest profit margin trailer they can. Start out smaller more reasonable and if down the road your plans/needs change, and they will. Upgrade then, you may find what you have works just fine. I've heard most people go through at least 3 RVs/TTs before settling on a size/style.

These are just my musings in no particular order, take them as you will. I'm sure others will disagree or add items to the list. I'm personally in the camp of 20 to 22 foot and around 5000 pounds dry max for our Rangers. Lot of nice trailers in that range but, that's just me.

Happy and safe trailering
 

ElSolo

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Hello everyone. I figured I would share a picture of my truck and camper. 2020 Ranger pulling a 2020 Geo Pro 19bh. I am very pleased with how my truck tows the camper.
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Nice! What's the overall length on that trailer (hitch to bumper)?
 


DrizzyDrake

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Brought my old daily and my project FD to the wash last night. Brought the FD to my work this morning (to work on it).
 
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Joem

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Pick it up next weekend...now that the wife has decided on which one she wanted!

Shasta 26DB

GVWR: 6,950 lb DRY
WEIGHT: 5,280 lb
PAYLOAD CAPACITY: 1,632 lb
HITCH WEIGHT: 580 lb
LENGTH: 31' 0"
WIDTH: 8' 0"

I feel confident in the Ranger pulling it, and my driving abilities...somewhat. ? I watched another Ranger leave the RV dealership pulling a 33' camper with a GVWR of 7,300 lbs. Not what I'd want to do, but if he was comfortable, more power to him!

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I’m towing a 6800 lb loaded 28’ Salem Cruise lite. I do have a Hensley WD anti sway hitch and it tows it with ease. I did add Bilnstein front struts and rear shock and Hellwig load control springs. Don’t even know it’s behind me and takes uphill of Cajon pass on I-15 at 45 mph.
 

Rock76

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Brought it home yesterday, the Ranger handled it fine! Decided to take the long way back, just to get the feel of it and not feel rushed on the interstate. Now to get it loaded and get camping!!

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CoreyHendo

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Anyone towing a 21’ Yamaha AR212 (or 210)?
 

Quique309

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Nice! What's the overall length on that trailer (hitch to bumper)?
Don B. Beat me to answering but I can confirm it’s 38ft long. That length allows me to fit in a grocery store parking without sticking out in the aisles.
Edit: I haven’t put a tape measure to it but it is supposed to be 20.0ft total
 
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Don B.

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I think I missed the point of the length question. He asked from "hitch to bumper" and I have not measured to get that dimension yet.
 

Jackson84

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Picked up a 2021 Trail Runner 261BHS last weekend with a weight distribution hitch. It’s 30 feet 9 inches and 6000 dry. Haven’t pulled it but about 100 miles so far but no issues with the weight. The trailer brake gets installed by Ford tomorrow, I hope. It was supposed to be done today as I dropped it off at 9 and turned into a giant shit show at the dealer in Columbus Georgia. That’s a whole different story lol.

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Hannah

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Anyone using a Anderson WDH on their Ranger? If so your comments would be appreciated. Pros and cons.
 

SandBaja

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Picked up a 2021 Trail Runner 261BHS last weekend with a weight distribution hitch. It’s 30 feet 9 inches and 6000 dry. Haven’t pulled it but about 100 miles so far but no issues with the weight. The trailer brake gets installed by Ford tomorrow, I hope. It was supposed to be done today as I dropped it off at 9 and turned into a giant shit show at the dealer in Columbus Georgia. That’s a whole different story lol.

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Looks good! My mark one eyeball may be off but is the trailer towing at a slight up angle? If you have sway issues down the road you may consider adjusting so it is level to slightly down angle. Probably worth to pull across a scale also, to check hitch weight. Looks like fun!
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