Towing across country with a 3.0??

[adamryan30]

Hello everybody,

So I need advice. every summer I drive from Dallas, TX to Gunnision, CO for a week of epic Dirtbiking. ok so my half ton truck died and my father is giving me his 2006 Ford Ranger 2wd 3.0 V6. now I have used this truck on this exact trip towing 4 dirtbikes and it shockingly wasn't terrible but 45mph over monarch pass was all she had. Okay so, this year I am wanting to purchase a pop up camper (Around 1K - 1.2K pounds. plus a dirtbike. Do you think that the truck can do it? has anybody towed about the same weight? and thoughts?.

I will add for those that dont know that drive or area it really only gets hilly once in colorado. 10hrs of mostly flat driving.

anyways I think I know what the answer will be but thought I would ask.

 

[RonD]

Welcome to TRS

3.0l Vulcan engine is a good reliable engine but wasn't designed for power, or MPG for that matter, lol, just reliability.

2005 to 2007 3.0l makes best torque at 3,900RPMs
So it is a high RPM engine and should be driven as such
Specs are here: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/3_0performance.shtml

Ford Tow specs here: http://www.fleet.ford.ca/towing-guides/

Legally you should be good up to 2,400lbs trailer weight

"Can" it tow more weight, yes

Automatics are allowed more towing weight than manual trans
Super cabs have a higher Curb weight so less tow weight because of Combined Vehicle weight limit, which is about 6,000lbs
Regular cab weights in at 3,000lbs, Super cab 3,300lbs, 2WD

You add driver and passenger weight, cargo, i.e. stuff in the bed, then add trailer weight
Total can't "legally" exceed Combined Vehicle weight limit of 6,000lbs

 

[Diesel Mechanic]

RonD is right. A simple little pop up will be nothing for the 3.0l. My uncle had a 07 3.0 that he towed a dual axle hard body camper with. Drove it all over Ontario year after year. I believe the thing has almost 300,000km on it now and still ticking with out any major repair.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[adamryan30]

Thanks guys for the input. Yeah i did forget to mention it is a supercab automatic. With 3.73 i think. I may purchase the pop up and do a test run through arbuckle mountains in oklahoma about 1hr from my location with some hilly stuff and just see how she does. Yeah i can attest that this truck is a reliable good truck. Has 167k miles and going strong.

 

[racsan]

consider a axle swap in the rear with 4.10's will put the motor in a higher rpm range at highway speed where it needs to be for power.

 

[2002edgeplussupercab]

My mechanic who has 30+ years working on anything and everything, 20 years Army mechanic, has a highly respected shop, just yesterday advised me to not swap out my 3.73 for a 4.10. Said it causes trouble elsewhere in the driveline.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

The only thing that should be affected by an axle swap would be power and fuel economy. May throw the speedometer off. The only other thing that could be an issue is if you go from drum to disk brakes in the swap, then you have to change the brake system, IIRC.

My 2000 Ranger 2wd I swapped from an open 7.5" rear with 3.73 to a locked 8.8" with 3.73 gears and no issues. My 1995 F-150 I put a F-250 transmission in and changed both axles from 3.08 gears to 3.45. No issues there either, I got the benefit of a granny first and better hauling there.


Sent from my kite using a trebuchet

 

[don4331]

At a mathematical level, 2002edge..'s mechanic is correct - everything that increases torque or power has a detrimental effect of the lifespan of system.

But that reminds me of my 1st Engineering 100 class: In middle of room is the ideal mate, at edge of room are an engineer and a mathematician. At the word go, both individuals are allowed to move 1/2 the distance to the mate. Every 5 minutes after, they are both allowed to move 1/2 of the remaining distance. At which time, the mathematician leaves, stating it is infinite series and he will never be in same position. The engineering is asked why he is continuing. His response is: "He will get close enough for practical purposes."

For practical purposes changing from 3.73s to 4.10s has no impact on drive line assuming nothing else changes*.

There are a few components which are going to be impact. The engine is turning 10% more revs, as are the transmission and u-joints. But the extra revolutions are offset by the reduced load/earlier shifting into higher gears. And there are so many other variables which are affecting the longevity of the drive line (cold/heat/dust/wet/salt/etc) that the specific impact of lower gears would need a laboratory to measure.

