What are you guys towing?

[daniel3507]

Heading out in a few hours. We'll see how it does!

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[t4thfavor]

Heading out in a few hours. We'll see how it does!

I’m currently in something almost identical to that. It tows quite good considering the tow rig. I’ll bet it did just fine for you.

 

[daniel3507]

Running into some issues. Check engine light was flashing and was getting some pretty bad engine knock and vibrations. I thought I had noticed the knocking before towing but the 91 seemed to help it. The added load though brought it back. Borrowing a family members F250 to finish the trip and then taking it to the dealership when we get home. When it wasn't knocking it seemed to do just fine. No speed demon or anything band only 9mpg though. The trailer is just a rental so luckily so I don't have to worry about future trips

 

[t4thfavor]

Running into some issues. Check engine light was flashing and was getting some pretty bad engine knock and vibrations. I thought I had noticed the knocking before towing but the 91 seemed to help it. The added load though brought it back. Borrowing a family members F250 to finish the trip and then taking it to the dealership when we get home. When it wasn't knocking it seemed to do just fine. No speed demon or anything band only 9mpg though. The trailer is just a rental so luckily so I don't have to worry about future trips

mine tows absolutely flawlessly, this is my second year with it and the engine has never missed a beat. I’m only at 8-1000’ above sea level though, and I only run 87 octane.

 

[danotech]

Just got home. Ranger did well. Down to Hot Springs and back home thru the Boston Mountains (Arkansas). Really liked the tow mode for running in the hills. No issues and averaged 13.5mpg.

Towing this full of a CanAm Spyder from KC to Hot Springs tomorrow. First long tow. Hope all goes well.

 

[BigBallin]

mine tows absolutely flawlessly, this is my second year with it and the engine has never missed a beat. I’m only at 8-1000’ above sea level though, and I only run 87 octane.

How long of a trailer?

 

[BigBallin]

Coachmen 34’...
Towed from Miami to Orlando no problems at all...

What speeds were you holding?

 

[t4thfavor]

How long of a trailer?

It’s a keystone passport 2920 grand touring. It’s something like 29’ of coach plus tongue and bumper. It weighs about 6200# loaded without water.

 

[TechnicallyReal]

It’s a keystone passport 2920 grand touring. It’s something like 29’ of coach plus tongue and bumper. It weighs about 6200# loaded without water.

I'm curious what hitch are you using with it? And have you upgraded shocks or anything on the truck? Do you add extra air to your tires when towing?

 

[t4thfavor]

I'm curious what hitch are you using with it? And have you upgraded shocks or anything on the truck? Do you add extra air to your tires when towing?

I have towed it bone stock, but it was "less than pleasant" with the FX4 suspension. I now have a set of the Fox branded Fox 2.0 shocks and coilovers. It's much better even in bad weather (I towed last during a massive windstorm). I have a teknosha Prodigy P3 brake controller, and I run 50PSI in the rear and 48PSI in the front when I am towing, and it's been great so far. I have 41000 miles on the truck in total, and I've towed maybe 5K of those with various trailers.

I do have quite a lot of experience towing so that might contribute to my confidence, but generally I'm not worried about the trailer being too big, I'm more worried about what my wife tries to load into it which adds to the tongue weight.

EDIT: I'm using an E2-Hitch with the 800# round bars. It's working well, and I've only had one time where I couldn't back into the spot and remove the bars properly. I ended up having to back the trailer in with the bars off and the truck handled it fine.

The Fox's are set at their "factory" height and I'm on stock Hankooks.

 

[TechnicallyReal]

I have towed it bone stock, but it was "less than pleasant" with the FX4 suspension. I now have a set of the Fox branded Fox 2.0 shocks and coilovers. It's much better even in bad weather (I towed last during a massive windstorm). I have a teknosha Prodigy P3 brake controller, and I run 50PSI in the rear and 48PSI in the front when I am towing, and it's been great so far. I have 41000 miles on the truck in total, and I've towed maybe 5K of those with various trailers.

I do have quite a lot of experience towing so that might contribute to my confidence, but generally I'm not worried about the trailer being too big, I'm more worried about what my wife tries to load into it which adds to the tongue weight.

I was hoping you'd say something about suspension and tires. I had a feeling that a some of the varying experiences in here had more to do with the vehicle and hitch than the trailer being towed.

Are you not using any WD/sway hitch?

From another thread:

I think there are some wildly varying experiences with long trailers due to a few things in particular:

• Ranger suspension (stock vs FX4 vs aftermarket shocks vs sumos vs airbags etc).
• Ranger tire pressures.
• Particular weight-distribution & sway control hitch used (if any).
• How well the hitch is actually configured.
• How items within the trailer are stored / balanced.

This makes it really hard to predict how things will work out from one person to the next.

Myself, I just traded in a Jayco 174BH for a 264BH and am picking it up on Wednesday. I believe it's 29' 5" bumper to ball (26' box?), approx 4900 lbs from factory with full propane, and 6000 lbs GVWR. Some things that I am hoping will work in my favor:

• I installed stiffer shocks in the rear of my Ranger (Eibach's).
• I will be adding air to my tires when towing, which should help with lateral movement.
• I have an Andersen no-way weight-distribution hitch, which I have a lot of confidence in, but I'm prepared to buy a ProPride hitch if need be. The ProPride (and the Hensley) legitimately appear to eliminate sway concerns due to their unique design compared to all other hitches.
• I make the effort to setup the hitch properly myself rather than rely on a dealer.
• I make the effort to not store heavy items in the rear of the trailer.

I'll report back with my experiences when I can.

 

[t4thfavor]

I was hoping you'd say something about suspension and tires. I had a feeling that a some of the varying experiences in here had more to do with the vehicle and hitch than the trailer being towed.

Are you not using any WD/sway hitch?

From another thread:

I forgot to mention I'm using an E2Hitch with 800# bars. I'll edit my post above.

The E2Hitch is about 500$ where the ProRide and Hensley are nearly 3000$. I'm sure they are better, but mine works well enough for me not to care.

 

[TechnicallyReal]

I forgot to mention I'm using an E2Hitch with 800# bars. I'll edit my post above.

The E2Hitch is about 500$ where the ProRide and Hensley are nearly 3000$. I'm sure they are better, but mine works well enough for me not to care.

That's good to hear. I want to avoid getting a ProPride or Hensley if I can. Don't get me wrong.. they seem like marvels in engineering, truly eliminating sway, but they are so expensive, heavy, and look annoying to use. I suspect my Andersen will do just fine in preventing sway.

 

[t4thfavor]

That's good to hear. I want to avoid getting a ProPride or Hensley if I can. Don't get me wrong.. they seem like marvels in engineering, truly eliminating sway, but they are so expensive and look annoying to use. I suspect my Andersen will do just fine in preventing sway.

I'm 100% certain they (ProRide/Hensley) are better solutions to the problem of sway, but I've never had it happen with my current setup, and I HAVE had mild sway (which was caused by uneven road surface) with the ranger while towing a 5000# tractor on a flatbed so It's at least helping. If you aren't in a hurry and take your time/stay alert you should be fully fine with something that large.

 

[briwill70]

Just finished building my all aluminum mini camper!

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