*Now, if you increase the load by 10% because the gears allowed it, your drive line will indeed see a reduced lifespan. Which is why my son got a V-6 Mustang as his 1st car - I know my child and if he had a V-8, it would be used. Same may be case for 2002edge..'s mechanic- if he knows 2002edge.. will tow 10% more if he has 4.10s, that would have an impact on his truck's drive line, so he might be better off staying with 3.73s.

For the OP, he was going to tow the same load either way, in which case, lower gears might have been worth it for him.

For me, I was doing to run 31x10.5R15 instead of 235/75R15s, and the tire size difference almost exactly matched the gearing difference from 3.73s to 4.10s, so I see no difference on the drive line.

 

[heavy breather]

The biggest impact you will see from changing to 4:10 is longer life on the auto trans.

 

[2002edgeplussupercab]

The biggest impact you will see from changing to 4:10 is longer life on the auto trans.

How could that be ?

 

[2002edgeplussupercab]

Thanks !

At a mathematical level, 2002edge..'s mechanic is correct - everything that increases torque or power has a detrimental effect of the lifespan of system.

But that reminds me of my 1st Engineering 100 class: In middle of room is the ideal mate, at edge of room are an engineer and a mathematician. At the word go, both individuals are allowed to move 1/2 the distance to the mate. Every 5 minutes after, they are both allowed to move 1/2 of the remaining distance. At which time, the mathematician leaves, stating it is infinite series and he will never be in same position. The engineering is asked why he is continuing. His response is: "He will get close enough for practical purposes."

For practical purposes changing from 3.73s to 4.10s has no impact on drive line assuming nothing else changes*.

There are a few components which are going to be impact. The engine is turning 10% more revs, as are the transmission and u-joints. But the extra revolutions are offset by the reduced load/earlier shifting into higher gears. And there are so many other variables which are affecting the longevity of the drive line (cold/heat/dust/wet/salt/etc) that the specific impact of lower gears would need a laboratory to measure.

*Now, if you increase the load by 10% because the gears allowed it, your drive line will indeed see a reduced lifespan. Which is why my son got a V-6 Mustang as his 1st car - I know my child and if he had a V-8, it would be used. Same may be case for 2002edge..'s mechanic- if he knows 2002edge.. will tow 10% more if he has 4.10s, that would have an impact on his truck's drive line, so he might be better off staying with 3.73s.

For the OP, he was going to tow the same load either way, in which case, lower gears might have been worth it for him.

For me, I was doing to run 31x10.5R15 instead of 235/75R15s, and the tire size difference almost exactly matched the gearing difference from 3.73s to 4.10s, so I see no difference on the drive line.

Very informative post. Thank you ! Now how in the world do I find a complete 4.10 LS close enough to be worth going after ?

 

[pjtoledo]

car-part.com

 

[2002edgeplussupercab]

Thanks. Been all over it and they will drive you crazy with foreign operators wanting to sell everything I don't want and nothing I want.

 

[2002edgeplussupercab]

Installed large sway bar in front and large sway bar in rear and also 2500# helper springs in rear (overkill methinks). Should help with tongue weight. I can tell a big difference in handling (uncoupled). I wish I had installed the antisway/load leveling hitch before the helper springs. Might not need the helpers now and they might actually hinder the correct operation of the leveling hitch.

 

[AgPete139]

If the axle (or gear swap) is done properly, there will be no additional driveline wear. I went from a 3.08 to a 4.88, and I have had no trouble for the last decade. The same goes for countless other people on this forum. I'm not discrediting your friend that's a shop owner; but, simply, we have done this successfully. It's not redneck customization either.

Car-part.com is great. I've used it to find exactly which salvage yard I need to contact for X part. I've done the phone tag / junkyard calling before; it's not that bad. The trouble is that you might have a hard time finding parts for a 15+ year old vehicle.

I've installed Explorer springs on my Ranger, mostly for the height and stiffer spring rate as well. Do you have a towing specific question?